Volta
PersonAD 624 – AD 705

Wu Zetian

Also called: Empress Wu, Wu Zhao

Empress of Tang Gaozong who in 690 made herself emperor of a new Zhou dynasty — the only woman to rule China as emperor in her own right (r. 690–705)

Entering the palace as a consort of Taizong, she was sent to a nunnery on his death but caught Gaozong’s eye and returned. In 655 she ousted Empress Wang and became empress, ruling alongside Gaozong as one of the “Two Sages”. In 690 she founded the Zhou and reigned as emperor, encouraging informers and using harsh officials to crush opponents while promoting able ministers such as Di Renjie. Ill in 705, she was forced to abdicate in a coup led by Zhang Jianzhi and others, and was buried with Gaozong at Qianling, where her uninscribed stele still stands.

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1 related event

  1. 1
    AD 690 – AD 705Wu Zetian Takes the Thronemonarch

    Wu Zetian, empress of Tang Gaozong, made herself emperor in 690 and renamed the dynasty Zhou. The only woman to reign as emperor in Chinese history, she promoted new officials chosen by examination.

Themes this person appears in

  • Sui, Tang and the East Asian WorldAD 317 – AD 979

    From the divided Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Gupta age through the Sui and Tang empires to the founding of the Song — the age when an East Asian world sharing law codes, Buddhism, Confucianism and Chinese characters took shape, and Korea and Japan built their states on its model