Wu Zetian, Empress of China

Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empress consort of the Tang dynasty (as wife of the Emperor Gaozong) and then, after his death, empress dowager (ruling through her sons Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong). Unprecedented in Chinese history, she subsequently founded and ruled as empress regnant of the Wu Zhou dynasty of China from 690 to 705. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China widely regarded as legitimate. Under her 40-year reign, China grew larger, becoming one of the great powers of the world, its culture and economy were revitalized, and corruption in the court was reduced. She was removed from power in a coup and died a few months later.

In early life, Wu was the concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death, she married his ninth son and successor, Emperor Gaozong, officially becoming Gaozong's '' huanghou'' (), or empress consort, the highest-ranking of the wives, in 655. Even before becoming empress consort, Wu had considerable political power. Once announced as the empress consort, she began to control the court, and after Gaozong's debilitating stroke in 660, she became administrator of the court, a position equal to the emperor's, until 705. As a young woman entering Emperor Gaozong's harem, she clashed with Empress Wang and Consort Xiao to gain the emperor's affection, and eventually expelled and killed them. After her wedding to Gaozong in 655, Empress Wu's rise to power was swift. A strong, charismatic, vengeful, ambitious and well-educated woman who enjoyed the absolute affection of her husband, Wu was the most powerful and influential woman at court during a period when the Tang Empire was at the peak of its glory.

She was more decisive and proactive than her husband, and historians consider her to have been the real power behind the throne during Emperor Gaozong's reign for more than 20 years until his death. She was partially in control of power from November 660, and totally from January 665. History records that: "She was at the helm of the country for long years, her power is no different from that of the emperor." Empress Wu presided over the court with the emperor, and even held court independently when the emperor was unwell. She was given charge of the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, implying that her perusal and consent were necessary before any document or order received legal validity. Gaozong sought her views on all matters before issuing orders. Wu was granted certain honors and privileges not enjoyed by any Chinese empresses before or since. After Gaozong's death, Empress Wu as empress dowager and regent held power completely and solely, used absolute power more forcefully and violently than before, and suppressed her overt and covert opponents. Seven years later, she seized the throne and began the Zhou dynasty, becoming the only empress regnant in Chinese history.

Empress Wu is considered one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history due to her strong leadership and effective governance, which made China one of the world's most powerful nations. The importance to history of her 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 engaging in a series of wars on the Korean Peninsula, first allying with Silla against Goguryeo, and then against Silla over the occupation of former Goguryeo territory. Within China, besides the more direct consequences of her struggle to gain and maintain supreme power, Wu's leadership resulted in important effects regarding social class in Chinese society and in relation to state support for Taoism, Buddhism, education, and literature.

Wu developed a network of spies to build a strong intelligence system in the court and throughout the empire, delivering daily reports on current affairs of the empire or opposition to the central state. She also played a key role in reforming the imperial examination system and encouraging capable officials to work in governance to maintain a peaceful and well-governed state. Effectively, these reforms improved her nation's bureaucracy by placing competence, rather than family connection, at the centre of the civil service. Wu also had a monumental impact upon the statuary of the Longmen Grottoes and the "Wordless Stele" at the Qianling Mausoleum, as well as the construction of some major buildings and bronze castings that no longer survive. Besides her career as a political leader, Wu also had an active family life. She was a mother of four sons, three of whom also carried the title of emperor, although one held that title only as a posthumous honor. One of her grandsons became the renowned Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

Names and titles

In Chinese history and literature, Wu Zetian () was known by various names and titles. Mention of her in the English language has only increased their number. A difficulty in English translations is that they tend to specify gender (as in the case of "emperor" versus "empress" or "prince" versus "princess"), whereas, in Classical Chinese, words such as ''hou'' (, "sovereign", "prince", "queen") or ''huangdi'' , "imperial supreme ruler", "royal deity") are of grammatically indeterminate gender.

Names

In Wu's time, women's birth names were rarely recorded. She changed her name to Wu Zhao after rising to power, often written as , ( has also been written as on occasion, and both are derivatives of , which may be her original name), with 瞾 being one of the invented characters by Wu. Wu was her patronymic surname, which she retained, according to traditional Chinese practice, after marriage to Gaozong, of the Li family. Emperor Taizong gave her the art name Wu Mei (), meaning "glamorous". Thus, Chinese people often refer to her as Wu Mei or Wu Meiniang () when they write about her youth, as Wu Hou () when referring to her as empress consort and empress dowager, and as Wu Zetian () when referring to her as empress regnant.

Titles

During her life, and posthumously, Wu was awarded various official titles. Both ''hou'' () and ''huangdi'' () are titles (modifications, or added characters to ''hou'' are of lesser importance). Born Wu Zhao, she is not properly known as "Wu Hou" (Empress Wu) until receiving this title in 655, nor is she properly known as "Wu Zetian", her regnal name, until 690, when she took the title Emperor.

* During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang (618-626):
** Lady Wu (from 624)
* During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang (626-649):
** Talented Lady (; from 637), 17th rank consort
* During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (649-683):
** Imperial Concubine Zhaoyi (; from 650), 6th rank consort
** Empress (; from 655), 1st rank consort  
** Heavenly Empress (; from 674), 1st rank consort
* During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (684-684):
** Empress Dowager Wu (; from 683)
* During the reign of Emperor Ruizong of Tang (684-690)
** Empress Dowager Wu (; from 684)
*During her reign as the Empress Regnant of the Zhou Dynasty (690-705):
** Holy Emperor (; from 690)
** Holy Golden Emperor (; from 693)
** Holy Golden Goddess Emperor (; from 694)
** Holy Golden Emperor (; from 695)
** Emperor Tiance Jinlun (; from 695)
** Emperor Zetian Dasheng (; from 705)
* During the second reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (705-710):
** Empress Zetian Dasheng (; from 705)
*During the second reign of Emperor Ruizong of Tang (710-712):  
** Heavenly Empress (; from 710)  
** Holy Empress (; from 710)  
** Empress of Heaven (; from 712)
**Holy Empress (; from 712)
*During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (713-756):  
**Empress Zetian (; from 716)
**Holy Empress Zetianshun (; from 749)

"Empress"

Various Chinese titles have been translated into English as "empress", including "empress" in both the sense of empress consort and empress regnant. Generally, the monarch was male and his chief spouse was given a title such as ''huanghou'' (), often translated as "empress" or more specific "empress consort". Upon the emperor's death, the surviving empress consort could become empress dowager, sometimes wielding considerable political power as regent during the minority of the (male) heir to the position of emperor.

Since the time of Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC), the Emperor of China using the title ''huangdi'' (, translated as "emperor" or "empress (regnant)" as appropriate), Wu was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title ''huangdi''. Her tenure as de facto ruler of China and official regent of the Tang dynasty (first through her husband and then through her sons, from 665 to 690) was not without precedent in Chinese history, but she broke precedent when she founded her own dynasty in 690, the Zhou () (interrupting the Tang dynasty), ruling personally under the name Sacred and Divine Huangdi (), and variations thereof, from 690 to 705.

Wu Zetian and Empress Dowager Liu of the Song Dynasty are said to be the only women in Chinese history to have worn a yellow robe, ordinarily reserved for the emperor's sole use, as a monarch or co-ruler in their own right.

Background and early life

The Wu family clan originated in Wenshui County, Bingzhou (an ancient name of the city of Taiyuan, Shanxi). Wu Zetian's birthplace is not documented in preserved historical literature and remains disputed. Some scholars argue that Wu was born in Wenshui, some that it was Lizhou () (modern-day Guangyuan in Sichuan), while others insist she was born in the imperial capital of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an).

Wu Zetian was born in the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang. In the same year, a total eclipse of the sun was visible across China. Her father, Wu Shiyue, worked in the timber business and the family was relatively well off. Her mother was from the powerful Yang family. During the final years of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan () (who went on to become Emperor Gaozu of Tang) stayed in the Wu household many times and became close to the Wu family while holding appointments in both Hedong and Taiyuan. After Li Yuan overthrew Emperor Yang, he was generous to the Wu family, giving them money, grain, land, and clothing. Once the Tang dynasty became established, Wu Shihou held a succession of senior ministerial posts, including governor of Yangzhou, Lizhou, and Jingzhou () (modern-day Jiangling County, Hubei).

Wu was from a wealthy family, and was encouraged by her father to read books and pursue her education. He made sure that she was well-educated, an uncommon trait among women, much less encouraged by their fathers. Wu read and learned about many topics, such as politics and other governmental affairs, writing, literature, and music. At age 14, she was taken to be an imperial concubine (lesser wife) of Emperor Taizong of Tang. It was there that she became a type of secretary. This opportunity allowed her to continue to pursue her education. She was given the title of '' cairen'', the title for one of the consorts with the fifth rank in Tang's nine-rank system for imperial officials, nobles, and consorts. When she was summoned to the palace, her mother, the Lady Yang, wept bitterly when saying farewell to her, but she responded, "How do you know that it is not my fortune to meet the Son of Heaven?" Lady Yang reportedly then understood her ambitions, and therefore stopped crying.

Consort Wu, however, did not appear to be much favored by Emperor Taizong, although it appeared that she did have sexual relations with him at one point.See , for Chu Suiliang's assertion that she had "served" (a euphemism for sexual relations) Emperor Taizong when trying to stop Emperor Gaozong from creating her empress. According to her own account (given in a rebuke of Chancellor Ji Xu during her reign), she once impressed Taizong with her fortitude:

When Taizong died in 649, his youngest son, Li Zhi, whose mother was the main wife Wende, succeeded him as Emperor Gaozong. Li Zhi had had an affair with Wu when Taizong was still alive.

Taizong had 14 sons, including three by his beloved Empress Zhangsun (601–636), but none with Consort Wu. Thus, according to the custom by which consorts of deceased emperors who had not produced children were permanently confined to a monastic institution after the emperor's death, Wu was consigned to Ganye Temple () with the expectation that she would serve as a Buddhist nun there for the remainder of her life. But Wu defied expectations and left the convent for an alternative life. After Taizong's death, Li Zhi came to visit her and, finding her more beautiful, intelligent, and intriguing than before, decided to bring her back as his own concubine.

Rise to power

By early 650, Consort Wu was a concubine of Emperor Gaozong, and had the title Zhaoyi () (the highest-ranking of the nine concubines in the second rank). She progressed rapidly, earning the title of huanghou (皇后) (empress consort, the highest rank and position a woman held in the empire), and gradually gained immeasurable influence and unprecedented authority over the empire's governance throughout Gaozong's reign. Over time, she came to control most major and key decisions made during Gaozong's reign, and presided over imperial gatherings. After Gaozong died in 683, Empress Wu became the empress Dowager and regent and power fell completely and solely into the her hands. She proceeded to depose Emperor Zhongzong for displaying independence and held onto power even more firmly thereafter. She then had her youngest son, Ruizong, made emperor. She was absolute ruler not only in substance but in appearance. She presided alone over imperial gatherings, prevented Ruizong from taking an any active role in governance, and forbade all meetings with him. In 690, she had Ruizong yield the throne to her and established the Zhou Dynasty. She ruled as emperor until 705. She was regarded as ruthless in her endeavors to grab power, and was believed by traditional historians to have killed her own children. This was later proven false; these rumors seem to have surfaced 400 years after her death, likely due to the belief in ancient China that a woman was unsuited to hold the power of the emperor. But the cause of death of her first two children is still in question.

Imperial consort

Palatial intrigue: (650-655)

Gaozong became emperor at the age of 21. He was not the first choice, as he was inexperienced and frequently incapacitated with a sickness that caused him spells of dizziness. Gaozong was made heir to the empire only due to the disgrace of his two older brothers. On or after the anniversary of Emperor Taizong's death, Gaozong went to Ganye Temple to offer incense. When he and Consort Wu saw each other, they both wept. This was seen by Gaozong's wife, Empress Wang. At that time, Gaozong did not favor Wang. Instead, he favored his concubine Consort Xiao. Furthermore, Wang had no children, and Xiao had one son (Li Sujie) and two daughters (Princesses Yiyang and Xuancheng). Wang, seeing that Gaozong was still impressed by Wu's beauty, hoped that the arrival of a new concubine would divert the emperor from Xiao. Therefore, she secretly told Wu to stop shaving her hair and later welcomed her to the palace. (Some modern historians dispute this traditional account. Some think that Wu never left the imperial palace and might have had an affair with Gaozong while Taizong was still alive.)

Wu soon overtook Xiao as Gaozong's favorite. In 652, she gave birth to her first child, a son named Li Hong. In 653, she gave birth to another son, Li Xián. Neither of these sons was in contention to be Gaozong's heir, because Gaozong, at the request of officials influenced by Wang and her uncle (the chancellor Liu Shi), had designated his eldest son Li Zhong as his heir. Li Zhong's mother, Consort Liu, was of lowly birth. Wang did this in order to receive Liu's gratitude.

By 654, both Wang and Xiao had lost favor with Gaozong, and these two former romantic rivals joined forces against Wu, but to no avail. For example, as a sign of his love for Wu, Gaozong conferred posthumous honors on her father, Wu Shiyue, in 654.

In the same year, Wu gave birth to a daughter. But her daughter died shortly after birth, with evidence suggesting deliberate strangulation. The evidence include allegations made by Wu herself, and she accused Wang of murder. Wang was accused of having been seen near the child's room, with corroborating testimony by alleged eyewitnesses. Gaozong was led to believe that Wang, motivated by jealousy, had most likely killed the child. Wang lacked an alibi and was unable to clear her name.

Scientifically credible forensic pathology information about the death of Wu's daughter does not exist, and scholars lack concrete evidence about her death. But scholars have many theories and speculations. Because traditional folklore tends to portray Wu as a power-hungry woman unconcerned about whom she hurt or what she did, the most popular theory is that Wu killed her own child in order to implicate Wang. Other schools of thought argue that Wang indeed killed the child out of jealousy and hatred of Wu. The third argument is that the child died of asphyxiation or crib death. The ventilation systems of the time were nonexistent or of poor quality, and the lack of ventilation combined with using coal as a heating method could have led to carbon monoxide poisoning. In any case, Wu blamed Wang for the girl's death, and as a result, tried to remove Wang from her position.

Because of the child's death, an angry Gaozong also wanted to depose Wang and replace her with Wu. But first he needed to make sure that he had the support of the government chancellors. So Gaozong met with his uncle Zhangsun Wuji, the head chancellor. During the meeting, Gaozong repeatedly brought Wang's childlessness. Childlessness was a sufficient excuse to depose Wang. But Zhangsun repeatedly found ways to divert the conversation. Subsequent visits made by Wu's mother, Lady Yang, and an official allied with Wu, Xu Jingzong, to seek support from Zhangsun were met with disappointment. Early in 655, he wanted to create Wu, who carried the sixth-highest rank among imperial consorts, Zhaoyi (昭儀), the unprecedented title of Chenfei (宸妃), and promote her over all other imperial consorts directly under Wang herself, but Han and fellow chancellor Lai Ji both opposed on the grounds that the title was unprecedented, and so Gaozong did not carry it out.

In summer 655, Wu accused Wang and her mother, Lady Liu, of using witchcraft. In response, Gaozong barred Liu from the palace and demoted Wang's uncle, Liu Shi. Meanwhile, a faction of officials began to form around Wu, including Li Yifu, Xu, Cui Yixuan (), and Yuan Gongyu (). Once in the autumn of 655, Gaozong summoned the chancellors Zhangsun, Li Ji, Yu Zhining, and Chu Suiliang to the palace. Chu had deduced that the summons was about changing the empress. Li Ji claimed illness and refused to attend. At the meeting, Chu vehemently opposed deposing Wang, while Zhangsun and Yu showed their disapproval by silence. Meanwhile, chancellors Han Yuan and Lai Ji also opposed the move. When Gaozong asked Li Ji again, he responded, "This is your family matter, Your Imperial Majesty. Why ask anyone else?" Gaozong therefore became resolved. He demoted Chu to commandant at Tan Prefecture (roughly modern Changsha, Hunan), and then deposed both Wang and Xiao. He placed them both under arrest and made Wu empress. (Later that year, Gaozong showed signs of considering their release. Because of this, Wang and Xiao were killed on Empress Wu's orders. After their deaths, they often haunted Wu's dreams.)

For the rest of Gaozong's reign, Wu and Gaozong often took up residence at the eastern capital Luoyang and only infrequently spent time in Chang'an.

Empress consort

Involvement in politics: (655-660)

In 655, Wu became Tang Gaozong's new empress consort (, ''húanghòu''). Empress Wu was a powerful force in the world of politics. Emperor Gaozong's was putty in her hands when she wanted something done. After Empress Wu's ascension, one of the first things that the did as new empress, submitted a petition ostensibly praising the faithfulness of Han and Lai in opposing the unprecedented Chenfei title, but showing instead that she remembered that they had offended her — her petition that, however, made Han and Lai apprehensive that she was aware of their opposition of her, and Han offered to resign thereafter, an offer that Emperor Gaozong did not accept.

In 656, on the advice of Xu Jingzong, Emperor Gaozong deposed Consort Liu's son Li Zhong from being his heir apparent. He changed Li Zhong's status to Prince of Liang and designated Empress Wu's son, Li Hong as the title of Prince of Dai and crown prince (that is, Heir Apparent). Soon after, Empress Wu soon became dominant at court, installing officials who favored her ascension in chancellor posts.

In 657, Empress Wu persuaded Emperor Gaozong to split the empire into two capitals and make Luoyang the capital alongside Chang'an. In 657, Empress Wu and her allies began reprisals against officials who had opposed her ascension. She first had Xu and Li Yifu, who were by now chancellors, falsely accuse Han Yuan and Lai Ji of being complicit with Chu Suiliang in planning treason. The three of them, along with Liu Shi, were demoted to being prefects of remote prefectures, with provisions that they would never be allowed to return to Chang'an. In 659, she had Xu accuse Zhangsun Wuji of plotting treason with the low-level officials Wei Jifang () and Li Chao (). Zhangsun was exiled and, later in the year, was forced to commit suicide in exile. Xu further implicated Chu, Liu, Han, and Yu Zhining in the plot as well. Chu, who had died in 658, was posthumously stripped of his titles, and his sons Chu Yanfu () and Chu Yanchong () were executed. Orders were also issued to execute Liu and Han, although Han died before the execution order reached his location. It was said that after this time, no official dared to criticize the emperor or empress.

In order to complete the social promotion of her family, she had the Wu clan listed among those of first importance in the registers of the "Great Families" (姓氏錄, xìngshìlù) by changing the "Book of Clans" to "Books of Names"; against imperial traditions. In late 659, she proposed to Emperor Gaozong that Palace Exam be opened to establish talented people from the lower classes as government officials. This reduced the power of the aristocracy. In 660, Li Zhong, Gaozong's first-born son (to consort Liu) also was targeted. Li Zhong had feared that he would be next and had sought out advice of fortune tellers. Wu had him exiled and placed under house arrest.

Ruling with Emperor Gaozong: (660-683)

After removing those who opposed her rise, she was more power to influence politics, and Emperor Gaozong took full advantage of her advice on petitions made by officials and talking about state affairs. In 660, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu toured Bian Prefecture (modern-day Taiyuan), and Empress Wu had the opportunity to invite her old neighbors and relatives to a feast. Later that year, Emperor Gaozong began to suffer from an illness that carried the symptoms of painful headaches and loss of vision, generally thought to be hypertension-related. He began to have Empress Wu make rulings on daily petitions and proposals made by officials. It was said that Empress Wu had quick reactions and understood both literature and history, and therefore, she made correct rulings, and Emperor Gaozong, with her ability, no longer paid much attention to governmental affairs, and over time and every day more and more depended on her advice, and delegated his duties to her. Thereafter, her authority rivaled Emperor Gaozong's, from this point on, Empress Wu became the undisputed power behind the throne until the end of his reign. Slowly, Gaozong became aware of Wu's increasing power however, he could not stop Wu effectively.

In 661, Empress Wu asked to forbid women from all over the empire to be haiku (referring to entertainers who perform burlesque), and Emperor Gaozong adopted it and issued an edict. In April, Emperor Gaozong wanted to conquer Goguryeo himself, but surrendered at the urging of Empress Wu and his ministers. In 662, at the suggestion of Empress Wu to her husband the titles of the imperial consorts were temporarily changed to be devoid of feminine and superficial quality. Her motive was probably the possible elimination of female rivals for her power. In the same year, Empress Wu selected military generals to attack Goguryeo. During these years, her ally Li Yifu had been, due to favors from Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu, exceedingly powerful, and he grew particularly corrupt. In 663, after reports of Li Yifu's corruption were made to Emperor Gaozong, Emperor Gaozong had Liu Xiangdao and Li Ji investigate, finding Li Yifu guilty. Li Yifu was removed from his post and exiled, and would never return to Chang'an. Empress Wu is said to have been reluctant to accept corruption and therefore did not defend Li Yifu and her only role in the decision of Emperor Gaozong was to forgo Li Yifu execution.

During the years, Empress Wu had repeatedly, in her dreams, seen Empress Wang and Consort Xiao, in the states they were after their terrible deaths, and she came to believe that their spirits were after her. For that reason, Emperor Gaozong started remodeling a secondary palace, Daming Palace (), into Penglai Palace (), and when Penglai Palace's main hall, Hanyuan Hall (), was completed in 663, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu moved to the newly remodeled palace (which was itself later renamed to Hanyuan Palace). (However, Empress Wang and Consort Xiao continued to appear in her dreams even after this, and therefore, late in Emperor Gaozong's reign, he and Empress Wu were often at the eastern capital Luoyang, not at Chang'an.)

Over the years, Emperor Gaozong's illness had worsened, and Empress Wu's influence continued to grow and was fully established in the political arena. Her controlling behavior and her excessive interference in his decisions, which she did not even dare to make alone, provoked his dissatisfaction. By 664, Empress Wu was said to be interfering so much in governance of the empire that she was angering Emperor Gaozong and was unhappy with her controlling behavior. Furthermore, she had engaged the Taoist sorcerer Guo Xingzhen () in using witchcraft—an act that was prohibited by regulations and led to Empress Wang's downfall—and the eunuch Wang Fusheng () reported this to Emperor Gaozong which angered him even more. He consulted the chancellor Shangguan Yi, who suggested that he depose Empress Wu. He had Shangguan draft an edict. But as Shangguan was doing so, Empress Wu received news of what was happening. She went to the emperor to plead her case, just as he was holding the edict that Shangguan had drafted. Emperor Gaozong could not bear to depose her and blamed the episode on Shangguan. As both Shangguan and Wang had served on Li Zhong's staff, Empress Wu had Xu falsely accuse Shangguan, Wang, and Li Zhong of planning treason. Shangguan, Wang, and Shangguan's son Shangguan Tingzhi () were executed, while Li Zhong was forced to commit suicide. (Shangguan Tingzhi's daughter Shangguan Wan'er, then an infant, and her mother, Lady Zheng, became slaves in the inner palace. After Shangguan Wan'er grew up, she eventually became a trusted secretary for Empress Wu.)

After that point, Gaozong accepted Wu's participation highly more. From January 665 until the end of his reign, Empress Wu would sit behind a pearl screen behind Emperor Gaozong at imperial meetings and she called her own orders "emperor edicts."; She even wore the yellow robe of the empire like an emperor, which was extraordinary and unprecedented for an empress, and Wu was effectively making the major and key decisions. After the execution of Shangguan Yi, Gaozong increasingly relied on Wu's advice and ruled on her words. Whenever the chancellors and officials discussed political affairs with him, the first sentence he asked was: "Have you ever discussed with Empress Wu? what is her opinion?" If she have clear opinions, he will make a decision based on this, and even whenever he was unpleasant, he would tell the chancellors and officials, "I'm not feeling well. Go to the Empress for work." As a result, imperial powers primarily fell into her hands. According to Song dynasty historian Sīmǎ Guāng 司马光 in the Zizhi Tongjian: "Emperor Gaozong sat enthroned before his ministers as usual while they counseled him, Wu would be parked behind a screen, listening in. It does not matter how vital or insignificant the issue is. The great power of the empire all devolved on the empress. Promotion or demotion, life or death, were settled by her word, The emperor sat with folded arms." She and Emperor Gaozong were thereafter referred to as the "Two Saints" (, ''Er Sheng'') both inside the palace and in the empire. The Later Jin historian Liu Xu, in Old Book of Tang, commented:

In 665, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu went to Luoyang and began preparation in earnest to make sacrifices to heaven and earth at Mount Tai – a traditional ceremony for emperors that were rarely carried out in history due to the large expenses associated with them. At Empress Wu's request—as she reasoned that the sacrifice to earth also included sacrifices to past empresses (Emperor Gaozong's mother Empress Zhangsun and grandmother Duchess Dou, posthumously honored as an empress), she believed that it would be more appropriate to have females offer the sacrifices rather than male officials, as had been tradition in the past. Emperor Gaozong decreed that the male ministers would offer sacrifices first, but Empress Wu would next offer sacrifices, followed by Princess Dowager Yan, the mother of Emperor Gaozong's younger brother Li Zhen the Prince of Yue. In winter 665, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu and headed for Mount Tai. On the lunar new year (10 February 666), he and she initiated the sacrifices to heaven, which were not completed until the next day. On 12 February, sacrifices were made to earth. He and she gave general promotions to the imperial officials, and it was said that starting from this time, promotions of imperial officials, which were strict and slow during the reigns of Emperors Gaozu and Taizong, began to become more relaxed and often excessive. He and Empress Wu also declared a general pardon, except for long-term exiles.

Meanwhile, on account of Empress Wu's almost absolute authority, her mother Lady Yang had been made the Lady of Rong, and her older sister, now widowed, the Lady of Han, and Lady of Rong and Lady of Han wealth surpassed that of all the Chang'an noble families, and they settled in the imperial palace. Her half-brothers Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang and cousins Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun, despite the poor relationships that they had with Lady Yang, were promoted and they became extremely rich. But at a feast that Lady Yang held for them, Wu Weiliang offended Lady Yang by stating that they did not find it honorable for them to be promoted on account of Empress Wu. Empress Wu, therefore, ordered to have them demoted to remote prefectures—outwardly to show modesty, but in reality to avenge the offense to her mother. Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang died in effective exile. Meanwhile, in or before 666, Lady of Han died as well. Historians attribute Lady of Han death to poisoning at the behest of Empress Wu, as she and the emperor became involved in adultery. After Lady of Han's death, Emperor Gaozong made her daughter the Lady of Wei and considered keeping her in the palace—possibly as a concubine. He did not immediately do so, as he feared that Empress Wu would be displeased. It was said that Empress Wu heard of this and was nevertheless displeased. She had her niece poisoned, by placing poison in food offerings that Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun had made and then blaming them for the death of the Lady of Wei. At Empress Wu command, Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun were executed.For Wu Shihuo's career and family, see generally '' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 58 and ''New Book of Tang'', vol. 206

Over the years, Empress Wu had also targeted the children of Emperor Gaozong with her concubines, One of these children was Sujie, the son of Consort Xiao, who she was killed by Wu in 655. Early in Emperor Gaozong's Qianfeng era (666-668), by Empress Wu's instigation, Emperor Gaozong further issued an edict that stated, "Because Sujie is chronically ill, he is not required to attend imperial gatherings at the capital," even though, in reality, Li Sujie was not ill, and effectively, the edict barred Li Sujie from the capitals Chang'an and Luoyang. Saddened that he was not allowed to see his father, Li Sujie wrote an essay entitled, Commentary on Faithfulness and Filial Piety (忠孝論, which was already lost by the Five Dynasties period). His cashier Zhang Jianzhi secretly submitted the essay to Emperor Gaozong. After Empress Wu read it, it drew her ire, and she falsely accused Li Sujie of corruption. In 670, Wu's mother, Lady Yang, died and by Emperor Gaozong's and Empress Wu orders, all of the imperial officials and their wives attended her wake and mourned her. Later that year, with the realm suffering from a major drought, Empress Wu offered to be deposed which Emperor Gaozong rejected. At her request, He further posthumously honored Wu Shiyue (who had previously been posthumously honored as the Duke of Zhou) and Lady Yang by giving them the titles of the Prince and Princess of Taiyuan.

Meanwhile, the son of Empress Wu's older sister, the Lady of Han, (Wu's nephew) Helan Minzhi () had been given the surname of Wu and allowed to inherit the title of Duke of Zhou. However, as it was becoming clear to Empress Wu that he suspected Empress Wu of murdering his sister, the Lady of Wei, Empress Wu began to take precautions against him. (Helan was also said to have had an incestuous relationship with his grandmother Lady Yang.) In 671, Helan Minzhi was accused of disobeying mourning regulations during the period of mourning for Lady Yang and raping the daughter of the official, Yang Sijian (), whom Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu had previously selected to be the wife and crown princess for Li Hong. By Empress Wu orders, Helan Minzhi was exiled and either was executed in exile or committed suicide. In 673 Wu provided 20,000 cash for a gigantic statue of Maitreya at Longmen Grottoes. In 674, Empress Wu had Wu Yuanshuang's son Wu Chengsi recalled from exile to inherit the title of Duke of Zhou.

Empress Wu, although had real power, she was still in the background, and unsatisfied with her nearly limitless position, and she wanted more power, so took steps to increase the credibility of her power. In 674, one of her claims concerned the title of empress; arguing that the Emperor was called Son of Heaven (天子, Tiānzǐ), his wife should logically be called Heaven Empress (天后, Tiānhòu). As a result, she linked her rule with divine right. In 675, she succeeded in making her rule popular with the people with "twelve decrees" or "twelve proposals" for better governance and welfare of the people. In middle 675, as Emperor Gaozong's illness worsened, he considered having Empress Wu formally rule as regent. The chancellor Hao Chujun and the official Li Yiyan both opposed this; Because Empress Wu's as so powerful that she even surpassed Emperor Gaozong, and they feared that she might take full possession of the throne. As a result, Emperor Gaozong's did not formally make her regent, and did not formally bestow she with such authorities, and Empress Wu with Emperor Gaozong co-ruled as divine monarchs until his death in 683. Also following Hao Chujun opposed her appointment as regent, Empress Wu reduced the powers of the chancellors in state affairs by appointing several scientists as her advisers. She also wanted to diminish the importance of the army, in order to keep it only as a means of "moral education" for the people.

Also in 675, a number of people would fall victim to Empress Wu's ire. Empress Wu had been displeased at the favor that Emperor Gaozong had shown his aunt, Princess Changle. Princess Changle was married the general, Zhao Gui () and had a daughter who became the wife and princess consort of Wu's third son Li Xiǎn, the Prince of Zhou. Princess Zhao was accused of unspecified crimes and placed under arrest, eventually starving to death. Zhao Gui and Princess Changle were exiled. Meanwhile, later that month, Li Hong, the Crown Prince—who urged Empress Wu not to exercise so much influence and authority on Emperor Gaozong's governance and Do not decide for him and offended Empress Wu by requesting that his half-sisters, Consort Xiao's daughters, Princess Yiyang and Xuancheng (under house arrest) be allowed to marry—died suddenly. Traditional historians generally believed that Empress Wu poisoned Li Hong to death. At her request, Li Xián, then carrying the title of Prince of Yong, was created crown prince. Meanwhile, Consort Xiao's son Li Sujie and another son of Emperor Gaozong's, Li Shangjin (), were repeatedly accused of crimes by Empress Wu and were subsequently demoted.

Soon, Empress Wu's relationship with Li Xián also deteriorated because Li Xián had become unsettled after hearing rumors that he was not born to Empress Wu—but to her sister, the Lady of Han. When Empress Wu heard of his fearfulness, she became angry with him. Empress Wu, had her literary staff write two works entitled, Good Examples for Shaoyang (少陽正範, "Shaoyang" being an oblique term for a crown prince) and Biographies of Filial Sons (孝子傳) and gave them to Li Xian, and further wrote a number of letters rebuking Li Xian, making him more fearful. In 678, criticizes contemporary poet Luo Binwang 骆宾王 Empress Wu's involvement in governmental affairs. "She whispered slander from behind her sleeves, and swayed emperor with vixen flirting." Luo Binwang remarks angered Empress Wu and he dismissed and imprisoned.
Furthermore, the sorcerer Ming Chongyan (), whom both she and Emperor Gaozong respected, had stated that Li Xián was unsuitable to inherit the throne and was assassinated in 679. The assassins were not caught—causing Wu to suspect that Li Xián was behind the assassination. Meanwhile, Li Xian was also known for his liking of music and women. (Some historians, pointing to oblique references that he was "particularly close" to a number of male servants, also believe that he liked sexual relations with both women and men.) When Empress Wu heard this, she had people report the news to Emperor Gaozong. In 680, Li Xián was accused of crimes and during an investigation by the officials Xue Yuanchao, Pei Yan, and Gao Zhizhou, a large number of weaponry was found in Li Xián's palace. Empress Wu formally accused Li Xián of treason and the assassination of Ming. Emperor Gaozong wanted to forgive Li Xián for treason, but Empress Wu refused and she said: Heaven and the world can not stand the conspiracy against the Son of Heaven, how can he be forgiven, if you do not treat your loved ones with justice, how can you maintain order! He surrendered at her insistence. Li Xián was deposed and exiled, and at her request, he was placed under house arrest as a normal person.

At the request of Empress Wu, after the exile of Li Xián, his younger brother Li Xiǎn imilar-sounding name but different Chinese characters(now renamed Li Zhe) was named crown prince.

In 681, Princess Taiping was married to Xue Shao (), the son of Emperor Gaozong's sister Princess Chengyang, in a grand ceremony. Empress Wu, initially unimpressed with the lineages of Xue Shao's brothers' wives, wanted to order his brothers to divorce their wives—stopping only after it was pointed out to her that Lady Xiao, the wife of Xue Shao's older brother Xue Yi (), was a grandniece of the deceased chancellor Xiao Yu. The official Feng Yuanchang was appointed by Emperor Gaozong, and he trusted him very much. In 682, Feng also lamented Empress Wu's power and involvement in the administration of the empire and told the emperor: "The queen's authority is very strong, should it be reduced?" Emperor Gaozong opposed it, and he was afraid of her, and there was nothing he could do. Upon learning of Feng's ineffective advice to the emperor, Wu became very angry with Feng, and Wu accused him of corruption and degraded him. In 682, Empress Wu pretended to be so friendly that she recalled Shangjin and Sujie, and she submitted a petition for Li Sujie and Li Shangjin the Prince of Qi to be forgiven their crimes. (Li Shangjin had been previously accused of similar offenses as Li Sujie's and was similarly put under house arrest.) Emperor Gaozong made Li Sujie the prefect of Yue Prefecture (岳州, roughly modern Yueyang, Hunan), but she still disallowed him and Li Shangjin to visit the capital, and would never allow them to attend political affairs.

In late 683, Emperor Gaozong died while at Luoyang. At the time of his death, no one was allowed to visit him, and Empress Wu forbade anyone from seeing him, from their children to officials, which led to many rumors against her that the emperor had been killed by her. Before his death, at the request of Empress Wu, he ordered Li Zhe to come to Luoyang, and at her suggestion, handed over the imperial power to Li Zhe. Under her protection, Li Zhe took the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong), but Empress Wu retained the real authority as empress dowager and regent.

Empress dowager

Plenipotentiary regent for Emperor Zhongzong

Upon the death of her husband Emperor Gaozong, Wu became empress dowager (, ''húangtàihòu'') and then regent and she automatically gained full power over the empire, through the will of the Gaozong's, complete with a piece of advice in the will that basically amounted to the governing equivalent of "listen to mommy". As a result, Empress Wu should claim the senior authority in the empire for herself. Wu had already poisoned the crown prince Li Hong and had enough other princes exiled that her third son, Li Zhe, was made heir apparent. Furthermore, Gaozong's will included provisions that Li Zhe should ascend immediately to the imperial throne, Empress Wu must continue to influence all governmental and border matters, and as he had done, the new emperor should look to Empress Wu in regards to any important matter, either military or civil, either rewards or penalties, and he has to get her approval. Therefore, she did not in any way allow the new emperor to decide, and she was the sole decision-maker. In the second month of 684, Li Zhe ascended to the imperial throne, known as his temple name Zhongzong, for a short six weeks.

The new emperor was married to a woman of the Wei family. Because Zhongzong was as weak and incompetent as his father, the new empress sought to place herself in the same position of great authority that Empress Wu had enjoyed. Empress Wei had seen that, Empress Wu had a tight grip on power and favors from Emperor Gaozong throughout the years and Wei wanted to be an uncontrollable and powerful empress consort like Wu.

Immediately, Emperor Zhongzong showed signs of disobeying Empress Dowager Wu. Emperor Zhongzong was under the thumb of his wife, Empress Wei. Under her influence, the Emperor, appointed his father-in-law as prime minister. He also tried to make his father-in-law ''Shizhong'' (, the head of the examination bureau of government, , ''Menxia Sheng'', and a post considered one for a chancellor) and gave a mid-level office to his wet nurse's son—despite stern opposition by the chancellor Pei Yan, at one point remarking to Pei:

Pei reported this to Empress Dowager Wu, and she, after planning with Pei, Liu Yizhi, and the generals Cheng Wuting () and Zhang Qianxu () deposed Emperor Zhongzong and replaced him with her youngest son Li Dan, the Prince of Yu (as Emperor Ruizong). Empress Dowager Wu had Zhongzong's father-in-law, Wei Xuanzhen (), brought up on charges of treason. Wei Xuanzhen was sent into seclusion. Emperor Zhongzong was reduced to the title of Prince of Luling and exiled. Empress Dowager Wu also sent the general, Qiu Shenji () to Li Xián's place in exile and forced Li Xián to commit suicide. As a result, Empress Dowager Wu used absolute power more strongly, centrally and violent than ever before.

Plenipotentiary regent for Emperor Ruizong

Wu had her youngest son Li Dan made emperor, known as his temple name Ruizong. She was the absolute ruler, however, both in substance and appearance. Wu did not even follow the customary pretense of hiding behind a screen or curtain and, in whispers, issued commands for the nominal ruler to formally announce, and so her reign was fully recognized. Ruizong never moved into the imperial quarters, appeared at no imperial function, and remained a virtual prisoner in the inner quarters. Although Emperor Ruizong held the title of emperor, Empress Dowager Wu firmly and exactly controlled the imperial court, and the officials were not allowed to meet with Emperor Ruizong, nor was he allowed to rule on matters of state, and she, not Emperor Ruizong, was the one that officials reported to, with Emperor Ruizong not even nominally approving official actions. Thus, all matters of empire were ruled on by Empress Dowager Wu. Soon after Emperor Ruizong took the throne, Empress Dowager Wu carried out a major renaming of governmental offices and banners. She, who disliked the capital Chang'an, also elevated Luoyang's status, making it a co-equal capital with Chang'an. At the suggestion of her nephew Wu Chengsi, she also expanded the ancestral shrine of the Wu ancestors and gave them greater posthumous honors, and made Wu's ancestral shrine the size of the emperors ancestral shrine.

Soon thereafter, Li Ji's grandson Li Jingye, the Duke of Ying, who had been disaffected by his own exile, started a rebellion at Yang Prefecture (, roughly modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu). The rebellion initially drew much popular support in the region, however, Li Jingye progressed slowly in his attack and did not take advantage of that popular support. Meanwhile, Pei suggested to Empress Dowager Wu that she return imperial authority to the Emperor and argued that doing so would cause the rebellion to collapse on its own. This offended her, and she accused him of being complicit with Li Jingye and had him executed; she also demoted, exiled, and killed a number of officials who, when Pei was arrested, tried to speak on his behalf. She sent a general, Li Xiaoyi (), to attack Li Jingye, and while Li Xiaoyi was initially unsuccessful, he pushed on at the urging of his assistant Wei Yuanzhong and eventually was able to crush Li Jingye's forces. Li Jingye fled and was killed in flight.

By 685, Empress Dowager Wu began to carry on an affair with the Buddhist monk Huaiyi and during the next few years, Huaiyi would be bestowed with progressively greater honors. In 686, Empress Dowager Wu offered to return imperial authorities to Emperor Ruizong, but Emperor Ruizong, knowing that she did not truly intend to do so, declined, and she continued to exercise imperial authority. Meanwhile, she installed copper mailboxes outside the imperial government buildings to encourage the people of the realm to report secretly on others, as she suspected many officials of opposing her, and also all the reports of betrayal were read by her personally. Thus, exploiting these beliefs of hers, secret police officials, including Suo Yuanli, Zhou Xing, and Lai Junchen, began to rise in power and to carry out systematic false accusations, tortures, and executions of individuals.

In 688, Empress Dowager Wu was set to make sacrifices to the deity of the Luo River (, flowing through the Henan province city of Luoyang, then the "Eastern Capital"). Wu summoned senior members of Tang's Li imperial clan to Luoyang. The imperial princes worried that she planned to slaughter them and secure the throne for herself: thus, they plotted to resist her. Before a rebellion could be comprehensively planned out, however, Li Zhen and his son Li Chong, the Prince of Langye rose first, at their respective posts as prefects of Yu Prefecture (, roughly modern Zhumadian, Henan) and Bo Prefecture (, roughly modern Liaocheng, Shandong). The other princes were not yet ready, however, and did not rise, and forces sent by Empress Dowager Wu and the local forces crushed Li Chong and Li Zhen's forces quickly. Empress Dowager Wu took this opportunity to arrest Emperor Gaozong's granduncles Li Yuanjia () the Prince of Han, Li Lingkui () the Prince of Lu, and Princess Changle, as well as many other members of the Li clan and she, forced them to commit suicide. Even Princess Taiping's husband Xue Shao was implicated and starved to death. In the subsequent years, there continued to be many politically motivated massacres of officials and Li clan members.

In 690, Wu took the final step to become the empress regnant of the newly proclaimed Zhou dynasty, and the title ''Huangdi''. Traditional Chinese order of succession

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