The Empress Wu, also known as Wu Zetian, was the only female emperor in the history of China. She reigned during the Tang Dynasty, which was a golden age of Chinese culture and prosperity. Empress Wu was a controversial and influential figure who has left a lasting impact on Chinese history and culture.
Wu Zetian was born in 625 AD in Wenshui, Shanxi, China. She was the daughter of Wu Shihuo, a wealthy and influential official during the Tang Dynasty. Wu Zetian was well-educated and showed an early aptitude for politics and administration. At the age of 14, she was chosen to be a concubine of Emperor Taizong, who was impressed by her intelligence and beauty.
After the death of Emperor Taizong, Wu Zetian became a powerful and influential figure in the Tang court. She was able to exert significant influence over the affairs of state and was known for her strong will and determination. In 690 AD, Wu Zetian declared herself the empress of China and established the Zhou Dynasty, which lasted for 15 years.
During her reign, Empress Wu implemented a number of significant reforms that had a lasting impact on China. She established a new legal system that granted greater rights to women and minorities, and she also encouraged the spread of Buddhism in China. In addition, Wu Zetian was a patron of the arts and supported the development of literature, music, and other cultural pursuits.
Despite her many accomplishments, Empress Wu was also a controversial figure. She was known for her strict rule and her willingness to eliminate any opposition to her rule. She was accused of using her position to enrich herself and her family, and there were also allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
Empress Wu's rule came to an end in 705 AD, when her son, Emperor Zhongzong, took the throne. Wu Zetian was forced to retire from public life and died in 705 AD at the age of 80.
Despite her controversial legacy, Empress Wu remains an important figure in Chinese history and culture. Her reign marked a significant moment in the history of women's rights in China, and she remains a symbol of the power and determination of women in Chinese society.
Empress Wu (Wu Zhao)
Both Emperor Gaozong and Wu were fond of literature and poems, and helped create a culture of literary pursuits that flourished in Tang China. After Empress Wu's ascension, one of the first things that the did as new empress, submitted a petition ostensibly praising the faithfulness of Han and Lai in opposing the unprecedented Chenfei title, but showing instead that she remembered that they had offended her — her petition that, however, made Han and Lai apprehensive that she was aware of their opposition of her, and Han offered to resign thereafter, an offer that Emperor Gaozong did not accept. In the process, three of them committed suicide, were exiled or poisoned. However, many historians believe that Wu strangled her child herself. Conclusion Historical evaluations of Wu are mixed. This paved the way for her to be a true ruler.
University of Hawaii Press. By implementing this change, Wu broadened eligibility for the bureaucracy by placing more emphasis on recruiting talented and educated aristocrats, scholars, and military leaders than limiting high officials to a few powerful aristocratic clans. . At age 14, she was taken in to be an imperial concubine to Emperor Taizong 598-649. A history known as the Comprehensive Mirror records that, during the 690s, 36 senior bureaucrats were executed or forced to commit suicide, and a thousand members of their families enslaved. From 1470 until 1475, she cooperated with a group of loyal courtiers to hide concubine Lady Wu's funeral was treated as that of a consort, and she was not awarded with a posthumous name. She was grateful to the empress for bringing her back to the palace.
Wu Zhao Biography: Empress Wu Zetian of Zhou Dynasty (624
When it comes to bigger animals like moose, there is nothing to to apart from fencing your yard. On This Day She: Putting Women Back into History, One Day at a Time. Empress Wu was without a doubt an extraordinary leader and woman — one who took every rule book and tore it to shreds. Mary Jane Duford is a gardening expert and founder of Home for the Harvest. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
Fitzgerald, The Empress Wu, 2nd ed. He and his wife, Wei, herself a former concubine, came out of hiding, and seeing that Wu was neglecting her kingdom as her health began to fail, forced her to give up her hard-won royal seat. In 656, on the advice of Xu Jingzong, Emperor Gaozong deposed Consort Liu's son Li Zhong from being his heir apparent. Was she born into a mercantile or an aristocratic family? Translation adopted from Charles P. In China, her name Wu Mei is often the most preferred name of reference when talking about her youthful days.
When he fell out of favor, he burned the building to the ground. Signs When Wu was crowned Empress after a long road to absolute power, an earthquake hit China. PDF from the original on 25 October 2020. This helped her gain a wider view of political affairs. This may have been the reason she avoided any mutiny that threatened her regime.
The implication appeared to be that she would be like the light shining from the sky. Offers a critical appraisal of many primary sources and includes an appendix comparing fictional accounts. An iron whip, a hammer, and a knife. Retrieved 29 August 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2022. The most favorable assessments highlight her high intelligence and exceptional competence in many areas of governance. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn commission from qualifying purchases. In the past, the trick of covering the nose Some of the diversity in terms of points of agreement and even outright divergences in modern evaluations of Wu can be seen in the following quotes by modern non-Chinese authors: Wu Zetian 690—705 was an extraordinary woman, attractive, exceptionally gifted, politically astute and an excellent judge of men. Wu Shihuo—though originally a lumber merchant—was a gifted military strategist and a follower of Tang founder Li in his rebellion against the Sui regime. Emperor Gaozong was afflicted by an eye disease in 660 a. Image by Cold Season. Missing his mistress, Li Zhi requested that Wu return to the palace, although some sources say she escaped the convent. But Wu Meiniang soon acknowledged her cousins and niece' evil crimes and feared for her life to be threatened, so she let Helan Minyue to eat the poisonous food and then ordered to behead her cousins.
42 Ruthless Facts About Wu Zetian, The Only Empress of China
Here are 10 facts about the legendary ruler. He arrested Li Dan's servants and tortured them—and the torture was such that many of them were ready to falsely implicate themselves and Li Dan. Wang, along with Consort Xiao, were stripped of their titles and imprisoned inside the palace. Wu made the change to allow deceased men and women to both have three years of mourning. Wu was the virtual ruler of the empire for the next twenty-three years.
In response, Gaozong barred Liu from the palace and demoted Wang's uncle, Liu Shi. The chastity cult survived to Qing China, but in present-day China, Wu receives a more favorable image than before, as Chinese patriarchy has increased its tolerance toward women. Forty-six of Wu's poems are collected in the Collected Tang Poems and 61 essays under her name are recorded in the Quan Tangwen Collected Tang Essays. She also removed Zhangsun Wuji from his position, and he committed suicide in exile. When Empress Wu heard this, she had people report the news to Emperor Gaozong. These three metaphysical and philosophical perspectives, though not simultaneously influential, all had important roles in Tang politics.
The Empress Wu Hosta is a very large American hybrid hosta cultivar known for its large leaves and giant overall size. Not until 705, when she was more than 80 years old, was Wu finally overthrown by yet another son—one whom she had banished years before. It was during this period that women throughout China had their voices heard. She traveled with her parents that afforded her to gain knowledge and exposed her to understand her culture. Image taken from An 18th century album of portraits of 86 emperors of China, with Chinese historical notes. What role, if any, the undeniably ambitious concubine played in the events of the early Tang period remains a matter of controversy. Middle reign 696—701 Wu's administration soon faced various troubles on the western and northern borders.
