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Everything about Wu Zetian Empress Of China totally explained

Wu Zetian (625 – December 16, 705 In 705, she was overthrown in a coup, and Emperor Zhongzong was returned to the throne. She continued to carry the title of "emperor" until her death later in the year.

Background

The future Wu Zetian's family was from Wenshui (文水, in modern Lüliang, Shanxi). Her father was Wu Shihuo (武士彠) (577-635), a member of a wealthy family who used his wealth to gather many friends. Her mother was Wu Shihuo's second wife Lady Yang (579-670), a member of the Sui Dynasty imperial clan. In late Sui Dynasty, when the general Li Yuan the Duke of Tang was fighting agrarian rebels in the region, he stayed at Wu Shihuo's house and became a friend of Wu Shihuo's. When Li Yuan was put in charge of Taiyuan in 616, he invited Wu to serve on his staff. As much of Sui realm was overrun by agrarian rebels at the time, Wu often encouraged Li to rebel as well, a suggestion that Li didn't initially accept but eventually did so in 618 after encouragement by his son Li Shimin and associates Liu Wenjing and Pei Ji. Late in 618, Li Yuan captured the Sui capital Chang'an and in 619 declared himself emperor (as Emperor Gaozu) of a new dynasty, Tang Dynasty. Wu became the minister of public works and was created the Duke of Ying. He later served successively as the commandant at Li Prefecture (利州, roughly modern Guangyuan, Sichuan) and Jing Prefecture (荊州, roughly modern Jingzhou, Hubei). He died in 635, while still serving as the commandant at Jing Prefecture, shortly after Emperor Gaozu's death, and was believed to have fallen ill and died after mourning Emperor Gaozu bitterly. As Emperor Gaozu's successor Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) viewed this as a demonstration of great faithfulness, he'd Wu buried with honor at his home county of Wenshui.
   The future Wu Zetian wasn't born in Wenshui, but it isn't clear where she was born, and sources conflict as to when she was born.) were disrespectful of Lady Yang, and Lady Yang bore grudge for this. Emperor Taizong gave her the name Mei (媚), meaning "delicate." According to her own account during her reign later while rebuking the chancellor Ji Xu, there was an occasion during the time she was Emperor Taizong's concubine when she impressed Emperor Taizong with her fortitude:
crown prince Li Zhi saw her, he was shocked by her beauty. After Emperor Taizong died in 649, Li Zhi became emperor (as Emperor Gaozong), and she and the other imperial consorts who didn't have children went to Ganye Temple (感業寺) and became Buddhist nuns.

As Emperor Gaozong's concubine

On an anniversary of Emperor Taizong's death, Emperor Gaozong went to Ganye Temple to offer incense, and when he and Consort Wu saw each other, both of them wept -- and were seen by Emperor Gaozong's wife Empress Wang. At that time, Emperor Gaozong didn't favor Empress Wang, and much favored his concubine Consort Xiao; further, Empress Wang didn't have any children, and Consort Xiao had one son (Li Sujie) and two daughters (Princesses Yiyang and Xuancheng). Empress Wang, seeing that Emperor Gaozong was still impressed by Consort Wu's beauty, hoped that the arrival of a new concubine would divert the emperor from Consort Xiao, and therefore secretly told Consort Wu to stop shaving her hair and, at a later point, welcomed her to the palace. (Some modern historians dispute this traditional account, and some think that Consort Wu never actually left the imperial palace and might have had an affair with Emperor Gaozong while Emperor Taizong was still alive.) Wherever the truth lies, by the early 650s Consort Wu was a concubine of Emperor Gaozong, and she was titled Zhaoyi (昭儀), for example the highest ranking of the nine concubines of the second rank. Consort Wu soon overtook Consort Xiao in her favor from Emperor Gaozong. (The taking of a father's concubine -- one who was believed to have had sexual relations with the deceased Emperor Taizong -- was considered incest by traditional Confucian principles.) In 652, she gave birth to her first child, a son named Li Hong. In 653, she gave birth to another son, Li Xián. (Later, after she became empress, she'd bear two more sons (Li Xiǎn (note different tone) and Li Dan), and one daughter (the later Princess Taiping). For the time being, however, neither of these sons were in contention to be Emperor Gaozong's heir, as Emperor Gaozong had, pursuant to requests of officials instigated by Empress Wang and her uncle, the chancellor Liu Shi, created his oldest son Li Zhong, whose mother Consort Liu was of lowly birth and whose gratitude Empress Wang expected. By 654, both Empress Wang and Consort Xiao had lost favor with Emperor Gaozong, and the former romantic rivals joined forces against Consort Wu, but to no avail, and as a sign of his love to Consort Wu, in 654 he conferred posthumous honors on her father Wu Shihuo.
   Also in 654, shortly after Consort Wu gave birth to a daughter, the daughter died. Empress Wang was allegedly seen near the child's room by eyewitnesses, and Emperor Gaozong suspected that she killed the child out of jealousy. She was unable to clear herself in Emperor Gaozong's eyes. (Traditional historians believed that Consort Wu actually killed her own daughter to frame Empress Wang, although it was possible that this allegation was manufactured by historians.) In anger, Emperor Gaozong considered deposing Empress Wang and replacing her with Consort Wu, but wanted to make sure that the chancellors would support this, and so visited the house of his uncle Zhangsun Wuji, the leader among chancellors, with Consort Wu, awarding him with much treasure, but when he brought up the topic that Empress Wang was sonless (as an excuse for deposing her), Zhangsun repeatedly found ways to divert the conversation, and subsequent visits by Consort Wu's mother Lady Yang and the official Xu Jingzong, who was allied with Consort Wu, to seek support from Zhangsun were also to no avail.

As Empress Consort

In 656, per advice of Xu Jingzong, Emperor Gaozong deposed Li Zhong to be the Prince of Liang, while creating Li Hong, then carrying the title of Prince of Dai, to be crown prince. but which some historians thought might be slow-poisoning by Empress Wu, and he began to have Empress Wu make rulings on the petitions by the officials. It was said that Empress Wu had quick reactions and understood both literature and history, and therefore was making correct rulings. Thereafter, her authority began to rival Emperor Gaozong's. (Shangguan Tingzhi's daughter Shangguan Wan'er, then an infant, and her mother Lady Zheng became slaves in the inner palace. After Shangguan Wan'er grew up, she eventually became a trusted secretary for Empress Wu.) Thereafter, at imperial meetings, she'd sit behind a curtain behind Emperor Gaozong, and they became referred to by the public as the "Two Holy Ones" (二聖, Er Sheng).
   Around the new year 675, Empress Wu submitted 12 suggestions -- the chief of whom were that Laozi (whose name was Li Er), to whom the Tang imperial clan traced its ancestry), should have his work Tao Te Ching be added to the required reading for imperial university students, and that a three-year mourning period should be observed for a mother's death in all cases. (Previously, such a mourning period wasn't observed if the father were still alive, but was observed if the father was no longer alive.) Emperor Gaozong praised her for her suggestions and adopted them.

As Empress Dowager

Shizhong (侍中, the head of the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng) and a post considered one for a chancellor) and giving a mid-level office to his wet nurse's son -- despite stern opposition by the chancellor Pei Yan, at one point remarking to Pei:
In 686, Empress Dowager Wu offered to return imperial authorities to Emperor Ruizong, but Emperor Ruizong, knowing that she didn't truly intend to do so, declined, and she continued to exercise imperial authority. Meanwhile, she created copper mailboxes outside the imperial government to encourage the people of the realm to secretly report on others, as she suspected many officials of opposing her. Under these beliefs of hers, secret police officials, including Suo Yuanli, Zhou Xing, and Lai Junchen, began to rise in power and began to carry out systematic false accusations, tortures, and executions of individuals.

As Empress Regnant

Traditional Chinese order of succession (akin to the Salic law in Europe) didn't allow a woman to ascend the throne, but Wu Zetian was determined to quash the opposition, and the use of the secret police didn't subside, but continued, after her taking the throne. However, while her organization of the civil service system was criticized for its laxity of the promotion of officials, Wu Zetian was considered capable of evaluating the performance of the officials once they were in office. The Song Dynasty historian Sima Guang, in his Zizhi Tongjian, commented:

Early reign

Shortly after Wu Zetian took the throne, she elevated the status of Buddhism to be above Taoism, officially sanctioning the religion by building temples named Dayun Temple (大雲寺) in each prefecture belonging to the capital regions of the two capitals Luoyang and Chang'an, and also created nine senior monks dukes. She also enshrined seven generations of Wu ancestors at the imperial ancestral temple, although she also continued to offer sacrifices to the three emperors of Tang (Emperors Gaozu, Taizong, and Gaozong). Wu Zetian tried to allay the situation by making peace with Ashina Mochuo at fairly costly terms -- the return of Tujue people who had previously submitted to Zhou and providing Ashina Mochuo with seeds, silk, tools, and iron. In summer 697, Ashina Mochuo launched another attack on Khitan's base of operations, and this time, after his attack, Khitan forces collapsed, and Sun was killed in flight, ending the Khitan threat.
   Around 698, Wu Chengsi and another nephew of Wu Zetian's, Wu Sansi the Prince of Liang, were repeatedly making attempts to have officials persuade Wu Zetian to create one of them crown prince -- again citing the reason that an emperor should pass the throne to someone of the same clan. However, Di Renjie, who by now had become a trusted chancellor, was firmly against the idea and instead proposed that Li Zhe be recalled. He was supported in this by fellow chancellors Wang Fangqing and Wang Jishan, as well as Wu Zetian's close advisor Ji Xu, who further persuaded the Zhang brothers to support the idea as well. In spring 698, Wu Zetian agreed and recalled Li Zhe from exile. Soon, Li Dan offered to yield the crown prince position to Li Zhe, and Wu Zetian created Li Zhe crown prince, and soon changed his name back to Li Xiǎn and then Wu Xian.
   Despite her old age, however, Wu Zetian continued to be interested in finding talented officials and promoting them, and individuals that she promoted in her old age included, among others, Cui Xuanwei and Zhang Jiazhen., killing Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, and then had Changsheng Hall (長生殿), where Wu Zetian was residing, surrounded. They then reported to her that the Zhang brothers had been executed for treason, and then forced her to yield the throne to Li Xian. On February 21, an edict was issued in her name that made Li Xian regent, and on February 22, an edict was issued in her name passing the throne to Li Xian. On February 23, Li Xian formally retook the throne, and the next day, Wu Zetian, under heavy guard, was moved to the subsidiary palace Shangyang Palace (上陽宮), but was nevertheless honored with the title of Empress Regnant Zetian Dasheng (則天大聖皇帝). Tang Dynasty was restored, ending Zhou. She died on December 16,

Second Zhou Dynasty (690 - 705)

Convention: use personal name
Temple names Family name and first name Period of reign Era name and their according ranges of years
None Wǔ Zhào(武曌) 690-705 Tiānshòu (天授): Oct. 16, 690 - Apr. 21, 692 (18 months)
Rúyì (如意): Apr. 22 - Oct. 22, 692 (6 months)
Chángshòu (長壽): Oct. 23, 692 - Jun. 8, 694 (19 ½ months)
Yánzài (延載): Jun. 9, 694 - Jan. 21, 695 (7 ½ months)
Zhèngshèng (證聖): Jan. 22 - Oct. 21, 695 (9 months)
Tiāncèwànsuì (天冊萬歲): Oct. 22, 695 - Jan. 19, 696 (3 months)
Wànsuìdēngfēng (萬歲登封): Jan. 20 - Apr. 21, 696 (3 months)
Wànsuìtōngtiān (萬歲通天): Apr. 22, 696 - Sept. 28, 697 (17 months)
Shéngōng (神功): Sept. 29 - Dec. 19, 697 (2 ½ months)
Shènglì (聖曆): Dec. 20, 697 - May 26, 700 (29 months)
Jiǔshì (久視): May 27, 700 - Feb. 14, 701 (8 ½ months)
Dàzú (大足): Feb. 15 - Nov. 25, 701 (9 months ½)
Cháng'ān (長安): Nov. 26, 701 - Jan. 29, 705 (38 months)
Shénlóng (神龍): Jan. 30 - Mar. 3, 705 (Zhou Dynasty was abolished on March 3, 705, and the Tang Dynasty was restored that same day, but the Shenlong era continued to be used by Emperor Zhongzong until 707)

Chancellors during reign

Personal information

  • Father
    • Wu Shihuo (武士彠) (d. 635), Duke Ding of Ying, later further successively posthumously honored as the Duke of Zhou, the Prince of Taiyuan, Emperor Zongxiaotai, and Emperor Xiaominggao (with the temple name of Taizu)
  • Mother
    • Lady Yang (d. 670), Wu Shihuo's second wife, honored as the Lady of Rong, Lady of Zuan, Lady of Wei, and finally Lady Zhonglie of Lu, later further successively posthumously honored with titles corresponding to Wu Shihuo's
  • Husband
  • Major known lovers
    • Huaiyi, né Feng Xiaobao (馮小寶) (name changed 685), the Duke of Liang (created 688) then the Duke of E (created 690, killed 695)
    • Shen Nanqiu (沈南璆), imperial physician
    • Zhang Yizhi, the Duke of Heng (created 702, killed 705)
    • Zhang Changzong, the Duke of Ye (created 702, killed 705)
  • Children
    • Li Hong (李弘) (b. 652), originally the Prince of Dai (created 653), later the Crown Prince (created 656, poisoned 675), posthumously honored Emperor Xiaojing with the temple name Yizong
    • Li Xián (李賢) (note different tone than his brother) (b. 653), name changed to Li De (李德) 672, changed back to Li Xián 674), originally the Prince of Lu (created 655), later the Prince of Pei (created 661), later the Prince of Yong (created 672), later the Crown Prince (created 675), later demoted to commoner rank (demoted 680, forced to commit suicide 684), posthumously initially honored the Prince of Yong, later honored Crown Prince Zhanghuai
    • Li Xiǎn (李顯) (note different tone than his brother) (b. 655), name changed to Li Zhe (李哲) 677, changed back to Li Xiǎn 698, changed to Wu Xian (武顯) 700, changed back to Li Xian 705, initially the Prince of Zhou (created 656), later the Prince of Ying (created 677), later the Crown Prince (created 680), later Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (enthroned 684), later demoted to Prince of Luling (demoted 684), later the Crown Prince (created 698), later emperor again (705)
    • Li Dan (李旦), né Li Xulun (李旭輪) (b. 662), name changed to Li Lun (李輪) 669, changed again to Li Dan 678, changed again to Wu Lun (武輪) 690, changed again to Wu Dan (武旦) 698, changed back to Li Dan 705, originally the Prince of Yin (created 662), later the Prince of Yu (created 666), later the Prince of Ji (created 669), later the Prince of Xiang (created 675), later the Prince of Yu (created 678), later Emperor Ruizong of Tang (enthroned 684), later demoted to Crown Prince (demoted 690), later demoted to Prince of Xiang (demoted 698), later emperor again (710)
    • Unnamed princess
    • Princess Taiping (forced to commit suicide 713)

    Titles carried, in chronological order

  • Cairen (才人) (15th ranked imperial consort) 637-649
  • Zhaoyi (昭儀) (Fourth ranked imperial consort) 650?-655
  • Empress (Huanghou (皇后)) 655-683
    • Also known as Tianhou (天后) 674-683
  • Empress dowager (Huang Taihou (皇太后)) 683-690
    • Also known as Shengmu Shenhuang (聖母神皇) 688-690
  • Emperor (Huangdi (皇帝)) 690-705
    • Shengshen Huangdi (聖神皇帝) 690-693
    • Jinlun Shengshen Huangdi (金輪聖神皇帝) 693-694
    • Yuegu Jinlun Shengshen Huangdi (越古金輪聖神皇帝) 694-695
    • Jinlun Shengshen Huangdi 695
    • Tiance Jinlun Dasheng Huangdi 695-705
    • Zetian Dasheng Huangdi (則天大聖皇帝) 705
  • Posthumous empress titles
    • Zetian Dasheng Huanghou (則天大聖皇后) 705-710
    • Tianhou (天后) 710
    • Dasheng Tianhou (大聖天后) 710-712
    • Tianhou Shengdi (天后聖帝) 712
    • Shenghou (聖后) 712-716
    • Zetian Huanghou (則天皇后) 716-749
    • Zetian Shunsheng Huanghou (則天順聖皇后) (final version)

    Books

  • Empress Wu Zetian in Fiction and in History: Female Defiance in Confucian China by Dora Shu-fang Dien (Nova Publishing, 2003) explores the life of Empress Wu Zetian and the ways women found to participate in public life, despite the societal constraints of dynastic China.
  • Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God by Jonathan Clements.
  • The noted French author Shan Sa, born in Beijing, wrote a biographical novel called "Impératrice" (French for Empress) based on Empress Wu's life. It has been translated into English as "Empress" and Japanese as Jotei: Waga na wa Sokuten Bukō (trans. "Female emperor: My name is Empress Wu Zetian").
  • A fictionalized Wu Zetian appears in Eleanor Cooney & Daniel Alteri's mystery novel "Deception: A Novel of Mystery and Madness in Ancient China"
  • Lady Wu, written by Lin Yutang, combines thoroughly researched historical data and storytelling to weave a sensually vicious portrayal of the woman who would be Emperor.
  • A fiction novel, titled The Walking Boy, by Lydia Kwa was published in 2005 by Key Porter Books, Canada.Further Information

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