University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty: becoming the only female emperor in China

(USC Thesis Other)

Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty: becoming the only female emperor in China

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content
EMPRESS WU OF THE TANG DYNASTY:
BECOMING THE ONLY FEMALE EMPEROR IN CHINA

by

Jong Min Rhee

____________________________________________________________________

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES)

December 2008

Copyright 2008 Jong Min Rhee

ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables iii
Abstract iv
Chapter I. Introduction 1

Chapter II. Empress Wu In Primary Sources: How Descriptions of 8
Empress Wu Changed Over Time

Chapter III. Becoming a Female Emperor 44
Figure 1: Consort of Guo 47

Chapter IV. Conclusions 66
Bibliography 68

iii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: The components of the four primary sources 14
Table 2: The location of descriptions of Empress Wu in the Old Tang History 16
and the New Tang History

Table 3: The use of reign titles and Empress Wu’s title in the Comprehensive 19
Mirror for Aid in Government by Sima Guang and the Outline and Digest of the
General Mirror by Zhu Xi

Table 4: The locations of records about the three reasons for Empress Wang’s 22
dethronement

Table 5: A comparison of the tone of records about Empress Wu in the three 41
primary sources

Table 6: Relative ranks of each consort title in the early Tang dynasty 53

iv
ABSTRACT
This thesis presents a re-evaluation of Empress Wu (624-705) of the Tang
dynasty, who became the only female emperor in Chinese history. In the Chinese
historical texts, evaluations of Empress Wu as an emperor by Confucian historians
were generally hostile, but were not consistently so. This study first analyzes and
compares descriptions of Empress Wu in primary sources. It investigates how
Confucian historiography affected each primary source and how the accounts
changed over time, in general becoming more negative. Second, this study examines
what components helped Empress Wu become an emperor, including an analysis of
Tang social conditions and Empress Wu’s political deeds. Through these analyses,
this study attempts to explain how Empress Wu was able to become the only female
emperor in Chinese history.

1
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
Throughout Chinese history there have been about 200 male emperors.
Officials who staffed the bureaucracy, as well, were all male. Besides the emperors
and officials, empresses, consorts, and eunuchs were members of the palace, but they
did not officially participate in government affairs. There is just one exception, a
female emperor who ruled China during the Tang dynasty (618-907), Empress Wu
(Zetian Wuhou ).
Empress Wu (624-705), first appeared in Chinese history as a consort of
Taizong ( 626-649), at that time being called ‘Lady of Talents’ (Cairen ).
After Taizong’s death, she stayed at a Buddhist temple for some time in order to
mourn for Taizong. However, she re-entered the palace as Gaozong’s (高 649-
683) consort and subsequently became an empress. She finally founded a new
dynasty, the Zhou, and became its one and only emperor. Empress Wu’s name is Wu
Zhao ( 曌),
1
while she is generally referred to as Empress Wu ( ) or Wu Zetian
( ). According to her list of titles, she was also called Lady of Bright
Deportment Wu ( ), and Empress Dowager Wu ( ). “Empress” in
English has two meanings: one is “the consort of an emperor,” and the other

1
The Old Tang History and the New Tang History record her name as Wu Zhao ( 武曌). According to
the Old Tang History and the New Tang History, however, the character, “ 曌,” was one of the new
characters created by Empress Wu in 690. She changed her name to 曌 in 690, but there is no record
about her real name in Chinese history. Jiu Tangshu 6, 120; Xin Tangshu 76, 3481.

2
definition is “a female potentate exercising supreme or absolute power.”
2
Both
meanings of ‘empress’ can be applied to Empress Wu. Among her several names,
this paper will use Wu Zhao (637-655), Empress Wu (655-683), Empress Dowager
Wu (683-690), and Emperor Wu (690-705) according to her official position at
different times.
Empress Wu’s rise is one of the most remarkable events in the Tang dynasty if
we consider the historical background of that time. It is a wonder that a female could
become an emperor in early China because of the strong patriarchal system of the
time that opposed a woman’s rise to power. The status of empresses, of course, was
generally not higher than that of emperors throughout world history, as empresses
usually serve as the main wife of the emperor. Moreover, it seems that the system of
Chinese patriarchy had been especially rigid, in comparison to other regions of the
world, in its hierarchal system and Subordination of women. The historiography of
Empress Wu was influenced by the zeitgeist of the time in which it was written,
especially due to the fact that her annals were written by Confucian scholars. There
is no doubt that most descriptions of Empress Wu, the only female emperor in
Chinese history, were negative in nature. From the Confucian scholars’ perspective,
Empress Wu led a very immoral life, because she married both Taizong, and his own
son, Gaozong. Also, Empress Wu was a breakaway from the Confucian tradition, in
which women were subordinate to men:

2
The Oxford English dictionary 3 (Oxford, The University Press, Oxford, 1961), 132.

3
From the very first, the historical record of her reign has been
hostile, biased and curiously fragmentary and incomplete.
Less is known of the details of political life during her half-
century of dominance than of any comparable period of the
Tang.
3

Most of the Chinese historical documents described her negatively, but there is no
evidence to back up this negativity because of the lack of any detailed record of her
rule within the Tang contemporary records.
Confucianism’s ideal of women has changed over time. The narrow- minded
perspective toward women of earlier periods affected the historiography of Empress
Wu. This paper divides Confucianism into two: traditional Confucianism and Neo-
Confucianism. The Confucian ideals of women are slightly different between the two
Confucian systems. Traditional Confucianism refers to the Confucianism from the
time period of Confucius to pre-Song dynasty. Confucianism in this period began to
emphasize the difference between the roles of men and women. One of the
Confucian classics, the Changes (Zhouyi, ) presents a passage which expresses
the differentiation between men and women:
…women should stay inside. Men should stay outside… Fathers
should behave like fathers. Sons should behave like sons. Elder
brothers should behave like elder brothers. Younger brothers
should behave like younger brothers. Husbands should behave
like husbands. Wives should behave like wives…

…女內．男 … ．．．．． …
4

3
Denis Twitchett and Howard J. Wechsler “Kao-tsung(reign 648-83) and the Empress Wu: the
inheritor and the usurper.” In the Cambridge History of China Vol. 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906,
ed. Denis Twitchett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978), 245.

4
Xinyi yijing duben, ed. Jianxun Guo (Taipei: Sanmin shuju, 1996), 289.

4
Also, the Record of Rites (Liji 記) records the spatial restrictions of men
and women:
The observances of propriety commenced with a careful
attention to the relations between husband and wife. They built
the mansion and its apartments, distinguishing between exterior
and interior parts. The men occupied the exterior; the women
the interior. The mansion was deep, and the doors were strong,
guarded by porter and gateman. The men did not enter the
interior; the women did not come out into the exteriror.
5

In addition, the Book of Songs (Shijing, 經) said to be compiled by Confucius,
presents a very negative perspective of the role of women and their influence in
politics:
A clever husband builds a city, but a clever wife tears it
down....Disorder does not come down from Heaven, rather it is
the spawn of these women...Thus no woman serves the public,
but they stay with their weaving and their loom.
6

, 傾 ... 亂降． ... 公 ,
其 .
7

Confucians considered that it was reasonable to divide roles into two fields, outside
work for men and inside work for women, in an agricultural society. However, the
differences between men and women developed toward gender hierarchy. The
Record of Rites (Liji, 記) also presents this hierarchy, which subordinates women
to men throughout their life cycle:

5
As cited in Bettine Birge, “Zhu Xi and Women’s Education,” in Neo-Confucian Education: The
Formative Stage, ed. Wm Theodore de Bary and John W. Chaffee (Berkely and Los Angeles:
University of California Press, 1989), 332.

6
The translation modified from The Book of Songs (Shijing, 經), trans. Arthur Waley, (NY: Grove
Press. 1996), 284.

7
Shijing zhijie, ed. Zizhan Chen (Taipei: Shulin chuban youxian gongsi, 1992), 1045.

5
Men lead women, women follow men. The moral duties of
husbands and wives are started from this. When women are
young, they should follow father and brothers. When they get
married, they should follow the husband, and when the husband
dies, they should follow their son.

男女．女男．．．．．嫁． .
8

According to traditional Confucianism, women were subordinated to men and should
stay in the home and attend to the inner quarters. Diana Y. Paul provides a well
organized summary of the traditional Confucianism:
According to its fundamental teachings, the female principle
(yin, ) was to be ruled and to be submissive while the
complementary male principle (yang, ) was to rule and to be
dominant. Harmony would be disrupted and disequilibrium
would ensue if flagrant deviations from that natural order were
allowed to occur unchecked.
9

The Neo-Confucian ideal of women has some differences from the traditional
Confucian ideal of women. Neo-Confucianism refers to a style of Confucianism
developed in the Song dynasty (960-1279). Neo-Confucianism combined the
modified Buddhism and Daoism that were suitable for Confucianism with traditional
Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism maintained that women were subordinate to men
as traditional Confucianism did. In addition, Neo-Confucianism emphasized
women’s chastity toward their husbands and loyalty to their in–law families much

8
Xinyi liji duben, ed. Yihua Jiang (Taipei, Sanmin shuju, 1996), 377.

9
Diana Y. Paul. “Empress Wu and the Historians: A tyrant and saint of Classical China,” in Unspoken
world: Women’s religious lives, ed. Nancy Auer Falk and Rita M. Gross (Belmont, CA:Wadsworth,
1989) , 146. For more information, see Bettine Birge, “Zhu Xi and Women’s Education,” in Neo-
Confucian Education: The Formative Stage, ed. Wm Theodore de Bary and John W. Chaffee
(Berkely and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989) 329-333.

6
more than traditional Confucianism had done. Neo-Confucianism did not allow
second marriages except under the particular conditions that a widow “is poor, all
alone, and about to starve to death.”
10
It placed greater emphasis on chastity and
restricting women to the inner quarter. It denied women any direct political
participation. Rather, it granted a considerable amount of authority to women within
the restricted space of the household.
11
This included granting women power over
decisions within their houses as family managers. Women under Neo-Confucianism
could be educated for the reason that women should raise and help educate their
children and also use their educated knowledge to have intelligent discussion with
their husbands, which would benefit the family.
12

Based on the different perspectives between traditional Confucianism and
Neo-Confucianism, Chapter 2 will examine how Empress Wu is described by post-
Tang Confucians in the Old Tang History (Jiu Tangshu, 舊唐 ), the New Tang
History (Xin Tangshu, 唐 ), the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government
(Zizhi tongjian, 鑑), and the Outline and Digest of the General Mirror (Zizhi
tongjian gangmu, 鑑綱 ). According to these primary sources, we can find

10
Theresa Kelleher. “Confucianism,” in Women in World Religions , ed. Arvind Sharma (NY: State
University of New York Press. 1987), 155.

11
Bettine Birge, “Zhu Xi and Women’s Education,” in Neo-Confucian Education: The Formative
Stage, ed. Wm Theodore de Bary and John W. Chaffee (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1989) 343-348. For more information, see Patricia Buckley Ebrey, The Inner
Quarters: Marriage and the Lives of Chinese Women in the Sung Period (Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press, (1993), 261-271.

12
Bettine Birge, “Zhu Xi and Women’s Education,” in Neo-Confucian Education: The Formative
Stage, ed. Wm Theodore de Bary and John W. Chaffee (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1989), 348-352.

7
that the descriptions of Empress Wu grew more negative as time went on. Through
this examination, I show that the Confucian viewpoint toward women affected the
records of Empress Wu in primary sources. Also, this chapter will investigate the
objectiveness of descriptions of Empress Wu in these primary sources by comparing
these sources and analyzing their logic.
In Chapter 3, I will explore social conditions during the Tang dynasty that
made the appearance of a female emperor possible. Also, Empress Wu’s history will
be re-analyzed by neglecting the descriptions which were probably fabricated. In this
chapter, Empress Wu’s reign will be divided into two periods. The first period will
be defined as the period when Empress Wu was an ‘Empress’ as the consort of an
emperor (655-690),
13
and the second period will be when Empress Wu was an
‘Empress’ as a female potentate exercising supreme or absolute power (690-704).
14

13
This will also include when she was an empress dowager, Huang Taihou ( ) in Chinese.

14
In the 12
th
month, 683, Kaozong died and Zhongzong ( ) became an emperor. In the 9
th
month
of 690, Empress Wu became emperor of Zhou ( ). In the first month of 705, Empress Wu abdicated,
and Zhongzong ( ) re-reigned. That is why I define the period of empress until 704. According to
Choi, there are several opinions about Empress Wu’s period: 45years, 46years, and 47years.
14
Here,
Empress Wu’s periods will be considered as a total 46 years with three parts: 24 years (660-683) as an
empress with the former meaning, 7 years (684-690) as empress dowager, and 15 years (690-704) as
empress with the latter meaning. Hwangja Choi (최황자) “Tang Muchikcheongua
jeongchijipdanseryoukui byounjil (당 무측천과 정치집단세력의 변질 T'ang Wu - tse - t'ien [Wu
Zetian] and transmutation of the political system power)” Junggukhakbo 26 (1986): 91.

8
CHAPTER II. EMPRESS WU IN PRIMARY SOURCES:
HOW DESCRIPTIONS OF EMPRESS WU CHANGED OVER TIME
As mentioned above, the primary sources describe Empress Wu negatively.
In this chapter, I will show how each primary source describes her and how the
descriptions change. I will mainly examine four sources: the Old Tang History, the
New Tang History, the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, and the
Outline and Digest of the General Mirror. In comparing the above mentioned
sources, I will show how the depictions changed over time.
The four primary sources are divided into two groups, based on genres. The
Old Tang History and the New Tang History are different from the Comprehensive
Mirror for Aid in Government and the Outline and Digest of the General Mirror, as
the former documents follow the annals-memoir style (jizhuanti 紀 ), and the
latter documents follow the chronological style (biannianti 年 ). The former
historical genre was pioneered by Sima Qian ( ), and consists of three major
elements: basic annals ( 紀), monographs ( ), and memoirs (or biographies ).
Basic annals record the biographies of each emperor, and Monographs “cover the
historical evolution of selected institutions such as rituals, the calendar, astronomy,
or political economy.”
15
Also, the memoir section includes the biographies of
important persons other than non-emperors such as empresses, princes, and officials.

15
Endymion Wilkinson. Chinese History: a Manual, (Cambridge: MA. Harvard University Press,
2000), 502.

9
The Old Tang history is the earliest document of the twenty-five classic
Chinese histories (ershiwushi, ) that includes Empress Wu’s records. The
Old Tang history consists of 200 chapters: 20 chapters of basic annals, 30 chapters of
monographs, and 150 chapters of biographies. Several historians and officials of the
later Jin ( 936-946) compiled this document between 941 and 945, about forty
years after the collapse of the Tang dynasty and before the founding of the Song
dynasty.
16
The document presents one name, Liu Xu ( ), as the author.
Liu Xu, however, supervised the compilation at the end of the work, and he
did not contribute to the compilation specifically.
17
Actually, several officials
participated in the compilation of the Old Tang History. While compiling the
documents, the head supervisors were changed three times. The three supervisors
were Zhao Ying ( ), Sang Weihan ( ), and Liu Xu
18
. The changes of
supervisors also caused additions and subtractions of the compilation members,
depending on each supervisor’s disposition. According to Gao Guokang, a Chinese
historian today, the process of compiling the Old Tang History took a short time,
only four years, so the basic annals in the Old Tang History mostly copied the

16
Denis Twitchett. The writing of official history under the Tang, (NY: Cambridge University press,
1992), 192-196.

17
Ibid. p. 195-196.

18
Ibid. pp. 192-196.

10
Veritable Records (Shilu ) of the Tang.
19
Veritable Records are written about
the previous Emperor after the emperor’s death. As the Old Tang History had been
compiled under the conditions of the head supervisors and compilation members
changing at various times, we can surmise that there is little or no individual personal
agenda or personal biases present from the writers.
The New Tang History, written by Ouyang Xiu (歐 ) and Song Qi ( 祁)
in 1060 during the Song dynasty, consists of 225 chapters: 10 chapters of basic
annals, 50 chapters of monographs, and 165 chapters of biographies. This document
attempted to amend the Old Tang History, but in fact it could not replace the Old
Tang History.
20
Gao Guokang says that the Old Tang History includes original
historical materials from the Tang royal palace, and detailed information.
21
The New
Tang History’s merit is that it is more readable than the Old Tang history, because
the New Tang History reduced the depictions of the Old Tang History by deleting
difficult and unnecessary phrases. Its defect, however, is that in the process of
deleting parts to make it more readable, much information was also lost, so that this

19
Gao, Guokang (高國 ), Zongguo gudai shixueshi gaiyao ( 國古代槪 ), trans. Sang Hun
Oh, Gae Seok Lee, & Byung Han Cho (오상훈, 이개석, 조병한). Jungguksahaksa ha (중국사학사
, Chinese Historiography), (Seoul: Pulbit, 1998), 35, 46.

20
Ibid. p. 35.

21
Ibid. p. 35.

11
document “is not nearly as informative, and it does not satisfy those interested in
historical data.”
22

Influences on the writers may have also affected the records of the New Tang
History. Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi were Confucian scholars in the Northern Song
dynasty. Ouyang Xiu, as a classicist, contributed to fortifying the Confucian
tradition. His ideals and beliefs about women also followed the Confucian tradition.
His other main historical work, Historical Records of the Five Dynasties (Wu da shi
ji 代記), also reflects his ideas toward women by placing blame, rather than
praise, on women. Historical Records of the Five Dynasties contains writings of
severe blame toward women “for political and moral decay” as a result of their
deviating from the proper ideal of women.
23
The New Tang History also reflects his
ideal of Confucian women. It includes forty-seven biographies of notable women.
This number of biographies is twenty-one more than the twenty-six biographies of
notable women in the Old Tang history. While both of these documents praise and
value women for fulfilling their duties and being ideal women according to the
Confucian perspective, the numerical difference illustrates Ouyang Xiu’s emphasis
on the value of these women. Some of the newly added biographies of notable

22
James T. C. Liu. Ou-Yang Hsiu: an Eleventh century Neo-Confucianist, (Stanford: CA. Stanford
University Press, 1967), 107-108.

23
Ibid. 214.

12
women in the New Tang History even show moral extremism such as women
maiming or killing themselves for their ideals.
24

By contrast, the writing style of the other two histories I will examine is
based on the chronological style. This genre records a history in chronological order
without separate elements. The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government and
the Outline and Digest of the General Mirror belong to this genre.
The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government was written by Sima
Guang ( 光) in 1084 during the Song dynasty. This document consists of 294
chapters. Contemporary scholars have concluded that this document was mainly
adopted from the Old Tang History. Sima Guang was a conservative Confucian and
developer of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song dynasty. His ideal of women is
similar to Ouyang Xiu’s perspective. One of his books, Precepts for Family Life
(Jiafan, 家 ) shows his ideal of women. He strictly differentiates men and women
as follows:
Men and women should not sit mixed together, should not hang
their clothes together, and should not use same towels and
brushes…
25

24
Richard L. Davis. “Chaste and Filial Women in Chinese Historical Writings of the Eleventh
Century” Journal of the American Oriental Society 121, no. 2 (2001): 205-209.

25
Jiafan 463-464. As cited from Park, Ji Hun (박지훈). “Songdai Sadaebuui yeoseongguan (송대
사대부의 여성관, Song Literati’s Concepts of Women),” Zunggukhakbo 46 (2002): 280.

13
As a wife of a man, a woman should have six virtues; first,
chasteness, second, obedience, third, non-jealousy; fourth,
frugality, fifth, politeness, and sixth, working hard in the
house.
26

While he also presents six virtues for his ideal of women, he strictly discriminates
between the virtues that men and women should have. However, the Comprehensive
Mirror for Aid in Government emphasizes political events and shows the reflection
of his thoughts about ideal women much less than the New Tang History shows
Ouyang Xiu’s.
The Outline and Digest of the General Mirror was written by Zhu Xi ( )
in 1172 during the Southern Song dynasty. This document consists of fifty-nine
chapters. The records about Empress Wu in the Outline and Digest of the General
Mirror are much simpler and shorter than depictions of Empress Wu in the Old Tang
History, the New Tang History, and the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in
Government. Current scholars criticize it saying, that Zhu Xi summarized the
Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government too briefly, so that records of Empress
Wu are too short to use his document as a historical record. Moreover, Zhu Xi denies
any acknowledgement that Empress Wu ruled as an emperor. He was a great Neo-
Confucian of the southern Song dynasty. Zhu Xi’s ideal of women was reflected in
this document.

26
Jiafan 659. As modified from Ibid.: 278 and Ping Yao. “Precepts for Family Life (Jiafan) 家 ,
Sima Guang 光,” in Images of Women in Chinese Thought and Culture: Writing from the Pre-
Qin Period to the Song Dynasty, ed. Robin R. Wang (2003), 418.

14
Table 1 below shows the components of the four primary sources.

Total
basic
annals
monographs memoirs
The Old Tang History
200
Chapters
20
Chapters
30 Chapters
150
Chapters
The New Tang History
225
Chapters
10
Chapters
50 Chapters
165
Chapters
The Comprehensive Mirror
for Aid in Government
294
Chapters
294
Chapters
N/A N/A
The Outline and Digest of the
General Mirror
59
Chapters
59
Chapters
N/A N/A

Table 1: The components of the four primary sources

2.1. The placements of Empress Wu narratives within the primary sources and
basic narratives
The four primary sources record the descriptions of Empress Wu in diverse
places. I will examine how each primary source differs from the others, and how the
four primary sources describe Empress Wu within the structure of each source. In the
Old Tang History and the New Tang History, the locations of separate records about
Empress Wu are different. Because the basic annals of both documents are based on
the Veritable Records of the Tang, the two documents include records of Empress

15
Wu in the basic annals. However, only the New Tang History gives Empress Wu a
separate biography in the memoir section.
27

The Old Tang History includes a separate section on Empress Wu in chapter
six of the basic annals (Benji diliu Zetian huanghou 紀 ). There is
no separate biography of her in the biographies of Empresses and Consorts. It seems
that the Old Tang History considers her solely as an emperor. Nevertheless, the basic
annals did not call her Emperor (Huangdi ) or female emperor (Nuhuangdi ). Instead it called her the emperor’s principal wife (Huanghou ) and Empress
Dowager ( ).
The New Tang History documents the records of Empress Wu in both the
basic annals and the memoirs. One common aspect in both the Old Tang History and
the New Tang History is her title, Emperor’s principal wife ( ), and Empress
Dowager ( ). In the New Tang History, the fourth chapter of basic annals consists
of the reigns of Empress Wu and Emperor Zhongzong. (Benji disi 紀 Zetian
shunsheng Wu huanghou , and Zhongzong huangdi ).
Unlike the Old Tang History, the New Tang History summarizes Empress Wu’s
records in basic annals. However, this document also includes Empress Wu’s records
in memoirs. The first chapter of the biographies consists of thirteen separate
biographies of the thirteen empresses and consorts. Among the thirteen biographies,
the fifth biography is the record of Empress Wu as a principal wife of emperor

27
See Table 2.

16
Gaozong (Liezhuan diyi Houfei shang Gaozong Zetian Wu
huanghou 高 ). This means that the former history focuses more on
Empress Wu as an emperor and not as an Emperor’s wife, but the latter one focuses
on her as an emperor and also an emperor’s wife. Table 2 shows where the
descriptions of Empress Wu are in the Old Tang History and the New Tang History.
It indicates whether Empress Wu has her own separate record in the basic annals or
in a biography. It also indicates where information about Empress Wu can be found
in records of other Tang personages.

Parts
As a separate
record
Records of other personages that
include information about Empress
Wu
The Old Tang
History
Basic
annals
Yes
Emperor Taizong,
Emperor Gaozong,
Emperor Zhongzong
Memoirs No
Empress Wang,
several officials
The New
Tang History
Basic
annals
Yes
Emperor Taizong,
Emperor Gaozong,
Emperor Zhongzong
Memoirs Yes
Empress Wang,
the Crown prince Hong,
several officials

Table 2: The location of descriptions of Empress Wu in the Old Tang History and the
New Tang History

Unlike the Old Tang History and the New Tang History, the format of the
Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government and the Outline and Digest of the

17
General Mirror does not allow for separate records of Empress Wu. However, by
observing whose reign titles the two documents include during the records of
Empress Wu, we can examine how each of the documents evaluates her.
The major difference between the two documents is that discourse of the
Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government gives Empress Wu’s status as a ruler,
but the discourse of the Outline and Digest of the General Mirror considers Empress
Wu as a usurper. Sima Guang and Zhu Xi named her “Emperor’s principal wife”
until 683, when Gaozong died. Also, the records of Empress Wu until 683 are
included in Gaozong’s period of reign. From 684 to 689, both documents name her
Empress Dowager as the Old Tang History and the New Tang History do, instead of
Emperor or female Emperor. However, there is the another difference between the
two documents: from 684, when she became Empress Dowager, the Comprehensive
Mirror for Aid for Government uses Empress Wu’s own reign titles, but the Outline
and Digest of the General Mirror uses Zhongzong’s reign titles. Similar to Sima
Guang’s Comprehensive Mirror, the Old Tang History and the New Tang History
use Empress Wu’s reign titles. For the eitire 21 years during Empress Wu’s regency
and the period of the Zhou dynasty (684-705), Zhu Xi cites the date by Zhongzong’s
fictional year on the throne.
28
In other words, Zhu Xi does not acknowledge Empress
Wu as a ruler.
The records after 689 show another difference between the two: Sima Guang
still labeled her as Empress Dowager, but Zhu Xi labeled her as Madam Wu (Wushi

28
See Zizhitongjiangangmu 41 , 20; 42 , 32. Compare Zizhitongjian 203, 6417.

18
) or Madam Wu of Zhou (Zhou Wushi ( ) without any title, because she
had changed the name of the dynasty to Zhou and named herself Emperor. It seems
that Zhu Xi no longer considered her as empress, but as a rebel against the Tang
dynasty under the reign of emperor Zhongzong:
In the ninth month, Madam Wu
29
changed the name of the
dynasty to Zhou, and named herself emperor…

九改國 …
30

In the first month of the ninth year, spring, the emperor stayed at
Fangzhou. Madam Wu of Zhou presented someone at the court
recommended by the Relief Commissioner…

九年 . 見 ...
31

Zhu Xi records that Zhongzong reigned between 684 and 710. In other
words, he considered that the Tang dynasty still existed even during the Zhou
dynasty (690-705). As there should be just one emperor in one time period, Zhu Xi
could not accept Empress Wu as a ruler and Zhou as a dynasty. Thus, Zhu Xi did not
use Empress Wu’s titles during her reign and rather adopted Zhongzong’s titles,
although Zhongzong did not rule the country during the Zhou dynasty. Table 3
compares Empress Wu’s titles that Sima Guang and Zhu Xi use during each time
period.

29
is usually added after surname of a man or a woman. However, in this passage points out
Empress Wu so that could be translated as Ms. Wu or Madam Wu. In the next page, I translate
as Empress Wang without translation of . Therefore, I do not translate in light of the
emphasis that there is no title for her in this passage.

30
Zizhitongjiangangmu 41 , 16.

31
Zizhitongjiangangmu 41 , 21.

19

Written by Sima Guang Written by Zhu Xi
Reign titles
Empress
Wu’s title
Reign titles
Empress
Wu’s title
From 655
to 683
Gaozong’s reign
titles
Empress
Gaozong’s reign
titles
Empress
Form 684
to 689
Empress Wu’s
reign titles
Empress
Dowager
Zhongzong’s
reign titles
Empress
Dowager
From 690
to 704
Empress Wu’s
reign titles
Empress
Dowager
Zhongzong’s
reign titles
None

Table 3: The use of reign titles and Empress Wu’s title in the Comprehensive Mirror
for Aid in Government by Sima Guang and the Outline and Digest of the General
Mirror by Zhu Xi

Up to this point, my examination of Empress Wu has focused on the structure
of each of the four primary sources. The Old Tang History and the Comprehensive
Mirror for Aid in Government evaluate Empress Wu as a ruler rather than the
emperor’s wife, but the New Tang History considers her as a ruler and Gaozong’s
principal wife. Finally, the Outline and Digest of the general Mirror considers her as
the emperor’s wife and a usurper.

20
2.2. Different descriptions of the same events
As mentioned above, the records of Empress Wu are contained in several
places in the primary sources. In this section of the study, I will examine Empress
Wu by focusing on the detailed descriptions in the three primary sources other than
Zhu Xi’s document. The two passages below are at the beginning of the “Basic
Annals” of Empress Wu in both the Old Tang History and the New Tang History.
The Old Tang History says that:
…[She] received the position of ‘Lady of Bright Deportment’.
At this time, Empress Wang, Excellent Sister-in -law Xiao
[Pure Consort Xiao], and Lady of Bright Deportment Wu vied
for the emperor’s affection. They slandered each other. The
emperor did not accept any of it. [Wu Zhao] was promoted to
‘Chamber Consort’
32
. In 655, Empress Wang was dethroned
and Chamber Consort Wu became empress.

… ．、，毀，皆納．．年，為 .
33

The New Tang History says that:
…[She] received the position of ’Lady of Bright Deportment’.
She advanced to ‘Chamber Consort’
34
. In 655, Empress Wang
was dethroned and Chamber Consort Wu became empress.

32
The Emperor attempted to make a new position, “Chamber Consort” (Chenfei ), in order to
give the title to Wu Zhao. This passage shows that Wu Zhao received the new title. However, other
passages in the New Tang History and the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government record that
the Emperor tried to make the new position, but the attempt was foiled by the opposition of officials.
Xin Tangshu 76, 3475 and Zizhitongjian 199, 6288. The translation of “ ,” ‘Chamber Consort,’ is
used for the Ming dynasty. Charles O Hucker. A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China.
(Stanford: Stanford University press. (1985), 122.

33
Jiu Tangshu 6, 115.

34
See footnote 32.

21
… 為，．年，高，
為 .
35

These passages do not show the process that Wu Zhao took to become an empress,
but highlight the positions that Wu Zhao achieved. In this way, basic annals in the
Old Tang History and the New Tang History also do not indicate the detailed process
and reasons for Empress Wu’s “ruling from behind the curtain”( ).
Historians filled in the omissions by using other parts of the Old Tang History and
the New Tang History and later primary sources such as the Comprehensive Mirror
for Aid in Government as sources. However, the contents of the sources used to fill in
these omissions are somewhat different from each other. Consequently, there are
some arguments among historians about this topic. I will examine four events that
are critical aspects of these arguments: 1) the reasons for Empress Wang’s
dethronement, 2) the death of ex-Empress Wang, 3) the reasons and the way of
“ruling from behind the curtain,” and 4) the death of the Crown prince, Li Hong.

2.2.1. The dethronement of Empress Wang
In primary sources, there are three reasons that are mentioned for Empress
Wang’s dethronement: 1) Empress Wang was accused of killing Wu Zhao’s
daughter, 2) she tried to poison the emperor, and 3) she used an incantation which
was prohibited in the Tang period. In the Cambridge History, Twitchett arranges

35
Xin Tangshu 4, 81.

22
these three cases chronologically.
36
Each primary source includes different reasons
for her dethronement in each part. Table 4 shows the various passages of the three
cases from the primary sources and where the passages are contained.

The Old Tang History The New Tang History
The
Comprehensive
Mirror for Aid in
Government
basic annals Memoirs
basic
annals
Memoirs
Reason
1
N/A
(Only in the
commentary at the
end of Empress
Wu’s basic annals
( 紀 ))
N/A N/A
The biography of
Empress Wu
(高 )
In 654( 年)
10
th
month
Reason
2
N/A N/A N/A N/A
In 655( 年)
10
th
month
Reason
3
N/A
The biography of
dethroned Empress
Wang
(高 )
N/A
The biography of
dethroned Empress
Wang
(高 )
The biography of
Empress Wu
(高 )
In 655( 年)
6
th
month

Table 4: The locations of records about the three reasons for Empress Wang’s
dethronement

In regards to the first reason, that Empress Wang was accused of killing Wu
Zhao’s daughter, it seems likely that Wu Zhao’s daughter was not killed by Empress
Wang or her mother, but rather she died naturally. This case is not recorded in the

36
Denis Twitchett and Howard J. Wechsler “Kao-tsung(reign 648-83) and the Empress Wu: the
inheritor and the usurper.” In the Cambridge History of China Vol. 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906,
ed. Denis Twitchett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978), 248-249.

23
main text of the Old Tang History, but only in the commentary of Empress Wu’s
basic annals. The commentary says that Wu Zhao killed her own daughter:
Chronicler(s) say(s) … it was Empress Wu’s conspiracy to seize
the position of Gaozong’s legitimate wife by choking the breath
from her own child, a swaddling infant…
37

... ，絕襁 …
38

This passage shows Wu Zhao’s cruelty and maliciousness. However, it is not certain
who wrote this commentary. We can only guess the writer(s) of the commentary
would be one or some of the compilers of the Old Tang History. If this incident is
true, this case should be in the main text of the basic annals of Empress Wu or the
biography of ex-Empress Wang. The commentary about Wu Zhao was newly added
by late Jin ( ) historian(s). By contrast, the New Tang History gives the detailed
description of this case in the biography of ex-Empress Wang as follows:
Lady of Bright Deportment [Wu Zhao] furtively killed her child
by smothering it with bedclothes, and [she] waited for the
emperor’s arrival… [The emperor] uncovered the bedclothes to
see his child, but his child was dead. In alarm he asked the
attendants. Everybody said that Empress [Wang] had just
dropped by. The emperor could not investigate it, and angrily
said, “the empress [Wang] killed my daughter…”

衾 , ... 衾 , . 驚 ,皆
... 能 , 怒女…
39

37
The translation modified Norman H Rothschild. “Rhetoric, ritual and support constituencies in the
political authority of Wu Zhao, Woman emperor of China” (PhD diss., Brown University, 2003), 17.

38
Jiu Tangshu 6, 133. Rothschild translates as son, but child is better translation for in this
passage.

39
Xin Tangshu 76, 3475.

24
Through this passage, this case became an official record from the New Tang
History. The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government describes this case
similarly to The New Tang history:
… Lady of Bright Deportment [Wu Zhao] furtively choked [her
daughter], and coverd [her] with bedclothes. The emperor
arrived, then Lady of Bright Deportment [Wu Zhao] brightly
welcomed him with smile. [Wu Zhao] uncovered bedclothes to
show that [his] daughter died. In alarm, [she] cried. [The
emperor] asked attendants. Everybody said “the empress [wang]
had just dropped by.” The emperor was furious and said “the
empress [Wang] killed my daughter.”…

… , . , , 觀 , , 驚 . , 皆 , . 大怒 ,
女…
40

It may be true that Empress Wang was accused of killing Wu Zhao’s daughter.
However, it does not seem that Wu Zhao smothered her own daughter. Rather, the
modern historian of the Tang, Dora Shu-fang Dien’s argument is more credible:
The infant may have died of crib death as we know it today… as
fiction writer Hara Momoyo imagines, the room, with poor
ventilation to begin with, could have been overheated with
charcoal burners and filled with carbon monoxide.
41

This case could have been fabricated by anti- Empress Wu Confucians who wanted
to describe her negatively. Even though the three primary sources record that Wu
Zhao killed her own daughter, she may possibly have conspired to entrap Empress
Wang when her daughter naturally died, but it seems unlikely she would be as cruel

40
Zizhitongjian 199, 6286-6287.

41
Dora Shu-fang Dien. Empress Wu Zetian in Fiction and in History: Female Defiance in Confucian
China, (Hauppauge:N.Y. Nova Science Publishers, 2003), 34. Fitzgerald also agrees with this.
Charles P. Fitzgerald. The Empress Wu, (Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1968), 23.

25
as choking her own daughter. It seems that the records may be a means of degrading
Empress Wu by showing her cruelty.
The second reason for Empresss Wang’s dethronement is that Empress Wang
tried to poison the emperor. We can easily find this accusation to be problematic.
The record of this case exists only in the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in
Government. Neither the Old Tang History nor the New Tang History records this
case, and since these sources are more detailed and closer to the events, it is highly
significant that they do not mention it.
Moreover, if we read the narrative in the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in
Government carefully, we can find that the case is illogical:
In winter, 10
th
month, the day Jiyou, [the emperor] handed down his
order. It said that Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao tried to
poison him [Emperor], and that they would be dethroned and made
common people…

冬己 , , 毒, …
42

Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao were demoted after being accused of
poisoning their emperor in 655, 10
th
month. Also, the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid
in Government records a conversation between the emperor and Empress Wang at
the 11
th
month in the same year:
Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao were imprisoned in a detached
palace … [the emperor] was sympathetic to them and worried about
them. He called out, “Empress and Pure Consort! Where are you?”

故故 … , , ?
43

42
Zizhitongjian 200, 6293.

26
Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao supposedly attempted to kill the emperor. If
so, how and why would the emperor feel sympathy for them? Accordingly, the
criminal charge that was made would be a pretext to dethrone the empress and the
pure consort.
The last reason for her dethronement is that Empress Wang used an
incantation. This reason is the most probable of the three relating to her
dethronement. The use of an incantation was a very severe crime during the Tang:
According to the Tang code of laws, sorcery was listed under
the category of “depraved crimes,”… the most egregious sort of
capital crime.
44

All three primary sources record this case, but the descriptions of this case are not
the same. The Old Tang History records that Empress Wang and her mother used
magic:
Empress [Wang] was afraid and was not secure. Her mother,
Madam Liu and she secretly used magic to overcome [Wu
Zhao]. After this case was discovered, the emperor [Gaozong]
was angry… In 655, 10
th
month, [the emperor] dethroned the
empress [Wang] …

懼，求．，大怒… 年， …
45

Nevertheless, the New Tang History and the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid
in Government do not mention that they used magic, but say only that Empress Wu

43
Zizhitongjian 200, 6294.

44
Norman H. Rothschild. Wu Zhao: China’s only woman Emperor, (New York: Peters Longman,
(2008), 33.

45
Jiu Tangshu 51, 2170.

27
falsely accused them of using magic. The New Tang History records this case in two
different chapters. The biography of ex-Empress Wang says that:
[Wu Zhao] then falsely accused the empress and [the empress’s]
mother of bewitching the emperor. Emperor [Gaozong] believed
it… Subsequently, he issued a decree that Empress [Wang] be
dethroned…

… 道蠱， … …
46

Similarly, the biography of Empress Wu includes this case as follows:
Lady of Bright Deportment [Wu Zhao] then falsely accused the
empress and [the empress’s] mother of using incantations. The
emperor harbored earlier grievances and took their accusation as
the truth. [The emperor] subsequently dethroned [Empress
Wang]

乃，憾, 其 , 47

The record of this case in the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government is
closest to the record in the biography of Empress Wu in the New Tang History:
The Lady of Bright Deportment Wu [Wu Zhao] falsely accused
the empress and [the empress’s] mother, Consort of Wei Madam
Liu, of using incantations…

其國 …
48

From the New Tang History, “ (to accuse falsely)” suddenly shows up in the text.
Therefore, it is not certain that Empress Wang and her mother used magic in order to

46
Xin Tangshu 76, 3473.

47
Xin Tangshu 76, 3475.

48
Zizhitongjian 199, 6288.

28
overcome Wu Zhao or to kill the emperor. The one certain thing, however, is that the
emperor dethroned Empress Wang for the possible reason that she used sorcery.
The first reason, that Empress Wang was accused of killing Wu Zhao’s
daughter, was probably fabricated by the anti-Wu historians in order to degrade
Empress Wu. The second reason, that she tried to poison the emperor, would be a
definite means for Empress Wang’s dethronement without exception, so this reason
is not logical as she would not jeopardize her status and safety in this way. I believe
that the most likely reason for the dethronement of Empress Wang is the third
reason, that she was rumored to have used an incantation.

2.2.2. The death of Empress Wang
In addition to the possible fabrication that Wu Zhao killed her own daughter,
there is another description of Wu Zhao’s barbarity: the death of Empress Wang. The
three primary sources mention this incident similarly: Empress Wu gave an order to
give a beating of one hundred strokes to Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao and
cut off their hands and feet. The Old Tang History says:
[The emperor went to the palace where Empress Wang and Pure
Consort Xiao were imprisoned. He felt sympathetic and they
had plaintive conversations.] Empress Wu [Wu Zhao] was
aware of it and ordered to give a beating of one hundred strokes
each to the commoner [Empress Wang] and Madam Xiao, and
to chop off their hands and feet, and to throw them in a wine
barrel…After a few days, they died.

29
，及各，去， … 49

The New Tang History records this incident as follows:
Empress Wu [Wu Zhao] was aware of it, and quickly ordered a
beating of one hundred strokes be given to the two people
[Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao], and to cut off their
hands and feet, have them trussed, and then throw them in a
wine jar… A few days later, they died.

，，其， … .
50

Also, the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government mentions:
Empress Wu [Wu Zhao] heard of it, and she was very angry. She
sent people to give a beating of one hundred strokes each to
Madam Wang and Madam Xiao, then to cut off [their] hands
and feet, and then throw them in a wine jar…A few days later,
[they] died. She also beheaded them.

, 大怒, 遣及各 , 斷去 , … , 51

Consequently, there is a great possibility that Empress Wu ordered these cruel
punishments. However, there is one logical error in the New Tang History. “Zhao
( ),” used in this text, is an emperor’s order. At that time, Empress Wu as an
empress could not issue a “zhao.”
In addition, the New Tang History and the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in
Government record problematic passages which also raise doubts about Wu Zhao’s

49
Jiu Tangshu 51, 2170.

50
Xin Tangshu 76, 3474.

51
Zizhitongjian 200, 6294.

30
cruelty. The two passages below in the New Tang History and the Comprehensive
Mirror for Aid in Government come after the passages about the punishments of
Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao.
Earlier, when the order [from the emperor] arrived; the empress
[Wang] bowed twice, and said, “May his highness live ten
thousand years. Lady of Bright Deportment [Wu Zhao] got your
favor, and so I should die. It is my lot.”

，到，年, ， .
52

Earlier, Madam Wang heard the order, and she bowed twice,
and said, “May his highness live ten thousand years. Lady of
Bright Deportment [Wu Zhao] got your favor, and so I should
die. It is my lot.”

, , 大家 , , .
53

For these passages, the explanation is that this event had happened when Empress
Wang and Pure Consort Xiao received the emperor’s order of a beating of one
hundred strokes and of cutting off their hands and feet. In this way, the order was
from the emperor, not from the empress Wu, although Empress Wu possibly affected
the emperor’s order. Some researchers insist that the record is not true. According to
Rothschild, the description for Wu Zhao’s cruelty is parallel with an incident
concerning Empress Lu ( ) in the Han dynasty ( B.C. 206- A.D. 220), so this

52
Xin Tangshu 76, 3474.

53
Zizhitongjian 200, 6294.

31
passage could be the result of historians’ attempts to degrade Empress Wu by
describing her barbarity
54
as follows:
The empress dowager [Empress Lu] then cut off Lady Qi’s
hands and feet, took her eyes out, seared her ears… ordered
[people] to call her the “human pig.”

斷，去， … .
55

I assume that Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao received the order of a beating
of one hundred strokes from the emperor whether or not Empress Wu influenced the
order. The description of the cruelty, cutting off of hands and feet, was probably
fabricated by the anti-Wu historians in order to degrade Empress Wu.

2.2.3. The reason and the way of “ruling from behind the curtain”
( )
Empress Wu started to participate in government in 660. In “Female Rulers
in Imperial China,” a great Chinese historian, Lien-sheng Yang, presents three
conditions in order to rule “from behind the curtain.” ( )
a. When the emperor was very young.
b. When the emperor was ill and unable to attend to affairs.
c. When the emperor died suddenly or left a posthumous edict.
56

54
Norman. H. Rothschild Wu Zhao: China’s only woman Emperor, (New York: Peters Longman,
(2008), 39.

55
Shiji 9, 397.

56
Lien-sheng Yang. “Female Rulers in Imperial China” Harvard Journal of Asiatic studies 23 (1960):
51.

32
This peculiar ruling system was not unusual in Chinese history. The ruling system
was first used by Empress Lu in the Han dynasty:
Emperor Hui died, and the Crown Prince became emperor,
(but because) he was young, the empress dowager participated
in the government…

, 為，年， …
57

Since Empress Lu, the regency of Empresses or Empress Dowagers occurred several
times based on the conditions mentioned above.
The primary sources give two reasons for Empress Wu of the Tang to
participate in government. The first, which is unreliable, is that the emperor was
timid enough that Empress Wu could lead him. Only the New Tang History mentions
this first reason and includes it in the biography of Empress Wu and of an official,
Zhu Suiliang ( ):
The emperor was also timid and mentally turbid,
懦 ...
58

The emperor was turbid and timid so that he was led by Empress
Wu…

懦，牽 …
59

According to these passages, the emperor had a weak personality. Generally, the
New Tang History records negative descriptions about Empress Wu. These passages

57
Hanshu 3, 95.

58
Xin Tangshu 76, 3475.

59
Xin Tangshu 105, 4029.

33
also emphasize that Empress Wu, as a wife, did not stay in the home as she should;
instead she disturbed her husband’s work of government by asserting her influence
over him. This situation shows deviation from the Confucian ideal of women.
However, the details of the emperor’s personality are only recorded in the New Tang
History. In both of the Old Tang History and the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in
Government, there is no record related to the emperor’s weak personality.
The other reason given is the emperor’s illness. This reason is more credible
with all of the three primary sources recording his disease.
The Old Tang History says:
Since the Xianqing era (656-660), the emperor had suffered from
a severe illness. When officials submitted memorials, [the
emperor] entirely entrusted them for the Heavenly Empress to
decide.

慶，多苦，，皆決
60

Similarly, the New Tang History records the emperor’s disease as follows:
Since the Xianqing era (656-660), Emperor Gaozong had a
severe disease. When officials submitted memorials, [the
emperor] frequently ordered the empress to decide on them.

高慶，多苦，，決 61

The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government precisely presents when
he contracted his illness:

60
Jiu Tangshu 6, 115.

61
Xin Tangshu 4, 81.

34
[In 660] winter, 10
th
month, the emperor first suffered with
dizziness and severe headache. He could not see. When officials
submitted memorials, the emperor sometimes let the empress
decide on them.

[ 慶年] 冬苦頭 , 能 , 決 62

As stated by the passages, Empress Wu first participated in the government in 660
because the emperor was unable to administrate affairs due to illness. However, the
emperor did not bequeath his power to Empress Wu.
In 664, after Empress Gaozong became seriously ill, she continuously
participated in the government through a regency. In the Old Tang History, the basic
annals of Empress Wu record her regency briefly:
From that time, within the palace [she] assisted in governing
for several decades, and her authority was not different from
the emperor’s. At that time, [the empress and the emperor]
were called the Two Sages.

內國年，，當為 .
63

The biography of Empress Wu in the New Tang History and the Comprehensive
Mirror for Aid in Government describe her regency in detail:
… Everyone called them the Two Sages. Whenever [the
emperor] had court, a curtain was hung down in the middle of
the throne room, and Emperor and Empress sat together on
either side. Together they made decisions for allowing prisoners
to live, condemning them to death, granting awards, and
inflicting punishments.

62
Zizhitongjian 200, 6322.

63
Jiu Tangshu 6, 115.

35
…皆 . , , , 64

From this time, whenever the emperor did his business, Empress
Wu sat behind a curtain in the back. In both great and trivial
matters of government, both of them together listened to all
matters. All of the power of the dynasty returned to the
empress’s royal quarters. Decisions for dismissal or advance,
and allowing prisoners to live or condemning them to death
came from the mouth [of Empress Wu]. The emperor folded his
arms and he did not decide. Inside and outside people called
them the Two Sages.

, , 大 , 皆 . 大
權, 歸宮, 陟 , , 決其口, 拱 , .
65

These three passages concur that Empress Wu’s political power was the same as the
emperor’s, so that people called them the Two Sages.
However, it does not seem that they were of the same level. The emperor still
had a higher position than that of Empress Wu. The New Tang History and the
Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government mention that Empress Wu often
professed her opinions to the emperor:
In 674, [Empress Wu] was called Heavenly Empress and
presented twelve proposals…

年, , 建 …
66

Heavenly Empress [Wu] offered her opinions to the emperor…
…
67

64
Xin Tangshu 76, 3476.

65
Zizhitongjian 201, 6343.

66
Xin Tangshu 76, 3477.

36
As illustrated above, Empress Wu could not make a ruling decision by herself;
instead, she should propose her opinions to the emperor just like other officials.
Although she was still lower than the emperor, Empress Wu’s position was as high
as the emperor to all of the officials, though there was still an apparent distinction
between the emperor and the empress. The primary sources often record the
emperor’s illness from 660 to 683, when he died. I think that Empress Wu as an
adviser behind a curtain was different from typical empresses. Then, the question of
what the crown prince was doing during the emperor’s illness remains. If an emperor
could not govern his country, a crown prince sometimes replaced the emperor
temporarily in Chinese history. The next section will examine this question.

2.2.4. The Death of Crown Prince, Li Hong
The Crown Prince, Li Hong was born in 652. While he was the first son of
Wu Zhao, she would consider him not only as a son, but also as a means for
improving and protecting her position. Li Hong became the Crown Prince in 656,
one year after Wu Zhao became empress. In 660, when he was only eight years old,
the emperor contracted his illness. Because Li Hong was too young to govern the
country, Empress Wu had to participate in government indirectly from behind the
curtain. With her support, the Crown Prince could sometimes participate in the
government instead of the emperor for a few years. However, the Crown Prince also
became ill with sickness in 671, according to the Old Tang History:

67
Zizhitongjian 202, 6374.

37
In 671… the Crown Prince had many illnesses…
年… 多 …
68

Due to his sickness and unsure future, the emperor could not entrust the crown
prince with the power to govern. These records of the circumstances support the
inevitable reasons for Empress Wu participating in government. The emperor, who
thought her political participation was beneficial, attempted to entrust her with his
governing power but his attempt failed due to the officials’ opposition:
The emperor suffered with severe dizziness. Then he consulted
with officials regarding the possibility of the Heavenly Empress
ruling as regent… [but] the emperor finally gave it up.

苦 , 國 … 乃 69

Probably, the emperor had thought that the most proper person to whom he could
entrust his power was Empress Wu, instead of the Crown Prince or his other sons.
The Crown Prince finally died in 675. Although Ouyang Xiu believed that the
Crown Prince was poisoned by his mother, Empress Wu, it seems that she did not
poison her son, according to the Old Tang History and the Comprehensive Mirror for
Aid in Government. The Old Tang History records this case as a natural death:
In the summer, fourth month, the day Jihai, the Crown Prince,
Hong, died at Qiyun Pavillion in Hebi Palace.

…己，宮綺 70

68
Jiu Tangshu 86, 2829.

69
Zizhitongjian 202, 6375.

70
Jiu Tangshu 5, 100.

38
In 675, the Crown Prince followed [the emperor] to Hebi
Palace, and died. He was twenty-four years old.

年，宮，，年 71

Even though the death of the Crown Prince was mentioned in the Old Tang History,
nowhere in the Old Tang History does it mention that Empress Wu poisoned the
Crown Prince. However, the New Tang history records that Empress Wu poisoned
her own son. Three passages in the the New Tang History record this murder case.
They are basic annals of Gaozong, the basic annals of Empress Wu, and the
biography of the Crown Prince Li Hong:
Fourth month… the day Jihai, the Heavenly Empress killed the
Crown Prince.

… 己 , 72

…Empress [Wu] was about to attain her intention, but Hong [the
Crown Prince] gave opposing requests against the empress to
the emperor several times. In 675, [Hong] followed [the
emperor] to Hebi Palace, and was killed by poison. He was
twenty-four years old.

… ，怫 . 年，宮，，年 …
73

…Empress [Wu] got angry, and poisoned Hong [the Crown
Prince]

… 怒, 74

71
Jiu Tangshu 86, 2830.

72
Xin Tangshu 3, 71.

73
Xin Tangshu 81, 3589.

39
Charles P. Fitzgerald, a Chinese history expert, insists that the reason for her
to kill her own son was that she had a desire to participate in government and have
that power.
75
The New Tang History emphasizes Empress Wu’s cruelty by recording
this incident with the choking of her own daughter. In contrast, Sima Guang in the
Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government casts doubt on the murder case. He
himself notes both of the records in the Old Tang History and the New Tang History:
… on the day Jihai, the crown prince died at Hebi Palace.
People that lived in that period suspected that the Heavenly
Empress had poisoned him.

… 己，宮, 76

Following the passage, he gives a commentary about the case:

Research into Variances (Kao yi) says that in Hong’s death, the
circumstances are inconclusive…
77

考 … , 其難 …
78

Research into Variances (Kaoyi 考 ) refers to Zizhitongjiankaoyi ( 鑑考 )
by Sima Guang. This document consists of thirty chapters. This document mentions
textual differences among the previous primary sources. In the document, he
compares several primary sources, and he finally mentions which source he chose to

74
Xin Tangshu 76, 3477.

75
C. P. Fitzgerald. The Empress Wu (London: The Cresset Press, 1968), 84.

76
Zizhitongjian 202, 6377.

77
For more explanation, see Denis Twitchett, “Chen gui and other works attributed to Empress Wu
Zetian” Asia Major 3
rd
ser. 16, no. 1 (2003): 65.

78
Zizhitongjian 202, 6377.

40
use in compiling the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government. For the case of
the Crown Prince’s death, however, he just compared the primary sources, and he
did not say which source he adopted. The passage above is the only one that reveals
uncertainty regarding the death, among the various records of Empress Wu by Sima
Guang. This means that he could not find any conclusive evidence to support that
Empress Wu killed her son. He further surmises that she would not kill her own son
to keep participating in government. Rather, there is one case in 670 showing that
she was not addicted to her position as an empress and to the government:
Due to the drought, Empress [Wu] requested her dismissal.
79

In the leap month, the day Guimao, due to the lasting drought,
the empress [Wu] requested her dismissal, but her request was
not accepted.

, 癸 , 久 , 80

This case could be merely a necessary procedure that empresses should request their
resignation as a formality whenever there is severe drought. However, I assume that
if Empress Wu was addicted to participating in the government and having power
enough to have killed her own son, then she would not easily request her
dethronement even as a formality. Therefore, it can be strongly supposed that the
anti-Wu historians probably fabricated the murder, and the crown prince died
naturally.

79
Xin Tangshu 3, 69.

80
Zizhitongjian 201, 6365.

41
Table 5 records the tone of records about Empress Wu in the three primary
sources: the Old Tang History, the New Tang History, and the Comprehensive
Mirror for Aid in Government. It looks at each of the four cases discussed above. NA
indicates negative descriptions, and NE indicates neutral descriptions.

The Old
Tang
History
The New
Tang
History
The
Comprehensive
Mirror for Aid in
Government
The dethronement of Empress
Wang
NE NE and NA NE and NA
The death of Empress Wang NA NA NA
The ruling from behind the curtain
( )
NE NE and NA NE
The death of the crown prince NE NA NE

Table 5: A comparison of the tone of records about the empress Wu in the three
primary sources

This chapter looked through four topics that are still debated among
academics. As a result, I conclude that the negative descriptions for Empress Wu
related to the three cases of killing her own daughter, killing her own son, and
ordering to cut off her enemies’ hands and feet would not be true stories, but
fabrications by anti-Wu historians. It is also reasonable to say that Empress Wu was
not cruel, although she could be astute depending on the circumstances, and that her
entrance into politics was not only by her will but was also inevitable due to

42
circumstances. Through several passages from the three primary sources cited in this
chapter, I found that the Old Tang History and the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in
Government generally keep neutral tones for the records of Empress Wu. The Old
Tang History keeps the neutral descriptions about Empress Wu except for the
records of Empress Wang’s death. The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in
Government also keeps a neutral tone except for the records of Empress Wang’s
death. It seems that Sima Guang documented most of the possible records to support
the cases which he could not evaluate, such as the case of Empress Wang’s
dethronement and the Crown prince’s death. On the other hand, the New Tang
History negatively records all of the four cases. With these results, three conclusions
are possible: 1) The writers of the Old Tang History compiled records uninfluenced
by their ideal of women. They took their material from other sources such as the
Veritable Records of the Tang, and did not have time to add their perspectives to the
document. Instead, the writers put their perspectives in the commentary sections. 2)
By contrast, the New Tang History includes Ouyang Xiu’s and Song Qi’s Confucian
perspectives. The document connotes their ideals of women based on their
Confucianism. For this reason, the New Tang History started to include negative
descriptions of Empress Wu. This document includes the most negative records
about Empress Wu. 3) Sima Guang was a great Confucian scholar in the Northern
Song dynasty who wrote Precepts for Family Life with his own ideal of women. He,
however, did not include his Confucian perspective in the historical document, the
Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government. According to his perspective as a

43
historian, it seems that he sorted the histories from the Old Tang History, the New
Tang History, and other previous documents, and he compiled reasonable records
from those documents.

44
CHAPTER III. BECOMING A FEMALE EMPEROR
This chapter will examine how Tang social conditions and Empress Wu’s
past political career could allow for the appearance of a female ruler. I will analyze
how a female could rise to supreme power within the Confucian patriarchal system
of Tang China. Also, I will re-analyze Empress Wu’s history based on an analysis of
the primary sources in the previous chapter.

3.1. Tang social conditions
In the period of the early Tang dynasty, neighboring dynasties of Tang China
had several female rulers. Through Tang’s tributary system, Tang had already been
aware of female rulers in Silla ( 羅), one of three dynasties in Korea, and of one
kingdom of women in Tibet
81
. In addition, the Old Tang History and the New Tang
History briefly record several kingdoms of women copied from Journey to the West
of the Great Tang (Da Tang xiyu ji 大唐記) written by a notable monk,
Xuanzang.
82
Due to the existence of these female rulers in neighboring dynasties and
documents, the appearance of a female ruler during the Tang dynasty was not so
difficult to accept by the Tang officials. Furthermore, Tang social conditions do not
seem to have been as affected by Confucian patriarchy as Song society. Two factors

81
Jennifer W. Jay, “Imagining Matriarchy: ‘Kingdoms of Women’ in Tang China” Journal of the
American Oriental Society 116, no. 2 (1996): 223-227.

82
Ibid.: 221-223.

45
brought about this feature of the Tang dynasty: cultural influences from previous
dynasties, and Tang imperial espousal of Taoism.

3.1.1. Cultural influences from previous dynasties
The previous dynasty, Sui ( 581-618) was the first to have a unified empire
since the division of the North and South Dynastues in 317. After the collapse of the
Western Jin ( 265-316), during a period of about 260 years, China was generally
separated into northern non-Chinese dynasties and southern Chinese dynasties. One
of the last northern dynasties, the Northern Zhou ( 556-581) conquered northern
China, and the successor, the Sui dynasty, finally conquered southern China.
According to the Qing scholar, Zhao Yi ( ) in Critical Notes on the Twenty Two
Histories (Ershiershi zhaji 記), which ascertained twenty two Chinese
histories in the Qing dynasty, Northern Zhou ( 556-581), Sui, and Tang were
originated from the same place, Wuchuan ( ), located in present-day Inner
Mongolia.
83
Accordingly, the members of the ruling class of the Tang dynasty
naturally retained northern Chinese characteristics although they had been sinicized
for a while. The Northern Zhou was found by the Xianbei ( ) tribe, which was
one of the northern nomadic tribes. The period of about seventy years, from the

83
Chae-sik Shin(신채식), Dongyangsa gaeron (東학 槪 , The History of East Asia) (Seoul:
Samyoungsa, 1993), 290.

46
collapse of the Northern Zhou to the founding of the Tang, is not a long enough
period for the ruling class to be sinicized perfectly.
Members of the Guan-Long aristocrats (關團), who formed a political
group in Sui and early Tang, held high positions during the Northern Zhou, Sui, and
Tang bureaucracy until Wu Zhao became an Empress. To keep their political status,
the group was opposed to Empress Wu, who was not in their group, and who
replaced Empress Wang, who was in their group. The Guan-Long area is located in
the northwest region of China “(primarily Shaanxi and Gansu), that is, the Northern
Zhou area…”
84
Thus, the dominant officials of the ruling class in the Tang dynasty
could have both Xianbei influences and sinicized characteristics.
85

In addition, the reason the Tang dynasty could not avoid regional roots is that
the Tang dynasty was an empire with multiple ethnicities, including those from
Northern China. The historian of the Song, James T. C. Liu, examines cultural
differences between the Tang and Song with the polo game. In his article, “Polo and
Cultural Change: From Tang to Sung China,” he says that Tang is a Han Chinese
country with non-Han Chinese culture, including nomadic culture, which affected
Tang court culture.
86
In nomadic societies, the status of women was much higher

84
Victor Cunrui Xiong, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty: His Life, Times, and Legacy (N.Y.: State
University of New York Press, 2006), 116.

85
However, the Guan-Long aristocrats in the early Tang had weaker regional characteristics than the
group in the previous dynasties because the aristocrats included officials who were not from Guan-
Long area. In this paper, I name Guan-Long members and defenders as Guan-Long aristocrats for the
sake of convenience.

86
James T. C. Liu. “Polo and Cultural Change: From Tang to Sung China” Harvard Journal of
Asiatic Studies 45, no. 2 (1985): 203.

47
than the status of women under agrarian societies. The status of women in the Tang
dynasty was higher than that during the Song dynasty because the “hybrid culture
loosened the hold of Confucian values on women in the early Tang.”
87
There is one
good example to prove that nomadic characteristics still remained in Tang society.
Figure 1 shows that women rode horses, and wore trousers. Although unlikely to be
a Tang painting, it portrays a Tang scene which displays their nomadic culture.
88
In
the Song, women would not have been allowed to ride horses and wear trousers as
depicted in this scene.

Figure 1: Consort of Guo going on a trip in spring (Guoguofuren youchuntu 虢国图)
89

87
Norman. H. Rothschild, Wu Zhao: China’s only woman Emperor (N.Y.: Peters Longman, 2008), 10.

88
Hee-Jung Kang (강희정), “The Feminine Image of Bodhisattva in Tang Dynasty and Its Identity”
Misulsahak 20 (2006): 28.

89
Retrieved from http://www.libnet.sh.cn/art/ysjs/ghfz13.htm, on Dec. 9, 2007. As cited from Hee-
Jung Kang (강희정), “The Feminine Image of Bodhisattva in Tang Dynasty and Its Identity”
Misulsahak 20 (2006): 28.

48
3.1.2. Tang imperial philosophy
Furthermore, it seems that the Tang used Confucianism only as a political
system while using Taoism as an imperial philosophy. Taoism generally prospered
within the Tang royal palace. For example, the surname of the Tang royal family was
the same as that of the founder of Taoism, Laozi (老 ).
90
Gaozu (高 618-626)
built a tomb for Laozi, and Gaozong (高 649-683) gave an honorary name to
Laozi, Celestial Emperor Emeritus (Taishang xuan huangdi ). In
addition, the Daodejing (道德經), which is a classic of Taoism attributed to Laozi,
was as important as the Confucian canonical scriptures in the civil service
examinations during the Tang dynasty.
91

A monograph in the Old Tang History records the Daodejing’s importance as
follows:
From then on, the Daodejing was included in the major
classics, and someone preparing for the civil service
examination should also be conversant with the Daodejing.

今，道德經為經，貢舉皆兼 .
92

90
He was considered the founder of Taoism. His name is , and the name of the Tang founder,
Gaozhu (高 ) is . The royal surname Li was from the Longxi region (Longxi Lishi ).

91
Denis Twitchett and Howard J. Wechsler, “Kao-tsung (reign 648-83) and the Empress Wu: the
inheritor and the usurper.” In the Cambridge History of China Vol. 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906,
Part I, ed. Denis Twitchett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 265.

92
Jiu Tangshu 24, 918.

49
Although Empress Wu had instituted Buddhism as the national religion, Xuanzong
( 712-756) restored Taoism by constructing Taoist temples in local areas and
keeping the Daodejing in each family house:
When the commentary on the Daodejing of Laozi was finished,
the edict said that every house should keep the book. Those
preparing for the civil service examination subtracted Shangshu
(Classic of History) and Lunyu (Analects), and added Laozi
[Daodejing.]

及道德經，家其，貢舉減尚、，加 .
93

For the status of women in the Daodejing, there are some arguments in academia.
Some researchers insist that the Daodejing contains equal inter-relations between
men and women, but others assert that the text shows women as superior to men.
94

For the ancient Taoism that developed from the Daodejing, Roger T. Ames, a great
scholar of Chinese philosophy, asserts that Taoist thought presents no hierarchy
between Yin and Yang, and between feminine and masculine.
95
Also, he cites a
passage from a work of Joseph Needham, an accomplished scholar in Chinese
culture, “If it were not unthinkable that the Yin and the Yang could ever be
separated, one might say that Taoism was a Yin thought-system and Confucianism a

93
Xin Tangshu 44, 1164.

94
Insuk Kim (김인숙), “Junggukdogyoui yeoseongguan (중국도교의 여성관: 위진남북조를
중심으로, the view of womanhood of Chinese Taoism: focused on the period of Wei, Jin, and
Southern and Northern dynasties)” Hoseosahak 21-22, (1994): 175.

95
Roger T. Ames, “Taoism and the Androgynous Ideal” in Women in China : Current Directions in
Historical Scholarship, ed. R. W. L. Guisso and Stanley Johannesen (Youngstown, NY: Philo Press,
1981), 30-43.

50
Yang one.”
96
It seems that these western scholars also consider the Taoist
perspective toward women to be opposed to the Confucian perspective toward
women.
Under these Tang social conditions, Empress Wu becoming the ruler was still
not usual, but the incident was not impossible. Then, one question arises: Why was
Empress Wu the single female ruler of the Tang dynasty? There was one other
Empress who desired to be an emperor in the Tang dynasty: Empress Wei. She was
Zhongzong’s principal wife. Zhongzong was Empress Wu’s son and retrieved the
name of the dynasty, Tang, from the Zhou of Empress Wu. Empress Wei attempted
to take the throne from Zhongzong by emulating Empress Wu.
97
Yuan Shu ( ), a
Southern Song official, in his book the Comprehensive Mirror Topically Arranged
(Tongjian jishibenmo 鑑紀 ), considers Empress Wu and Empress Wei as
similar phenomena. Accordingly, he combined the two empresses’ records under one
topic, “disasters caused by Empresses Wu and Wei ( ).”
98

Nevertheless, the question remains: Why couldn’t Empress Wei become
another female ruler? There are several reasons. The major reason is that Empress
Wu had a long period of ruling from “behind the curtain” and as an empress
dowager. Empress Wu’s role as a ruler from “behind the curtain” and as an empress

96
Ibid., 22.

97
Lianda Xu ( 達), Haokun Wu ( 坤), and Keyao Zhao ( 克 ), Zhongguotongshi ( 國 , Chinese history), trans. Jungguksayeonguhoe (중국사연구회) (Seoul: Cheongnyunsa, 1989), 378

98
Tongjian jishibenmo 30, 1943-2014.

51
dowager covered a period of 30 years (660-690), until she became the emperor of
Zhou. Gaozu (高 ) reigned for 18 years (618-626), and Taizong ( ) reigned for
22 years (627-649). Compared to these lengths, Empress Wu’s 30 years of the
regency was long enough to learn national management and administration, and
especially to gain solid political support. On the other hand, Empress Wei’s period in
the same role was only 5 years (705-710). Thus, the period of Empress Wei was too
short for her to become another female ruler.

3.2. Empress Wu as an empress and an emperor
This section will re-analyze Empress Wu’s history from a political
perspective. I dealt with the historiography of her personality and private deeds. This
section will analyze her political career. It is divided into three parts, analyzing each
of Wu Zhao’s positions and titles: consort, empress dowager, and emperor.

3.2.1. Empress Wu as a consort and an empress
When Wu Zhao entered the Tang palace as one of Taizong’s consorts in 637,
she received the title “Lady of Talents” (cairen )
99
. Until Taizong’s death in
649, she did not give birth and her status was not changed. It seems that during
Taizong’s period, she did not have any contact with political groups. Officials did
not need to contact her for their benefit because the position of “Lady of Talents”

99
There are some arguments about when she got ‘lady of talents’ title. Some scholars says that she got
the title when she entered into the palace, but others insists that she got the title few years after
entering into the palace.

52
was not a high position within the royal palace (see Table 6). The situation changed,
however, in 655. Wu Zhao re-entered the Tang palace in 652, and she gave birth to
sons in 653 and in 654. At the same time, the primary consort, Empress Wang did
not give birth. In 654, Wu Zhao attained the position of ‘Lady of Bright Deportment’
(zhaoyi ). In the following year, Gaozong wanted to promote her to be one of
his consorts (fei ), but the Guan-Long aristocrats opposed it, so that she could not
get the higher position. The position of ‘consort’ (furen ) is the highest position
except Empress. If somebody who “was an outsider to the Guan-Long aristocrats,”
100

and who already had two sons were to become the next in line to the position of
Empress, it would have threatened the Guan-Long aristocrats who had held their
high position through the three dynasties as mentioned above. Table 6 shows the
relative ranks of each consort title in the early Tang dynasty.

100
Jo-shui Chen, “Empress Wu and Proto-Feminist Sentiments in Tang China” in Imperial Rulership
and Cultural Change in Traditional China, ed. Chun-Chieh Huang (Seattle, London: University of
Washington Press, 1994), 79.

53

Titles
Numbers
of persons
Ranks Orders
Empress ( )
1 No ranking

Consort ( )
4
Rank 1,
upper class
( 1 )
Honored Consort (貴 ), Pure Consort ( ),
Virtuous Consort (德 ), Worthy Consort ( )
Nine Concubines
(九 )
9
Rank 2,
upper class
( 2 )
Lady of Bright Deportment ( ), Lady of Bright
Countenance ( ) Lady of Bright Beauty ( ), Lady
of Cultivated Deportment ( ), Lady of Cultivated
Countenance ( ), Lady of Cultivated Beauty ( ),
Lady of Complete Deportment ( ), Lady of
Complete Countenance ( ), Lady of Complete
Beauty ( )
Lady of Handsome
Fairness ( 婕妤)
9
Rank 3,
upper class
( 3 )

Lady of Beauty
( )
9
Rank 4,
upper class
( 4 )

Lady of Talents
( )
9
Rank 5,
upper class
( 5 )

Lady of the
Precious Bevy
( )
27
Rank 6,
upper class
( 6 )

Secondary
Concubine ( 女)
27
Rank 7,
upper class
( 7 )

Lady of Elegance
( 女)
27
Rank 8,
upper class
( 8 )

Table 6: Relative ranks of each consort title in the early Tang dynasty
101

One of the Guan-Long aristocrats, Chu Suiliang ( ) submitted a
memorial that presents his group’s thoughts:

101
Jiu Tangshu 51, 2161-2162 Since Xuanzong ( 712-756), the number of persons under each
title declined. The translations of the titles are cited from Charles O Hucker. A Dictionary of Official
Titles in Imperial China. (Stanford: Stanford University press. (1985).

54
If your majesty really wants to change empresses, I
sincerely request that you cleverly choose one from
honorable families in the country. Why should it be Wu?

, , .
102

The empress position could be changed to someone from another group, but this
would threaten Guan-Long aristocrats who did not want to lose their power. This
passage shows that the Guan-Long aristocrats wanted the emperor to change the
empress to one of their group, instead of somebody from outside like Wu Zhao, to
preserve their status. A Tang history expert, Hwangja Choi, insists that because of
this, Tang politicians were divided into two groups: the Kuan-Long aristocrats and
all others
103
. For Wu Zhao’s elevation to empress, she needed to replace Empress
Wang’s supporting group with others. Gaozong tried to promote her toward empress
again, but the Guan-Long aristocrats still opposed it. Gaozong asked Li Ji ( )
about it. Li Ji, who was one of the representatives of Wu Zhao’s supporters, said:
“Your highness, it is your family business. You should not
ask outsiders.” The emperor finally promoted Lady of
Bright Deportment [Wu Zhao] to be Empress…

乃家，．乃為 …
104

After she became the empress, Empress Wu and her political supporters purged the
Guan-Long aristocrats.

102
Zizhitongjian 200, 6290.

103
Hwangja Choi (최황자) (1986). “Tang Muchikcheongua jeongchijipdanseryoukui byounjil (당
무측천과 정치집단세력의 변질 T'ang Wu - tse - t'ien [Wu Zetian] and transmutation of the political
system power)” Junggukhakbo 26 (1986): 101.

104
Jiu Tangshu 80, 2739.

55
As a means to oust the Guan-Long aristocrats from their political positions,
she supported the reformation of the civil service examination. Although previously
examinations were given formally, most officials were selected through family
connections. For this reason, the Guan-Long aristocrats were able to dominate high
political positions for a long time. However, the reformation of the examination
threatened their positions. According to Mountain of Fame written by John E. Wills,
the reformed examination focused on knowledge and abilities about political, moral,
and literary matters, not on family connections.
105
The examination became a major
route to officialdom, and the positions which the Guan-Long aristocrats had held
were gradually replaced by the newly enlisted officials through the civil service
examination.
In addition, Empress Wu raised her own political power and support using
religious rituals. Although she officially became empress, she needed unofficial
approval by other consorts. For this reason, she supervised a sacrifice, Xian Can
( ) in which empresses worshipped deities of sericulture, representing household
affairs, with consorts and women in the elite class.
106
The Xian Can sacrifice
parallels the agricultural ceremony, the Jitian ( ) ceremony, which was
performed by emperors and male officials. Empress Wu performed the sacrifice four
times between 656 and 683.
107
It can be argued that only four performances of the

105
John E. Wills, Mountain of Fame (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1994), 138.

106
Jo-shui Chen, 79.

107
Ibid.

56
sacrifice during a 27-year period is infrequent. However, four times out of a total of
eight for Jitian and Xian Can, the number of times both rites were performed during
the entire Tang dynasty, was actually a high amount.
Moreover, there is other evidence that she also tried to raise her political
status by performing the Fengshan ( ) sacrifices. Fengshan sacrifices had
political and religious meaning.
108
The sacrifices had been performed only six times
during all of Chinese history.
109
The previous performance of the sacrifice was in
A.D. 56, 600 years earlier.
110
In the Fengshan sacrifices, the emperor made the
primary offering, and people who made secondary offerings were generally high
officials.
111
However, Empress Wu offered the secondary sacrifice in 666.
112
That is,
the secondary position changed from male high officials to the empress. There is no
record that any woman had attended the sacrifices before the Tang dynasty, “The
empress… planned to play a major role in order to lend legitimacy to her status as

108
Howard J. Wechsler, Offerings of Jade and Silk: Ritual and symbol in the legitimation of the Tang
dynasty (New Haven, MA: Yale University Press, 1985), 170.

109
Jo-shui Chen, 84.

110
Ibid p. 84, and Denis Twitchett and Howard J. Wechsler, “Kao-tsung (reign 648-83) and the
Empress Wu: the inheritor and the usurper.” In the Cambridge History of China Vol. 3, Sui and Tang
China, 589-906, Part I, ed. Denis Twitchett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 259.

111
Jo-shui Chen, “Empress Wu and Proto-Feminist Sentiments in Tang China” in Imperial rulership
and Cultural change in traditional China, ed. Chun-Chieh Huang (Seattle; London: University of
Washington Press, 1994), 84.

112
“ 為 ...” Tanghuiyao (唐 ), 98, and “…皆為 .” Jiu Tangshu 23,
887.

57
equal partner with the emperor…” and she performed the secondary offering with
consorts and female members of the royal family.
113

Some scholars use Empress Wu’s Xian Can performance and attendance of
Fengshan sacrifices as supporting evidence that Empress Wu was a feminist
reversing gender roles. Jo-Shui Chen also presents the changes of lengthening the
mourning period for mothers and the change of the imperial consorts’ titles as
additional evidence of Empress Wu’s feminism.
114
However, I think that attendance
at Feng Shan sacrifices might not be a feminist issue. Twitchett mentions that
officials discussed and decided on precise rules for the sacrifices because many of
them hardly knew the rules.
115
Fengshan sacrifices had not been performed for about
six hundred years, and the sacrifices were not performed frequently. It might be
interpreted that the rules for sacrifices could be recreated every time depending on
the social conditions that prevailed during the different time periods. Therefore, for
Empress Wu’s attendance at the sacrifices it can be considered that Empress Wu did
not break any rules that were handed down with Confucianism, but that she affected
the process of making the rules at the time in order that she could raise her own
political power. It is also thought that if she did have feminist sentiments, she would

113
Denis Twitchett and Howard J. Wechsler, “Kao-tsung (reign 648-83) and the Empress Wu: the
inheritor and the usurper.” In the Cambridge History of China Vol. 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906,
Part I, ed. Denis Twitchett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 259.

114
Jo-shui Chen, “Empress Wu and Proto-Feminist Sentiments in Tang China” in Imperial rulership
and Cultural change in traditional China, ed. Chun-Chieh Huang (Seattle; London: University of
Washington Press, 1994), 80-88.

115
Denis Twitchett and Howard J. Wechsler, “Kao-tsung (reign 648-83) and the Empress Wu: the
inheritor and the usurper.” In the Cambridge History of China Vol. 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906,
Part I, ed. Denis Twitchett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 259.

58
have nominated a princess for crown princess, instead of nominating a prince for
crown prince. However, she actually declared Zhongzong as the crown prince, not
the Taiping Princess as a Crown Princess:
In 699, [he] was re-nominated as Crown Prince. The empress
dowager was old and sick.

年，為． 116

She may have had feminist sentiments, but it is certain that her priority was using the
changes to solidify her official status and raise her political power. Jay argues, rather,
that “the power of dominance of the patriarchy was thus never seriously challenged
by Wu Zetian’s construction of her kingdom of Zhou.”
117

In short, reform of Tang ruling classes was necessary to Wu Zhao and her
political supporters. The reformation caused the entrance of the newly appointed
officials who were selected by examinations. After she became an empress, she tried
to gain public approval of insiders and outsiders to the royal palace. Also, she made
efforts at holding on to political power in order to keep her position as empress.

3.2.2. Empress Wu as an empress dowager
Empress Wu had the role of an empress dowager after Emperor Gaozong’s
death in 683. She may have had a desire to attain the position of emperor in this
period. During this time, however, the power of Empress Wu was actually much

116
Xin Tangshu 4, 106.

117
Jenifer W. Jay, “Imagining Matriarchy: “Kingdoms of Women” in Tang China” Journal of the
American Oriental Society 116, no. 2 (1996): 228.

59
stronger than the power of the new emperor, Zhongzong. According to the testament
of Emperor Gaozong, Empress Wu could still participate in governing:
Emperor [Gaozong] left a testament that he was to be encoffined
on the seventh day, and that the Crown Prince accede to the
throne in front of the coffin… Any important military and civil
matters still undecided should be given to the Heavenly Empress
to settle.

. ，柩 … 軍國大決 ,
.
118

Zhongzong, who became emperor, was the third son of Empress Wu. He was
twenty-eight years old when Gaozong died. His age was enough for him to have
control of the government by himself. Nevertheless, he was to ask Empress Wu’s
opinions regarding problems which were difficult to decide. Thus, the final decisions
were given to Empress Wu. By this time, she ultimately had a higher position than
her son, the emperor. There is another case that shows that Empress Wu’s political
power was more than the emperor’s power. Zhongzong was dethroned by Empress
Wu after only one month. Zhongzong promoted his father-in-law, Wei Xuanzhen
( ), to be one of the chief ministers. Zhongzong once said that he would give
the dynasty to his father-in-law.
119

Zhongzong desired to appoint Wei Xuanzhen [his Father-
in-law] to Director of the Chancellery… Pei Yan strongly
disputed [his appointment], and Zhongzong said in anger
“If I give the country to Wei Xuanzhen, what of it?”…
[Pei] Yan was frightened and notified Empress Dowager of

118
Jiu Tangshu 5, 112.

119
John E. Wills, Mountain of Fame (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1994), 138-
139.

60
it. Then [they] discussed dethronement and enthronement
in secret. Empress Dowager assembled officials at
Qianyuan Pavillion… Empress Dowager ordered
dethronement of Zhongzong…

… 固 , 怒 , 可… 懼, , . 官乾 … …
120

This statement caused the emperor to be charged with treason. The process of the
emperor’s dethronement was conducted by Empress Wu and her followers.
However, one question arises: If an emperor represents heaven under Confucian
culture, whom did the emperor revolt against and under what right or power was he
dethroned? It is probably the case that Zhongzong tried to revolt against Empress
Wu. Although he had the title of Emperor, he still did not have political power as the
emperor and could not escape from Empress Wu’s influence. Richard W. L. Guisso
points out that “she [Empress Wu] was beginning to resemble the usurping empress
Lu of the Han” dynasty.
121

Empress Wu had emperor-like political power during the period of the next
emperor, Ruizong ( ), as well. Fitzgerald describes Ruizong’s situation as
follows:
He did not occupy the usual Imperial apartments, and exercised
no function of the throne. … all power was openly exercised by
the empress dowager as if she herself had been the sovereign…

120
Zhizitongjian 203, 6417-6418.

121
Richard W. L. Guisso, “The reigns of the empress Wu, Chung-tsung and Jui-tsung (684-712),” in
the Cambridge History of China Vol. 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906, Part I, ed. Denis Twitchett
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 291.

61
Ruizong was not even present when state affairs were discussed,
and was kept virtually a prisoner in the Inner Palace.
122

While it is uncertain that he was actually imprisoned in the Inner Palace, this passage
implies that though Ruizong’s title was Emperor, he had no power, and Empress Wu
had all the political power.

3.2.3. Empress Wu as an emperor
After 23 years (660-683) as an empress, and 7 years (683-690) as empress
dowager, in 690, Empress Wu became an emperor and changed the name of the
dynasty from Tang to Zhou ( ). Confucians believed that it was the natural order
that a male as representative of the yang aspect should become an emperor. If a
female became an emperor, the incident would have broken the natural order, and it
would have caused “catastrophic natural events and social disruption.”
123
One of the
Confucian classics, the Book of Documents (Shangshu, ) warns people not to
break the natural order with the following:
The hen does not herald the dawn; when the hen crows to
announce the dawn, it means that the family is only doomed.
124

In opposition to this Confucian condition, Emperor Wu used Buddhism in order to
justify herself as an emperor.
125
She especially used the Great Cloud Sutra (大經)

122
Charles P. Fitzgerald. The Empress Wu, (Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1968), 91.

123
Diana Y. Paul, “Empress Wu and historians: a tyrant and saint of classical China,” in Unspoken
world: Women’s religious lives ed. Nancy Auer Falk and Rita M. Gross (Belmont, CA:Wadsworth,
1989), 146-147.

124
Norman H Rothschild. “Rhetoric, ritual and support constituencies in the political authority of Wu
Zhao, Woman emperor of China” (PhD diss., Brown University, 2003), 53.

62
to counteract Confucian thought.
126
The Great Cloud Sutra identified her as the
Bodhisattva Maitreya, who was actually a male “in a female apparitional form.”
127

According to the Great Cloud Sutra, Empress Wu had a female appearance, but she
was actually a male. This implication corresponded with the Confucian thought that
only a male could be an emperor as a son of Heaven. Furthermore, the Great Cloud
Sutra took steps to allay the anxiety about natural catastrophes and social disruption
described by Confucian thought. The Cambridge History of China cites the text:
Harvest will be bountiful, joy without limit. The people will
flourish, free of desolation and illness, of worry, fear, and
disaster…the rulers of neighbouring lands will all come to
offer allegiance…. At that time all her subjects will give their
allegiance to this woman as the successor to the imperial
throne. Once she has taken the Right Way, the world will be
awed into submission.
128

In addition, Empress Wu legitimized herself as an emperor with the name of
the Zhou dynasty (690-705). Actually, Zhou ( or B.C. 1122-B.C. 770) was
the utopian state of Confucians.
129
Confucians considered Zhou as a standard of

125
She was actually a Buddhist and she made Buddhism a national religion when she founded the
Zhou.

126
Richard W. L. Guisso. “Wu Tse-T’ien [Wu Zetian] and the politics of legitimation in T’ang China”
(Bellingham, WA: Western Washington University Press, 1978), 50.

127
Dora Shu-Fang Dien, Empress Wu Zetian in fiction and in history: female defiance in Confucian
China (Hauppauge, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers, 2003), 46; Diana Y. Paul, “Empress Wu and
historians: a tyrant and saint of classical China,” in Unspoken world: Women’s religious lives ed.
Nancy Auer Falk and Rita M. Gross (Belmont, CA:Wadsworth, 1989), 150.

128
Richard W. L. Guisso, “The reigns of the empress Wu, Chung-tsung and Jui-tsung (684-712),” in
the Cambridge History of China Vol. 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906, Part I, ed. Denis Twitchett
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 305.

129
Generally, the Zhou ( ) is divided into two, the Western Zhou ( B.C.1122-B.C.770), and the
Eastern Zhou (東 B.C.770-B.C.250). The Confucians’ utopian state was the Western Zhou.

63
utopian civilization and completion of feudalism, so that they yearned toward
Zhou.
130
Moreover, she needed a new name since the Li family was no longer the
ruling family. Therefore, from her perspective, the Tang dynasty had to end. This is
most likely the reason that Emperor Wu changed the name of the dynasty to Zhou.
The name change could have been a gesture in order to appease Confucians’
opposition against a female ruler.
Most historians have considered Empress Wu, during the period of the Zhou,
as a ruler during the Tang dynasty. From this perspective, it is certain that she broke
the general succession to the throne, of father to son, and she killed many officials
and imperial family members cruelly for her own security and power.
By contrast, it is possible to consider the period of Zhou as the period of a
separate dynasty. The Old Tang History and the New Tang History say that Empress
Wu changed the title of the Tang dynasty to Zhou:

130
Cae-sik Shin(신채식), Dongyangsagaeron (東학 槪 , The history of East Asia) (Seoul:
Samyoungsa, 1993), 34. There were four states using Zhou as a state’s name: Zhou (B.C. 1122-B.C.
250), Northern Zhou ( 556-581), Zhou (690-705), and Hou Zhou ( 951-960). The Zhou
founded by Empress Wu has been generally called Wu Zhou ( ).

64
… [She] changed the name of the dynasty to Zhou…
…改國 …
131
…改國 …
132

Even though Zhou was maintained for only 15 years and had only one ruler, Zhou
can be considered as one dynasty in itself. In Chinese history, there were several
dynasties and states which were maintained for very short periods and had few rulers,
just like Zhou. For example, the Qin dynasty ( 221-207 B.C.) was continued for 14
years and had two rulers. The Former Yan ( 349-370) lasted 21 years and had
two rulers. The Southern Yan (南 398-410) remained for only 13 years and had
two rulers. The Sui (581-618) continued for 37 years with three rulers, and of the
Five Dynasties ( 代) out of the five dynasties and ten kingdoms ( 代國), none
lasted more than 13 years and was ruled by more than four rulers.
133
The most
similar case is one state during the period of Southern and Northern dynasties, the
Eastern Wei (東 534-550), lasting 16 years with just one ruler. Because Chinese
history already admitted these ephemeral states as dynasties, as mentioned above, it
is thought that there is no reason that the Zhou dynasty of Empress Wu should not be
admitted as a dynasty. It may be argued that the Zhou dynasty’s institutions
depended on the Tang, or rather were the same as Tang’s institutions, so that there is
no alternative but to categorize the Zhou as a part of the Tang dynasty. However,

131
Jiu Tangshu 6, 121.

132
Xin Tangshu 4, 90.

133
The Former Yan and the Southern Yan were states during the period of Five Foreign Nationalities,
and the Sixteen States ( 國).

65
many states and dynasties in Chinese history had adopted the institutions of previous
states and dynasties. For instance, the civil service examination was performed and
never abrogated from the Sui to the Qing (1663-1911) and the examination was
actually further developed and modified by several dynasties.
134
If the Zhou is
considered as a dynasty of its own, Empress Wu can be described more positively.
Empress Wu led a relatively peaceful transition from the Tang to the Zhou. In
Chinese history, when most dynasties were founded, massive casualties were left as
a result of the rise to power and as part of the transition to the next dynasty. The
casualties who were killed by Empress Wu’s group were relatively few. Her party
killed several political enemies and royal palace members who were opposed to her
and posed a threat, but not masses of civilians or military. In addition, Empress Wu’s
long political experience as regent would help her to quickly stabilize security both
inside and outside the palace.

134
Lianda Xu ( 達), Haokun Wu ( 坤), and Keyao Zhao ( 克 ), Zhongguo Tongshi ( 國
, the Chinese History), trans. Jungguksayeonguhoe (중국사연구회) (Seoul: Cheongnyunsa,
1989), 385-386.

66
CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSIONS
It seems that for Chinese society, with its strong tradition of patriarchal
culture, it is hard to accept Empress Wu as a female emperor, even though she
named herself Emperor, founded a dynasty, and was unchallenged in power. Despite
her political achievements, Confucian historians denied calling her Emperor.
Therefore, it is possible that the historians negatively rewrote the records of Empress
Wu. Only the Old Tang History includes her records in the basic annals as an
emperor. Nevertheless, it calls her Empress, not Emperor. The New Tang History
includes her records in the memoir section. It means this book never considered her
to be an emperor, but uses her reign titles. Similarly, the Comprehensive Mirror for
Aid in Government also calls her Empress and uses her reign titles. Empress Wu’s
records by the Southern Song historian, Zhu Xi are the most hostile against Empress
Wu. Zhu Xi’s book considers her as a usurper against the Tang and does not use her
reign titles, even when she founded the Zhou dynasty. Although, the former three
documents seem to accept her as a ruler, none of the four documents admit the Zhou
dynasty as a legitimate and separate dynasty, but they consider the Zhou dynasty as a
part of the Tang dynasty, by including the Zhou dynasty within Tang history. In
addition, the records of Empress Wu are inconsistent. Some documents describe her
negatively, but others describe her neutrally. For this reason, it is not easy to judge
what kind of person and ruler she was. Through the comparisons provided in chapter
II, we can see that some of Empress Wu’s negative records were possibly not true
and fabricated by anti-Wu Confucian historians.

67
Empress Wu’s appearance as a female emperor was not impossible under
Tang social conditions. Tang society had strong influences from a previous nomadic
culture. Women’s status in nomadic culture was much higher than women’s typical
status under the traditional Confucian system. In addition, there were several female
rulers in countries near the Tang. These influences gave women more freedom and
power than under Confucian Chinese dynasties. Tang bureaucracy was also affected
not only by Confucian ideals but also by Taoism. Under Confucianism, women’s
status within each social group was lower than that of men. On the other hand,
women’s status under Taoism was much higher than women’s status under
Confucianism. Because Taoism was the imperial philosophy during the Tang
dynasty, the combined conditions made the appearance of a female emperor possible.
Between 683 and 690, Empress Wu might have begun to have the desire to
become an emperor. However, she could not become emperor by herself. She needed
additional power from political supporters. This paper does not include the relations
between Empress Wu and the pro-Wu political groups, and the characteristics of
these groups. Further study would evaluate whether Empress Wu really wanted to be
an emperor or if she became an emperor by the will of her supporters. Either way,
she founded a new dynasty, the Zhou dynasty. This dynasty can be identified as a
separate dynasty from the Tang dynasty in Chinese history. Under this circumstance,
she could be considered the founder of a dynasty who peacefully overthrew the
previous dynasty.

68
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ames, Roger T. “Taoism and the Androgynous Ideal.” In Women in China: Current
Directions in Historical Scholarship, edited by R. W. L. Guisso and Stanley
Johannesen, 21-45. Youngstown, NY: Philo Press, 1981.

Birge, Bettine. “Zhu Xi and Women’s Education.” In Neo-Confucian Education: The
Formative Stage, edited by Wm Theodore de Bary and John W. Chaffee, 325-367.
Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989.

Chen, Jo-shui. “Empress Wu and Proto-Feminist Sentiments in Tang China.” In
Imperial Rulership and Cultural Change in Traditional China, edited by Chun-Chieh
Huang. Seattle, London: University of Washington Press, 1994.

Chen, Zizhan, ed. Shijing 經 [the Book of Songs] in Shijing zhijie 經 .
Taipei: Shulin chuban youxian gongsi, 1992.

Cheong, Byung Jun (정병준). “Tangui janghyung: Jangsarl jungshimuro (당의
장형: 장사를 중심으로, Whipping Penalty during Tang dynasty: Centered on the
Death by Whipping)” Junggukgojungsesayungu 2 (1996): 133-153.

Choi, Hwangja (최황자). “Tang Muchikcheongua jeongchijipdanseryoukui byounjil
(당 무측천과 정치집단세력의 변질 T'ang Wu - tse - t'ien [Wu Zetian] and
transmutation of the political system power)” Junggukhakbo 26 (1986): 91-107.

Davis, Richard L. “Chaste and filial women in Chinese Historical Writings of the
EleventhV century.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 121, no. 2 (2001):
204-218.

Dien, Dora Shu-fang. Empress Wu Zetian in Fiction and in History: Female
Defiance in Confucian China. Hauppauge: N.Y. Nova Science Publishers, 2003.

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Inner Quarters: Marriage and the Lives of Chinese
Women in the Sung Period. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1993.

Fitzgerald, Charles P. The Empress Wu. Vancouver: University of British Columbia,
1968.

Gao, Guokang (高國 ). Zongguo gudai shixueshi gaiyao 國古代槪 .
Translated by Sang Hun Oh, Gae Seok Lee, & Byung Han Cho (오상훈, 이개석,
조병한). Zhongguo shixueshi ha (중국사학사 , Chinese Historiography), Seoul:
pulbit, 1998.

69
Guisso, Richard W. L. Wu Tse-T’ien [Wu Zetian] and the politics of legitimation in
T’ang China. Bellingham, WA: Western Washington University Press, 1978.

Guisso, Richard W. L. “The Reigns of the empress Wu, Chung-tsung and Jui-tsung
(684-712).” In The Cambridge History of China Vol. 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-
906, Part I, edited by Denis Twitchett, 290-332. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1979.

Guo, Jianxun, ed. Zhouyi [the Changes] in Xinyi Yijing duben 經讀 ,.
Taipei: Sanmin shuju, 1996.

Hucker, Charles O. A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China. Stanford:
Stanford University Press, 1985.

Jay, Jennifer W. “Imagining Matriarchy: ‘Kingdoms of Women’ in Tang China.”
Journal of the American Oriental Society 116, no. 2 (1996): 220-229.

Jiang, Yihua, ed. Liji 記 [the Record of Rites] in Xinyi liji duben 記讀 ,.
Taipei, Sanmin shuju, 1996.

Kang, Hee-Jung (강희정). “The Feminine Image of Bodhisattva in the Tang Dynasty
and Its Identity (당대 보살상의 여성적 이미지와 그 정체성)” Misulsahak 20
(2006): 7-34.

Kelleher, Theresa. “Confucianism.” In Women in World Religions, edited by Arvind
Sharma, 135-159. NY: State University of New York Press. 1987.

Kim, Insuk (김인숙). “Junggukdogyoui yeoseongguan (중국도교의 여성관:
위진남북조를 중심으로, the view of womanhood of Chinese Taoism: focused on
the period of wei, jin, and Southern and Northern dynasties)” Hoseosahak 21-22,
(1994): 173-200.

Liu, James T. C. Ou-Yang Hsiu: an Eleventh Century Neo-Confucianist. Stanford:
CA. Stanford University Press, 1967.

Liu, James T. C. “Polo and Cultural Change: From Tang to Sung China.” Harvard
Journal of Asiatic Studies 45, no. 2 (1985): 203-224.

Oxford University Press. The Oxford English Dictionary 3. Oxford, The University
Press, Oxford, 1961.

70
Park, Ji Hun (박지훈). “Songdai Sadaebuui yeoseongguan (송대 사대부의 여성관,
Song Literati’s Concepts of Women).” Zunggukhakbo 46 (2002): 269-289.

Paul, Diana Y. “Empress Wu and the Historians: A Tyrant and Saint of Classical
China.” In Unspoken World: Women’s Religious Lives, edited by Nancy Auer Falk
and Rita M. Gross, 145-154. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth, 1989.

Pokyong Munhwasa. Zizhitongjiangangmu 鑑綱 [the Outline and Digest of
the General Mirror] Seoul: Pokyong Munhwasa 1987.

Rothschild, Norman H. “Rhetoric, ritual and support constituencies in the political
authority of Wu Zhao, Woman emperor of China.” PhD diss., Brown University,
2003.

Rothschild, Norman H. Wu Zhao: China’s only Woman Emperor. New York: Peters
Longman, 2008.

Sanmin shuju. Tongjian jishibenmo 鑑紀 [the Comprehensive Mirror for
Aid in Government, topically arranged] Taipei: Sanmin shuju, 1972.

Shanghai guji chubanshe. Tanghuiyao 唐 [Important documents of the Tang]
Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1991.

Shin, Chae-sik (신채식). Dongyangsa gaeron (東학 槪 , The History of East
Asia). Seoul: Samyoungsa, 1993.

Twitchett, Denis. The Writing of Official History under the Tang, NY: Cambridge
University press, 1992.

Twitchett, Denis. “Chen gui and Other Works attributed to Empress Wu Zetian.”
Asia Major 3
rd
ser. 16, no. 1 (2003): 33-110.

Twitchett, Denis and Wechsler, Howard J. “Kao-tsung(reign 648-83) and the
Empress Wu: the inheritor and the usurper.” In The Cambridge History of China Vol.
3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906, edited by Denis Twitchett, 242-289. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1978.

Waley, Arthur, trans. The Book of Songs ( 經 Shijing). NY: Grove Press. 1996.

Wilkinson, Endymion. Chinese History: a Manual, Cambridge: MA. Harvard
University Press, 2000.

71
Wills, John E. Mountain of Fame. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press,
1994.

Wechsler, Howard J. Offerings of Jade and Silk: Ritual and Symbol in the
Legitimation of the Tang Dynasty. New Haven, MA: Yale University Press, 1985.

Xiong, Victor Cunrui. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty: His Life, Times, and
Legacy. N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 2006.

Xu, Lianda ( 達), Wu, Haokun ( 坤), and Zhao, Keyao ( 克 ), Zhongguo
tongshi ( 國 , Chinese history). Translated by Jungguksayeonguhoe
(중국사연구회). Seoul: Cheongnyunsa, 1989.

Yang, Lien-sheng. “Female Rulers in Imperial China.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic
Studies 23 (1960-1961): 47-61.

Yao, Ping. “Precepts for Family Life (Jiafan) 家 , Sima Guang 光.” In Images
of Women in Chinese Thought and Culture: Writings from the Pre-Qin Period to the
Song Dynasty, edited by Robin R. Wang, 414-418. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co.
2003.

Zhang, Yu, ed. Zizhitongjian 鑑 [the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in
Government]. Taipei, Shijie shuju, 1974.

Zhonghua Shu ju. Hanshu [History of the Han]. Beijing: Zhonghua Shu ju,
1995.

Zhonghua Shu ju. Jiu Tangshu 舊唐 [the Old Tang History]. Beijing: Zhonghua
Shu ju, 1995.

Zhonghua Shu ju. Xin Tangshu 唐 [the New Tang History] Beijing: Zhonghua
Shu ju, 1995.

Zhonghua Shu ju. Shiji 記 [the Records of the Historian] Beijing: Zhonghua Shu
ju, 1995.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This thesis presents a re-evaluation of Empress Wu (624-705) of the Tang dynasty, who became the only female emperor in Chinese history. In the Chinese historical texts, evaluations of Empress Wu as an emperor by Confucian historians were generally hostile, but were not consistently so. This study first analyzes and compares descriptions of Empress Wu in primary sources. It investigates how Confucian historiography affected each primary source and how the accounts changed over time, in general becoming more negative. Second, this study examines what components helped Empress Wu become an emperor, including an analysis of Tang social conditions and Empress Wu’s political deeds. Through these analyses, this study attempts to explain how Empress Wu was able to become the only female emperor in Chinese history.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Banqueting for power: imperial women and banquets in the Tang Dynasty

PDF

China’s panda diplomacy: the power of being cute

PDF

Currency reform in 1930s China and the American silver policy: a case analysis of how Chinese monetary policy was influenced by American policy and contemporary East Asian circumstances

PDF

The significance of zones and boundaries in the urban community with special reference to the Los Angeles Area

PDF

Family matters: women's negotiation with Confucian family ethics in Qing and Republican China

PDF

Explaining the variation in the extent of China's hegemony, 1279-1840 — multiple sources of ideational power beyond Confucianism

PDF

Visions in verse: dialogues across cultural realms

PDF

An exploration of the debate on “nancy boys” in modern China

PDF

Well-being among Black female managers in retail banking during COVID-19

PDF

Through the application of international public relations, the Chinese government can neutralize the negative effects of the "made in China" stigma, thereby protecting China's national image

PDF

Fostering leadership resilience: examining the influence of social networks on female administrators’ capacity to lead in times of crisis or organizational change

PDF

The Heian origins of Japan's high cuisine, 794-1185

PDF

Invisible shackles: self-actualization of China's Post-90s generation

PDF

Sino-Japanese transcultural contact through kanshi in the late nineteenth century: analyzing the impact of Yu Yue’s A selection of poems from Japan

PDF

Investigating the potential roles of three mammalian traits in female reproductive investment

PDF

The power of social media narratives in raising mental health awareness for anti-stigma campaigns

PDF

In the post-Me Too, Roe v. Wade overturn, and Barbie world: should actresses have a voice in the portrayal of their iconic female pop culture characters?

PDF

An autoethnography: examining the association between maladaptive eating behaviors and the identity of a female Chinese international student

PDF

Site selection of medium density housing in Tacoma, Washington: where to put “missing middle” housing

PDF

A spatiotemporal analysis of racial disparity in the distribution of superfund sites within Santa Clara County, California

Asset Metadata

Creator Rhee, Jong Min (author)

Core Title Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty: becoming the only female emperor in China

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program East Asian Languages and Cultures

Publication Date 11/14/2008

Defense Date 10/30/2008

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Empress Wu,female emperor in China,OAI-PMH Harvest,Wu Zetian,Wu Zhao

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Birge, Bettine (committee chair), Hayden, George (committee member), Kim, Nam-Kil (committee member)

Creator Email jmrh7719@gmail.com,jongrhee@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m1768

Unique identifier UC176401

Identifier etd-Rhee-2030 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-128739 (legacy record id),usctheses-m1768 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Rhee-2030.pdf

Dmrecord 128739

Document Type Thesis

Rights Rhee, Jong Min

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu