On the question of succession after her death, Wu Zetian entertained notions of an heir from a Wu and Li marriage. Complete List of Included Worksheets Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document. Thank you! Wu also reformed the military by mandating military exams for commanders to show competency, which were patterned on her imperial exams given to civil service workers. Her travel writing debuts in Timeless Travels Magazine. Map: Wikicommons. 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. False: In fact, the Roman Empire was in decline at this time. 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 . Originally published/produced in China, 18th century. Her upright Confucian minister, Di Renjie (d. 700, the protagonist of Robert van Gulik's popular Judge Dee detective novels), convinced her to bring back her son, the deposed emperor Zhongzong, to be appointed as her successor. The earliest sources on Wu Zetian already contained rumors of sex scandals in her court. She established a policy so that informants could be paid to travel by public transportation to report to the court. ." Wang was the last person seen in the room and had no alibi. Terms of Use We care about our planet! 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. Favoring the power base in the Northeast, the royal family finally moved to Luoyang in 683. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Running a website with millions of readers every month is expensive. 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. This opposition was formidable; the annals of the period contain numerous examples of criticisms leveled by civil servants mortified by the empresss innovations. Wu is said to have potentially killed her own. If it does not yield, I'll hit it with the iron hammer. Empress Theodora. . The most serious charges against Wu are handily summarized in Mary Andersons collection of imperial scuttlebutt, Hidden Power, which reports that she wiped out twelve collateral branches of the Tang clan and had the heads of two rebellious princes hacked off and brought to her in her palace. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. C.P. But several years later, she returned to the palace as Gaozong's concubine and gave birth to sons. Her daunting task was convincing the Confucian establishment about the legitimate succession of a woman who was the widow of the deceased emperor and the mother of the currently legitimate ruler. 77116. First, I'll beat it with the iron whip. At these pilgrimage sites, rituals were performed which established a link between the standing Buddha and the ruler. 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. There was a sense of trying to keep up with ones rivals by building something bigger than they had. The story of Wu's murder of her daughter and the framing of Lady Wang to gain power is the most infamous and most often repeated incident of her life but actually there is no way of knowing if it happened as the historians recorded it. The Empress Wu Zetian (690-704 CE) is the only female ruler in the history of China. The Story Of Wu Zetian, China's First Female Emperor, The Demonization of Empress Wu by Mike Dash, The Karmic Retribution of Pei Huaigu by Kelly Carlton (University of Florida), Wu Zetian: China's One and Only Woman Emperor by Jim Down. "The Real Judge Dee: Ti Jen-chieh and the T'ang Restoration of 705," in Asia Major. The empress responded with both diplomacy and force, concluding a marriage alliance with the Turks and defeating the Qidan in battle. Lady Wang's uncle, the chancellor Liu Shi, was removed from his post which meant his son was cut off as Gaozong's heir. 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). The political success of Wu Zetian indicates that the attributes needed in diplomacy and rulership were not restricted to men. Guisso, Richard W. Empress Wu Tse-t'ien and the Politics of Legitimation in T'ang China. Five Historical Plays. Her giant stone memorial, placed at one side of the spirit road leading to her tomb, remains blank. Jay, Jennifer W. "Vignettes of Chinese Women in Tang Xi'an (618906): Individualism in Wu Zetian, Yang Guifei, Yu Xuanji and Li Wa," in Chinese Culture. 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. Nevertheless, court intrigues still greatly influenced the recruiting of civil servants. Meanwhile, the Turks invaded Gansu, and the Tibetans posed a threat to Chinese possessions in Central Asia. Encyclopedia.com. Bellingham, WA: Center for Asian Studies, Western Washington University, 1978. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. empress wu primary sources. Wuplayed here by Li Lihuawas depicted as powerful and sexually assertive in the Shaw Brothers 1963 Hong Kong movie Empress Wu Tse-Tien. Wu Zetian came to the throne when she was 67, making her the oldest person ever be crowned. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/empress-wu-wu-zhao, "Empress Wu (Wu Zhao) The reversal of gender roles was nowhere more objectionable than Wu Zetian's sexuality, in the eyes of the traditional historians. She herself would thus be seen as a restorationist of the Zhou Dynasty, with the Wu family replacing the Li-Tang family. 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. 2231). A Japanese example: In the late 7th century, Japans Emperor Shomu and Empress Komyo both were involved in Buddhist buildings. 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. In 690, she declared herself emperor after deposing her sons and founding her own dynastyZhou. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/4558/empress-wu-zetian/. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University. One of the brothers, she declared, had a face as beautiful as a lotus flower, while it is said she valued the other for his talents in the bedchamber. (February 22, 2023). Long a supporter of Buddhism through her mother's devotion and her own refuge in the nunnery after her first husband Taizong's death, Wu Zetian counted on Buddhist ideology to legitimize her reign and her dynasty. 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. Wu Zetian was one of the longest-lived monarchs (82 years old) in Chinese history. 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. She ordered farming manuals to be written and distributed. Wu Zetian's tough character and good equestrian skills were perceived by observers even when she was a teenager. At the same time, another political faction formed around Wu's other son, Ruizong, who was supported by Wu's daughter, Taiping. These historians claim that Wu ordered Lady Wang and Lady Xiao murdered in a terrible way: she had their hands and feet cut off and they were then thrown into a vat of wine to drown. Wu Zetian was born in Wenshi County, Shanxi Province, in 624 CE to a wealthy family. Wu Zhao (624-705), also known as Empress Wu Zetian, was the first and only woman emperor of China. The Fall of Kaifeng [ edit] In 1126, Emperor Huizong abdicated in favor of his son, Emperor Qinzong, the elder brother of Gaozong. Her success in the campaigns against Korea inspired confidence in her generals and Wu's decisions on military defense or expeditions were never challenged. To consolidate her power, in 657 Wu designated Luoyang as a second capital. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. $1.99. https://www.worldhistory.org/Wu_Zetian/. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. But is the empress unfairly maligned? Beginning in 660 CE, Wu was effectively the emperor of China. Wu Zetian. Gaozongs third son succeeded to the throne in 683 after his death, but Empress Wu became the empress dowager in a few months, after forcing the young emperor to abdicate. Functioning in a male-oriented patriarchy, Wu Zetian was painstakingly aware of the gender taboos she had to break in political ideology and social norm. Wu Zetian's SteleI, (GJGY.com) (CC BY-SA). Wu was given the privileged position of first concubine even though by law she should have been left in the temple as a nun. 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. If it still won't be tamed, I'll cut its throat with the knife. Traditional historians grudgingly acknowledged that she surpassed her sons, the legitimate heirs, in both vision and statecraft. Instead, it was left without any inscriptionthe only such example in more than 2,000 years of Chinese history. Historian Kelly Carlton writes: Wu had a petition box made, which originally contained four slots: one for men to recommend themselves as officials; one where citizens might openly and anonymously criticize court decisions; one to report the supernatural, strange omens, and secret plots, and one to file accusations and grievances. Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Though Wu was unusually well-read and self-willed for a mere concubine, she had only one real advantage over her higher-ranked rivals: Her duties included changing the imperial sheets, which potentially gave her bedroom access to Taizong. 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. provided her with a string of virile lovers such as one lusty, big-limbed lout of a peddler, whom she allowed to frequent her private apartments. She was also able to re-open the Silk Road, which had been closed because of the plague of 682 CE and later raids by nomads. According to Wu's own account, they conspired against her but, according to other historians, Wu started and finished the problems she had with them. It was approached via a mile-long causeway running between two low hills topped with watchtowers, known today as the nipple hills because Chinese tradition holds that the spot was selected because the hills reminded Gaozong of the young Wus breasts. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University. "The Reigns of the Empress Wu, Chung-tsung and Jui-tsung," in Denis Twitchett, ed., Cambridge History of China. Why should you weep for me?" Amherst : Prometheus Books, 1990; T.H. 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. Mutsuhito Liu, Xu. One of the most powerful champions of Buddhism in China was the Empress Wu Zetian. Encyclopedia.com. In defiance of convention Emperor Gaozong started an affair with her, and she bore him a son in 652. The answer was to proclaim another dynasty, not by military conquest, but by interpreting omens that favored her to carry out a change of dynasties and become enthroned as a woman emperor. The odds that a girl of this low rank would ever come to an emperors attention were slim. 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. She did not ask any man's permission to lead these women to Mount Tai; she felt she knew what was best and did it. Mark, Emily. Cite This Work Even though many at court congratulated her on being favored by the gods, many others did not. Uploaded by Ibolya Horvath, published on 22 February 2016. is held up in Chinese histories as the prototype of all that is wicked in a female ruler. She not only created many different cultural and political policies, but she displayed what a women could do in government. 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. (British Library, Shelfmark Or. 1, 1990, pp. Empress Wu Zetian and the Spread of Buddhism (625-705 C.E.) 6, no. Unknown, . 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. Although Carlton's observation is accurate, the box also did provide Wu with a number of ideas for reform which came directly from the people, not government officials who would have profited from them, and which Wu implemented efficiently. 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. 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, Even today, Wu remains infamous for the spectacularly ruthless way in which she supposedly disposed of Gaozongs first wife, the empress Wang, and a senior and more favored consort known as the Pure Concubine. The Woman Who Discovered Printing. She reigned during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) and was one of the most effective and controversial monarchs in China's history. Swedens fascinating Queen Christina was nearly as infamous for eschewing her sidesaddle and riding in breeches as she was for the more momentous decision that she took to convert to Catholicismwhile mustering her troops in 1588 as the Spanish Armada sailed up the Channel, even Elizabeth I felt constrained to begin a morale-boosting address with a denial of her sex: 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.. (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. Submitted by Emily Mark, published on 17 March 2016. Princess Taiping had shielded Li Longji from her mother when he was young and supported him in his efforts to take the throne. She particularly supported Huayan Buddhism, which regarded Vairocana Buddha as the center of the world, much as Empress Wu wished to be the center of political power. 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. Shanghai: Sibu congkan ed., 1929. 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. How to evaluate such an unprecedented figure today? 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. To reinforce her legitimacy, Wu Zetian also invented about a dozen characters with a new script. Wu Zetian turned to the Buddhist establishment to rationalize her position. "Wu Zetian." In preparing for the legitimacy of her emperorship, she claimed the Zhou Dynasty (1045256 bce) and its founders among her own ancestors. Wu Zhao viewed the situation differently: she claimed the mountain was a good omen which reflected the Buddhist mountain of paradise, Sumeru. Naples: Institute Universitario Orientale, 1976. Theodora. 22 Feb. 2023 . 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. 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). 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. The story of Wu's murder of her daughter and the framing of Lady Wang to gain power is the most infamous and most often repeated incident of her life but actually there is no way of knowing if it happened as the historians recorded it. 1996-2021 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. Wu Zetian's politics can be considered as feminist initiatives to reinforce the legitimacy of women in the political arena. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. The baby was strangled in her crib and Wu claimed that Lady Wang had killed her because she was jealous. Empress Lu Zhi (241-180 B.C.) After his death, she married his son, Gaozong (r. 649-683 CE) and became empress consort but actually was the power behind the emperor. 1 minutes de lecture . If Wu Zetian is judged by the traditional female virtues of chastity and modesty, then she falls short of expectations. In 684 Li Jingye led a revolt of those northwestern families who had been disgraced and exiled to the Yangzi Valley. Last modified February 22, 2016. Wu Zetian established her dynasty - the Zhou dynasty. It is a challenge to recover real people from this morass of bias. The historians always portray Wu as ruthless, conniving, scheming, and bloodthirsty, and she may have been all of these things, she may have even murdered her daughter to gain the throne, but any of these claims should only be accepted after considering their source. "Empress Wu and the Historians: A Tyrant and Saint of Classical China," in Nancy Auer Falk and Rita M. Gross, eds., Unspoken Worlds: Religious Lives of Women. Last modified March 17, 2016.