Happy birthday to the only woman to not only rule China, but to reign over it, Wu Zetian, the two time Chief Consort and Regent of the Tang Empire who, after twenty five years of accumulating power, usurped the dynasty and ascended to the throne of the throne in her on right, proclaiming herself ruler of the Chinese Empire, and declaring a New Dynasty, the Second Chou, a title she claimed on the basis of a genealogy that claimed her descent from Chou Emperors. Wu Zetian ruled officially under the name of her self-proclaimed Zhou dynasty, from 690 to 705. She was the only female emperor of China in more than 4,000 years, an event so rare the masculine noun was used for her title. Wu had been a concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death she married his successor and ninth son, Emperor Gaozong, officially becoming Gaozongs furen (variously translated as empress, wife, or first consort) in 655, although having considerable political power prior to this. For twenty years, she ruled thru her second husband. After his debilitating stroke in 690, Wu Zetian ruled as effective sovereign. The importance to history of Wu Zetians period of political and military leadership includes the major expansion of the Chinese empire, extending it far beyond its previous territorial limits, deep into Central Asia, and the completion of the conquest of the upper Korean Peninsula. Within China, besides the more direct consequences of her struggle to gain and maintain supreme power, Wus leadership resulted in important effects regarding social class in Chinese society and in relation to state support for Taoism, Buddhism, education, and literature. https://youtube/watch?v=oTPifF4uWqU
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 08:18:30 +0000
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