Power point presentation on Wu Zetian

1. WU ZETIAN
Md Muktadir Islam
2223031014
China’s first and only woman
Emperor
“I, the ordinary restless
child, the plain
adolescent, the
commoner who had been
a nun twice, would
prove to be a daughter
of heaven”
624 AD–705 AD

2. LIFE OF WU ZETIAN
• She was born into a rich family and caught the eye of Emperor Taizong with her intelligence and
beauty. Emperor recruited her at the age of 14 as his 5th rank concubine.
• Taizong was pleased and employed Wu as his personal secretary for ten years.
• After Taizong's death she was banished to be a buddhist nun as she hadn’t had any children.
• Successor of the throne Emperor Gaozong broke all customs and married to Wu Zetian after he
had his wife, Empress Wang, replaced because Wu Zetian accused Wang of killing her daughter.
• Wu Zetian was the highest of all of Gaozing wives and was highly respected.
• Gaozong suffered a severe stroke that blinded him and assigned all state affairs to Empress Wu.
• She established an informer system and appointed cruel officials to remove any opposition to her
authority.
• Wu disposed her main political rivals, having them removed from office, exiled or executed.
• Gaozong died in 683 and Ruizong (684–690) became the emperor but like his father, he was also a
puppet emperor.
• During this period, Tang loyalists and Tang princes fomented several revolts but Wu successfully
managed to control them. By 690, she had eliminated almost all her political rivals and become
the 1st woman emperor of China.

3. Facts of Wu Zetian:
• Started out as an imperial concubine
• Had an affair with the emperor’s son and later on married to him
• May have murdered her own baby
• Deposed her sons to become empress
• Established her own dynasty
• Ruthless within and outside her family
• Set up a secret police forces and spies
• Popular and beloved monarch
• Successful military leader
• Destined to Rule
• Respected by women and the Common People

4. Achievements:
• Set the practice of government run by scholars.
• Worked for women rights and begin a campaign to elevate the position of woman.
“The ideal ruler was one who ruled as a mother does over her children”
• Developed education system
• Intellectual and literary development
• Created new characters for the Chinese writing system which are known today as
Chinese Characters of Empress Wu.

5. • Empress Wu chose Buddhism over Daoism as the favored-
state religion.
• Buddhism had it’s highest development during the rule of
Empress Wu.

6. Military Achievements:
• Empress Wu is most famous for being the 1st
woman to rule in China and only woman
emperor.
• Reformed the military by mandating
military exams for commanders
• Reconquered Korea.
• Won against Tibetan-Western Turk alliance.
• China held territories and cultural influence
in places in Japan, Korea and Central Asia

7. • Created an effective spy network.
• She re-opened the Silk Road to make China & Middle
Asia trading partners.

8. Wu’s tomb lies in Qian County with a stone slab erected outside of it. It was also
supposed to be inscribed with the empress’s deeds. Instead, Wu’s stele was left blank.
Some scholars say this was a way to deny her impressive achievements or cast shame
on her reign. Others insist, it was deliberately left blank upon her request. She
expected people of later periods to evaluate her achievements.
Films: The Empress Wu Tse-
tien
Novels: Moon in the Palace
and The Empress of Bright
Moon
Television: Empress Wu, The
Shadow of Empress Wu,
Secret History of Empress
Wu and many more
Video games: Call Me
Emperor, Civilization II and
Civilization V, etc.