This was also the fundamental reason why, despite knowing her daughter Princess Taiping was so considerate and capable, she could only pass the throne to her useless third son, Li Xian.
This was because it was a patriarchal society, and children born to women, unless married into the family, could only take their father's surname.
Wu Mei Niang sighed again, saying, "With my example, women in the future, no matter how much power they wield, I'm afraid they won't dare to change dynasties like I did and rule the world. Who would want to go through all the trouble when their sons and grandsons ascend the throne and the country's name reverts back to their father's or grandfather's? What's the point?"
Having the same surname made them outsiders, while sons of a different surname were considered family. This violated the ultimate core of a dynasty being one family, one surname, and it was destined that the Wu Zhou dynasty would only exist for one generation before perishing.
This also explained why, after Wu Zetian, there was no second empress.
While the prevention by rulers in later generations was a significant reason, the most fundamental reason lay in the congenital weakness of a woman being emperor, the misplacement of surnames, which no one could change.
Unless someone could transform the patriarchal society into a matriarchal one, where children took their mother's surname.
The audience who witnessed this scene also fell into deep contemplation.
When they studied history, they had always been very confused as to why, in over two thousand years of imperial dynasties, there was only Wu Zetian, the sole empress.
Why was it that after Wu Zetian, no other woman could ascend the throne and become emperor?
Previously, they had heard many scholars offer explanations, some attributing it to the Tang Dynasty's open culture and less oppression of women, others to the influence of Neo-Confucianism later on, and some to the prevention by subsequent rulers. It all left people feeling dizzy.
Now, seeing the conversation between Wu Mei Niang and Shangguan Wan'er directly hit the nail on the head, they truly understood.
The root cause lay in the patriarchal society, something even the powerful Wu Zetian could not change, let alone others.
From this, one could also see how important the right to bestow surnames was.
Children could not follow their mother's surname, and even if one possessed vast territories, they could only follow the paternal lineage.
With this thought, the audience was filled with emotion and flooded the screen with comments.
【This drama is truly amazing. Only at the end did I realize how difficult life was for women in ancient times. No matter how capable they were, they couldn't break the patriarchal essence of society!】
【Finally finished it, the last episode. It was truly shocking, seeing both the brilliance and wisdom of an empress, as well as the bitterness and helplessness of being a woman!】
【I must say, Director Hua is truly skilled at filming, the theme is so profound!】
【Kudos to the screenwriter of this drama, it's written exceptionally well!】
【Having watched historical dramas for so many years, this is the best one I've seen. The costumes and props, acting, cinematography, plot, and theme are all flawlessly perfect!】
【...】
Jiang Ling sat on the sofa, quietly watching the television. After finishing the final episode, she was also greatly moved.
She was very fortunate that after transmigrating, she arrived in this parallel world, rather than in an ancient feudal society where men were superior and women inferior.
Even a powerful female protagonist like Wu Zetian faced such helplessness; it was even more so for ordinary people.
Thinking about that deeply ingrained gender discrimination and ideological oppression, if she had truly transmigrated there, she might as well have died. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
After the grand finale, the audience was still not satisfied. They went to Hua Ruoyi's Weibo to urge her for a new drama, while also giving it positive reviews on Douban.
Ultimately, "The Double Sages of the Great Tang" achieved an exceptionally high score of 9.6, a definite classic masterpiece worth rewatching time and again.