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Emperess Wu Zetian
- China's Only Empres
(684-705)
A woman in power was considered unnatural.
Wu ZeTian went against Confucian beliefs and ruled China for
a period of time. It was as unnatural as "hen crow like
a rooster at daybreak". The empress was known as the
most remarkable woman in Chinese history. She was known as
ruthless, and her dominant period was only a plus.
Early Life
Empress Wu ZeTian was born in 625. Her family was of lower
standing from the Tai-Yuan. Her father was an original supporter
of Tai-tsung and her mother was a member of the Sui royal
family. At age 13, she was recruited to Tai-tsung's court
as a fifth grade concubine. At this time, ZeTian was also
having an affair with Tai-tsung's son, Kao-tsung.
Major Accomplishments
By the time Kao-tsung inherited the throne, Wu had become
his 2nd grade concubine. Kao-tsung rescued ZeTian from the
convent, where all concubines ended their days. Wu became
the new emperor's favorite concubine, and in turn, she gave
birth to many sons that Kao-tsung wanted. Even though Kao-tsung
was already married to Empress Wang, Wu soon became competitive
and disposed of Wang. Wu made up a story about Wang drowning
her newborn daughter and Kao-tsung believed her. Wu ZeTian
became the emperor's new wife.
ZeTian often helped Kao-tsung with political issues. In
659, a genealogy compilation that ranked families according
to official positions achieved by their family members.
Obviously, the first family was the Wu-hou. In 660, Wu had
anyone who stood in her way dismissed, exiled, or driven
to suicide. For 23 years(660-683), Kao-tsung often suffered
from strokes. Wu knew it often suffered from strokes. ZeTian
knew it was time for her to shine. Kao-tsung often relied
on Wu for her help on the issues of China. In 683, Emperor
Kao-tsung died. Wu's youngest and weakest son, Chung-tsung,
succeeded the throne. Chung-tsung's wife, Empress Wei, sought
to be like Empress Wu for her husband was weak as was his
father. After a month, Wu deposed of her son and put her
2nd son to the throne, Jui-tsung. During 655-675, the Tang
Empire conquered Korea under the military leaders of Wu.
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In 690, the empress usurped the throne.
She did not place in the succession line, any relatives.
Wu had no ambition on behalf of her family, she was only
determined to retain power for herself until the end. The
elder statesmen opposed having Wu as empress because her
family was not one of the great artistocratic clans. The
empress used all her authority to dispose of the elder statesmen
who still influenced the government since the reign of Tai-tsung.
She increased the patronage of the arts by building more
monasteries and Buddhist hospitals to help the common folks
of China. She ensured the mentally ill were provided for.
During Wu's reign, women in China enjoyed their freedom.
As China excelled, taxes were called for. Everyone had to
pay taxes. except anyone in the empire who had the surname
"Wu".
Death
In 700, Wu began to lose her grip on affairs. Some say she
was distracted by the Chang brothers, her newfound "toys".
In 705, she was forced out of office by her son, Chung-tsung,
and the bureaucratic faction of court. This same year, the
empress died.
After Empress Wu's death, Empress Wei was also determined
to take the throne. She wanted to take the same path as
ZeTian. She did not succeed in taking the throne.
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