Wu decreed that the workmen sculpt the face of the largest of these statues to resemble her and also persuaded the monks of the sanctuary at Luoyang to forge the Big Cloud Book to substantiate her claim as Maitreya. Empress Dowager. 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). Gaozong's wife, Lady Wang, and his former first concubine, Xiao Shufei, were jealous of each other but even more envious of the attention Gaozong paid to Wu. Unknown, . 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. 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. World History Encyclopedia. She not only created many different cultural and political policies, but she displayed what a women could do in government. Vol. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. 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. 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. 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 last name, "Wu" is associated with the words for 'weapon' and 'military force' and she chose the name 'Zeitan' which means 'Ruler of the Heavens'. Historians have documented Wu Zetian's resort to slander, torture, and murders to reinforce the propaganda of omens. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. 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. Her Buddhist supporters interpreted the Madamegha (Great Cloud) sutra to predict a maitreya Buddha (Buddha-to-come) in female form, presumably Wu Zetian herself, who would embody the concept of the cakravartin (wheel-turner, universal emperor, or the ideal man who is king). Among a raft of other allegations are the suggestions that she ordered the suicides of a grandson and granddaughter who had dared to criticize her and later poisoned her husband, whovery unusually for a Chinese emperordied unobserved and alone, even though tradition held that the entire family should assemble around the imperial death bed to attest to any last words. Ouyang, Xiu. Related Content https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/wu-zetian-624-705, "Wu Zetian (624705) World History Encyclopedia. Wu: the Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become A Living God. At the time of the murder, it was Lady Wu's word against Lady Wang's, and later historians decided to side with Lady Wang against Wu; but this does not mean they chose the right side. When Gaozong died in 683, she became empress dowager and ruled on behalf of two adult sons, emperors Zhongzong (r. 684, 705710) and Ruizong (r. 685689, 710712). 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. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1975. This mountain, so born of the sudden convulsion of earth, represents a calamity. 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. Ch'ien-lung (1711-1799) was the fourth emperor of the Ch'ing, or Manchu, dynasty in China. World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. Although Wu's account claims that Lady Wang murdered her daughter, later Chinese historians all agree that Wu was the murderer and she killed her child to frame Lady Wang. Edward Schafer, The Divine Women: Dragon Ladies and Rain Maidens in Tang Literature (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973). 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. How did she hold on to power? The Tang empire in 700, at the end of Wus reign. Wu Zetian turned to the Buddhist establishment to rationalize her position. Cookie Settings, I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too., as we have already had cause to note in this blog, Kids Start Forgetting Early Childhood Around Age 7, Archaeologists Discover Wooden Spikes Described by Julius Caesar, Artificial Sweetener Tied to Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds, 5,000-Year-Old Tavern With Food Still Inside Discovered in Iraq, The Surprisingly Scientific Roots of Monkey Bars. Empress Wu Zetian and the Spread of Buddhism (625-705 C.E.) Why should you weep for me?" 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. 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. Changing the dynasty was the easier task and was accomplished by securing the approval of the Confucian establishment. To respond properly to Heaven's censure, it is suitable that you lead the quiet life of a widow and cultivate virtue, otherwise I fear further disasters will befall us. The Fall of Kaifeng [ edit] In 1126, Emperor Huizong abdicated in favor of his son, Emperor Qinzong, the elder brother of Gaozong. To recruit a new class of administrators through competition, the examinations that had played only a secondary role in the recruitment and promotion of civil servants in Han times (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) Rise to Power. We would much rather spend this money on producing more free history content for the world. Omens were extremely important to the people of ancient China and played a significant role in Tang politics. Wu also learned to play music, write poetry, and speak well in public. To entrench her biological family as the imperial house, she bestowed imperial honors to her ancestors through posthumous enthronement and constructed seven temples for imperial sacrifices. Chapter 2 SOURCES FOR THE LIFE AND CAREER OF WU TSE-T'IEN The chief primary sources for the life of the Empress Wu are her annals in the two dynastic histories of the T'ang, her biography in the New T'ang History, and the numerous references to her in Ssu-ma Kuang's Comprehensive Mirror.^ In some of the large official compilations of later ages, True, Taizongan old warrior-ruler so conscientious that he had official documents pasted onto his bedroom walls so that he would have something to work on if he woke in the nighthad lost his empress shortly before Wu entered the palace. Bellingham : EAS Press, 1978; Robert Van Gulik. Zhou Dynasty. 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. Chen, Jo-shui. Her last two lovers were the young and handsome Zhang brothers who put on makeup and exploited the relationship by obtaining offices, honors, and gifts for themselves and their family. The remaining Li-Tang family who survived the murders, including Wu Zetian's own son on whose behalf she was serving as empress dowager, begged to take the surname of Wu to replace their birth surnames of Li. Thus Wu Zetian's experience might have caused some redefinition of gender in her time, but this direction has not translated into enduring gains in the society and political organization that she left behind. After his death, she married his son, Gaozong (r. 649-683 CE) and became empress consort but actually was the power behind the emperor. At the age of fourteen, she was selected as a palace maid to Gaozong, then a Prince, and his first spouse and primary consort Xing, who had recently married. 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'. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Wu eliminated all the bureaucracy by establishing a direct line of communication between herself and the people. Wu either read him whatever she felt like and then made her own decisions or read him the real reports and then still acted on her own. Modern popular novels and plays, in Chinese, Japanese, and English, also exaggerate the sexual aspect of her rule. Her significance as an emperor and founder of a new dynasty lies in her redefining of the gender-specific concepts of the emperorship and the Confucian state. With a heart like a serpent and a nature like that of a wolf, one contemporary summed up, she favored evil sycophants and destroyed good and loyal officials. A small sampling of the empresss other crimes followed: She killed her sister, butchered her elder brothers, murdered the ruler, poisoned her mother. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Han Emperor Wen, r. 180-157 BCE . 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. In 690, she declared herself emperor after deposing her sons and founding her own dynastyZhou. 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. Guo, Moruo. To legitimize her position, Empress Wu turned mainly to Buddhism, proclaiming herself an incarnation of Maitreya (Mi-le), the Buddhist savior. Books Wu began an affair with Li Zhi, who was married at the time, while still attached to Taizong as concubine. Empress Wu, or Wu Zhao, challenged the patriarchal system by advocating womens intellectual development and sexual freedom. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. World History Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. When Wu could no longer tolerate her daughter-in-law's antics and disrespect, and her son's refusal to discipline her and obey Wu's dictates, she had him charged with treason and banished along with his wife. 04 Mar 2023. Sexual Life in Ancient China: A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society from ca.1500 BC till 1644 AD. How to evaluate such an unprecedented figure today? 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. 22 Feb. 2023 . "Wu Zetian (624705) Born: February 17, 624 Lizhou, China Died: December 16, 705 in Luoyang, China Reign: October 16, 690 to February 22, 705 Best known for: The only woman to be Emperor of China Biography: Empress Wu Zetian by Unknown [Public Domain] Growing Up Wu Zetian was born on February 17, 624 in Lizhou, China. New Haven: YUP, 2008; Jonathan Clements. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1984. Empress Wu Zetian (Empress Consort Wu, Wu Hou, Wu Mei Niang, Mei-Niang, and Wu Zhao, l. 624-705 CE, r. 690-704 CE) was the only female emperor of Imperial China. In 690 C.E., Zetian forced Li Dan to abdicate the throne to her, and declared herself the founding empress of the Zhou dynasty. 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. But 28 other consorts still stood between her and the throne. Vol. Bellingham, WA: Center for Asian Studies, Western Washington University, 1978. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/4558/empress-wu-zetian/. Born ne Wu (first name at birth not known) in 624 in Taiyuan, Shanxi province; died in 705 in Luoyang, Henan province; daughter of a high-ranking official, Wu Shihuo, and his aristocratic wife; married Emperor Taizong (r. 626649), in 640 (died 649); married Emperor Gaozong (r. 650683), in 654; children: (second marriage) Crown Prince Li Hong; Crown Prince Li Xian; Emperor Zhongzong; Emperor Ruizong; Princess Taiping ; another daughter (died in infancy). Empress Wu Zetian and the Spread of Buddhism (625-705 C.E.) and to pray for permanent world peace. She organized teams to survey the land and build irrigation ditches to help grow crops and redistributed the land so that everyone had an equal share to farm. 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. . Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. World History Encyclopedia. Nevertheless, court intrigues still greatly influenced the recruiting of civil servants. Vol. Your Majesty may take this as 'Mount Felicity', but your subject feels there is nothing to celebrate. In the reign of Empress Wu, persons who entered government through the examinations were able for the first time to occupy the highest positions, even that of chief minister. Creating overpowering statues, like the one at Longmen, was important. Wu Zetian came to the throne when she was 67, making her the oldest person ever be crowned. Illustration. "Empress Wu Zetian." But she changed the composition of the ruling class by removing the entrenched aristocrats from the court and gradually expanding the civil service examination to recruit men of merit to serve in the government. emperor angelfish (Pomecanthus imperator) See CHAETODONTIDAE. Every Chinese emperor had concubines, and most had favorites; few came to power, or stayed there, without the use of violence. 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. Wu Zetian's politics can be considered as feminist initiatives to reinforce the legitimacy of women in the political arena. The Empress Wu Zetian (690-704 CE) is the only female ruler in the history of China. Wu Zhao embarked on religious life as a nun in a convent after Li Shimins death in 649. Mary Anderson. is held up in Chinese histories as the prototype of all that is wicked in a female ruler. Empress Wu Zetian (Empress Consort Wu, Wu Hou, Wu Mei Niang, Mei-Niang, and Wu Zhao, l. 624-705 CE, r. 690-704 CE) was the only female emperor of Imperial China. In 683 CE, when Wu began manipulating events as a man would, one Confucian scholar wrote that nature had been reversed by the 'usurping woman' and "throughout the empire in every prefecture hens changed into roosters, or half changed" (Rothschild, 108). No area of Chinese life was untouched by Empress Wu and her reforms were so popular because the suggestions came from the people. 6, no. 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. China during Wu Zetian's ReignIan Kiu (CC BY-SA). Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/wu-zetian-624-705. Five Historical Plays. 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. Given Tang Chinas rich history of inter-regional connections and communications with its East Asian neighbors, it is not surprising that Wus sponsorship of Buddhism resulted in a flurry of scholarly exchanges, and the construction of many new pilgrimage Buddhist sites. When Gaozong suffered a stroke in 660, the empress made herself the ruler. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Became concubine to Emperor Taizong (640); entered Buddhist nunnery (649); returned to the palace as concubine (654), then as empress (657) to Taizong's son Emperor Gaozong; became empress dowager and regent to her two sons (68489); founded a dynasty (Zhou, 690705) and ruled as emperor for 15 years. Wu was the daughter of Wu Jin, a commoner in Kaifeng. (He would camp out in the palace grounds, Clements notes, barbecuing sheep.) Cheng-qian was banished for attempted revolt, while a dissolute brother who had agreed to take part in the rebellionso long, Clements adds, as he was permitted sexual access to every musician and dancer in the palace, male or femalewas invited to commit suicide, and another of Taizongs sons was disgraced for his involvement in a different plot. After suppressing this revolt, the empress dowager began to purge her opponents at court. On the question of succession after her death, Wu Zetian entertained notions of an heir from a Wu and Li marriage. Although modern historians, both east and west, have revised the ancient depiction of Wu Zetian as a scheming usurper, that view of her reign still persists in much that is written about her. 145154. 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. Unlike most young girls in China at this time, Wu was encouraged by her father to read and write and develop the intellectual skills which were traditionally reserved for males. In her last years Wu lost influence, although she remained energetic and cruel. The odds that a girl of this low rank would ever come to an emperors attention were slim. . Buddhism was carried into East Asia by merchants and Buddhist monks traveling the Silk Road from Northern India, Persia, Kashmir and Inner Asia. The emperor believed her story, and Wang was demoted and imprisoned in a distant part of the palace, soon to be joined by the Pure Concubine. Wang was the last person seen in the room and had no alibi. ." 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. "Kao-tsung and the Empress Wu," in Denis Twitchett, ed. It is easier to take seriously the suggestion that Wu arranged a series of murders within her own family. First emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Quin Shi Huang-di (259 B.C.-210 B.C.) Ruizong was also a disappointment to her and so she forced him to abdicate in 690 CE and proclaimed herself Emperor Zeitan, ruler of China, the first and only woman to sit on the Dragon Throne and reign in her own name and by her own authority. Buddhism was carried into East Asia by merchants and Buddhist monks traveling the Silk Road from Northern India, Persia, Kashmir and Inner Asia. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1977. Barretts recent book even suggests (on no firm evidence) that the empress was the most important early promoter of printing in the world. Mark, Emily. Shortly after she took the throne there was an earthquake which was interpreted as a bad omen. ." False: In fact, the Roman Empire was in decline at this time. On the Korean peninsula Empress Wu supported the unification movement under the state of Silla. Primary Sources with DBQsCHINA 4000 - 1000 BCE Ancestral Rites and Divination . Click for Author Information. (108). Founder of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuang-yin (927-976) ended the practice of frequent military coups, which had exhausted China for mor, https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/wu-zetian-624-705, Mandate from Heaven: The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang. Empress and emperor appear at the center of each scene, larger than the other figures to show their importance, bedecked in imperial purple, and sporting . Missions from Japan, Korea, and Vietnam arrived at Xi'an bearing tribute and seeking education in Buddhism and Confucianism. Mike Dash Overall Wu Zetian was a decisive, capable ruler in the roles of empress, empress dowager, and emperor. (It was common for poor Chinese boys to voluntarily undergo emasculation in the hope of obtaining a prestigious and well-remunerated post in the imperial service). Historians remain divided as to how far Wu benefited from the removal of these potential obstacles; what can be said is that her third son, who succeeded his father as Emperor Zhongzong in 684, lasted less than two months before being banished, at his mothers instigation, in favor of the more tractable fourth, Ruizong. Wu Zetian argued that since mothers were indispensable to the birth and nourishment of infants, the three years when the infant totally depended on the mother as caregiver should be requited with three years of mourning her death. Abdication. Wu Zetian's tough character and good equestrian skills were perceived by observers even when she was a teenager. Empress Wu Zetian (r. 683-704 CE) of the Tang Dynasty. She founded a secret police and conducted a reign of terror, justifying the mass executions on the grounds that discrimination against a womans open exercise of power forced her to use terror to defend her authority. disadvantages of food transportation. Her reign witnessed a healthy growth in the population; when she died in 705 her centralized bureaucracy regulated the social life and economic well-being of the 60 million people in the empire. The term Confucianism is derived from Confucius, the convention. had been organized in a systematic way by the year 669. Although this system opened government positions to a wider group than ever before, in the final stages of the process candidates continued to be judged on their appearance and speech. In defiance of convention Emperor Gaozong started an affair with her, and she bore him a son in 652. Sima, Guang. Originally published/produced in China, 18th century. She established a policy so that informants could be paid to travel by public transportation to report to the court. Barrett. Liu, Xu. Thank you! Encyclopedia.com. Tang China during the 7th century was a period of military strength and cultural attainments, its empire stretching into Central Asia and Southwest Asia and ruled by the Li-Tang imperial family from the capital city of Xi'an (Xian), Shanxi province. Wu, characteristically, admired the virtuosity of Luos style and suggested he would be better employed at the imperial court. T.H. The system of Neo-Confucianism of which Chu Hsi is regarded as the spo, Mutsuhito "Wu Zetian (624705) The reversal of gender roles was nowhere more objectionable than Wu Zetian's sexuality, in the eyes of the traditional historians. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1975. 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. 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. Under Wus rule the government was expanded, and many of the new positions were filled through the examination system. Wu Zetian established her dynasty - the Zhou dynasty. You're hard-pressed to find any historical documents that don't have some sort of bias, especially when dealing with a controversial figure like Wu Zetian. Cold, ruthless, and ambitious, the Han dynasty dowager murdered her rival,. She graduated from SUNY Delhi in 2018. World History Encyclopedia. Please note that some of these recommendations are listed under our old name, Ancient History Encyclopedia. Wu placed her first son on the throne who took the royal title Zhongzong. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Empress Wu (Wu Zhao) 627-705 First female monarch Sources Rise to Power. 3rd Series. Encyclopedia.com. Fitzgeraldwho reminds us that Tang China emerged from 400 years of discord and civil warwrites, Without Wu there would have been no long enduring Tang dynasty and perhaps no lasting unity of China, while in a generally favorable portrayal, Guisso argues that Wu was not so different from most emperors: The empress was a woman of her times. The earliest sources on Wu Zetian already contained rumors of sex scandals in her court. She then began to plot against Gaozongs consort, Empress Wang, incriminating the empress in the death of Wus infant daughter. After Gaozongs death, in 683, she remained the power behind the throne as dowager empress, manipulating a succession of her sons before, in 690, ordering the last of them to abdicate and taking power herself.
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