Wu, Empress (A.D. 624?-705) was the only woman to rule China in her own name. Her reign lasted from A.D. 690 to 705. She ruled during the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907). She is also known as Wu Zetian , Wuhou, and Wu Zhao.
Empress Wu was born in Wenshui, now in Shanxi Province , China. She became a concubine (mistress) of Emperor Taizong. Upon Taizong’s death, Wu was sent to a Buddhist convent. A convent is a community dedicated to religious life. Wu was summoned back to the imperial palace in Chang’an (now Xi’an) to serve Emperor Gaozong, Taizong’s son. Replacing Gaozong’s wife, whom she had had removed, Wu ruled with Gaozong and became active in politics. She eliminated competitors by sentencing them to death or exile.
Gaozong died in 683. Li Xian, one of Gaozong and Wu’s sons, ruled for a short time as the Zhongzong Emperor. Wu soon exiled him and replaced him with a son she could more easily control, Li Dan, also called the Ruizong Emperor. Wu openly presided over the imperial court by herself. In 690, she assumed complete control and ruled alone under her own name. She moved the imperial court to Luoyang. She called the city the “divine capital,” and it became as prosperous as Chang’an.
Beginning in 697, Empress Wu’s favoritism for two artists, the Zhang brothers, gave them political power. She allowed them to do as they pleased at the imperial court and to spend money liberally. As Empress Wu grew older and fell ill, she relied on the Zhang brothers to care for her. The court resented the brothers and their influence, and in February 705, leading ministers executed them. Within days, Empress Wu was forced to abdicate (give up) the throne, and Zhongzong, whom she had exiled, again became emperor. Wu died that December.
As a ruler, Empress Wu could be ruthless, and she had many opponents murdered, even members of her family. However, she transformed Chinese culture and expanded the economy. She favored Buddhism , and the religion became more popular than Confucianism and Taoism , which were native to China. She maintained the high reputation of the Tang dynasty abroad because of her political brilliance. During the late 600’s, Tibet forced the Chinese out of Turkestan . To protect China’s trade routes there, Empress Wu sent her armies into the region and recovered the Tang territory.
Wu had the loyalty of her advisers and officials. She appointed ministers to major government posts and generals to important military positions because of their abilities instead of their family background. She reformed the bureaucracy so that civil service positions were filled on the basis of merit rather than family connections. To obtain a position in the civil service, an individual had to pass an exam on literary works.
