Wu Tse-t'ien

Background

She was the daughter of a general of the first T'ang emperor, Kao-tsu, and was presented to his son, Emperor T'ai-tsung, as a concubine in 638. Wu Tse-t'ien or Wu Chao is often known as Empress Wu.

Career

When T'ai-tsung died in 649, she, along with the imperial concubines, was required to leave the palace and enter a nunnery in the T'ang capital, Ch'angan. The following year, unusual circumstances made it possible for Wu to return to the palace.

Empress Wang, the wife of the new emperor Kao-tsung, felt insecure because she was not her husband's favorite. Hearing rumors that Wu had earlier attracted Kao-tsung, the Empress thought she could strengthen her position by patronizing and controlling Wu.

Once back in the palace Wu turned against her benefactor but could not displace her. She then took the cruel and desperate step of murdering her own newborn infant, the Emperor's child, and accusing Empress Wang of the deed. Kao-tsung believed the accusation, dismissed Empress Wang, and decided to make Wu his empress. This decision was vigorously opposed by the older ministers. Nevertheless, the Emperor issued a proclamation which listed the virtues of Wu and insisted that there was no reason that she should not become his wife.

In 655 Wu became empress. Her position was strengthened when her son was named crown prince in 656. In 664 Kao-tsung had the first of a series of paralytic strokes that were to affect him for the remainder of his life. Wu quickly took advantage of his infirmity to dominate the court. After a feeble attempt to displace her, Kao-tsung came entirely under her control. Emperor Kao-tsung died in 683, and Wu's son ascended the throne. She had expected to manipulate him, but he soon showed signs of independence.

Without hesitation Wu had him deposed and replaced with his younger brother. As empress dowager, Wu dominated the young emperor. Still unsatisfied, she decided on an unprecedented act. She determined to overthrow her son, change the name of the dynasty, and assume full authority as ruler.

Her older son, whom she had deposed 20 years earlier, was restored to the throne. His first act was to reestablish the T'ang dynasty, which ruled China until the line's extinction in 907.

Achievements

• A strong-willed and capable ruler, she was the only female sovereign in China's long history. In 690 Wu proclaimed the founding of the Chou dynasty. For the first and last time, a woman had become sovereign of China. Wu's reign, which was traditionally regarded as a regrettable and illegitimate hiatus in T'ang rule, was actually a time of important institutional change. It was a stable period, but the ascendancy of incompetent court favorites finally resulted in her overthrow in 705

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• "Since she did eventually take the title of emperor it might seem that 'Emperor Wu' should be the correct way to refer to her, rather than the 'Empress Wu, ' which is the title used in most English-language writing about her. 'Emperor Wu, ' however, invites confusion with various other rulers who attracted the honorary epithet - the unfortunate imitator of Ashoka who was starved to death, for example - and so most Western historians have baulked at giving her the ruling title she actually awarded herself, though in East Asian languages it is possible to distinguish 'empress as female emperor' from 'empress as imperial consort. ' But her family name seems to have been found so apt by contemporaries and by their descendants that it stuck fast, outlasting even the semi-divine titles that she invented for herself: a ninth-century Japanese visitor found her referred to simply as 'Granny Strong. " — T. H. Barrett
  
  "China's only woman ruler, Empress Wu was a remarkably skilled and able politician, but her murderous and illicit methods of maintaining power gave her a bad reputation among male bureaucrats. It also fostered overstaffing and many kinds of corruption. " John King Fairbank.
  
  "To the horror of traditional Chinese historians, all members of the shih class, the continued success of the T'ang was in large measure due to an ex-concubine who finally usurped the throne itself. .. .Though she was ruthless towards her enemies, the period of her ascendency was a good one for China. Government was sound, no rebellions occurred, abuses in the army and administration were stamped out and Korea was annexed, an achievement no previous Chinese had ever managed. " Yong Yap Cotterell and Arthur Cotterell.

Connections

Wu was the concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death, she married his successor—his ninth son, Emperor Gaozong, officially becoming Gaozong's huanghou in 655, although having considerable political power prior to this. After Gaozong's debilitating stroke in 660, Wu Zetian became administrator of the court, a position equal to the emperor's until 705. Empress Wang, the wife of the new emperor Kao-tsung, felt insecure because she was not her husband's favorite.

Father:

Wu Shihuo

Duke Ding of Ying

Mother:

Lady Yang

1st husband:

Emperor Taizong of Tang

2nd husband:

Emperor Gaozong of Tang

References

• The Girl Emperor Of China: The Story Of Wu Zetian - in English and Chinese (Heroes Of China) (Volume 5)
• WU ZETIAN (The Mighty Woman Sovereign of China)
• Wu Zetian (Chinese Edition)
• Wu Zetian Zhuan
• Wu Zetian (Chinese Edition)
• Lady Wu
• Empress Wu Zetian (Chinese Edition)
• Empress Wu Zetian: from 3 to 82 Years Old (Chinese Edition)
• The Empress Wu,
• Wu Zhao: China's Only Female Emperor
• Empress Wu Zetian (The Legendary Women of World History) (Volume 5)
• Wu: The Chinese Empress who schemed, seduced and murdered her way to become a living God
• Wu Tse-T'Ien and the Politics of Legitimation in T'Ang China (Studies on East Asia, Vol 11) by R. W. L. Guisso (1978-12-06)
• Wu Zetian (624-705)(Chinese Edition)
• Wu Zetian (Bible for Career Women) (Chinese Edition)