Yang Guifei, Doomed By Her Dazzle
Throughout history, physical beauty has been a coveted ideal for women across cultures and eras. But for Yang Guifei—hailed as one of Ancient China’s greatest beauties—her breathtaking allure ultimately became her greatest curse, entwining her fate with the downfall of an entire dynasty.
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1. She Was Born With It
Born in ancient China in 719 AD, during the Tang dynasty, Guifui grew up very comfortably. Her father held an important role as a census official, making their family's status nothing to turn your nose at. Even so, Guifui eventually ended up with far, far more than she probably imagined in her youth. And it all started with one life-changing decision.
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2. She Did Her Duty
During that time period, families arranged the marriages of their sons and daughters, most often to improve their social standing and wealth. In Guifei’s case, she gave her family one huge leg up when she married the Prince of Shou at just 17 years old. That made her a princess, and quite possibly the future empress. And she managed to do it all while standing out in a most unexpected way.
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3. She Was A Curvy Girl
By all accounts, Guifei boasted exceptional beauty, which is probably just another reason she got selected to marry the prince. But her beauty stood out for another reason. At the time, Chinese beauty standards leaned toward a woman having a plumper figure—and Guifei certainly lived up to this ideal. Many reports claimed that she had a curvaceous body.
But, all things considered, perhaps she proved too delectable a sight for her own good.
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4. She Caught A Stray
Now bound in marriage to the prince, she likely expected to live out her days in luxury with the rest of his concubines until he himself became emperor. But everything changed when she caught the eye of the prince’s father and ruler of the dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong. Even so, it took a little tragedy to really shake things up.
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5. She Was A Rebound
Reportedly, the emperor didn’t really take serious notice of Guifei until he lost his own favorite concubine and the prince’s mother, Consort Wu, in 738. And while it wouldn’t be the first time grief pushed someone to make questionable decisions, legend reveals one specific instance that pushed the emperor over the edge when it came to our stunning (albeit already married) beauty.
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6. She Got Special Treatment
One particular story states that the emperor gave Guifei permission to bathe in the hot springs at Huaqing Palace. I should note that the legend doesn’t quite explain how they got to that point, considering the palace typically reserved that spot for only the emperor and the highest-ranking members of the family. But perhaps the emperor had a little crush, considering the fact that he stuck around to watch…
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7. Things Got Steamy
As the story goes, the emperor managed to get a full view of his son’s lovely wife rising from the hot springs when she finished her bath. And according to that version of events, he just couldn’t get over her astounding radiance, despite the nearly four decades he had on her in age. At that point, he just couldn’t help himself.
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8. She Became A Nun
The emperor couldn’t just take Guifei from his son. Or, he could, but it wouldn’t look great on the family or dynasty. So instead of just snatching her up, he made her a Taoist nun. I know, I know—probably not what you were expecting. But as it turns out, the emperor planned to play a very methodical long game.
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9. She Was The Emperor's Concubine
With Guifei relieved from her wifely duties, the emperor took the opportunity to bestow a new wife on his son. And with that, the emperor proceeded to make her his concubine. But he didn’t just add her to the thousands he already had. He made it abundantly clear that she was more than just the favorite.
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10. She Fell Deeply In Love
Many reports indicate that the emperor didn’t just desire Guifei physically, but that he actually fell totally in love with her. According to ancient lore, they spent many evenings together. Guifei danced for the emperor, and supposedly, the two went so far as to pledge their infinite love to each other. But, of course, the emperor also put his money where his mouth was—maybe even literally…
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11. She Was Spoiled
With the wealth of the dynasty, and really the entire country of China, at his beck and call, the emperor made sure that Guifei didn’t want for anything. He showered her with the very best money could buy, even hiring around 700 artisans just to make her garments. And when the things she wanted weren’t within easy reach, he did whatever he had to do to make her happy.
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12. She Indulged In A Rare Delicacy
Guifei especially loved to snack on the sweet, juicy lychee. Unfortunately for her, the fruit typically only grew in southern China, far from the palace where the emperor lived with Guifei and his court. Even more, sending for the fruit would typically take quite some time, affecting the quality of the snack. So what did the emperor do? Whatever he had to do to keep his girl happy.
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13. She Reaped The Benefits
In a habit that eventually started to arouse people’s displeasure, the emperor used his royal couriers to fetch the fruit for Guifei as often as possible. These couriers, made up of the country’s fastest horses, existed for the emergency use of the court. But the emperor clearly didn’t care about all that. And even so, all those physical gifts still didn’t prove enough for his Guifei.
In the end, the intangible things he gave her proved the most valuable of all.
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14. Her Stock Went Up
The emperor bestowed as high a status on Guifei as he possibly could. In fact, her very title, “Guifei” made her the highest of all the concubines the emperor had. In essence, Guifei became the highest-ranking woman at court, and all the officials treated her accordingly. The emperor didn’t stop there, though. He made sure her entire family got to reap the rewards of his love too.
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15. He Leveled Them Up
The emperor elevated her family, giving them several honors and increasing their social status. Notably, he gave several of her male cousins and uncles offices in his court, and gave each of her three sisters the title of “lady”. But the course of love never did run smooth, and even when it came to their whirlwind love, things between Guifei and the emperor eventually hit some extremely rough patches.
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16. She Had Competition
Even with the court very clear on her status, it seems some women still hoped to take Guifei’s spot as the emperor’s favorite concubine. According to some reports, things came to a head in one instance when Guifei accidentally walked in on the emperor having relations with another concubine. Furious, she went off on her royal lover. And if you haven’t already guessed it by now, that was definitely the wrong move.
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17. She Got Sent Away
Whether for that infraction or another, history confirms that the emperor did in fact send Guifei away for her impertinence, effectively returning her to her family in 746. But once she left and her absence settled in, the emperor started behaving quite differently than he ever did. And before long, one of his close officials figured out the problem.
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18. She Was His Ultimate Comfort
Before the day even ended, the emperor’s temperament changed drastically. He became ill-tempered, impatient, and impossible to console. Luckily for everyone at court, one of his officials realized the emperor likely just missed his favorite woman. The official approached the emperor with the idea of bringing Guifei back. But the emperor had more complicated methods of winning her back.
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19. She Received A Special Offering
Rather than just sending his officials to bring Guifei back, he also sent several gifts to her, including a trove of royal food. That very evening, he did indeed bring her back to the palace, and reportedly doted on her even more. But Guifei couldn’t quite hold her tongue, and when she flared up again, she seemed to take the emperor’s response a bit more personally.
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20. She Regretted It
A few years after the first infraction, Guifei got disrespectful with the emperor again, and he once again sent her back to her family. As he did before, he regretted it shortly after, and sent gifts to regain her favor. This time, though, Guifei seemed to realize how seriously she messed things up. And to show how sorry she was, she sacrificed something major.
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21. She Gave It Up
When Guifei received the gifts, she sent a very apologetic note back to her royal lover. She realized he and the court could easily take her life for her disrespect, and felt she didn’t deserve to go back to him. And to top her apology off, she sent him some of her crowning beauty—her hair! Take one guess on how the emperor responded to that show of humility.
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22. She Fell Back Into His Good Graces
Yup, you guessed it. The emperor ordered his officials to bring Guifei back to him asap. And, of course, she returned to him with as much affection as before, if not more so. Their relationship continued to thrive. But, seemingly unbeknownst to the emperor, it started to get in the way of other, much more important things when it came to his actual job as the ruler of China.
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23. His Love For Her Blinded Him
The emperor and Guifei spent copious amounts of time together, so much so that he began to neglect his duties. He often left them to his other officials. If they remained loyal to him at all times, that wouldn’t be an issue. But as he eventually discovered, that wasn’t the case. Even worse, though, literally everyone knew his Achilles heel.
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24. They Used Her
Several reports state that many officials used Guifei to sway the emperor’s decisions. They lavished her with more gifts and treats, ingratiating themselves to her in order to gain the emperor’s favor. This didn’t present too much of a problem, until things between one of her elevated family members and one foreign visitor who gained her favor became the beginning of the end.
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25. She Became Close To Another Man
It all started in 747, when a Turkic general—An Lushan—appeared at court to meet the royal family. Guifei seemed to take to him right away, so much so that she legally adopted him into her family. She cared for him so much that she considered him a son. Although the true nature of their relationship really depends on what version of the story you believe.
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26. They Were More Than Friends
According to some reports, Guifei engaged in an illicit romantic affair with Lushan, unbeknownst to her aging royal lover. This is certainly possible, though most historians seem to consider it an unfounded rumor. Either way, they shared a bond that made the emperor look very favorably on the Turkic foreigner. And when Lushan returned to court a few years later, Guifei got up to some antics that made him look even better. /
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27. They Put On A Show
Lushan celebrated his birthday during his second visit to the palace, and Guifei came up with a little idea to entertain the emperor. With Lushan being a very portly man, Guifei decided to wrap him up in several blankets, swaddling him up like a large child. And when the emperor came to court, they put on a pretty bizarre display.
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28. She Babied Him
Guifei’s servants announced Lushan as her baby, and she presented the bundled-up foreigner to the emperor as her “son”. Honestly, all that sounds weird on many, many levels to me. But the old emperor loved it, which eventually caused him a lot more problems than I imagine a grown man pretending to be a baby is worth.
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29. He Impressed The Emperor
Somehow, this little show of amusement only endeared the emperor to Lushan more. As a result of this, Lushan gained even more influence and status at court, likely resulting in more personal wealth and power overall. But when he started to set his sights a little farther than he was actually entitled to, everything went awry.
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30. He Got Jealous
Reportedly, Lushan eventually began competing for status with Guifei’s cousin, Yang Guozhong. Thanks to the emperor’s favor, Guozhong held a very high position at court, something Lushan began to feel he himself deserved. And when Guozhong got wind of that, he responded with everything but humility.
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31. He Provoked Him
Guozhong knew very well that he outranked Lushan. He probably also considered himself untouchable, considering his cousin’s close romantic relationship with the emperor. So he essentially started picking on Lushan, finding reasons to take out officials from the man’s own mansion. But when Lushan couldn’t take it anymore, chaos erupted.
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32. He Popped Off
In 755, Lushan finally reached the end of his rope. He rebelled against Guozhong and ultimately the emperor, rounding up his men to storm the palace. The emperor did some quick thinking in hopes of avoiding actual combat. He decided to abdicate the throne to his son to relieve the tension between himself, Guifei, and the favor the relationship gave Guozhong. But, of course, Guozhong couldn’t let that happen.
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33. He Was Power Hungry
Guozhong didn’t have nearly as strong a relationship with the prince as he did with the emperor. As such he worried about where the abdication might leave him when all was said and done. So he stopped the emperor in his tracks, managing to come up with an entirely different plan, and quite possibly using Guifei to help convince him.
34. He Cowered
Guozhong managed to get another general to meet Lushan in combat, hoping he could protect the palace. That general failed spectacularly, though, and with Lushan on their heels, the emperor, Guifei, and their court found themselves left with no other choice but to flee. Once on the run, the situation quickly moved from bad to the absolute worst.
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35. They Got Cornered
While hunkering down at Mawei Courier Station, the palace guards started to ruffle with dissent. Likely both ragged from the run and angry at the circumstances, they searched for someone to blame for their situation. They didn’t have too far to look, though. They easily landed on Yang Guozhong, declared him a traitor, and dealt him the most severe punishment.
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36. They Ended Him
The guards ended Guozhong’s life for what they insisted was a high act of betrayal against the emperor and the Tang dynasty. They didn’t stop there, though. They also took his son, wife, and all Guifei’s sisters down with him. That essentially left them with one final perceived traitor in their midst—the emperor’s favorite girl in the world.
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37. They Wouldn’t Let It Go
The guards totally encircled the place where the emperor was staying with Guifei and several other high-ranking members of his court, threatening more bloodshed. The emperor himself tried to go out and calm them down, but they ignored him. Only one tragic solution seemed like it could suffice.
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38. He Scrambled
The emperor entreated his officials for a solution. In response, they recommended he end Guifei’s life in solidarity with the guards. Of course, the emperor refused. But as time wore on, he lost his resolve, and ultimately gave Guifei up to save himself. All things considered, though, he at least tried to give her the most dignified ending possible.
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39. She Took Her Own Life
Rather than giving her to the angry guards, the emperor made his officials take her to a Buddhist temple. There, they provided her with a silk cord to end her own life, which the country traditionally saw as the most noble way to go. Her burial, unfortunately, didn’t turn out to be quite as honorable as the emperor probably hoped.
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40. She Had A Heartbreaking Burial
The officials buried Guifei there near the street. They didn’t make a coffin for her, but they did wrap her in fine cloth and bury her with her fragrances. And so the guards relented, returning to their support for the emperor. Eventually, they defeated Lushan and returned to the palace, where the emperor seemed to finally come to terms with the incredibly high price Guifei paid for his safety.
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41. He Sent For Her
Once he safely returned to the capital, the emperor sent his men to find Guifei’s body and give her a proper burial—a mission done in secret. They found her body quite decomposed, but managed to properly bury her, bringing the emperor the fragrances buried with her as a memorial. The emperor fell apart, reportedly sobbing over the memento. And judging by his next act, perhaps he never really let it go.
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42. He Memorialized Her
The emperor commissioned a portrait created in Guifei’s honor. He placed it in a special place in one of his palaces, and reportedly went to see it very often. But even that didn’t turn out to be enough to quell the emperor’s grief. Eventually, he found himself desperate to hear from her one last time.
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43. He Held On
As the legend goes, the emperor beseeched a priest to try to contact Guifei in the spiritual realms. If you ask me, that sounds like the highest level of grief, with a nice dose of remorse over his actions thrown in. And luckily for him, the priest managed to come back with a message from the emperor’s beloved.
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44. Their Love Transcended All
Supposedly, Guifei gave a message to the priest for the emperor, along with one of her golden hair combs. Her message detailed the everlasting nature of their love, and seemingly gave the emperor some relief. And probably just in time, considering the tragic fate that loomed just ahead.
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45. Everything Fell Apart
According to several historians, the dynasty never truly recovered from the Lushan rebellion, leaving it vulnerable to other conflicts as well as natural disasters. In just eight years, the Tang dynasty had begun to spiral, and would eventually fall in 907 AD, losing power completely.
Intriguingly enough, some people still found a way to blame it all on Guifei—and not just for distracting the emperor or bringing her family into court.
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46. They Called Her A Judas
Some of the locals took their accusations of Guifei even further, insisting a foreign country somehow sent her to China with the very intention of tearing down the dynasty. All facts considered, that seems entirely untrue, but it does show how angry the people felt. And yet, even with all the haters she left behind, the mark she left on history proved impossible to eradicate.
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47. She Kept It Hot
While not completely confirmed, some historians credit Guifei with the invention of a very sensual fashion accessory. The “hezi” worked like a corset. Guifei likely wore it under or over her garments, emphasizing her voluptuous shape. And if that wasn’t enough, she somehow stirred up even more scandal long after her passing.
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48. She Made A Splash
An art piece depicting Guifei appeared in a Chinese calendar in 1915. It doesn’t sound like much, until you realize the picture imagined her emerging from the emperor’s Huaqing hot springs. She wasn’t exactly covered up, if you know what I’m saying. It caused a stir in a still very traditionally conservative China. Regardless, Guifei turned out to be a woman history will never forget.
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49. She Lives On
Guifei remains an icon of Chinese history, hailed for her great beauty and remembered for her effect on the emperor. Many sculptures of her remain in the country, including one sculpture recreating her stepping out of the now-infamous hot springs. But Guifei’s legacy went far past her country of origin.
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50. She Went International
Even today, centuries after she walked the earth, Guifei continues to appear as a character of interest in popular culture. Her story has inspired art in several genres, including film, television, and even operas. Which is to say, perhaps things didn’t end all too well for her personally—but in the long run, her beauty led her to make an indelible mark on the world.
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