Empress Wu the Great: Tang Dynasty China

185 Pages·2008·1.68 MB·English

by  X. L. Woo

E W G
mprEss u thE rEat

E W G
mprEss u thE rEat
t D C
anG ynasty hina
X. L. Woo
Algora Publishing
New York
© 2008 by Algora Publishing.
All Rights Reserved
www.algora.com
No portion of this book (beyond what is permitted by
Sections 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976)
may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the
express written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data —
Woo, X. L.
Empress Wu the Great / X L. Woo.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-87586-660-4 (trade paper: alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-87586-661-1 (case
laminate: alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-87586-662-8 (ebook) 1. Wu hou, Empress of China,
624-705 2. Empresses—China—Biography. 3. China—History—Tang dynasty, 618-907.
I. Title.
DS749.42.W8W66 2008
951’.017092—dc22
[B]
2008031633
Front Cover: Empress Wu the Great
Printed in the United States
tablE of ContEnts
prEfaCE 1
ChaptEr 1. oriGins of a futurE sovErEiGn 5
The Wu Family 5
Wu’s Father Rises from a Merchant to a Nobleman 5
Mr. Wu Marries Up 7
Mr. Wu Becomes a Governor 9
Mr. Wu Leaves His Family Bereft 10
The Establishment of the Tang Dynasty 11
Mr. Wu’s Sponsor Becomes the Second Emperor of the Tang Dynasty 20
Empress Changsun and a Few of the Courtiers 25
ChaptEr 2. miss Wu bEComEs an impErial ConCubinE 31
The Sons Vie for the Succession 33
Selecting the Crown Prince 36
Introduction to the Crown Prince 38
Sent to a Nunnery 44
The New Emperor Reigns 45
Empress Wang Brings Wu Back to the Palace 49
Empress Wang and Concubine Xiao Unite against Concubine Wu 51
Concubine Wu Fights Back 53
The Courtiers Take Sides 54
Empress Wang and Her Supporters Take a Mis-Step 57
Empress Wang and the Crown Prince are Removed 58
Empress Wu the Great
Wu Becomes Empress 60
ChaptEr 3. from EmprEss to EmprEss DoWaGEr 6 3
Advancing Supporters and Annihilating Opponents 63
Taking Part in Politics 66
The Pleasures of Traveling 85
Relationship With Her Children 89
ChaptEr 4. thE EmprEss DoWaGEr ConsoliDatEs hEr poWEr 97
Standing at the Top 105
View from the Summit 108
ChaptEr 5. rEbEllions 123
The Largest Rebellion 123
The Rebellions of the Princes Li 131
Other Rebellions 136
Abuse of Power at Every Level 141
ChaptEr 6. piCkinG favoritEs 149
Naming a Successor 149
Empress Wu’s Favorites 151
ChaptEr 7. rElations With othEr nations 159
Tibet 159
Korea 162
The Tujue Clan 166
Japan and Arabia 171
ChaptEr 8. famous lEGEnDs about EmprEss Wu 173
Face Reading 173
Flowers Blooming in Winter 174
Other Legends 174
viii
prEfaCE
In Europe, the idea of “ladies first” once held sway, and there have been
many sovereign queens in Europe’s history. In ancient China there was none
of that. The social status of women was low. They were not allowed to do
what men were doing and not allowed to interfere with what men were
doing, especially politically. They were deemed at best ornaments in men’s
life and as reproduction machines to bear offspring for their husbands’ fami-
lies. It was their duty was to obey men and please men. Although in some
particular families the husband might listen to the wife or might even be
henpecked, that was hardly the prevailing trend. By tradition, a woman who
did not bear any sons (daughters did not count) for the husband could be
divorced for that reason alone. Actually, it was not even a “divorce.” The hus-
band could simply return the woman, like a defective product; he could send
her back to her original family. The parents could not refuse to take their
daughter back. But they were not obliged to welcome her warmly
Under such circumstances, it was not easy for a woman to climb all the
way up to the throne. Yet one woman did it. Eventually known as Empress
Wu Zetian the Great, she became the only female sovereign to rule in her
own name in Chinese history.
Women occupied a low social status long before her time, the Tang Dy-
nasty (AD 618–AD 907); it can be seen in records from the early Zhou Dy-
nasty (1121 BC–476 BC), which is as far back as we can really go. The Chinese
government boasts that China has an even longer history, going back five
thousand years, but the first dynasty they include may be legendary. No ar-
cheological evidence has ever been found; there are only references to it in
1