Ancient chinese women

 A ferocious, ruthless leader who would do anything to gain power or a  brilliant woman merely acting in her situation as needed and ruling as any male emperor of China would?

wu zetian, woman, strong,

 

               Wu Zetian

 

The beginning

Wu Zetian was born as Wu Zhao in 624 A.D. into a rich family in Shanxi Province, China. She was educated in reading, writing, and music in her youth. Since she was beautiful and intelligent, at the age of 13, Wu Zhao became an imperial concubine (lesser wife) of Emperor Taizong. But in 649 A.D. Emperor Taizong died, and young Wu was sent to a nunnery, at the time a fifth rank concubine, and nick- named Mei-Niang.

But the ambitious Wu Zetian would not stay in the nunnery for long. She was a caged tiger, waiting for a moment to strike. The new emperor (Gaozong) set his eyes on her and visited her often. In a short time she was back in the palace, this time a second rank concubine.

 

 

 The Legend of the Murder

But Zhao wasn’t happy with what she had. It is believed that she strangled her own daughter when she was a mere baby, to frame the empress and the head concubine for murder. The emperor believed her because he had mistakenly thought she wouldn’t kill her own flesh and blood. Bloodthirsty little Mei-Niang (only about 29 at the time) had the hands and feet of the ex-empress and the ex-head concubine cut off and put them in a well to drown. Even her own 2 sons were treated this way.

But some expert historians disagree with this theory. They argue that Wu would have had no time to kill her daughter just before the empress came to visit her. Their theory is that because this happened in winter, it is quite likely that her child had died naturally of sickness.

  In 650 A.D. her husband Emperor Gaozong had a stroke, and Wu took over. She introduced new ideas in farming and labor saving techniques as well as tax reduction and social reforms. In six years Gaozong died, and her third son Zhongzong became emperor.  When she decided she was tired of having to deal with him, she dethroned Zhongzong, and placed Ruizong, her weakest son, on the throne. But even this wasn’t enough for Wu Zetian; she wanted to be emperor in name and power. So in 690 A.D. Wu Zhao took over completely .

 

 

 This poster is of a movie produced about WuZetian's rise to power.

strong women, wu zetian
china, building, pretty
wu zetian, movie poster

 The reign

Wu started her own dynasty, intercepting the Tang dynasty and calling it the second Zhou dynasty.

Despite her mean edge, Wu Zetian made a brilliant ruler. She was Wu Zetian, the only female in Chinese history to rule as emperor. For example she allowed only intelligent people to become government officials, letting any one who could pass a test apply. She also made sure that no one could get a job unless they really deserved it. Increasing productivity and directing the creation of framing manuals made Wu popular with the common man.

The Tang dynasty (618-906 AD) was a time of relative freedom for women. They did not bind their feet nor lead submissive lives. It was a time in which a number of exceptional women contributed in the areas of culture and politics.

Sadly this great woman died in 705 A.D. at age 80, with nothing but a plain memorial steeple to honor her. Perhaps that was for the best, because Wu Zetian wanted her actions to speak for themselves.

 

landscape, view, monument, china, mountain
QianLing Tomb where the third Tang-dynasty ruler Li Zhi (Gao Zhong) and his wife the famous empress Wu Zetian.

Pymble Ladies College 2011