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92-757: It is not known when Wu Sansi was born. His father Wu Yuanqing (武元慶) was a half-brother of Wu Zetian —both had, as father, the early Tang dynasty general Wu Shihuo (武士彠), but Wu Yuanqing and his brother Wu Yuanshuang (武元爽) were born of Wu Shihuo's first wife Lady Xiangli, while Wu Zetian and her two sisters were born of Wu Shihuo's second wife Lady Yang. After Wu Zetian became empress to Emperor Gaozong in 655, despite previous intrafamily unpleasantries—Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang, as well as Wu Shihuo's nephews Wu Weiliang (武惟良) and Wu Huaiyun (武懷運) were often disrespectful of Lady Yang previously—Empress Wu's brothers and cousins were often promoted by Emperor Gaozong, with Wu Yuanqing promoted to Zongzheng Shaoqing (宗正少卿),

184-409: A concubine, crown prince, as Empress Wei's only son Li Chongrun had been killed by Wu Zetian in 701, but Li Guo'er, encouraged by Wu Chongxun, had designs on becoming crown princess, and repeatedly asked Emperor Zhongzong to make her crown princess. Both she and Wu Chongxun also repeatedly insulted Li Chongjun, sometimes calling him "slave." In fall 707, Li Chongjun, in anger, started a rebellion with

276-454: A corrupt manner and because of this, she gained a lot of wealth and had an extravagant luxurious and luxury life. Meanwhile, the coup leaders initially did not regard Wu Sansi as a threat, and they brushed aside suggestions by two lower level officials participating in the coup, Xue Jichang (薛季昶) and Liu Youqiu . However, they soon realized that Wu Sansi's power was on the rise, and they unsuccessfully suggested Emperor Zhongzong to kill some of

368-504: A different family name. (At that time, Wu Zetian's crown prince was her son Li Dan (the former Emperor Ruizong).) In 698, however, at the suggestion of the chancellor Di Renjie , concurred in by Wang Jishan and Wang Fangqing , as well as Wu Zetian's close advisor Ji Xu and her lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, Wu Zetian recalled Li Zhe the Prince of Luling (the former Emperor Zhongzong) from exile and soon, after Li Dan offered to yield

460-480: A formal ceremony to crown herself as emperor. Empress Wu is considered one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history due to her strong leadership and effective governance, which made China one of the world's most powerful nations. The importance to history of her tenure includes the major expansion of the Chinese empire, extending it far beyond its previous territorial limits, deep into Central Asia , and engaging in

552-492: A greater extent. From January 665 until the end of his reign, Wu would sit behind a pearl screen behind Gaozong at imperial meetings, and called her own orders "emperor edicts". She even wore the yellow robe of the empire like an emperor, which was extraordinary and unprecedented for an empress. Wu was effectively making the major decisions. After Shangguan Yi's execution, Gaozong increasingly relied on Wu's advice. When chancellors and officials discussed political affairs with him,

644-566: A key feature of the civil service. Wu also had an important impact upon the statuary of the Longmen Grottoes and the "Wordless Stele" at the Qian Mausoleum , as well as the construction of some major buildings and bronze castings that no longer survive. Besides her career as a political leader, Wu also had an active family life. She was a mother of four sons, three of whom also carried the title of emperor, although one held that title only as

736-493: A major attack against Eastern Tujue and she initially put Wu Sansi in command, assisted by Jing Hui . She later changed the orders to have Li Dan in command, assisted by Wu Sansi, his cousin Wu Youning the prince of Jiancheng, and the chancellor Wei Yuanzhong . However, the army was eventually not launched. In 704, at Wu Sansi's suggestion, Wu Zetian constructed the vacation palace Xingtai ( 興泰宮 ) at Mount Wan'an ( 萬安山 , near

828-497: A network of spies to build a strong intelligence system in the court and throughout the empire, delivering daily reports on current affairs of the empire or opposition to the central state. She also played a key role in reforming the imperial examination system and encouraging capable officials to work in governance to maintain a peaceful and well-governed state. Effectively, these reforms improved her nation's bureaucracy by ensuring that competence, rather than family connections, became

920-519: A posthumous honor. One of her grandsons became the controversial Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , whose reign marked the turning point of the Tang dynasty into sharp decline. In Chinese history and literature, Wu Zetian ( Mandarin pronunciation: [ù tsɤ̌ tʰjɛ́n] ) was known by various names and titles. Mention of her in the English language has only increased their number. A difficulty in English translations

1012-417: A rebuke of Chancellor Ji Xu during her reign), she once impressed Taizong with her fortitude: Emperor Taizong had a horse with the name "Lion Stallion", and it was so large and strong that no one could get on its back. I was a lady in waiting attending Emperor Taizong, and I suggested to him, "I only need three things to subordinate it: an iron whip, an iron hammer, and a sharp dagger. I will whip it with

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1104-471: A secondary palace, Daming Palace ( 大明宮 ), into Penglai Palace ( 蓬萊宮 ). When Penglai Palace's main hall, Hanyuan Hall ( 含元殿 ), was completed in 663, Gaozong and Wu moved there. It was later renamed Hanyuan Palace. Empress Wang and Consort Xiao continued to appear in her dreams even after this, and therefore, late in Gaozong's reign, he and Wu were often at the eastern capital Luoyang , not at Chang'an. Over

1196-570: A series of wars on the Korean Peninsula , first allying with Silla against Goguryeo , and then against Silla over the occupation of former Goguryeo territory. Within China, besides the more direct consequences of her struggle to gain and maintain power, Wu's leadership resulted in important effects regarding social class in Chinese society and in relation to state support for Taoism , Buddhism , Confucianism , education and literature. Wu developed

1288-424: A succession of senior ministerial posts, including the governorship of Yangzhou , Lizhou, and Jingzhou ( 荊州 ) (modern-day Jiangling County , Hubei ). Wu was encouraged by her parents to read books and pursue her education, an uncommon situation for the women at the time. She read and learned about many topics, such as music, calligraphy, literature, history, politics, and other governmental affairs. At age 14, she

1380-481: A trusted advisor to Emperor Zhongzong who, while he was restored through the efforts of Zhang Jianzhi and his colleagues, feared them. In addition, Wu Sansi's son Wu Chongxun (武崇訓) had been married to Emperor Zhongzong's and Empress Wei's daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle , who also had much power in her father's administration and had influence over her father and it is said that she used this power and influence in

1472-645: Is that they tend to specify gender (as in the case of "emperor" versus "empress" or "prince" versus "princess"), whereas, in Classical Chinese , words such as hou ( 后 , "sovereign", "prince", "queen") or huangdi (皇帝 , "imperial supreme ruler", "royal deity") are of grammatically indeterminate gender . In Wu's time, women's birth names were rarely recorded. She changed her name to Wu Zhao after rising to power, often written as 武曌 , ( 曌 has also been written as 瞾 on occasion, and both are derivatives of 照 , which may be her original name), with 瞾 being one of

1564-520: The Sui dynasty . During the final years of Emperor Yang of Sui , Li Yuan ( 李淵 ) (who went on to become Emperor Gaozu of Tang) stayed in the Wu household many times and became close to the Wu family while holding appointments in both Hedong and Taiyuan. After Li Yuan overthrew Emperor Yang, he was generous to the Wu family, giving them grain, land, clothing and wealth. Once the Tang dynasty was established, Wu Shihou held

1656-467: The Wu Zhou dynasty of China from 690 to 705. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China widely regarded as legitimate . Under her 45-year reign, China grew larger, becoming one of the great powers of the world, its culture and economy were revitalized, and corruption in the court was reduced. She was eventually removed from power during a coup and died a few months later. In early life, Wu

1748-482: The Zizhi Tongjian : "Emperor Gaozong sat enthroned before his ministers as usual while they counseled him, Wu would be parked behind a screen, listening in. It does not matter how vital or insignificant the issue is. The great power of the empire all devolved on the empress. Promotion or demotion, life or death, were settled by her word, the emperor sat with folded arms." She and Gaozong were thereafter referred to as

1840-495: The empress dowager and regent and power fell completely and solely into her hands. She proceeded to depose Emperor Zhongzong for displaying independence and held onto power even more firmly thereafter. She then had her youngest son, Ruizong, made emperor. She was absolute ruler not only in substance but in appearance. She presided alone over imperial gatherings, prevented Ruizong from taking any active role in governance, and forbade all meetings with him. In 690, she had Ruizong yield

1932-414: The eunuch Wang Fusheng ( 王伏勝 ) reported this to Gaozong, angering him further. He consulted the chancellor Shangguan Yi , who suggested that he depose Wu. He had Shangguan draft an edict. But as Shangguan was doing so, Wu received news of what was happening. She went to the emperor to plead her case just as he was holding the edict that Shangguan had drafted. Gaozong could not bear to depose her and blamed

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2024-600: The "Two Saints" ( 二聖 , Er Sheng ) both inside the palace and in the empire. The Later Jin historian Liu Xu , in Old Book of Tang , commented: Minister of Rites The Ministry or Board of Rites was one of the Six Ministries of government in late imperial China . It was part of the imperial Chinese government from the Tang (7th century) until the 1911 Xinhai Revolution . Along with religious rituals and court ceremonial

2116-516: The Lady Yang, wept bitterly when saying farewell to her, but she responded, "How do you know that it is not my fortune to meet the Son of Heaven ?" Lady Yang reportedly then understood her ambitions, and therefore stopped crying. But Consort Wu did not appear to be much favored by Emperor Taizong, though it appears that she did have sexual relations with him at one point. According to her own account (given in

2208-723: The Ministry of Rites also oversaw the imperial examination and China's foreign relations . A Ministry of Rites also existed in imperial Vietnam . One of its tasks was enforcing the naming taboo . Under the Han , similar functions were performed by the Ministry of Ceremonies . In early medieval China, its functions were performed by other officials including the Grand Herald. Under the Song (10th-13th centuries), its functions were temporarily transferred to

2300-563: The Prince of Yu, but wielded power even more tightly thereafter. Sometime during her regency, Wu Sansi became minister of defense (夏官尚書, Xiaguan Shangshu ). Both he and his cousin Wu Chengsi (Wu Yuanshuang's son) advised Empress Dowager Wu to find excuses to kill two senior members of the imperial Li clan—Emperor Gaozong's uncles Li Yuanjia (李元嘉) the Prince of Han and Li Lingkui (李靈夔) the Prince of Lu due to their senior status. (Eventually, after two other princes—Emperor Gaozong's brother Li Zhen

2392-518: The Prince of Yue and Li Zhen's son Li Chong the Prince of Langye unsuccessfully rose against Empress Dowager Wu in 688, Empress Dowager Wu took the opportunity to also force Li Yuanjia and Li Lingkui, as well as many other members of the Li clan, to commit suicide or to execute them.) Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi were also said to be often advocating that Empress Dowager Wu take over the throne herself as "emperor." In 690, Empress Dowager Wu had Emperor Ruizong yield

2484-595: The Wu clan further from that point. In spring 706, Wu Sansi, fearful that Jing, Huan, and Yuan were still in the capital, sent them out of the capital to serve as prefectural prefects. Meanwhile, an incident occurred that allowed Wu Sansi to act further against the five coup leaders—as Emperor Zhongzong's son-in-law Wang Tongjiao (王同皎), himself a participant in the coup, was accused of plotting with Zhang Zhongzhi (張仲之), Zu Yanqing (祖延慶), and Zhou Jing (周璟) to kill Wu Sansi and deposing Empress Wei. The alleged plotters were all killed, and Wu Sansi and Empress Wei thereafter accused

2576-698: The capital Luoyang ), at much expense and labor. Wu Zetian was overthrown in a coup in 705 led by the officials Zhang Jianzhi , Cui Xuanwei , Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan , and Yuan Shuji . Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were killed in the coup, and Emperor Zhongzong was restored to the throne; Wu Zetian was sent to a secondary palace under heavy guard, and while she also retained the title of "emperor," no longer had power. By that time, Wu Sansi had been carrying out an affair with Wu Zetian's secretary and Emperor Zhongzong's concubine Consort Shangguan Wan'er . Through her introduction, Wu Sansi began an affair with Emperor Zhongzong's wife Empress Wei as well and also became

2668-504: The chancellor Yao Shu in charge of the project. It was said that the chieftains gathered up their wealth and bought iron, but the iron they bought was not enough, and so the people's farm equipment were requisitioned and melted for the project. In 695, Wu Sansi was made the Minister of Rites and was put in charge of editing the imperial history. In 696, when Khitan attacked under the leadership of Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong , Wu Sansi

2760-404: The child. Wang lacked an alibi and was unable to clear her name. Scientifically credible forensic pathology information about the death of Wu's daughter does not exist, and scholars lack concrete evidence about her death. However, scholars have many theories and speculations. Because traditional folklore tends to portray Wu as a power-hungry woman unconcerned about whom she hurt or what she did,

2852-539: The coup leaders but also Wu Sansi and his cousin Wu Youji (the husband of Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping ), as contributors to his return to the throne and gave them iron certificates that were supposed to guarantee that they would be spared of death penalties 10 times except for treason. Jing, fearful of Wu Sansi's power, retained the mid-level official Cui Shi to watch for Wu Sansi's moves—but Cui Shi, realizing that Emperor Zhongzong trusted Wu Sansi and feared

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2944-432: The coup leaders, instead became Wu Sansi's associate, along with Zheng Yin , who suggested that Wu Sansi find some way to remove the five coup leaders, now all chancellors, from their posts. Wu Sansi and Empress Wei, in turn, argued to Emperor Zhongzong that the five coup leaders were overpowering in the government and should be given honorific titles but be removed from office. At their suggestion, Emperor Zhongzong created

3036-423: The court, a position with similar authority to the emperor's, until 683. As a young woman entering Gaozong's harem, Wu competed with Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao for the emperor's affection, and eventually expelled and killed them. After her wedding to Gaozong in 655, her rise to power was swift. A strong, charismatic, vengeful, ambitious, well-educated woman who enjoyed her husband's absolute affection, Wu

3128-422: The deputy minister of imperial clan affairs. As the years passed, more and more power passed to Empress Wu, who until 665 had complete control of power, which was the beginning of her ascension to the imperial throne, which made his family increasingly in the highest honorable in among the powerful families of the empire. However, sometime before 666, Empress Wu, angry that her brothers and cousins did not appreciate

3220-586: The emperor's sole use, as a monarch or co-ruler in their own right. The Wu family clan originated in Wenshui County , Bingzhou (an ancient name of the city of Taiyuan , Shanxi ). Wu Zetian's birthplace is not documented in preserved historical literature and remains disputed. Some scholars argue that Wu was born in Wenshui , some that it was Lizhou ( 利州 ) (modern-day Guangyuan in Sichuan ), while others insist she

3312-528: The emperor. But the cause of death of her first two children is still in question. Gaozong became emperor at the age of 21. He was not the first choice, as he was inexperienced and frequently incapacitated with a sickness that caused him spells of dizziness. Gaozong was made heir to the empire only due to the disgrace of his two older brothers. On or after the anniversary of Emperor Taizong's death, Gaozong went to Ganye Temple to offer incense to Buddha. When he and Consort Wu saw each other, they both wept. This

3404-548: The episode on Shangguan. As both Shangguan and Wang had served on Li Zhong's staff, Wu had Xu falsely accuse Shangguan, Wang, and Li Zhong of planning treason. Shangguan, Wang, and Shangguan's son Shangguan Tingzhi ( 上官庭芝 ) were executed, while Li Zhong was forced to commit suicide. Shangguan Tingzhi's daughter Shangguan Wan'er , then an infant, and her mother, Lady Zheng, became slaves in the inner palace. After Shangguan Wan'er grew up, she became Empress Wu's trusted secretary. After that point, Gaozong accepted Wu's participation to

3496-499: The execution order reached his location. It was said that after this time, no official dared to criticize the emperor or empress. In order to complete the social promotion of her family, she had the Wu clan listed among those of first importance in the registers of the "Great Families" ( 姓氏錄 , xìngshìlù) by changing the "Book of Clans" to "Books of Names"; against imperial traditions. In late 659, she proposed to Emperor Gaozong that Palace Exam be opened to establish talented people from

3588-570: The extraordinary and unprecedented title of Chenfei (宸妃, meaning the Cosmic Consort), and promote her over all other imperial consorts directly under Wang herself. Han and fellow chancellor Lai Ji both opposed on the grounds that the title was unprecedented, and so Gaozong did not carry it out. Of course, the evidence shows that he probably granted this title, but it is still unclear. In the summer of 655, Wu accused Wang and her mother, Lady Liu, of using witchcraft. In response, Gaozong barred Liu from

3680-536: The faithfulness of Han and Lai in opposing the unprecedented Chenfei title. The real purpose was to show that she remembered that they had offended her, and it made Han and Lai apprehensive that she was aware of their opposition of her. Han offered to resign soon thereafter, an offer that Emperor Gaozong did not accept. In 656, on the advice of Xu Jingzong, Emperor Gaozong deposed Consort Liu's son Li Zhong from being his heir apparent. He changed Li Zhong's status to Prince of Liang and designated Empress Wu's son, Li Hong as

3772-455: The first thing he asked was: "Have you discussed this with Empress Wu? What is her opinion?" If she had clear opinions, he would make a decision based on them, and when he was feeling unpleasant, he told the chancellors and officials, "I'm not feeling well. Go to the Empress for work." As a result, imperial powers primarily fell into her hands. According to Song dynasty historian Sīmǎ Guāng 司马光 in

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3864-435: The five coup leaders of having been part of Wang Tongjiao's plot, and the five were demoted further, to more distant prefecture, with no possibility of return from exile. Meanwhile, Wu Sansi, knowing that Emperor Zhongzong was very sensitive about any accusation of adultery by Empress Wei, intentionally had people post public accusations that she had been involved in adultery—and then framed the five coup leaders of doing so, and

3956-453: The five coup leaders princes and awarded them much wealth, but removed them from governmental posts, including chancellor positions—and soon sent Zhang Jianzhi and Cui Xuanwei out of the capital. Wu Sansi, now in power, had much of Wu Zetian's policies, which the five coup leaders had reversed, reinstated. Meanwhile, to diffuse some of the popular sentiment against the Wu clan, Emperor Zhongzong demoted their titles slightly, and Wu Sansi's title

4048-486: The five coup leaders, already in exile, were stripped of all of their titles and honors. Wu Sansi, at Cui Shi's suggestion, then sent the secret police official Zhou Lizhen (周利貞) to the Lingnan region, where the five had been exiled, to survey the area, but with instructions to have the five killed. When Zhou reached Lingnan, Zhang Jianzhi and Cui Xuanwei had already died, but he killed Huan, Jing, and Yuan in cruel manners. It

4140-557: The generals Li Duozuo , Li Sichong (李思沖), Li Chengkuang (李承況), Dugu Yizhi (獨孤禕之), and Shazha Zhongyi (沙吒忠義), as well as Emperor Zhongzong's cousin Li Qianli (李千里) the Prince of Cheng and Li Qianli's son Li Xi (李禧) the Prince of Tianshui. They attacked Wu Sansi's mansion and killed Wu Sansi, Wu Chongxun, and some of their relatives. Li Chongjun's subsequent attempt to reach the palace and arrest Consort Shangguan, Empress Wei, and Li Guo'er, however, were unsuccessful, and his troops collapsed; he

4232-421: The girl's death, and as a result, tried to remove Wang from her position. Because of the child's death, an angry Gaozong also wanted to depose Wang and replace her with Wu. But first he needed to make sure that he had the support of the government chancellors. So Gaozong met with his uncle Zhangsun Wuji , the head chancellor. During the meeting, Gaozong repeatedly brought up Wang's childlessness. Childlessness

4324-543: The helm of the country for long years, her power is no different from that of the emperor." Wu presided over the court with the emperor, and even held court independently when the emperor was unwell. She was given charge of the Heirloom Seal of the Realm , implying that her perusal and consent were necessary before any document or order received legal validity. Gaozong sought her views on all matters before making major decisions. Wu

4416-507: The imperial consorts' titles were temporarily changed to be devoid of feminine and superficial quality. Her motive was probably to eliminate female rivals. In the same year, Wu selected military generals to attack Goguryeo. During these years, due to favors from Gaozong and Wu, her ally Li Yifu had been exceedingly powerful, and grew particularly corrupt. In 663, after reports of Li Yifu's corruption were made to Gaozong, Gaozong had Liu Xiangdao and Li Ji investigate. They found him guilty. Li Yifu

4508-543: The invented characters by Wu. Wu was her patronymic surname, which she retained, according to traditional Chinese practice, after marriage to Gaozong, of the Li family. Emperor Taizong gave her the art name Wu Mei ( 武媚 ), meaning "glamorous". Thus, Chinese people often refer to her as Wu Mei or Wu Meiniang ( 武媚娘 ) when they write about her youth, as Wu Hou ( 武后 ) when referring to her as empress consort and empress dowager, and as Wu Zetian ( 武則天 ) when referring to her as empress regnant. During her life, and posthumously, Wu

4600-428: The iron whip. If it does not submit, I will hammer its head with the iron hammer. If it still does not submit, I will cut its throat with the dagger." Emperor Taizong praised my bravery. Do you really believe that you are qualified to dirty my dagger? When Taizong died in 649, his youngest son, Li Zhi, whose mother was the main wife Wende , succeeded him as Emperor Gaozong . Li Zhi had had an affair with Wu when Taizong

4692-433: The low-level officials Wei Jifang ( 韋季方 ) and Li Chao ( 李巢 ). Zhangsun was exiled and, later in the year, was forced to commit suicide in exile. Xu further implicated Chu, Liu, Han, and Yu Zhining in the plot as well. Chu, who had died in 658, was posthumously stripped of his titles, and his sons Chu Yanfu ( 褚彥甫 ) and Chu Yanchong ( 褚彥沖 ) were executed. Orders were also issued to execute Liu and Han, although Han died before

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4784-610: The lower classes as government officials. This reduced the power of the aristocracy. In 660, Li Zhong, Gaozong's first-born son (to consort Liu) also was targeted. Li Zhong had feared that he would be next and had sought out advice of fortune tellers. Wu had him exiled and placed under house arrest. After removing those who opposed her rise, she had more power to influence politics, and Emperor Gaozong took full advantage of her advice on petitions made by officials and talking about state affairs. In 660, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu toured Bian Prefecture (modern-day Taiyuan), and Empress Wu had

4876-691: The meeting, Chu vehemently opposed deposing Wang, while Zhangsun and Yu showed their disapproval by silence. Chancellors Han Yuan and Lai Ji also opposed the move. When Gaozong asked Li Ji again he responded, "This is your family matter, Your Imperial Majesty. Why ask anyone else?" Gaozong therefore became resolved. He demoted Chu to commandant at Tan Prefecture (roughly modern Changsha , Hunan ), and then deposed both Wang and Xiao. He placed them under arrest and made Wu empress. Later that year, Gaozong showed signs of considering their release. Because of this, Wang and Xiao were killed on Empress Wu's orders. After their deaths, they often haunted Wu's dreams over

4968-563: The more powerful Wu clan members (which would have included Wu Sansi) or to demote them—and indeed, he made Wu Sansi Sikong (司空, one of the Three Excellencies ) and chancellor again with the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin (同中書門下三品, a modification of the Tong Fengge Luantai Sanpin designation that Wu Zetian used), although Wu Sansi declined the titles. Meanwhile, Emperor Zhongzong designated 16 officials, including

5060-482: The most popular theory is that Wu killed her own child in order to accuse Wang. Other schools of thought argue that Wang indeed killed the child out of jealousy and hatred of Wu. The third argument is that the child died of asphyxiation or crib death . The ventilation systems of the time were nonexistent or of poor quality, and the lack of ventilation combined with using coal as a heating method could have led to carbon monoxide poisoning . In any case, Wu blamed Wang for

5152-750: The opportunity to invite her old neighbors and relatives to a feast. Later that year, Emperor Gaozong began to suffer from an illness that carried the symptoms of painful headaches and loss of vision, generally thought to be hypertension-related. He began to have Empress Wu make rulings on daily petitions and proposals made by officials. It was said that Empress Wu had quick reactions and understood both literature and history, and therefore, she made correct rulings, and Emperor Gaozong, with her ability, no longer paid much attention to governmental affairs, and over time became more and more dependent on her advice, delegating his duties to her. Thereafter, her authority rivaled Emperor Gaozong's. From this point on, Empress Wu became

5244-421: The palace and demoted Wang's uncle, Liu Shi. Meanwhile, a faction of officials began to form around Wu, including Li Yifu , Xu, Cui Yixuan ( 崔義玄 ), and Yuan Gongyu ( 袁公瑜 ). Once in the autumn of 655, Gaozong summoned the chancellors Zhangsun, Li Ji , Yu Zhining , and Chu Suiliang to the palace. Chu had deduced that the summons were about changing the empress. Li Ji claimed illness and refused to attend. At

5336-439: The palace. (Some modern historians dispute this traditional account. Some think that Wu never left the imperial palace and might have had an affair with Gaozong while Taizong was still alive.) Wu soon overtook Xiao as Gaozong's favorite. In 652, she gave birth to her first child, a son named Li Hong . In 653, she gave birth to another son, Li Xián . Neither of these sons was in contention to be Gaozong's heir, because Gaozong, at

5428-458: The position of crown prince to him, created him crown prince and changed his name to Li Xian and then to Wu Xian. In 698, Wu Zetian made Wu Sansi acting Neishi ( 內史 ), the head of the legislative bureau of government ( 鳳閣 , Fengge ); the next year, he was made full Neishi . In 700, however, he was no longer chancellor and was made an advisor to Li Xian. He received the honorific title of Tejin ( 特進 ). In 702, Wu Zetian considered launching

5520-527: The position of emperor. Since the time of Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC), the Emperor of China using the title huangdi ( 皇帝 , translated as "emperor" or "empress (regnant)" as appropriate), Wu was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title huangdi . Her tenure as de facto ruler of China and official regent of the Tang dynasty (first through her husband and then through her sons, from 665 to 690)

5612-416: The promotions, had them all demoted, with Wu Yuanqing demoted to be the prefect of Long Prefecture (龍州, roughly modern Mianyang , Sichuan ). After he arrived at Long Prefecture, he, in fear that Empress Wu had further retaliation in the works, died. It is not completely clear, but it was likely that Wu Sansi went to Long Prefecture with his father Wu Yuanqing. In 675, at the behest of Empress Wu, Wu's family

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5704-493: The remainder of her life. After Taizong's death, Gaozong met her at the death anniversary of Taizong when he was offering incense . At the time, Consort Xiao and Empress Wang were fighting for favoredness of Gaozong, and Wang asked Gaozong to bring Wu back into the palace, hoping to divert Gaozong's attention. Gaozong agreed and gave Wu the title Lady of Bright Deportment ( 昭儀 ). Soon, Gaozong became enamored with Wu, and both Wang and Xiao lost favor. By early 650, Consort Wu

5796-500: The request of officials influenced by Wang and her uncle (the chancellor Liu Shi ), had designated his eldest son Li Zhong as his heir. Li Zhong's mother, Consort Liu, was of lowly birth. Wang did this in order to receive Liu's gratitude. By 654, both Wang and Xiao had lost favor with Gaozong, and these two former romantic rivals joined forces against Wu, but to no avail. For example, as a sign of his love for Wu, Gaozong conferred posthumous honors on her father, Wu Shiyue , in 654. In

5888-524: The rest of Gaozong's reign, he and Wu often took up residence at the eastern capital Luoyang and only infrequently spent time in Chang'an . In 655, Wu became Tang Gaozong's new empress consort ( 皇后 , húanghòu ). Empress Wu was a powerful force in the world of politics, and had great influence over the Emperor. After Empress Wu's ascension, one of the first things she did was to submit a petition ostensibly praising

5980-511: The sacrifices herself first, followed by Wu Chengsi, and then Wu Sansi. It was said that he had done some studies in literature and history and was good at flattery. As the years went by, he often flattered Wu Zetian's successive lovers Huaiyi , Zhang Yizhi , and Zhang Changzong . In 694, Wu Sansi led a group of non- Han chieftains in requesting that a massive iron pillar be erected to commemorate Wu Zetian's reign with text on it to deprecate Tang and to praise Zhou, and Wu Zetian agreed, putting

6072-423: The same year, Wu gave birth to a daughter. But her daughter died shortly after birth, with evidence suggesting deliberate strangulation . The evidence include allegations made by Wu herself, and she accused Wang of murder. Wang was accused of having been seen near the child's room, with corroborating testimony by alleged eyewitnesses. Gaozong was led to believe that Wang, motivated by jealousy, had most likely killed

6164-414: The sense of empress consort and empress regnant . Generally, the monarch was male and his chief spouse was given a title such as huanghou ( 皇后 ), often translated as "empress" or more specifically "empress consort". Upon the emperor's death, the surviving empress consort could become empress dowager , sometimes wielding considerable political power as regent during the minority of the (male) heir to

6256-447: The throne to her and established the Zhou dynasty. She ruled as emperor until 705. She was regarded as ruthless in her endeavors to grab power, and was believed by traditional historians to have killed her own children. This was later proven false; these rumors seem to have surfaced 400 years after her death, likely due to the belief in ancient China that a woman was unsuited to hold the power of

6348-548: The throne to her, and she took the throne as "emperor," establishing a new Zhou dynasty and interrupting Tang. She created a number of her Wu clan relatives imperial princes, and Wu Sansi was created the Prince of Liang and made the minister of civil service affairs ( 天官尚書 , Tianguan Shangshu ). He did not appear to have as much power as Wu Chengsi (who became chancellor ), but was nevertheless honored. For example, in 693, when Wu Zetian made sacrifices to heaven and earth, she offered

6440-477: The throne, and Wu Sansi's tomb was destroyed. Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao , was Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as empress consort through her husband Emperor Gaozong and later as empress dowager through her sons Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong , from 660 to 690. She subsequently founded and ruled as empress regent of

6532-806: The title of Prince of Dai and crown prince (that is, Heir Apparent). Soon after, Empress Wu became dominant at court, installing officials who favored her ascension in chancellor posts. In 657, Empress Wu persuaded Emperor Gaozong to split the empire into two capitals and make Luoyang the capital alongside Chang'an . In 657, Empress Wu and her allies began reprisals against officials who had opposed her ascension. She first had Xu and Li Yifu, who were by now chancellors, falsely accuse Han Yuan and Lai Ji of being complicit with Chu Suiliang in planning treason. The three of them, along with Liu Shi, were demoted to being prefects of remote prefectures, with provisions that they would never be allowed to return to Chang'an. In 659, she had Xu accuse Zhangsun Wuji of plotting treason with

6624-454: The undisputed power behind the throne until the end of his reign. Slowly, Gaozong became aware of Wu's increasing power, but he could not stop her. In 661, Empress Wu asked to forbid women from all over the empire to be haiku (entertainers who perform burlesque ), and Emperor Gaozong agreed and issued an edict. In April, Gaozong wanted to conquer Goguryeo himself, but surrendered at the urging of Wu and his ministers. In 662, at Wu's suggestion,

6716-495: The years, Emperor Gaozong's illness had worsened, and Empress Wu's influence continued to grow and was fully established in the political arena. By 664, Wu was said to be interfering so much in the empire's governance that she was angering Gaozong with her controlling behavior. Furthermore, she had engaged the Taoist sorcerer Guo Xingzhen ( 郭行真 ) in using witchcraft—an act prohibited by regulations, which led to Empress Wang's downfall—and

6808-414: The years. Wu came to believe their spirits were after her. For this reason, Emperor Gaozong started remodeling a secondary palace, Daming Palace (大明宮), into Penglai Palace (蓬萊宮). When Penglai Palace's main hall, Hanyuan Hall (含元殿), was completed in 663, Gaozong and Wu moved there. It was later renamed Hanyuan Palace, yet Empress Wang and Consort Xiao still continued to appear in her dreams. Therefore, for

6900-611: Was a concubine of Emperor Gaozong, and was given the title Zhaoyi ( 昭儀 ) (Lady of Bright Deportment, the highest-ranking of the nine concubines in the second rank). She progressed rapidly, earning the title of huanghou ( 皇后 ) (empress consort, the highest rank and position a woman held in the empire), and gradually gained immeasurable influence and unprecedented authority over the empire's governance throughout Gaozong's reign. Over time, she came to control most major and key decisions made during Gaozong's reign, and presided over imperial gatherings. After Gaozong died in 683, Empress Wu became

6992-469: Was a sufficient excuse to depose Wang, but Zhangsun repeatedly found ways to divert the conversation. Subsequent visits made by Wu's mother, Lady Yang, and an official allied with Wu, Xu Jingzong , to seek support from Zhangsun were met with disappointment. Early in 655 he wanted to give Wu (who carried the sixth-highest rank among imperial consorts, Zhaoyi (昭儀, meaning the lady of the Bright Section))

7084-500: Was also granted certain honors and privileges not enjoyed by any Chinese empresses before or since. After Gaozong's death, Wu as empress dowager and regent held power completely and solely, used absolute power more forcefully and violently than before, and suppressed her overt and covert opponents. Seven years later, Wu seized the throne and began the Zhou dynasty, becoming the only empress regnant in Chinese history. On Emperor Gaozong's death in 683, rather than entering into retirement (as

7176-463: Was awarded various official titles. Both hou ( 后 ) and huangdi ( 皇帝 ) are titles (modifications, or added characters to hou are of lesser importance). Born Wu Zhao, she is not properly known as "Wu Hou" (Empress Wu) until receiving this title in 655, nor is she properly known as "Wu Zetian", her regnal name, until 690, when she took the title Emperor. Various Chinese titles have been translated into English as "empress", including "empress" in both

7268-410: Was born in the imperial capital of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an ). Wu Zetian was born in the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang. In the same year, a total eclipse of the sun was visible across China. Her father, Wu Shiyue , worked in the timber business and the family was relatively well-off. Her mother was from the powerful Yang family, distant relatives of the imperial family of

7360-424: Was customary for royal widows), or not interfering in the government (according to the emperor's law, when he reaches the age of 17, he must rule by himself); Wu broke with tradition and took acquisition of complete power, refusing to allow any of her sons to rule. She took the throne in 690 by officially changing the name of the country from Tang to Zhou, changing the name of the royal family from Li to Wu, and holding

7452-455: Was killed. Li Chongjun was beheaded, and his head was presented to Wu Sansi's and Wu Chongxun's caskets. Wu Sansi and Wu Chongxun were buried in grand funerals, and Wu Sansi was posthumously recreated the Prince of Liang with the posthumous name of Xuan (宣, "responsible"). After Emperor Zhongzong's death in 710, a coup led by Princess Taiping and Li Dan's son Li Longji the Prince of Linzi overthrew Empress Wei and restored Emperor Ruizong to

7544-529: Was not without precedent in Chinese history, but she broke precedent when she founded her own dynasty in 690, the Zhou ( 周 ) (interrupting the Tang dynasty ), ruling personally under the name Sacred and Divine Huangdi ( 聖神皇帝 ), and variations thereof, from 690 to 705. Wu Zetian and Empress Dowager Liu of the Song dynasty are said to be the only women in Chinese history to have worn a yellow robe, ordinarily reserved for

7636-509: Was pardoned and Wu Sansi was hailed as the empress's nephew, and he was made a commanding general of the imperial guards. Emperor Gaozong died in 683, and was initially succeeded by his and Empress Wu's son Li Zhe the Crown Prince (as Emperor Zhongzong), but Empress Wu retained power as empress dowager and regent . In spring 684, after Emperor Zhongzong showed signs of independence, she deposed him and replaced him with another son, Li Dan

7728-563: Was put in command of one of the major armies defending against the Khitan attack, assisted by Yao. In 697, Wu Sansi was given the designation Tong Fengge Luantai Sanpin ( 同鳳閣鸞臺三品 ), making him a chancellor de facto , but about a month later, he was stripped of the chancellor designation. It was said that he and Wu Chengsi both had designs on being crown prince, and often had their associates try to persuade Wu Zetian that in ages past, there had never been an emperor who had, as his heir, someone with

7820-426: Was reduced from Prince of Liang to the lesser title of Prince of Dejing. As Emperor Zhongzong also trusted Wei Yuanzhong (whom Wu Zetian had exiled in 703 but whom Emperor Zhongzong recalled upon his restoration to the throne), when Wu Zetian died in late 705, Wu Sansi tried to ingratiate Wei by writing into Wu Zetian's will a provision giving Wei an additional fief of 100 households. Wei, in gratitude, did not oppose

7912-459: Was removed from his post, exiled, and never returned to Chang'an. Wu is said to have been reluctant to accept corruption and therefore did not defend Li Yifu and her only role in Gaozong's decision was to prevent Li Yifu's execution. Over the years, Empress Wu had repeatedly seen Empress Wang and Consort Xiao in her dreams as they were after death, and she came to believe their spirits were after her. For this reason, Emperor Gaozong started remodeling

8004-589: Was said that after news of the five coup leaders' deaths reached Wu Sansi, he commented, "I do not know who are good people and who are bad people on this earth. I only know that people who are good to me are good, and people who are bad to me are bad." In spring 707, with an ongoing drought, Emperor Zhongzong sent Wu Sansi and Wu Youji to Emperor Gaozong's and Wu Zetian's tomb to pray for rain, and when rain came, Emperor Zhongzong restored Wu Zetian's ancestral temple to near-imperial ancestral temple status. Meanwhile, Emperor Zhongzong had created his son Li Chongjun , by

8096-490: Was seen by Gaozong's wife, Empress Wang . At that time, Gaozong did not favor Wang. Instead, he favored his concubine Pure Consort Xiao . Furthermore, Wang had no children while Xiao had one son ( Li Sujie ) and two daughters (Princesses Yiyang and Xuancheng). Wang, seeing that Gaozong was still impressed by Wu's beauty, hoped that the arrival of a new concubine would divert the emperor from Xiao. Therefore, she secretly told Wu to stop shaving her hair and later welcomed her to

8188-420: Was still alive. Taizong had 14 sons, including three by his beloved Empress Zhangsun (601–636), but none with Consort Wu. Thus, according to the custom by which consorts of deceased emperors who had not produced children were permanently confined to a monastic institution after the emperor's death, Wu was consigned to Ganye Temple ( 感業寺 ) with the expectation that she would serve as a Buddhist nun there for

8280-420: Was taken to be an imperial concubine (lesser wife) of Emperor Taizong of Tang . It was there that she became a type of secretary. This opportunity allowed her to continue to pursue her education. She was given the title of cairen ( 才人 ), the title for one of the consorts with the 5th rank in Tang's nine-rank system for imperial officials, nobles, and consorts. When she was summoned to the palace, her mother,

8372-430: Was the concubine of Emperor Taizong . After his death, she married his ninth son and successor, Emperor Gaozong, officially becoming Gaozong's huanghou ( 皇后 ), or empress consort, the highest-ranking of the wives, in 655. Wu had considerable political power even before becoming empress consort, and began to control the court after her appointment. After Gaozong's debilitating stroke in 660, she became administrator of

8464-432: Was the most powerful and influential woman at court during a period when the Tang dynasty was at the peak of its glory. Wu was more decisive and proactive than her husband, and historians consider her to have been the real power behind the throne during Gaozong's reign for more than 20 years until his death. She was partially in control of power from November 660, and totally from January 665. History records that she "was at

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