Empress Wu Zetian — The Only Female Emperor in the History of China

Wu Zetian (624 — 705), also named Wu Zhao, was the only legitimate female emperor in the history of China.

She not only crowned herself and changed the name of the empire but also furthered its prosperity and improved the well-being of its citizens.

She was a challenger of the System of Military Aristocracy Clans and one of the best representatives of Feminism.

As the first and only woman who obtained great centralized power and sovereignty, her love life was also colorful.

Wu Zetian was never a moral model and had failed many people, but she had never let herself down.

Infidelity with the Crown Prince While Married to the Emperor

Wu Zetian's father was a businessman who had donated money to support a general rebelling against the Sui Dynasty.

After this general won and established the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian's father was awarded a political position and a noble title.

Her father departed when she was 11; afterward, she and her mother were poorly treated by other family members.

When Wu was 13 years old, she was selected as Emperor Taizong of Tang's imperial concubine because of her beauty.

However, she wasn't quite appreciated by the emperor. A few years later, she still had no kids and was never promoted.

No one knew when Wu Zetian and the crown prince Li Zhi started their romantic relationship, which was never discovered.

Tang Tai Zong or Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan (Tu Bo) Envoy, Painted by Politician/Artist Yan Liben (601 — 673)

Emperor Taizong of Tang Receiving the Tibetan (Tu Bo) Envoy, Painted by Politician/Artist Yan Liben (601 — 673) — Palace Museum

Life in a Temple as a Widow

Emperor Li Shimin departed when Wu Zetian was 25 years old.

According to Empire Tang’s tradition, the late emperor’s concubines would be sent to an imperial temple if they never had kids.

So Wu started her simple life in the Gan Ye Temple, where she was supposed to spend the rest of her life reading and writing scriptures in peace.

At that time, her former lover Li Zhi, the favorite son and crown prince of Emperor Li Shimin, had already ascended to the throne and had a noble queen, Empress Wang, and some beautiful concubines.

Li Zhi (628 — 683), now Emperor Gaozong of Tang, was young and ambitious; as one of the best emperors of the Tang Dynasty, he governed the empire well and lived a happy life.

Portrait of Li Zhi the Emperor Gaozong of Tang, by an Artist of the Qing Dynasty (1636 — 1912).

Usurping the Crown from the Current Queen

One year later, when Emperor Li Zhi was visiting this imperial temple, he again saw Wu Zetian, his former lover.

During this meeting, Li Zhi was reminded of her charm and their past experiences together.

Wu Zetian made the new emperor madly fall in love with her again and decided to welcome her back to the royal palace.

Very soon, she gave birth to her first son and got promoted.

Gradually, Emperor Li Zhi got tired of his decent queen and other beautiful concubines, those whom his remarkable parents strictly selected.

Building Complex of Daming Palace the Royal Palace of the Tang Dynasty, based on Architectural Historian Yang Hongxun's Restored Model.

Afterward, the emperor and Wu began to plan to abolish the current Empress Wang and gave Wu the queen's crown for political and personal reasons.

However, powerful officials strongly disagreed with abolishing Empress Wang, a decent and beautiful girl from an honorable clan that the great Emperor Li Shimin chose.

Since then, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian became political allies based on their love and used this as an excuse to challenge the aristocratic military families that the current queen represented.

A few years later, this intelligent and determined couple finally gained the queen's crown for Wu Zetian, banished those opponent ministers, and severely weakened the dominant clans of the Tang Empire.

Vairocana Buddha of Longmen Grottoes, built from 672 to 675, was supported by and modeled on Queen Wu Zetian., Photo by Wuye.

Entering Politics and Gaining Power

Wu Zetian’s husband, Emperor Li Zhi, was a remarkable monarch in history.

Besides having restrained powerful clans, he further extended the territory of the Tang Empire by defeating the western part of Turkic Khanates and other nearby regions.

He wasn’t quite an innovative emperor; however, every section of the Empire Tang flourished under his reign.

As his father, Li Shimin, had expected, Li Zhi managed and developed their kingdom exceptionally well.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Dayan Pagoda in Xi'an, Constructed in 652, Picture from Honghu Wanli.

Unfortunately, Emperor Li Zhi frequently suffered headaches since his 30s.

Therefore, as his great love and sincere political ally, Empress Wu gradually got involved in political decisions.

They also held the grand Feng Shan ceremony on Mount Tai together, like some other great emperors in the history of China.

Li Zhi and Wu Zetian had four sons and two daughters.

Their first son, a brilliant and elegant prince, passed away at a young age.

The second son, a decent prince and excellent artist, was banished to a remote city and later forced to commit suicide after displeasing Wu.

Unearthed Gilding Copper Knocker (Fu Shou) From Mausoleum of Li Xian (the Second Son of Empress Wu Zetian and Emperor Li Zhi) — Qianling Museum (Photo by Dongmaiying)

Seizing the Imperial Throne from Her Sons

When Empress Wu was 59, her husband, Emperor Li Zhi, passed away, and their third son ascended to the throne.

But soon, she found that this son was too timid and irrationally obsessed with his queen.

So, Wu abolished him and nominated her fourth son as the new emperor.

This decision didn't satisfy her either.

Then, she half-imprisoned the new emperor in his palace and was in actual charge of the empire herself, which made many people from the royal clan unsatisfied and started to rebel.

Empress Wu Zetian sent 300,000 soldiers to defeat them and murdered large numbers of people from the royal Li clan, except her kids.

Unearthed Gold Card in the Mount Song, Writing that Emperor Wu Zetian Prays for the Forgiveness from Deities about All the Sins that She had Committed

Unearthed Gold Card in the Mount Song, Writing that Emperor Wu Prays for the Forgiveness from Deities about All the Sins that She had Committed — Henan Museum (Photo by Dongmaiying)

Enthronement of Empress Wu Zetian

Six years later, Empress Wu changed the empire's name from Tang to Zhou and claimed herself as the new emperor.

Her brilliant prime minister Di Renjie (630 — 700), persuaded Wu to nominate her son as the crown prince instead of her nephew, who only shares the same family name with her.

This ensured that the throne would revert to the royal House of Li after Empress Wu passed away.

Therefore, her fourth son was nominated as the crown prince; but soon, he abdicated it to his older brother, the third son of Empress Wu.

Unearthed Epitaph from mausoleum of Yuan Gongyu, Wrote by Remarkable Prime Minister Di Renjie of the Tang Dynasty

Epitaph of Yuan Gongyu Written by Di Renjie — Qian Tang Zhi Zhai Museum in Luoyang City (Photo by Dongmaiying)

Empress Wu and Her Remarkable Governance

Notwithstanding the scheming means she used to snatch the throne, Empress Wu Zetian was quite a good monarch.

She kept fighting against the aristocratic military clans within her empire by further refining the Imperial Examination System, adding many subjects and positions to include more people from humble families.

During her reign, many intelligent individuals were selected into the ruling class, regardless of gender, socioeconomic background, or even affiliation with political adversaries. They were granted power as long as they demonstrated capability and loyalty.

She also recruited many intelligent women to participate in politics, including the first and only female prime minister Shangguan Wan'er.

Unearthed Painted Figurine of Women Riding Horse, Which was Quite Popular Under Empress Wu Zetian's Reign

Unearthed Painted Figurine of Women Riding Horse, Which was Quite Popular Under Empress Wu's Reign — Art Institute of Chicago (Photo by Dongmaiying)

Empress Wu lowered taxes and paid attention to agriculture; farmers with good production would be rewarded.

To maintain her dominance, Wu used secret police officials to apply the laws and gather information against opponents strictly; she also established an efficient system for people to inform against her potential enemies or those that may threaten her throne.

Moreover, she extended the empire's territory by defeating and managing powerful nomadic regimes near the borders, which further flourished the business trades on the Silk Road.

There were wars against neighbors and uprising armies within the nation; however, her empire's agriculture, handicraft, and commerce sections were all well-developed, and the population nearly doubled during her reign.

Besides being beautiful, powerful, and decisive, Empress Wu was a good poet and calligrapher who even invented some Chinese characters.

Calligraphy Work of Empress Wu Zetian, Part of Stele "Shengxian Taizi Bei" (升仙太子碑) in Luoyang, Henan Province.

Handsome Male Concubines in the Court of Empress Wu

Empress Wu kept some young and handsome male imperial concubines; she even set up an office to manage and organize them.

When she was old and sick, two of her favorite male concubines, the Zhang brothers, obtained lots of power and committed many horrible crimes.

Hence, some officials allied with Wu's two sons and only daughter, Princess Taiping, initiated a coup, killed the Zhang brothers, and seized this opportunity to force Empress Wu to give the throne back to her third son, the current crown prince.

Unearthed Copper Mirror Decorated with Mythical Animals and Grape Patterns

Unearthed Copper Mirror of Tang — Shanxi Museum (Photo by Dongmaiying)

Her son named the dynasty back to Tang and became the next emperor, the Emperor Zhongzong of Tang.

In the same year, Wu Zetian passed away and was buried with her second husband, Emperor Li Zhi, the love of her life.

However, her funeral followed a queen's ceremony instead of an emperor's.

As she commanded, a blank tombstone was established in front of her cemetery, meaning that people could say whatever they wanted to comment about her.

The Blank Tombstone of Empress Wu Zetian

A Deviant Woman and An Exceptional Emperor

Empress Wu Zetian was frequently criticized for her deviant behaviors because she barely did what a "good" woman would do, based on virtue standards of more than 1000 years ago.

As a concubine of great Emperor Li Shimin, she wasn't faithful nor appreciated; instead, she had an affair with the emperor's beloved son and slaughtered many princes of his royal clan years later.

As the queen of her second husband, Emperor Li Zhi, she did not behave nor stay away from politics and power, like other moral Chinese empresses in history; she, on the contrary, had been actively involved in governance and tried her best to be influential and to seize power.

As an empress dowager, she didn't assist her sons to be good emperors; instead, she took over the throne from them and sometimes even imprisoned them, which made her kids stay in unstable and nervous situations frequently.

As a lover, she never covered up for her handsome male concubines; whoever endangered her ruling or broke the law was executed as long as they were found out.

Painting of Queen Wu Zetian Patrolling in the Royal Palace, by Court Artist Zhang Xuan of the Tang Dynasty

Painting of Empress Wu Patrolling in the Royal Palace, by Court Artist Zhang Xuan of the Tang Dynasty — National Museum of China

As an emperor, however, Wu Zetian was quite excellent and further developed the empire and reached prosperity.

This first and only female emperor in Chinese history commanded the respect of all men, kneeling before her as the most honorable monarch, thanks to her exceptional governance skills and outstanding achievements.

As a woman born into an ordinary official’s family, she was a much better sovereign than many male emperors who were better educated and ascended to the throne legitimately.

Unlike all other emperors in history, she was the only one with a blank tombstone; after all her legendary experiences and accomplishments, she chose silence.

The Mausoleum of Emperor Li Zhi and Empress Wu Zetian — Qianling Mausoleum in Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province

Shangguan Wan'er — First and Only Female Prime Minister of Ancient China