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- Her reign was marked by numerous accomplishments. She expanded the country’s borders while implementing significant social and economic reforms. This lead to her ability to promote arts and literature. She was a strong and effective leader, and despite facing opposition from powerful factions at court, she ruled for over 15 years.
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Feb 3, 2021 · Empress Wu, who was also known as Wu Zetian or Wu Zhao, was the first and only female monarch to rule China. Additionally, Wu Zhao is generally recognized as the longest reigning de facto female ruler in history, having being at the helm of affairs of the empire for close to half a century.
- She started out as an imperial concubine. Wu Zetian was born into a rich family. Her father Wu Shiyue made sure that she was well-educated – a trait that was uncommon among women.
- She had an affair with the emperor’s son. While Emperor Taizong was still alive, Wu had an affair with his youngest son, Li Zhu (628-683). When Taizong died in 649, Li succeeded him as Emperor Gaozong.
- She may have murdered her own baby. In 654, shortly after she gave birth to a daughter, the baby died. Wu accused Empress Wang – the wife of Emperor Gaozong – of murder.
- She deposed her sons to become empress. Upon the death of Emperor Gaozong in 683, Wu became empress dowager and her son Li Zhe (656-710) took the throne as Emperor Zhongzong.
Mar 17, 2016 · Empress Wu Zetian (Empress Consort Wu, Wu Hou, Wu Mei Niang, Mei-Niang, and Wu Zhao, l. 624-705 CE, r. 690-704 CE) was the only female emperor of Imperial China. She reigned during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) and was one of the most effective and controversial monarchs in China's history.
- Emily Mark
Wu Zetian used her political powers to harness from Buddhist practices a strategy to build sovereignty and legitimacy to her throne while decisively establishing the Zhou dynasty in a society under Confucian and patriarchal ideals.
Jan 31, 2023 · For more than 3,000 years, only one woman ruled China in her own right: a concubine who became the wife, then mother of emperors, before taking the throne. Samantha Morris explores how Wu Zetian broke away from the typical woman’s role in medieval China and ruled through strong, often brutal, leadership.
- Elinor Evans
Wu Zetian (624–705) was the only female emperor in China's history. She ruled the Tang Dynasty as empress (655–690), and then as Emperor for 15 years, in the seldom-mentioned Zhou Dynasty. During her long reign totaling 50 years, the empire became relatively stable, peaceful, powerful, and prosperous. Emperor and Empress: In China only the ...
Wu Zhao (624–705), also known as Empress Wu Zetian, was the first and only woman emperor of China. 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.
