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Wu Zetian (625 – December 16, 705), personal name Wu Zhao, often referred to as Tian Hou during Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant. As de facto ruler of China first through her husband and her sons from 665 to 690, not unprecedented in Chinese history, she then broke all precedents when she founded her own dynasty in 690, the Zhou (interrupting the Tang Dynasty), and ruled personally under the name Sacred and Divine Empress Regnant and variations thereof from 690 to 705.
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Wu Zetian (625 – December 16, 705), personal name Wu Zhao, often referred to as Tian Hou during Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant. As de facto ruler of China first through her husband and her sons from 665 to 690, not unprecedented in Chinese history, she then broke all precedents when she founded her own dynasty in 690, the Zhou (interrupting the Tang Dynasty), and ruled personally under the name Sacred and Divine Empress Regnant and variations thereof from 690 to 705. Her rise and reign has been criticized harshly by Confucian historians but has been viewed under a different light after the 1950s.
Wu Zetian entered the Tang palace at 13 and became a concubine of Emperor Taizong. She did not become a favorite of Taizong's, and after his death in 649, she might have been expected to spend the rest of her life as a Buddhist nun, like his other childless concubines. However, through an unlikely fortuity -- that Empress Wang, the wife and empress of Emperor Taizong's son and successor Emperor Gaozong, wanted another beautiful concubine to divert Emperor Gaozong's favors from Consort Xiao, with whom Empress Wang was having a desperate struggle, Empress Wang had her brought back to the palace and made a concubine of Emperor Gaozong. Consort Wu proceeded to defeat both Empress Wang and Consort Xiao in the struggle for Emperor Gaozong's affection, and subsequently, both Empress Wang and Consort Xiao were killed, and she was made empress. She progressively gained more and more influence over the governance of the empire throughout Emperor Gaozong's reign, and toward the end of Emperor Gaozong's reign, she was effectively making most of the major decisions. She was regarded as ruthless in her endeavors to grab power, and was believed by traditional historians to have even killed her own daughter to frame Empress Wang, and her own eldest son Li Hong in a power struggle. She subsequently had another son, Li Xian, deposed and exiled.
After Emperor Gaozong's death in 683, Empress Wu became empress dowager and proceeded to depose a third son, Emperor Zhongzong, for displaying independence. She then had her youngest son Emperor Ruizong made emperor, but was ruler not only in substance but in appearance as well, as she presided over imperial gatherings and prevented Emperor Ruizong from taking an active role in governance. In 690, she had Emperor Ruizong yield the throne to her and established the Zhou Dynasty. The early part of her reign was characterized by secret police terror, which moderated as the years went by. She was, on the other hand, recognized as a capable and attentive ruler even by traditional historians who despised her, and her ability at selecting capable men to serve as officials was admired throughout the rest of the Tang Dynasty as well as in subsequent dynasties. 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.
As Emperor Taizong's concubine
The future Wu Zetian entered Emperor Taizong's palace when she was 13 years old -- i.e., sometime between 636 and 638 -- after Emperor Taizong heard of her beauty. She was given the title of cairen, title for one of the consorts with the fifth rank in Tang's nine-rank system for imperial officials, nobles, and consorts. Emperor Taizong gave her the name Mei, meaning "pretty." (Thus, today Chinese people often refer to her as Wu Mei or Wu Meiniang when they write about her youth, whereas they refer to her as Empress Wu when referring to her as empress and empress dowager and Wu Zetian when referring to her reign as "emperor.") When she was summoned to the palace, her mother Lady Yang wept bitterly when saying farewell to her, but she responded, "How do you know that it is not my fortune to meet the Son of Heaven? Why are you crying like a young child?" Lady Yang understood her ambitions, and therefore stopped crying.
Consort Wu, however, did not appear to be much favored by Emperor Taizong, although it appeared that she did have sexual relations with him at one point. 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:
Consort Wu did not have any children with Emperor Taizong. It was said that on one occasion, when Emperor Taizong's 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 did not have children went to Ganye Temple 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 did not favor Empress Wang, and much favored his concubine Consort Xiao; further, Empress Wang did not 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, i.e. 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 would bear two more sons (Li Xian (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.
In summer 655, Consort Wu accused Empress Wang and her mother Lady Liu of using witchcraft. In response, Emperor Gaozong barred Lady Liu from the palace and demoted Liu Shi. Meanwhile, a faction of officials began to form around Consort Wu, including Li Yifu, Xu, Cui Yixuan, and Yuan Gongyu. On an occasion in fall 655, Emperor Gaozong summoned the chancellors Zhangsun, Li Ji, Yu Zhining, and Chu Suiliang to the palace -- which Chu deduced to be regarding the matter of changing the empress. Li Ji claimed an illness and refused to attend. At the meeting, Chu vehemently opposed deposing Empress Wang, while Zhangsun and Yu showed their disapproval by silence. Meanwhile, other chancellors Han Yuan and Lai Ji also opposed the move, but when Emperor Gaozong asked Li Ji again, Li Ji's response was, "This is your family matter, Your Imperial Majesty. Why ask anyone else?" Emperor Gaozong therefore became resolved. He demoted Chu to be a commandant at Tan Prefecture (??, roughly modern Changsha, Hunan), and then deposed both Empress Wang and Consort Xiao, putting them under arrest and creating Consort Wu empress instead to replace Empress Wang. (Later that year, Empress Wang and Consort Xiao were killed on orders by the new Empress Wu after Emperor Gaozong showed signs of considering to release them. After their deaths, however, Empress Wu was often haunted by them in her dreams, for the rest of Emperor Gaozong's reign, Emperor Gaozong and she often took up residence at the eastern capital Luoyang and only infrequently spent time in Chang'an.)
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.
In 657, Empress Wu and her allies began reprisals against officials who had opposed her ascension. She first had Xu and Li Yifu, who were by now chancellors, falsely accuse Han Yuan and Lai Ji of being complicit with Chu Suiliang in planning treason. The three of them, along with Liu Shi, were demoted to be prefects of remote prefectures, with provisions that they would never be allowed to return to Chang'an. In 659, she further had Xu accuse Zhangsun Wuji of plotting treason with the low level officials Wei Jifang and Li Chao. Zhangsun was exiled and, later in the year, was forced to commit suicide in exile. Xu further implicated Chu, Liu, Han, and Yu Zhining in the plot as well. Chu, who had died in 658, was posthumously stripped of his titles, and his sons Chu Yanfu and Chu Yanchong were executed. Orders were also issued to execute Liu and Han, although Han died before the execution order reached his location. It was said that after this point, no official dared to criticize the emperor any longer. In 660, Li Zhong, who had been fearful that he would be next and had sought out advice of fortunetellers, was also exiled and put under house arrest.
Also in 660, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu toured Bian Prefecture (i.e., Taiyuan), and Empress Wu had the opportunity to invite her old neighbors and relatives to a feast. Later that year, Emperor Gaozong began to suffer from an illness that carried the symptoms of painful headache and loss of vision, generally thought to be hypertension-related, 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.
By 664, however, Empress Wu was said to be so interfering in the imperial governance that she was angering Emperor Gaozong. Further, she had engaged the Taoist sorcerer Guo Xingzhen in using witchcraft -- an act that was prohibited by regulations and which had led to Empress Wang's downfall -- and the eunuch Wang Fusheng reported this to Emperor Gaozong, further angering him. He consulted the chancellor Shangguan Yi, who suggested that he depose Empress Wu. He had Shangguan draft an edict, but as Shangguan was doing so, Empress Wu received news of what was happening, and she went to him to plead her case, as he was holding the edict that Shangguan had drafted. Emperor Gaozong could not bear to depose her, and therefore blamed the episode on Shangguan. As both Shangguan and Wang had served on Li Zhong's staff, Empress Wu had Xu falsely accuse Shangguan, Wang, and Li Zhong of planning treason. Shangguan, Wang, and Shangguan's son Shangguan Tingzhi were executed, while Li Zhong was forced to commit suicide. (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 would sit behind a curtain behind Emperor Gaozong, and they became referred to by the public as the "Two Holy Ones" (??, Er Sheng).
Meanwhile, on Empress Wu's account, her mother Lady Yang had been created the Lady of Rong, and her older sister, now widowed, the Lady of Han. Her brothers Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang and cousins Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun, despite the poor relations that they had with Lady Yang, were promoted. However, at a feast that Lady Yang held for them, Wu Weiliang offended Lady Yang by stating that they did not find it honorable for them to be promoted on account of Empress Wu. Empress Wu therefore requested to have them demoted to remote prefectures -- outwardly to show modesty, but in reality to avenge the offense to her mother. Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang died in effective exile. Meanwhile, in or before 666, Lady of Han died as well, and after her death, Emperor Gaozong created her daughter the Lady of Wei and considered keeping her in the palace -- possibly as a concubine -- but did not immediately do so as he feared that Empress Wu would be displeased. It was said that Empress Wu heard of this and was nevertheless displeased, and she had the Lady of Wei poisoned, by placing poison in food offerings that Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun had made, and then blaming Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun for the murder. Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun were executed.
Also in 666, when Emperor Gaozong offered sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth at Mount Tai, Empress Wu, in an unprecedented action, offered sacrifices after him, with Princess Dowager Yan, the mother of Emperor Gaozong's brother Li Zhen the Prince of Yue, offering sacrifices after her.
In 670, Lady Yang died, and by Emperor Gaozong's orders, all of the imperial officials and their wives attended her wake and mourned her. Later that year, with the realm suffering from a major draught, Empress Wu offered to be deposed, an offer Emperor Gaozong rejected. He further posthumously honored Wu Shihuo (who had previously been posthumously honored the Duke of Zhou) and Lady Yang the Prince and Princess of Taiyuan.
Meanwhile, the Lady of Han's son Helan Minzhi had been given the surname of Wu and allowed to inherit the title of Duke of Zhou. However, as it was becoming clear that he was suspecting Empress Wu of having murdered his sister, Empress Wu began to take precautions against him, who was also said to have had an incestuous relationship with his grandmother Lady Yang. In 671, Helan Minzhi was accused of having disobeyed regulations on mourning during Lady Yang's mourning period, and also of raping the daughter of the official Yang Sijian, whom Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu had previously selected to be the wife and crown princess for Li Hong. Helan Minzhi was exiled and either was executed in exile or committed suicide. In 674, Empress Wu had Wu Yuanshuang's son Wu Chengsi recalled from exile to inherit the title of Duke of Zhou.
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 was not 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.
In 675, with Emperor Gaozong's illness getting worse, he considered having Empress Wu formally rule as regent. The chancellor Hao Chujun and the official Li Yiyan both opposed, and he did not formally make her regent. However, she began engaging a number of mid-level officials who were literarily talented, including Yuan Wanqing, Liu Yizhi, Fan Lübing, Miao Chuke, Zhou Simao, and Han Chubin, to write a number of works on her behalf, including the Biographies of Notable Women, Guidelines for Imperial Subjects, and New Teachings for Official Staff Members. Collectively, they became known as the "North Gate Scholars", because they served inside the palace, which was to the north of the imperial government buildings, and Empress Wu sought advice from them to divert the powers of the chancellors.
Also in 675, a number of persons would fall victim to Empress Wu's ire. Empress Wu had been displeased at the favor that Emperor Gaozong had shown his aunt Princess Changle, who had married the general Zhao Gui and whose daughter had become the wife and princess of her third son Li Xian the Prince of Zhou. Princess Zhao was therefore accused of unspecified crimes and put under arrest, and was eventually starved to death. Zhao Gui and Princess Changle were exiled. Meanwhile, later that month, Li Hong the Crown Prince, who had been trying to urge Empress Wu not to exercise so much influence on Emperor Gaozong's governance and who had offended Empress Wu by requesting that his half-sisters, Consort Xiao's daughters Princess Yiyang and Xuancheng, who had been under house arrest, be allowed to marry, died suddenly. Traditional historians generally believed that Empress Wu poisoned Li Hong to death. Li Xián, then carrying the title of Prince of Yong, was created crown prince. Meanwhile, Consort Xiao's son LI Sujie and another son of Emperor Gaozong's, Li Shangjin, were repeatedly accused by her of crimes and demoted.
Empress Wu's relationship with Li Xián also soon deteriorated, as Li Xián had become unsettled after hearing rumors that he was not actually born of Empress Wu but of her sister the Lady of Han, and when Empress Wu heard of his fearfulness, she became angry at him. Further, the sorcerer Ming Chongyan, whom both she and Emperor Gaozong respected and who had stated that Li Xián was unsuitable to inherit the throne, was assassinated in 679, and the assassins were not caught -- causing her to suspect Li Xián to be behind the assassination. In 680, Li Xián was accused of crimes, and during investigation by the officials Xue Yuanchao, Pei Yan, and Gao Zhizhou, a large number of armors were found in Li Xián's palace, and Empress Wu formally accused Li Xián of treason and of assassinating Ming. Li Xián was deposed and exiled, and LI Xian (who had by now been renamed Li Zhe) was created crown prince.
In 681, Princess Taiping was married to Xue Shao, the son of Emperor Gaozong's sister Princess Chengyang, in a grand ceremony. Empress Wu, initially unimpressed with the lineages of Xue Shao's brothers' wives, wanted to order his brothers to divorce their wives -- stopping only after it was pointed out to her that Lady Xiao, the wife of Xue Shao's older brother Xue Yi, was a grandniece of the deceased chancellor Xiao Yu.
In late 683, Emperor Gaozong died while at Luoyang. Li Zhe took the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong), but Empress Wu retained actual authority as empress dowager and regent.
As Empress Dowager
Immediately, Emperor Zhongzong showed signs of disobeying Empress Dowager Wu -- including an insistence on making his father-in-law Wei Xuanzhen Shizhong (??, the head of the examination bureau of government (???, 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:
Pei reported this to Empress Dowager Wu, and she, after planning with Pei, Liu Yizhi, and the generals Cheng Wuting and Zhang Qianxu, deposed him and replaced him with her youngest son Li Dan the Prince of Yu (as Emperor Ruizong). Emperor Zhongzong was reduced to the title of Prince of Luling and exiled. Empress Dowager Wu also sent the general Qiu Shenji to Li Xián's place in exile and forced Li Xián to commit suicide. Despite Emperor Ruizong's being titularly emperor, Empress Dowager Wu held onto power even more firmly, and the officials were not allowed to meet with Emperor Ruizong, nor was he allowed to rule on matters of state. Rather, the matters of state were ruled on by Empress Dowager Wu. At the suggestion of her nephew Wu Chengsi, she also expanded the ancestral shrine of the Wu ancestors and gave them greater posthumous honors.
Soon thereafter, Li Ji's grandson Li Jingye the Duke of Ying, who had been disaffected by his own exile, started a rebellion at Yang Prefecture (??, roughly modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) -- a rebellion that initially drew much popular support in the region. However, Li Jingye progressed slowly in his attack and did not take advantage of that popular support. Meanwhile, Pei suggested to Empress Dowager Wu that she return imperial authorities to Empress Dowager Wu and argued that doing so would cause the rebellion to collapse on its own, offending her, and she accused him of being complicit with Li Jingye and had him executed -- and demoted, exiled, and killed a number of officials who, when Pei was arrested, tried to speak on his behalf. She sent the general Li Xiaoyi to attack Li Jingye, and while Li Xiaoyi was initially unsuccessful, he pushed on at the urging of his assistant Wei Yuanzhong and was eventually able to crush Li Jingye's forces. Li Jingye fled and was killed in flight.
By 685, Empress Dowager Wu began to carry on an affair with the Buddhist monk Huaiyi, and during the next few years, Huaiyi would be progressively bestowed with greater and greater honors.
In 686, Empress Dowager Wu offered to return imperial authorities to Emperor Ruizong, but Emperor Ruizong, knowing that she did not 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.
In 688, when Empress Dowager Wu was set to make sacrifices to the god of the Luo River (??, flowing through Luoyang), she summoned senior members of Tang's Li imperial clan to Luoyang, and the imperial princes, already concerned that she was considering slaughtering them and taking the throne herself, plotted to resist her. However, before a rebellion could be comprehensively planned out, Li Zhen and his son Li Chong the Prince of Langye rose first, at their respective posts as prefects of Yu Prefecture (??, roughly modern Zhumadian, Henan) and Bo Prefecture (??, roughly modern Liaocheng, Shandong). The other princes were not yet ready, however, and did not rise, and forces sent by Empress Dowager Wu and the local forces crushed Li Chong and Li Zhen's forces quickly. Empress Dowager Wu took this opportunity to arrest Emperor Gaozong's granduncles Li Yuanjia the Prince of Han, Li Lingkui the Prince of Lu, and Princess Changle, as well as many other members of the Li clan and forced them to commit suicide. Even Princess Taiping's husband Xue Shao was implicated and starved to death. In the subsequent years, there continued to be many politically motivated massacres of officials and Li clan members.
In 690, Empress Dowager Wu's cousin's son Zong Qinke submitted a number of modified Chinese characters intended to showcase Empress Dowager Wu's greatness. She adopted them, and she took one of the modified characters, Zhao, to be her formal name (i.e., the name by which the people would exercise naming taboo on). ? was made from two other characters: Ming on top, meaning "light" or "clarity," and Kong on the bottom, meaning "sky." The implication appeared to be that she would be like the light shining from the sky. (Zhao, meaning "shine," from which ? was derived, might have been her original name, but evidence of that is inconclusive.) Later that year, after successive petition drives, initially started by the low-level official Fu Youyi, began to occur in waves, asking her to take the throne herself, Emperor Ruizong offered to take the name of Wu as well. On August 18, 690, she approved of the requests. She changed the name of the state to Zhou, claiming ancestry from Zhou Dynasty, and took the throne herself as "emperor" (with the title of Emperor Shengshen). Emperor Ruizong was reduced made crown prince with the atypical title of Huangsi. This thus interrupted Tang Dynasty, and she became the first (and only) woman to reign over China as "emperor."
As Emperor of Zhou Dynasty
Traditional Chinese order of succession (akin to the Salic law in Europe) did not allow a woman to ascend the throne, but Wu Zetian was determined to quash the opposition, and the use of the secret police did not 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 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).
She faced the issue of succession. At the time she took the throne, she created Li Dan, the former Emperor Ruizong, crown prince, and bestowed the name of Wu on him. However, the official Zhang Jiafu instigated the commoner Wang Qingzhi into starting a petition drive to make her nephew Wu Chengsi crown prince, arguing that an emperor named Wu should pass the throne to a member of the Wu clan. Wu Zetian was tempted to do so, and when the chancellors Cen Changqian and Ge Fuyuan opposed sternly, they, along with fellow chancellor Ouyang Tong, were executed. Nevertheless, she declined Wang's request to make Wu Chengsi crown prince, but for a time allowed Wang to freely enter the palace to see her. On one occasion, however, when Wang angered her by coming to the palace too much, she asked the official Li Zhaode to batter Wang -- and Li Zhaode took the opportunity to batter Wang to death, and his group of petitioners scattered. Li Zhaode then persuaded Wu Zetian to keep Li Dan as crown prince -- pointing out that a son was closer in relations than a nephew, and also that if Wu Chengsi became emperor, Emperor Gaozong would never again be worshipped. Wu Zetian agreed, and for some time did not again consider the matter. Further, at Li Zhaode's warning that Wu Chengsi was becoming too powerful, Wu Zetian stripped Wu Chengsi of his chancellor authority and bestowed on him largely honorific titles without actual authority.
Meanwhile, the powers of the secret police officials continued, but appeared to be curbed starting about 692, when Lai Junchen was foiled in his attempt to have the chancellors Ren Zhigu, Di Renjie, Pei Xingben, and other officials Cui Xuanli, Lu Xian, Wei Yuanzhong, and Li Sizhen executed, as Di, under arrest, hid a secret petition inside a change of clothes and had it submitted by his son Di Guangyuan. The seven were still exiled, but after this incident, particularly at the urging of Li Zhaode, Zhu Jingze, and Zhou Ju, the waves of politically-motivated massacres decreased, although did not end entirely.
Also in 692, Wu Zetian commissioned the general Wang Xiaojie to attack Tufan, and Wang recaptured the four garrisons of Xiyu that had fallen to Tufan in 670 -- Qiuzi, Yutian, Shule, and Suiye.
In 693, after Wu Zetian's trusted lady in waiting Wei Tuan'er, who hated Li Dan (the reason why she did so is lost to history), falsely accused Li Dan's wife Crown Princess Liu and Consort Dou of using witchcraft, Wu Zetian had Crown Princess Liu and Consort Dou killed. Li Dan, fearful that he was to be next, did not dare to speak of them. When Wei further planned to falsely accuse Li Dan, however, someone else informed on her, and she was executed. Wu Zetian nevertheless had Li Dan's sons demoted in their princely titles, and when the officials Pei Feigong and Fan Yunxian were accused of secretly meeting Li Dan, she executed Pei and Fan and further barred officials from meeting Li Dan. There were then accusations that Li Dan was plotting treason, and under Wu Zetian's direction, Lai launched an investigation. Lai 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. One of Li Dan's servants, An Jinzang, however, proclaimed Li Dan's innocence and cut his own belly open to swear the that fact. When Wu Zetian heard of what An did, she had doctors attend to An and barely saved his life, and then ordered Lai to end the investigation, thus saving Li Dan.
In 694, Li Zhaode, who had become powerful after Wu Chengsi's removal, was himself thought to be too powerful, and Wu Zetian removed him. Also around this time, she became highly impressed with a group of mystic individuals -- the hermit Wei Shifang (on whom she bestowed a chancellor title briefly), who claimed to be over 350 years old; an old Buddhist nun who claimed to be a Buddha and capable of predicting the future; and a non-Han man who claimed to be 500 years old. However, in 695, after the imperial meeting hall and the Heavenly Hall were burned by Huaiyi (who was jealous at Wu Zetian's taking on another lover, the imperial physician Shen Nanqiu), Wu Zetian became angry at these individuals for failing to predict the fire; the old nun and her students were arrested and made into slaves; Wei committed suicide; and the old non-Han man fled. Subsequently, she also put Huaiyi to death. After this incident, she appeared to pay less attention to mysticism and was even more dedicated than before to the affairs of state.
Middle reign
However, Wu Zetian's administration was soon in for various troubles on the western and then northern borders. In spring 696, an army she sent, commanded by Wang Xiaojie and Lou Shide against Tufan, was soundly defeated by Tufan generals, ther brothers Lun Qinling and Lun Zanpo, and as a result, she demoted Wang to commoner rank and Lou to be a low level prefectural official, although she eventually restored both of them to general positions.
A much more serious threat arose in summer 696. The Khitan chieftains Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong, brothers-in-law, angry over the mistreatment of the Khitan people by the Zhou official Zhao Wenhui, the prefect of Ying Prefecture (??, roughly modern Zhaoyang, Liaoning), rebelled, with Li assuming the title of Wushang Khan. Armies that Wu Zetian sent to suppress Li and Sun's rebellion were defeated by Khitan forces, which in turn attacked Zhou proper. Meanwhile, the Eastern Tujue khan Ashina Mochuo offered to submit, and yet was also launching attacks against Zhou and Khitan -- including an attack against Khitan base of operations in winter 696 shortly after Li's death at that time that captured Li's and Sun's families and temporarily halted Khitan operations against Zhou. Sun, after taking over as khan and reorganizing Khitan forces, again attacked Zhou territory and had many victories over Zhou forces, including a battle during which Wang Shijie was killed. 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.
Meanwhile, also in 697, Lai Junchen, who had at one point lost power but had then returned to power, falsely accused Li Zhaode (who had been pardoned) of crimes, and then planned to falsely accuse Li Dan, Li Zhe, the Wu clan princes, and Princess Taiping, of treason. The Wu clan princes and Princess Taiping acted first against him, accusing him of crimes, and he and Li Zhaode were executed together. After Lai's death, the reign of the secret police largely ended, and many of the victims of Lai and the other secret police officials were gradually exonerated posthumously. Meanwhile, around this time, Wu Zetian began to engage herself with two new lovers -- the brothers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, who became honored within the palace and were eventually created dukes.
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 Xian and then Wu Xian.
Meanwhile, as per the peace treaty with Eastern Tujue, Wu Zetian sent her grandnephew Wu Yanxiu to Eastern Tujue to marry one of Ashina Mochuo's daughters -- but Ashina Mochuo had no actual intention to cement the treaty with a marriage; instead, when Wu Yanxiu arrived, he detained Wu Yanxiu and then launched a major attack on Zhou, advancing as far south as Zhao Prefecture (??, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) before withdrawing.
In 699, however, at least the Tufan threat would cease. The Tufan king 'Dus-rong Mang-po-rje, unhappy that Lun Qinling was monopolizing power, took an opportunity when Lun Qinling was away from the capital Lhasa to slaughter Lun Qinling's associates. He then defeated Lun Qinling in battle, and Lun Qinling committed suicide. Lun Zanpo and Lun Qinling's son Lun Gongren surrendered to Zhou. After this, Tufan was under internal turmoil for several years, and there was peace for Zhou on the Tufan border.
Also in 699, Wu Zetian, realizing that she was growing old, feared that after her death, Li Xian and the Wu clan princes would not be able to have peace with each other, and she made him, Li Dan, Princess Taiping, Princess Taiping's second husband Wu Youji (a nephew of hers) the Prince of Ding, and other Wu clan princes to swear an oath to each other.
Late reign
As Wu Zetian grew older, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong became increasingly powerful, and even the princes of the Wu clan flattered them. She also increasingly relied on them to handle the affairs of state. This was secretly discussed and criticized by her grandson Li Chongrun the Prince of Shao (Li Xian's son), granddaughter Li Xianhui the Lady Yongtai (Li Chongrun's sister), and Li Xianhui's husband Wu Yanji the Prince of Wei (Wu Zetian's grandnephew and Wu Chengsi's son), but somehow the discussion was leaked, and Zhang Yizhi reported this to Wu Zetian. She ordered the three of them to commit suicide.
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.
By 703, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong had become resentful of Wei Yuanzhong, who by now was a senior chancellor, for dressing down their brother Zhang Changyi and rejecting the promotion of another brother Zhang Changqi. They were also fearful that if Wu Zetian died, Wei would find a way to execute them, and therefore accused Wei and Gao Jian, an official favored by Princess Taiping, of speculating on Wu Zetian's old age and death. They initially got Wei's subordinate Zhang Shuo to agree to corroborate the charges, but once Zhang Shuo was before Wu Zetian, he instead accused Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong of forcing him to bear false witness. As a result, Wei, Gao, and Zhang Shuo were exiled, but escaped death.
Removal and death
In fall 704, there began to be accusations of corruption levied against Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, as well as their brothers Zhang Changqi, Zhang Changyi, and Zhang Tongxiu. Zhang Tongxiu and Zhang Changyi were demoted, but even though the officials Li Chengjia and Huan Yanfan advocated that Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong be removed as well, Wu Zetian, taking the suggestion of the chancellor Yang Zaisi, did not remove them. Subsequently, charges of corruption against Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were renewed by the chancellor Wei Anshi.
In winter 704, Wu Zetian became seriously ill for a period, and only the Zhang brothers were allowed to see her; the chancellors were not. This led to speculation that Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were plotting to take over the throne, and there were repeated accusations of treason. Once her conditions became better, Cui Xuanwei advocated that only Li Xian and Li Dan be allowed to attend to her -- a suggestion that she did not accept. After further accusations against the Zhang brothers by Huan and Song Jing, Wu Zetian allowed Song to investigate, but before the investigation was completed, she issued a pardon for Zhang Yizhi, derailing Song's investigation.
By spring 705, Wu Zetian was again seriously ill. Zhang Jianzhi, Jing Hui, and Yuan Shuji, planned a coup to kill the Zhang brothers. They convinced the generals Li Duozuo, Li Dan (??, note different character than the former emperor), and Yang Yuanyan and another chancellor, Yao Yuanzhi, to be involved. With agreement from Li Xian as well, they acted on February 20,, killing Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, and then had Changsheng Hall, 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, but was nevertheless honored with the title of Empress Regnant Zetian Dasheng. On March 3, Tang Dynasty was restored, ending Zhou. She died on December 16, and, pursuant to a final edict issued in her name, was no longer referred to as emperor, but instead as Empress Zetian Dasheng. In 706, Wu Zetian's son Emperor Zhongzong had Wu Zetian interred in a joint burial with his father Emperor Gaozong at the Qianling, located near the capital Chang'an on Mount Liang. Emperor Zhongzong also buried at Qianling his brother Li Xián, son Li Chongrun, and daughter Li Xianhui the Lady Yongtai (posthumously honored as the Princess Yongtai) — victims of Wu Zetian's wrath.
Evaluation
Although short-lived, the Zhou Dynasty, according to some historians, resulted in better equality between the sexes during the succeeding Tang Dynasty.
Considering the events of her life, literary allusions to Wu Zetian can carry several connotations: a woman who has inappropriately overstepped her bounds, the hypocrisy of preaching compassion while simultaneously engaging in a pattern of corrupt and vicious behavior, and ruling by pulling strings in the background. For many centuries, Wu was used by the Chinese establishment as an example of what can go wrong when a woman is placed in charge. Such sexist opposition to her was only lifted during the late 1960s, when Mao Zedong's wife Jiang Qing rehabilitated Wu as part of a propaganda campaign to suggest herself as a successor to her ailing husband. In his biography Wu, British author Jonathan Clements has pointed out that these wildly differing uses of a historical figure have often led to schizophrenic and often hysterical characterisations. Many alleged "poisonings" and other incidents, such as the premature death of her daughter, may have rational explanations -- for example, Empress Wang did smother the child -- but have been twisted by later opponents. Clements also notes the changing status of Wu Zetian in Chinese historiography -- modern TV drama and movies about her (of which there are many) usually present her as a Cinderella-figure for the entertainment of a female audience, and not the bugbear of old.
The traditional Chinese historical view on her was generally mixed -- admiring her for her abilities in governing the state, but vilifying her for her actions in doing so. Typical was a commentary by the Later Jin Dynasty historian Liu Xu, the lead editor of the Book of Tang:
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 | Wu Zhào(??) | 690-705 |
Tianshòu: Oct. 16, 690 - Apr. 21, 692 (18 months)
Rúyì: Apr. 22 - Oct. 22, 692 (6 months)
Chángshòu: Oct. 23, 692 - Jun. 8, 694 (19 ½ months)
Yánzài: Jun. 9, 694 - Jan. 21, 695 (7 ½ months)
Zhèngshèng: Jan. 22 - Oct. 21, 695 (9 months)
Tiancèwànsuì: Oct. 22, 695 - Jan. 19, 696 (3 months)
Wànsuìdengfeng: Jan. 20 - Apr. 21, 696 (3 months)
Wànsuìtongtian: Apr. 22, 696 - Sept. 28, 697 (17 months)
Shéngong: Sept. 29 - Dec. 19, 697 (2 ½ months)
Shènglì: Dec. 20, 697 - May 26, 700 (29 months)
Jiushì: May 27, 700 - Feb. 14, 701 (8 ½ months)
Dàzú: Feb. 15 - Nov. 25, 701 (9 months ½)
Cháng'an: Nov. 26, 701 - Jan. 29, 705 (38 months)
Shénlóng: 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
- Cen Changqian (690-691)
- Wu Chengsi (690-692, 697)
- Xing Wenwei (690)
- Wu Youning (690-691, 691-692, 698-699)
- Fu Youyi (690-691)
- Shi Wuzi (690-691)
- Zong Qinke (690)
- Le Sihui (691)
- Ren Zhigu (691-692)
- Ge Fuyuan (691)
- Ouyang Tong (691)
- Pei Xingben (691-692)
- Di Renjie (691-692, 697-700)
- Yang Zhirou (692)
- Li Youdao (692)
- Yuan Zhihong (692)
- Cui Shenji (692)
- Cui Yuanzong (692-694)
- Li Zhaode (692-694)
- Yao Shu (692, 694-697)
- Li Yuansu (692, 694-696)
- Wang Xuan (692)
- Lou Shide (693-696, 697-699)
- Wei Juyuan (693-694, 700)
- Lu Yuanfang (693-694, 699-700)
- Doulu Qinwang (693-694, 697-698, 699-700)
- Su Weidao (693-694, 698-704)
- Wang Xiaojie (693-696)
- Wei Shifang (694)
- Yang Zaisi (694-699, 704-705)
- Du Jingjian (694, 697-698)
- Zhou Yunyuan (694-695)
- Sun Yuanheng (696)
- Wang Fangqing (696-698)
- Li Daoguang (696-698)
- Wang Jishan (697-699)
- Zong Chuke (697-698, 704)
- Wu Sansi (697, 698-700)
- Yao Chong (698-704, 704-705)
- Li Jiao (698-700, 703-704)
- Ji Xu (699-700)
- Wei Yuanzhong (699-703)
- Zhang Xi (700-701)
- Wei Anshi (700-705)
- Li Huaiyuan (701)
- Gu Cong (701-702)
- Li Jiongxiu (701-704)
- Zhu Jingze (703-704)
- Tang Xiujing (703-705)
- Wei Sili (704)
- Cui Xuanwei (704-705)
- Zhang Jianzhi (704-705)
- Fang Rong (704-705)
- Wei Chengqing (704-705)
- Yuan Shuji (705)
Personal information
- Father
- Wu Shiyue (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 Shiyue'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 (name changed 685), the Duke of Liang (created 688) then the Duke of E (created 690, killed 695)
- Shen Nanqiu, 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 (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 (note different tone than his brother) (b. 653), name changed to Li De 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 Xian (note different tone than his brother) (b. 655), name changed to Li Zhe 677, changed back to Li Xian 698, changed to Wu Xian 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, né Li Xulun (b. 662), name changed to Li Lun 669, changed again to Li Dan 678, changed again to Wu Lun 690, changed again to Wu Dan 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 (15th ranked imperial consort) 637-649
- Zhaoyi (Fourth ranked imperial consort) 650?-655
- Empress (Huanghou) 655-683
- Also known as Tianhou 674-683
- Empress dowager (Huang Taihou) 683-690
- Also known as Shengmu Shenhuang 688-690
- Emperor (Huangdi) 690-705
- Shengshen Huangdi 690-693
- Jinlun Shengshen Huangdi 693-694
- Yuegu Jinlun Shengshen Huangdi (????????) 694-695
- Jinlun Shengshen Huangdi 695
- Tiance Jinlun Dasheng Huangdi 695-705
- Zetian Dasheng Huangdi 705
- Posthumous empress titles
- Zetian Dasheng Huanghou 705-710
- Tianhou 710
- Dasheng Tianhou 710-712
- Tianhou Shengdi 712
- Shenghou 712-716
- Zetian Huanghou 716-749
- Zetian Shunsheng Huanghou (final version)
Books
- Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God by Jonathan Clements offers a critical appraisal of many primary sources and includes an appendix comparing fictional accounts.
- A fictionalized Wu Zetian appears in Eleanor Cooney & Daniel Alteri's mystery novel Deception: A Novel of Mystery and Madness in Ancient China
- 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.
- A fiction novel, titled The Walking Boy, by Lydia Kwa was published in 2005 by Key Porter Books, Canada.
- 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.
- Wu Zhao: China's Only Woman Emperor, written by N. Harry Rothschild and published 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.
- Empress of China: Wu Ze Tian, by Jiang, Cheng An, Victory Press 1998
- The 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 Buko (trans. "Female emperor: My name is Empress Wu Zetian").
See also
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