It is not likely Wu was involved in the disgrace of Taizongs unpleasant eldest son, Cheng-qian, whose teenage rebellion against his father had taken the form of the ostentatious embrace of life as lived by Mongol nomads. Not the United States, of course, but one thinks readily enough of Hatshepsut of ancient Egypt, Russias astonishing Catherine the Great, or Trung Tracof Vietnam. Related Content World Eras. Ancient China: Empress Wu Zetian Biography - Ducksters She not only created many different cultural and political policies, but she displayed what a women could do in government. The efficiency of her court declined as she spent more and more time with the Zhang brothers and became addicted to different kinds of aphrodisiacs. "Empress Wu (Wu Zhao) emperor angelfish (Pomecanthus imperator) See CHAETODONTIDAE. Before Smithsonian.com, Dash authored the award-winning blog A Blast From the Past. In 690 C.E., Zetian forced Li Dan to abdicate the throne to her, and declared herself the founding empress of the Zhou dynasty. These criteria no doubt favored the aristocratic families. She reformed the structure of the government and got rid of anyone she felt was not carrying out their duties and so reduced government spending and increased efficiency. At one point, to the horror of her generals, Wu proposed raising a military corps from among Chinas numerous eunuchs. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Wus memorial tablet, which stands near her tomb, was erected during her years as empress in the expectation that her successors would compose a magnificent epitaph for it. This is very similar to the story of the Empress Lu Zhi (l. 241-180 BCE) of the Han Dynasty who got rid of her rival Qizi in the same way (although Qizi was drowned in a pigsty and had her eyes gouged out as well). ." She changed the compulsory mourning period for mothers who predeceased fathers from the traditional one year to three yearsthe same length as the mourning for fathers who predeceased mothers. Mark, E. (2016, March 17). She attracted the attention of many of the young men at court and one of these was the Prince Li Zhi, son of Taizong, who would become the next emperor, Gaozong. Her usurpation marked a significant social revolution, the rise of a new class, which the empress tried to use in her struggle against the traditionalist, northwest nobility. Picking through the bias to try to get to the real story is always fascinating and - in my mind - fun. Zhou Dynasty. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. For example, at the statues eye opening ceremony which dedicated the monument, the ruler was ritualistically seen to have been given the right to rule through the divine mandate of the Buddha icon. Theodora. and turned the, Wang Mang (45 B.C.-A.D. 23) was a Chinese statesman and emperor. It may be helpful to consider that there were in effect two empressesthe one who maintained a reign of terror over the innermost circle of government, and the one who ruled more benignly over 50 million Chinese commoners. Vol. The Confucian dynastic system of government, based on the mandate of heaven, or the claim of heaven-sanctioned military conquest and benevolent rule, was first propounded by the Zhou Dynasty in 1045 bce and perpetuated by subsequent dynasties until 1911. No area of Chinese life was untouched by Empress Wu and her reforms were so popular because the suggestions came from the people. The development of the examination system during her reign was a critical step in the eventual transformation of the aristocracy to a meritocracy in the government. They came to power, mostly, by default or stealth; a king had no sons, or an intelligent queen usurped the powers of her useless husband. An active imagination produced pornographic novels in the 16th century focusing on her alleged sexual practices. The poet Luo Binwangone of the Four Greats of Early Tang and best known for his Ode to the Gooselaunched a virulent attack on the empress. They also functioned as powerful reminders of imperial power. "Wu Zetian." When Taizong died, Gaozong became emperor, and Wu Zetian joined a Buddhist nunnery, as required of concubines of deceased emperors. Traditional historians grudgingly acknowledged that she surpassed her sons, the legitimate heirs, in both vision and statecraft. . A brother or a clan grandson at times ascended the throne during usurpation or when the emperor died without issue, but female succession through descent from a daughter was never permitted. Liu, Xu. His rule covered a span of 63 years, a reign lo, Zhao Kuang-yin 3, no. She was also assured that her sons would rule the country after the death of her husband. Shanghai: Sibu congkan ed., 1929. After this event Wu became Empress and shared Imperial power equally with her emperor. To reinforce her legitimacy, Wu Zetian also invented about a dozen characters with a new script. "Kao-tsung and the Empress Wu," in Denis Twitchett, ed. In her last years Wu lost influence, although she remained energetic and cruel. It is also generally accepted that Ruizongs wife, Empress Liu, and chief consort, Dou, were executed at Wus behest in 693 on trumped-up charges of witchcraft. Although she gave political clout to some women, such as her capable secretary, she did not go as far as challenging the Confucian tradition of excluding women from participating in the civil service examinations. Wu also accused Lady Wang and her mother of practicing witchcraft and implicated Lady Xiao; Lady Wang was found guilty of all the charges and so were the others. Wu also took back lands which had been invaded by the Goturks under the reign of Taizong and distributed them so that they were not all held by the aristocrats. Their antagonism toward a female ruler eventually would find its way into the histories which recorded her reign and become the 'facts' which future generations would accept as truth. Empress Lu Zhi (241-180 B.C.) Her overall rule, in spite of the change of dynasty, did not result in a radical break from Tang domestic prosperity and foreign prestige. A woman in the most powerful position in government threatened the traditional patriarchy and the court counselors, ministers, and historians claimed Wu had upset the balance of nature by assuming a power which belonged to a man. 290332. empress wu primary sources - tiba-constructions.com World Eras. The Tang empire in 700, at the end of Wus reign. Why should you weep for me?" https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/empress-wu-wu-zhao, "Empress Wu (Wu Zhao) The emperor's concubines could not be passed on to be used by others but were forced to end their time at court and start a new life of chastity in a religious order. But 28 other consorts still stood between her and the throne. She has published historical essays and poetry. Empress Wu rose to power through ruthless tactics to move her from the emperor's concubine, to the emperor's consort, and eventually to the position of empress of China. Buddhism was carried into East Asia by merchants and Buddhist monks traveling the Silk Road from Northern India, Persia, Kashmir and Inner Asia. Favoring the power base in the Northeast, the royal family finally moved to Luoyang in 683. She killed her sister, butchered her elder brothers, murdered the ruler, poisoned her mother, the chronicles say. $1.99. She improved the public education system by hiring dedicated teachers and reorganizing the bureaucracy and teaching methods. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. But is the empress unfairly maligned? Her one mistake had been to marry this boy to a concubine nearly as ruthless and ambitious as herself. The Tang emperor Taizong was the first to promote Wu, whom he gave the nickname Fair Flatterera reference not to her personal qualities but to the lyrics of a popular song of the day. The scholar N. Henry Rothschild writes, "The message was clear: A woman in a position of paramount power was an abomination, an aberration of natural and human order" (108). Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. These monumental statues, like the one carved into the mountain at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, which was destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, alerted the populous to the dominance of Buddhism. No-one knows what secrets it holds, for like many of the tombs of the most celebrated Chinese rulers, including that of the First Emperor himself, it has never been plundered or opened by archaeologists. and to pray for permanent world peace. Princess Taiping put an end to her plans when she had Wei and her family murdered and put her brother Ruizong on the throne. Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter! Running a website with millions of readers every month is expensive. Books We would much rather spend this money on producing more free history content for the world. Removing the legitimate heir, she took the name of Emperor Zetian and founded the Zhou dynasty in 690, becoming the first and only female emperor in Chinese history. By transferring the normal seat of the court from Changan to Luoyang, she was able to escape the control of the great families of the northwestern aristocracy, which played an important role in the rise of the Tang dynasty. World History Encyclopedia, 22 Feb 2016. Wu Zetian - World History Encyclopedia It was used for religious rites supervised by her lover Xue Huaiyi. Chen, Jo-shui. Mike Dash When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. While Confucian historians condemned her usurpation, extravagance, and scandal, Wu Zhao has been credited for providing strong leadership and ruling during an age of relative peace and prosperity. Overall Wu Zetian was a decisive, capable ruler in the roles of empress, empress dowager, and emperor. The Turkic chieftain was insulted by the fact that the groom did not come from the Li-Tang imperial family but descended from what he perceived to be the inferior Wu clan, so he promptly imprisoned the unlucky groom and in 698 returned him to China. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/wu-zetian-624-705, "Wu Zetian (624705) Hauppauge : Nova Science Publishers, 2003; Richard Guisso, Wu Tse-Tien and the Politics of Legitimation in Tang China. Wu Zetian died within a year. Image taken from An 18th-century album of portraits of 86 emperors of China, with Chinese historical notes. Web. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. And does she deserve the harsh verdict that history has passed on her? The most spectacular are the stone temples and statues chiseled into grottoes at Longmen, near her capital. In 690, she declared herself emperor after deposing her sons and founding her own dynastyZhou. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1984. Her mother ne Yang was of aristocratic birth with mixed Chinese and Turkic blood, the result of generations of intermarriage when five nomadic tribes overran north China and founded dynasties in the 4th to 6th centuries. 145154. According to the histories of the period, Wu smothered her own week-old daughter by Gaozong and blamed the babys death on Wang, who was the last person to have held her. To ensure imperial male progeny, the Chinese emperor's harem was an elaborate organization of eunuchs who attended to hundreds of concubines, of whom one was appointed empress, the principal wife of the emperor. (2016, February 22). Meanwhile, the Turks invaded Gansu, and the Tibetans posed a threat to Chinese possessions in Central Asia. It was Taizong who called her 'Mei-Niang' meaning 'beautiful girl' (one of the names commonly, and wrongly, attributed to her as her birth name). Even if she took full advantage, however, she must have possessed not only looks but remarkable intelligence and determination to emerge, as she did two decades later, as empress. How to evaluate such an unprecedented figure today? The insurrections had received little popular support and in the years that she dominated politics as empress, empress dowager, and finally as emperor, there were no widespread military unrests. Her reign was peaceful and prosperous; she introduced the meritocratic system of entrance examinations for the imperial bureaucracy that survived into the 20th century, avoided wars and welcomed ambassadors from as far away as the Byzantine Empire. The baby was strangled in her crib and Wu claimed that Lady Wang had killed her because she was jealous. Having been raised by her father to believe she was the equal of men, Wu saw no reason why women could not carry out the same practices and hold the same positions men could. Chu Hsi (1130-1200) was one of the greatest Chinese scholars and philosophers. Mutsuhito She was painted as a usurper who was both physically cruel and erotically wanton; she first came to prominence, it was hinted, because she was willing to gratify certain ofthe Taizong emperors more unusual sexual appetites. Wus later life was one long illustration of the exceptional influence she had come to wield. Since candidates normally tried to win favor with an examiner prior to the tests, some could use their family connections to send samples of their verse in an effort to impress the men who held the keys to government positions. In their place, she appointed intellectuals and talented bureaucrats without regard to family status or connections. Complete List of Included Worksheets Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document. In sum, within the social and political context of her time, Wu Zetian was a leader who went beyond the traditional roles of submissive wife and home-bound mother to emerge as ruler, lawmaker, and head of state and society while her second husband, lovers, and sons were relegated to less powerful positions than traditionally expected. R. W. L. Guisso, Wu Tse-ten and the Politics of Legitimation in Tang China (Bellingham: Western Washington University, 1978). This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. In fact, the Tang Dynasty experienced a small interruption with the second Zhou Dynasty (690-705) established by the only female monarch in Chinese history-Empress Wu. Even though many at court congratulated her on being favored by the gods, many others did not. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Attaining that position first required Wu to engineer her escape from a nunnery after Taizongs deaththe concubines of all deceased emperors customarily had their heads shaved and were immured in convents for the rest of their lives, since it would have been an insult to the dead ruler had any other man sullied themand to return to the palace under Gaozongs protection before entrancing the new emperor, removing empress Wang and the Pure Concubine, promoting members of her own family to positions of power, and eventually establishing herself as fully her husbands equal. If so, their hopes were in vain; Empress Wu Zetian is remembered today as one of the greatest rulers in China's history. Nevertheless, the legitimation was not without problems, and there was continued resistance from among the high officials who collaborated with the Li-Tang crown princes, princes, and princesses to get her dismissed as empress in 674 and dethroned as de facto ruler in 684, but both events failed. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Han Emperor Wen, r. 180-157 BCE . She ruled for 15 years during the Tang Dynasty and was one of China's most impactful and divisive emperors. Still, this did not mean the women were not jealous of the favor the emperor showed Wu now that she had given birth to two sons in a row. Empress Wu: Hero or Villain - Amped Up Learning A Japanese example: In the late 7th century, Japans Emperor Shomu and Empress Komyo both were involved in Buddhist buildings. empress wu primary sources There was a sense of trying to keep up with ones rivals by building something bigger than they had. In 710 CE Zhongzong died after being poisoned by Wei who hid his body and concealed his death until her son Chong Mao could be made emperor. History 100 Flashcards | Quizlet Please support World History Encyclopedia. had been organized in a systematic way by the year 669. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2007; Dora Shu-Fang Dien, Empress Wu Zetian in Fiction and in History: Female Defiance in Confucian China. The China that Wu Zetian was born in was the Tang Dynasty (618906), a strong and unified empire after four centuries of political discord and foreign interaction. Setting up a new dynasty meant installing a new imperial family to replace the Li-Tang imperial house, from which she had married two emperors who were father and son, Taizong and Gaozong. Cold, ruthless, and ambitious, the Han dynasty dowager murdered her rival, the beautiful concubine Lady Qi, by amputating all her limbs, turning her into a human swine and leaving her to die in a cesspit. Last modified March 17, 2016. Empress Wu Zetian (Illustration) - World History Encyclopedia Modern popular novels and plays, in Chinese, Japanese, and English, also exaggerate the sexual aspect of her rule. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. She established a policy so that informants could be paid to travel by public transportation to report to the court. In 684 Li Jingye led a revolt of those northwestern families who had been disgraced and exiled to the Yangzi Valley. Her patronage of Buddhism also expanded to other temples and sects, and much work was done on the cave temples at Longmen on her orders. She began her life at court as a concubine of the emperor Taizong. Not only do we pay for our servers, but also for related services such as our content delivery network, Google Workspace, email, and much more. C.P. How did Empress Wu Zetian come to rule China, as a woman? Although she was not able to control the newly unified state, relations continued to be friendly during her reign. To consolidate her power, in 657 Wu designated Luoyang as a second capital. Wu Zetian is the only legitimatized Empress in Chinese history. She held power, in one guise or another, for more than half a century, first as consort of the ineffectual Gaozong Emperor, then as the power behind the throne held by her youngest son, and finally (from 690 until shortly before her death in 705) as monarch. Her name was Wu Zetian, and in the seventh century A.D. she became the only woman in more than 3,000 years of Chinese history to rule in her own right. When a mountain seemed to appear following the earthquake, this was also interpreted as nature itself revolting against the reign of Wu. Paul, Diana Y. Her success in the campaigns against Korea inspired confidence in her generals and Wu's decisions on military defense or expeditions were never challenged. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. correct answers: the roman empire constructed significantly more roads and developed inland economic resources more extensively than its predecessors the roman empire integrated many Greek and Phoenician trade routes, regional products and trade cities into its own economic system "Empress Wu (Wu Zhao) Rise to Power. Buddhism was carried into East Asia by merchants and Buddhist monks traveling the Silk Road from Northern India, Persia, Kashmir and Inner Asia. She ordered the executions of several hundred of these aristocrats and of many members of the imperial family of Li. Determining the truth about this welter of innuendo is all but impossible, and matters are complicated by the fact that little is known of Wus earliest years. Naples: Institute Universitario Orientale, 1976. At the end of this spirit road, the tomb itself lies in a remarkably inaccessible spot, set into a mountain at the end of a winding forest path. Every Chinese emperor had concubines, and most had favorites; few came to power, or stayed there, without the use of violence. The critical Anderson concedes that, under Wu, military expenses were reduced, taxes cut, salaries of deserving officials raised, retirees given a viable pension, and vast royal lands near the capital turned over to husbandry.. She also dealt ruthlessly with a succession of rivals, promoted members of her own family to high office, succumbed repeatedly to favoritism, and, in her old age, maintained what amounted to a harem of virile young men. . Wu Zhao listened to her minister and considered his argument and then, Rothschild writes, "Wu Zhao, with no intention whatsoever of 'leading the quiet life of a widow', rejected this interpretation and promptly exiled the man to the swampy, disease-ridden, Southland" (109). Wu was given the privileged position of first concubine even though by law she should have been left in the temple as a nun. Her supposed method, moreoveramputating her victims hands and feet and leaving them to drownsuspiciously resembles that adopted by her most notorious predecessor, the Han-era empress Lu Zhia woman portrayed by Chinese historians as the epitome of all that was evil. Empress Wu (died September or October 245), [a] personal name Wu Xian ( Chinese: ), formally known as Empress Mu (literally "the Just Empress"), was an empress of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. Wu placed her first son on the throne who took the royal title Zhongzong. Buddhism was carried into East Asia by merchants and Buddhist monks traveling the Silk Road from Northern India, Persia, Kashmir and Inner Asia. Anyone she suspected of disloyalty, for any reason, was banished or executed. Forte, Antonino. The other statues (still seen in the Longmen Grottoes) were also made to elevate her status as a divine ruler who knew what was best for the people and was divinely appointed to apply whatever laws or policies she saw fit. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Mary Anderson. Cookie Policy She shocked the Chinese officialdom by arranging to send male grooms to the daughters and aunts of the tribal chieftains at the empire's borders, although it was customary to send female brides. She could not become an emperor under the Tang Dynasty because of the long tradition of male succession and the fact that she was not a member of the imperial family by birth. When Gaozong died in 683 CE, Wu took control of the government as empress dowager, placing two of her sons on the throne and removing them almost as quickly. is held up in Chinese histories as the prototype of all that is wicked in a female ruler. Guisso, Richard W.L. After Wu's death, Zhongzong reigned but only in name; real power was held by Lady Wei who used Wu Zetian as a role model to manipulate her husband and the court. souls of those who died in the atomic bomb attacks, Under the administration of Empress Wu, Tang territory expanded through constant fighting with other peoples, particularly the Tibetans. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1994, pp. In 705, Wu Zetian's grandson, the later Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712756), slaughtered the Zhang brothers in spite of Wu Zetian's protest and forced her to return the Li-Tang imperial family to power. Empress Wu Worksheets & Facts | History, Reign, Legacy Empress Wu Zetian and the Spread of Buddhism (625-705 C.E.) Barretts recent book even suggests (on no firm evidence) that the empress was the most important early promoter of printing in the world. The Tang Dynasty also witnessed significant military, political, and social changes, as reflected in the transformation of an aristocracy into a meritocracy from the 7th to the 10th centuries. Taizong was so impressed at her intellectual abilities, he took her out of the laundry and made her his secretary. For Wu Zetian, the rise to power and consolidation involved manipulations, murders, and support of the intellectual and religious establishments. ." The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Quin Shi Huang-Di We would much rather spend this money on producing more free history content for the world. Woodbridge Bingham, The Founding of the Tang Dynasty: The Fall of Sui and Rise ofTang, a Preliminary Survey (New York: Octagon, 1975). Missions from Japan, Korea, and Vietnam arrived at Xi'an bearing tribute and seeking education in Buddhism and Confucianism. Thank you! Wu: the Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become A Living God. To ensure the security of her new reign she had any members of the Tang Dynasty royal family imprisoned (including the future emperor Xuanzong) and proclaimed herself an incarnation of the Maitreya Buddha, calling herself Empress Shengsen which means 'Holy Spirit'. She was in very poor health anyway by this time and died a year later. When her mother was distressed about losing her to an uncertain life fraught with intrigues in the emperor's harem, she firmly reassured her: "Isn't it a fortune to attend the emperor! Empress Wu Zetian. His son Li Longji succeeded him, ruling as Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712-756 CE). Such killings were not uncommon among emperors before and after her. Empress Theodora. by Unknown. In spite of all of her reforms and the prosperity she brought to the country, Wu was remembered mainly for her crimes against friends and family members - especially the murder of her daughter - and people did not think she was worthy of an inscription. These women were rarely chosen by their people. Advertising Notice While serving as his concubine, she risked a death penalty in engaging in an incestuous affair with the crown prince and her stepson, the later Emperor Gaozong (r. 649683). License. There are abundant signs that Wu was viewed with deep suspicion by later generations of Chinese. The primary and secondary sources on Wu Zetian are abundant and problematic, reflecting an almost exclusively male authorship that has portrayed her as a beautiful, calculating, brutal woman who ruled China as the only woman emperor in name and in fact. But already in 666 when Wu Zetian was empress to the reigning Gaozong, she had prepared for her imperial ambitions by defying tradition and mockery as she led the unprecedented procession of imperial ladies to sacrifice to earth, believed to be a female deity. To enhance her position as a woman, in 688 she constructed a "hall of light" in the eastern capital of Luoyang to serve as a cosmic magnet to symbolize the harmony of heaven and earth and the balance of male (yang) and female (yin) forces. Wu's rise to power was ruthless and her reign no less so, as she continued to eliminate rivals and opponents using tactics that were sometimes brutal. On the Korean peninsula Empress Wu supported the unification movement under the state of Silla. At age 14 she became a concubine of Emperor TaiZong of the Tang Dynasty and was given the title of CaiRren (Guardian Immortal) and a new name, Wu Mei. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. So much for the supposed facts; what about the interpretation? Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Just how accurate this picture of Wu is remains a matter of debate. The area around Changan could not produce the amount of food required to feed the court and garri-sons, and the transportation of grain up the Yellow River, traversing the Sanmen rapids, was exceptionally expensive. Her 50-year rule was marked by a successful foreign policy that saw only a few, victorious, wars but the considerable expansion of the influence of the Chinese state. Creating overpowering statues, like the one at Longmen, was important. First, I'll beat it with the iron whip. She was the last wife and the only empress of Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu Han, and a younger sister of Wu Yi . ." When she died, she was laid to rest in an elaborate tomb in the countryside about 50 miles north of the then capital, Xian. Not until 705, when she was more than 80 years old, was Wu finally overthrown by yet another sonone whom she had banished years before. Reign of Terror. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. To further separate her Zhou Dynasty from the Tang, she created new characters for the Chinese writing system which are known today as Chinese Characters of Empress Wu or Zetian Characters. After Mount Felicity appeared, and Wu claimed it as an omen favoring her, one of her ministers wrote: Your Majesty, a female ruler improperly has occupied a male position, which has inverted and altered the hard and soft, therefore the earth's emanations are obstructed and separated.