During the Tang Dynasty, why did Wu Zetian, a Buddhist, have inconsistent attitudes toward the eminent monk Xuanzang?

The Tang Dynasty was an era when heroes emerged in large numbers. Whether they were emperors and queens, virtuous ministers and generals in the court, or eminent monks and virtuous people, capable people and strangers outside the system, they all shone in the sky of history. Hui. Of course, behind the bright stars, the black hole of history is equally fascinating. From today on, let us cut through the layers of fog and see a real Tang Dynasty. ?The Greedy Camel

During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian had a close relationship with the eminent monk Xuanzang. Before and after Wu Zetian gave birth to Li Xian, Xuanzang wrote six times to express his blessings to Wu Zetian. After Li Xian was born, Wu Zetian made the infant Li Xian convert to Buddhism and let Li Xian and Xuanzang live together. Xuanzang called Li Xian "Fo Guang Wang". When Wu Zetian and Gaozong Li Zhi came to Luoyang, Xuanzang also went with them. Li Xian was often with Xuanzang when they were in Luoyang, which shows that Wu Zetian had great trust in Xuanzang. But later Wu Zetian became estranged from him, and even after Xuanzang died, he did not establish a monument or biography for him. Why did the relationship between the two change like this?

Let us first talk about how their relationship became closer. Since the founding of Li Yuan, the Tang Dynasty has placed Taoism above Buddhism. First, because Li Tang respected Li Er, the founder of Taoism, as his ancestor, he respected Taoism very much. Second, when Li Yuan rebelled, Taoists supported him very strongly. Big (Taoism has been suppressed by Buddhism for a long time, so the world was in chaos, so they placed their treasure on Li Yuan, hoping to gain something). Third, after years of development, Buddhism has become a force. For a new dynasty, It is an extremely unstable factor.

Buddhism, which was suppressed by Taoism, had to actively find ways to bring the situation back. After discussion, everyone believed that if they want to regain the prestige of Buddhism, they must build up their image externally and strengthen their qualities internally. The specific measures are: find ways to supplement the interpretations of Buddhist scriptures and unify the thoughts within Buddhism first, and then rectify the temple gates, so as to achieve the purpose of strengthening internal quality. As for the external image, it needs to be a grand monument to impress the believers. The best way to achieve both goals is to go west to Tianzhu to obtain Buddhist scriptures. The final candidate is the well-known Master Xuanzang. At that time, this kind of thing that was beneficial to Buddhism was not recognized by Li Shimin, so Master Xuanzang went there secretly.