In our folklore, there is a story about Song Renzong's recognition of his mother, that is, "Tanuki cat for prince". It is said that Li Fei, the mother of Emperor Renzong, was framed by Concubine Liu and exchanged the skinned tanuki cat for Renzong given birth to Concubine Li, forcing Concubine Li to flee to the people in anonymity. Concubine Liu later seized Emperor Renzong's claim to be his son and succeeded to the throne after Emperor Zhenzong's death. It was only with the help of Bao Zheng that Concubine Li was able to return to the capital to recognize Emperor Renzong's mother and son, while Concubine Liu committed suicide and died.
This story comes from the classical masterpiece "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness", although it is widely circulated, it is really a story. Song Renzong did have the matter of mother and son recognizing each other, and Liu Fei also had the matter of impersonating, but it was not as bloody and ruthless as the novel's interpretation.
Historically, Emperor Renzong's birth mother was Li Shi, who was originally a maid of Concubine Liu, and gave birth to Emperor Renzong because of the pregnancy of Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Concubine Liu was unable to have children, so she forcibly recognized Emperor Renzong as her son. Later, Emperor Zhenzong died, Emperor Renzong succeeded to the throne, and Concubine Liu took the throne as empress dowager, ruling for eleven years. Li and those in the know were afraid of Empress Liu's power and did not dare to explain the matter to Emperor Renzong. Later, when Li Shi fell ill and died, Empress Liu did her aftermath with the etiquette of empress. Not only that, But Empress Liu also ordered mercury to be injected into Li's coffin to protect her appearance and to place the coffin at Fengxian Temple.
After Empress Liu's death, Emperor Renzong's uncle King Yan informed him of the truth and said that Li shi might have been poisoned. Emperor Renzong was so distraught that he posthumously made his birth mother Li shi the empress dowager, and rushed to the Fengxian Temple to open the museum to see the corpse. At the same time, he also sent troops to besiege Empress Liu's mansion.
When the coffin was opened, it was found that Li Shi's face was like life, and it was obvious that he had not been poisoned, so Emperor Renzong ordered the withdrawal of the soldiers surrounding Liu Mansion, and Liu Shi was saved. Emperor Renzong, grateful for Empress Liu's nurturing grace, still buried her with the courtesy of empress dowager. It can be said that Empress Liu was very prescient in this matter, handled it very properly, and saved li's body, as well as herself and her own family.
In view of the tragedy of Li's life, the folk have all kinds of pity, so they concoct various interpretations, and the story of the tanuki cat for the prince is born. Based on human feelings, Empress Liu lost her popularity. But in the past patriarchal rituals, Empress Liu was not at fault. Li Shi was her maid, and she herself could not have children, and it was understandable to take her son as her own. Everyone who has seen the Dream of the Red Chamber should have some understanding of this phenomenon, which was normal in the patriarchal society in the past.
In addition to her dedication to raising Emperor Renzong, Empress Liu did not suppress the Li clan and her clan too much, but gave preferential treatment within a reasonable range. Especially in the matter of Li's death, she handled quite mature and sophisticated: one was to be buried with the courtesy of the empress; the other was to do her best to ensure that Li's body was intact. She knew in her heart that although she was in power, those in the know did not dare to divulge secrets, but she would definitely face a problem of reckoning after her death. On the one hand, she gave Li Shi enough identity and did not leave a pretext for criticism to the people of the world. On the other hand, she knew that Li's death would certainly cause all kinds of speculation, and that after her death, she would definitely be mentioned again, and for the sake of preserving the Liu clan after her death, she had the foresight to protect Li's body for future Emperor Renzong's inspection. Facts have proved that Empress Liu's approach was effective, preserving her own reputation and preserving the Liu clan.
Liu E
This Liu Shi, Liu Fei, and Empress Liu, who had extraordinary wisdom, were liu e, a famous female politician of the Northern Song Dynasty. She was the first female protagonist of the Song Dynasty to claim the system of dynastic title, and in history, it was often called together with Lü Hou of the Han Dynasty and Wu Hou of the Tang Dynasty, and later generations called her "the talent of Lü Wu, the evil of Lü Wu", and the evaluation was quite high. But after all, she can't withstand the simple family affection of the people, and the story of "Tanuki Cat for Prince" that has been deduced has been vividly portrayed as an ugly category, which is really regrettable.