Wu Zetian

founding empress of Zhou dynasty (r. 690–705); de facto ruler of Tang dynasty from 665 to 690

Wu Zetian (Wu Tse-tien; simplified Chinese: 武则天; traditional Chinese: 武則天; pinyin: Wǔ Zétiān; c. 625 AD – 705 AD),[1] was the first female monarch of China. She ruled under the name of her self-proclaimed Zhou Dynasty, from 690 to 705. She had previously been a member of the Tang Dynasty. Wu was a concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death, she married his successor and 9th son, Emperor Gaozong in 655. After Gaozong's stroke in 660, Wu Zetian ruled as effective sovereign until 705.[1] She is the only woman to have ruled China in her own right.

Wu Zetian
Empress of Zhou Dynasty
Reign16 October 690 – 22 February 705
Predecessornone, Emperor Ruizong as Emperor of Tang Dynasty
Successordynasty abolished, Emperor Zhongzong as Emperor of Tang Dynasty
Empress Regent of Tang Dynasty
Reign660-690
SuccessorEmpress Wei
Empress consort of Tang Dynasty
Reign655–683
PredecessorEmpress Wang
SuccessorEmpress Wei
Born(624-02-17)17 February 624
Lizhou, Sichuan Province, Tang Dynasty
Died16 December 705(705-12-16) (aged 81)
Luoyang, Tang Dynasty
Burial706
SpouseEmperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang
IssueLi Hong, Emperor Yizong
Li Xian, Crown Prince Zhanghuai
Princess Si of Anding
Li Xian, Emperor Zhongzong
Li Dan, Emperor Ruizong
Princess Taiping
Full name
Family name: Wu (武)
Given name: Mei (媚), later Zhao (曌/瞾)
Posthumous name
Empress Zetian Shunsheng (則天順聖皇后)
HouseWu (by birth)
House of Li (by marriage)
FatherWu Shihuo, Duke Ding of Ying
MotherLady Yang

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 Paludan, Ann (1998). Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial China. New York, New York: Thames and Hudson. pp 96–100. ISBN 0-500-05090-2