Who Was Wu Zetian?
- Chloe Y.
- Aug 15, 2025
- 3 min read
Among all the monarchs crowned in China’s history, one of them is indisputably unique. This monarch ruled during what is considered a “golden age” of China’s history, helped it to flourish, yet was a controversial figure to contemporaries. This monarch was named Wu Zetian but is also known by another title: the first and only female emperor to rule in China’s history.
Born as Wu Zhao in 624, she began life in the emperor’s court at 14 as a concubine. Amidst the messy politics of the imperial harem, she rose above her competitors to become Emperor Taizong’s secretary and one of his favourite concubines. When he passed, his son Gaozong defied tradition and made his father’s concubine his own. Wu Zetian then beat out the competition of Gaozong’s then-favourite concubine and the empress by accusing them for crimes and removed the would-be heir from that position. She ascended to the title of empress in 655 and ensured that the heir to the throne would be one of her sons.
But many women have, likewise, eliminated rivals and climbed the ranks of the imperial harem. What exactly made Wu’s story diverge so much from the others’, to the point of holding a position never before held by a woman? This was a result of ideology and circumstance. Gaozong was ill during his reign, something Wu exploited. By the end of Gaozong’s life, she was practically the one behind the throne. Under her leadership, the Tang captured Korea as a vassal state, although the accomplishment would be attributed under her husband’s name. Ideologically, she was raised to believe that women were equal to men. The era she was born in contributed to this. The Tang was not only a golden age for China, but for its women too. They enjoyed greater freedoms, such as being able to wear men’s clothing or ride horses. During her time as Gaozong’s wife, she continued to eliminate rivals, except this time, they were male.
Around the court there were many dissenters that disliked Wu’s origin, whether it be her family origins or the fact that she was meant to live in a convent after Taizong’s death. When her husband died, her eldest son rose to the position of emperor. However, she considered him to be a weak ruler, just like his father, so she replaced him with his younger brother. During his six-year reign, she controlled him heavily, having him be emperor in nothing but title. Dissatisfied, she forced his abdication and her own ascension in 690, becoming Holy Emperor Wu Zetian.
There was just as much dissent against her as there was when she first married Emperor Gaozong. Her critics painted her to be one of the cruelest rulers in China’s history - an image which still stands today. Although some of this was true: she executed or exiled dissidents and anyone she deemed suspicious, spread rumors to the court against her enemies, and might have even killed her own infant back when she framed Gaozong’s wife. However, she truly did improve her kingdom. She reformed the government and employed those she deemed had talent to work in the bureaucracy, instead of based on status and connection. She similarly reformed the military by exams to prove her commanders’ competence. Agriculture boomed, the Silk Road was reopened, and the years after her reign were the pinnacle of the Tang Dynasty.
After having been emperor for 15 years, a coup by court officials who had had enough of her ruthless killing forced her to abdicate. A year later, in 706, she passed away. Although she was remembered as a villain by contemporaries, we have only begun to acknowledge the multifaceted figure that she was. She was cruel, as many rulers were, but was also competent, strong, and diligent. Her contributions to Chinese society were also undeniable, and she literally made history in more ways than one. Wu Zetian stands out as a ruler even 1300 years after her death.
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