Palace ladies of the Tang dynasty, from a contemporary wall painting in an imperial tomb in Shaanxi. Seen from this perspective, Wu did in fact fulfill the fundamental duties of a ruler of imperial China; Confucian philosophy held that, while an emperor should not be condemned for acts that would be crimes in a subject, he could be judged harshly for allowing the state to fall into anarchy. 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 Theodora. 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. 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. Empress Wu (Wu Zhao) 627-705 First female monarch Sources Rise to Power. Wu Zhao viewed the situation differently: she claimed the mountain was a good omen which reflected the Buddhist mountain of paradise, Sumeru. Vol. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University. Originally published/produced in China, 18th century. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. had been organized in a systematic way by the year 669. New Capital. Nevertheless, court intrigues still greatly influenced the recruiting of civil servants. empress wu primary sources 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. Complete List of Included Worksheets Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994, pp. The odds that a girl of this low rank would ever come to an emperors attention were slim. There was a sense of trying to keep up with ones rivals by building something bigger than they had. 1 minutes de lecture . She has published historical essays and poetry. 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. Although she was not able to control the newly unified state, relations continued to be friendly during her reign. The reversal of gender roles was nowhere more objectionable than Wu Zetian's sexuality, in the eyes of the traditional historians. 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. No area of Chinese life was untouched by Empress Wu and her reforms were so popular because the suggestions came from the people. Wu is said to have potentially killed her own. Shanghai: Sibu congkan ed., 1929. "Empress Wu (Wu Zhao) At the same time, another political faction formed around Wu's other son, Ruizong, who was supported by Wu's daughter, Taiping. World Eras. Traders from the Mediterranean and Persia also came from both the overland and maritime trade routes, where Buddhism and Central Asian culture, dress, and music reached China. Moreover, Wu exhibited one important characteristic that suggests that, whatever her faults, she was no despot: She acknowledged and often acted on the criticisms of loyal ministers, one of whom dared to suggest, in 701, that it was time for her to abdicate. With her exceptional intelligence, extraordinary competence in politics, and inordinate ambition, she ruled as the "Holy and Divine Emperor" of the Second Zhou Dynasty (690-705) for fifteen years. 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. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1975. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. 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. . 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. Ho-shen (1750-1799) was a high Manchu official in the government of the Ch'ing dynasty in China and a close associate of Emperor Ch'ien-lung.. She ruled for 15 years during the Tang Dynasty and was one of China's most impactful and divisive emperors. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/empress-wu-wu-zhao, "Empress Wu (Wu Zhao) 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. 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'. 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. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. 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 . (108). Empress Wu Zetian (r. 683-704 CE) of the Tang Dynasty. 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. Empress Wu was buried in a tomb in Qian County, Shanxi Province, alongside Gaozong. The empress even promoted what might loosely be termed womens rights, publishing (albeit as part of her own legitimation campaign)Biographies of Famous Women and requiring children to mourn both parents, rather than merely their father, as had been the practice hitherto. 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. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Kannon embodies compassion, and when seen as female is venerated as a patron of motherhood and fertility. World History Encyclopedia. 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. Even though many at court congratulated her on being favored by the gods, many others did not. C.P. 1996-2021 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. History Test 3 Inquizitive Flashcards | Quizlet Wu Zetian: China's Only Female Emperor - ThoughtCo One example of her clout was in 666 CE when she led a group of women to Mount Tai (an ancient ceremonial center), where they conducted rituals which traditionally were performed only by men. Ch'ien-lung (1711-1799) was the fourth emperor of the Ch'ing, or Manchu, dynasty in China. 4.16: Links to Primary Sources - Humanities LibreTexts However, despite establishing an autocratic and centralised state, Emperor Wu adopted the principles of Confucianism as the state philosophy and code of ethics for his empire and started a school to teach future administrators the Confucian classics. An official under the former Han dynasty, he took the Han throne and founded his own, CHARLEMAGNE Mutsuhito Leiden: EJ Brill, 1974. Under Wus rule the government was expanded, and many of the new positions were filled through the examination system. What role, if any, the undeniably ambitious concubine played in the events of the early Tang period remains a matter of controversy. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1994, pp. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. 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. 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. Gaozong divorced his wife, barred her mother from the palace, and exiled Lady Xiao. $1.99. Van Gulik, Robert. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Original image by Unknown. In her last years Wu lost influence, although she remained energetic and cruel. 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. 21/11/2022. She is hated by gods and men alike.. The most spectacular are the stone temples and statues chiseled into grottoes at Longmen, near her capital. Barretts recent book even suggests (on no firm evidence) that the empress was the most important early promoter of printing in the world. McMullen, David. How Did Empress Wu Influence The Tang Dynasty Essay Thank you for your help! 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. In 704 CE, court officials could no longer tolerate Wu's behavior and had the Zhang brothers murdered. She was the daughter of Wu Shihuo, a chancellor of the Tang Dynasty. 1, Sui and T'ang, pp. Last modified March 17, 2016. 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. 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 a similar tone, she ordered that the mother of the Daoist sage Laozi (Lao Tzu, c. 600 bce) be honored. 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. Zizhi tongjian [Comprehensive mirror as guide to history]. Her reforms and policies lay the foundation for the success of Xuanzong as emperor under whose reign China became the most prosperous country in the world. It is a challenge to recover real people from this morass of bias. During her reign she ordered the erection of temples in every province to explain the Dayunjingy which predicted the emergence of a female world ruler seven hundred years after the passing of the Buddha. Add to . License. It seems possible that the fate ascribed to Wang and the Pure Concubine was a chroniclers invention, intended to link Wu to the worst monster in Chinas history. 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). Lady Wang had no children and Lady Xiao had a son and two daughters. Hong Kong: Cosmos, 1994. Anticipating Wu Zetian's political ambitions, 60,000 flatterersincluding Confucian officials, imperial relatives, Buddhist clergy, tribal chieftains, and commonerssupported the petition to proclaim the Zhou Dynasty with herself as the founding emperor. 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. 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. 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, Wu Zetian died within a year. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Wu disposed of her enemies, first the former empress and then the high-ranking officials, who had strongly opposed her rise. "Wu Zetian." Running a website with millions of readers every month is expensive. Modern popular novels and plays, in Chinese, Japanese, and English, also exaggerate the sexual aspect of her rule. 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). Liu, Xu. She improved the public education system by hiring dedicated teachers and reorganizing the bureaucracy and teaching methods. Lady Wu played the role of the shy, respectable emperor's wife well in public but, behind the scenes, she was the actual power. (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. Empress Wu Zetian (Illustration) - World History Encyclopedia It is the only known uncarved memorial tablet in more than 2,000 years of imperial history, its muteness chillingly reminiscent of the attempts made by Hatshepsuts successors toobliterate her namefrom the stone records of pharaonic Egypt. She was also assured that her sons would rule the country after the death of her husband. Overall Wu Zetian was a decisive, capable ruler in the roles of empress, empress dowager, and emperor. Twitchett, Denis, and Howard J. Wechsler. Her giant stone memorial, placed at one side of the spirit road leading to her tomb, remains blank. She contended with petitions against female dominance which argued that her unnatural position as emperor had caused several earthquakes to occur and reports being filed of hens turning into roosters. Barrett. The court followed Empress Wus example by creating an enormous statue of the Vairocana Buddha in gold and copper at the Todaiji monastery in Nara, Japans capital. Empress Wu (Zhaolie) - Wikipedia Mark, Emily. Paul, Diana Y. First, I'll beat it with the iron whip. 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. Throughout 15 dismal years in exile, her sons consort had talked him out of committing suicide and kept him ready to return to power. Cite This Work Gaozong fell for it and the Empress Wang was put to death. Neither of these boys was a threat to Lady Wang or Lady Xiao because Gaozong had already chosen a successor; his chancellor Liu Shi was Lady Wang's uncle, and Gaozong appointed Liu Shi's son, Li Zhong, as heir. The Demonization of Empress Wu - Smithsonian Magazine World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. 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. 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. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1989, pp. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1984. Creating overpowering statues, like the one at Longmen, was important. When she was an infant dressed in boy's clothes, Wu Zetian's potential for emperorship was predicted by an official. 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. Books Mutsuhito (also known as Meiji Tenno; 1852-1912) was a Japanese emperor, who became the symbol for, and encouraged, the dramatic, Chien-lung Web. In 697 CE, Wu's hold on power began to slip when she became more paranoid and began spending more time with her young lovers than on ruling China. Some historians have viewed her as blazing the trail for the women who came after her, and indeed her daughter, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter aspired to emulate her success, but they failed and even died violently in the process. Her extravagant construction projects and expensive frontier campaigns had exhausted the treasury, which led to a financial crisis. Wu Zetian's father was a successful merchant and military official who reached ministerial ranks. 1, 1990, pp. World History Encyclopedia. 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. How did a woman with such limited expectations as Wu emerge triumphant in the cutthroat world of the Tang court? Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. We would much rather spend this money on producing more free history content for the world. Her courtiers, however, hatched a plot and afterward forced her to abdicate in 705; she died later that year. Wu Zetian turned to the Buddhist establishment to rationalize her position. Although these characters were removed after her reign they still exist as a Chinese dialect in written form. One reason, as we have already had cause to note in this blog, is the official nature and lack of diversity among the sources that survive for early Chinese history; another is that imperial history was written to provide lessons for future rulers, and as such tended to be weighted heavily against usurpers (which Wu was) and anyone who offended the Confucian sensibilities of the scholars who labored over them (which Wu did simply by being a woman). 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. He refused to cooperate well with his mother and his wife, Lady Wei, assumed too much power. Last modified February 22, 2016. 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. Edward Schafer, The Divine Women: Dragon Ladies and Rain Maidens in Tang Literature (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973). One explanation for Wus success is that she listened. Reign of Terror. 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 mute and limbless concubine was then tossed into a cesspit in the palace with the swine. Emperor Wu of Han - Wikipedia Empress Wu, or Wu Zhao, challenged the patriarchal system by advocating womens intellectual development and sexual freedom. The political success of Wu Zetian indicates that the attributes needed in diplomacy and rulership were not restricted to men. Map: Wikicommons. 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. 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. ." Empress Dowager. Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/empress-wu-wu-zhao. "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. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.