Biography of Wu Zetian

Author: Liu Lianyin (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The only female emperor of China, Wu Zetian, also emerged during the Tang Dynasty. Wu Zetian was born in Shanxi, a region with a strong nomadic spirit and a deep tradition of "wearing Han-style clothing and horseback riding." Shanxi was one of the bases of the Xianbei people, and the early capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty was established in Pingcheng, Shanxi. Wu Zetian's father joined Li Yuan's rebellion against the Sui Dynasty and was later enfeoffed as Duke of Ying. Therefore, Wu Zetian can also be considered a "wolf-like daughter of a military family." Later, under the influence of the nomadic spirit of the Li Tang imperial family, Wu Zetian became an outstanding female political leader with strong "wolf-like" qualities. In terms of personality: she was brave, fierce, exceptionally wise, decisive, ruthless, and unyielding; in terms of policy: she suppressed the scholar-gentry class, strengthened the imperial examinations, selected talents without discrimination, encouraged agricultural and silk production, and promoted population growth. She maintained the prosperity of the Zhenguan era, which was pioneered by Emperor Taizong of Tang, for half a century. Chen Zhen paused and suddenly asked Yang Ke: Have you noticed Wu Zetian's image? Yang Ke seemed confused, shook his head, and said: No, what did you notice? Chen Zhen said: I have seen Wu Zetian's portrait. She was plump and had a regal appearance. The famous and towering Lu Shena statue in the Longmen Grottoes was ordered to be carved by Wu Zetian. The statue exudes an extraordinary dignified and reserved beauty, with a full and round face and neck and shoulders. It is said that the artists and stone carvers at the time carved it based on Wu Zetian's actual appearance. The Chinese are well aware that, in terms of aesthetic standards, the Tang Dynasty valued plumpness. Most Tang emperors chose plump women as empresses and concubines. Emperor Taizong chose Wu Zetian as a concubine, and Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi, Taizong's son, later pursued her relentlessly until he made her empress. Later, Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji chose the plump Yang Guifei as his favorite concubine. The enthusiasm of several Tang emperors for plump women indeed greatly contradicted the traditional aesthetic standards of the Han Chinese emperors. Most Han Chinese emperors preferred slim women, as evidenced by the saying: "When the Prince of Chu favored slender waists, many women in the palace starved to death." Zhao Feiyang, the favorite concubine of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, was a woman with a slender waist and delicate hands, described as "slender as a willow twig in the palm." She was later enfeoffed as empress by Emperor Cheng. So, why did these two historically renowned great dynasties, the Han and Tang, have such contrasting aesthetic standards—"plump as rings" versus "slim as swallows"? The reason lies in the different ethnic bloodlines of the Tang imperial family compared to previous Chinese dynasties. The Tang Dynasty's preference for plumpness deeply reflected the Xianbei bloodline and of the Li Tang imperial family. I used to be confused about why the previous great Han Dynasty valued slimness, but the Tang Dynasty suddenly favored plumpness. After learning about the Xianbei bloodline of the Li Tang Dynasty, I understood. Combined with our life on the grasslands, it all became clear. When we first arrived on the grasslands, we noticed that the Mongolians valued plumpness. For example, Neqichige, who was nicknamed "One Lantern," was truly plump, likely even fatter than Yang Guifei. At that time, almost half of the horse herders in our team fawned over her. The vast majority of Mongolian women recognized as beautiful by the herdsmen in Eeren were plump. The Xianbei and Mongolian peoples are two closely related nomadic tribes of the Mongolian grasslands. The Xianbei people must have passed on both the wolf totem and the aesthetic standard of valuing plumpness to the Mongolians. In reality, nomadic peoples have always valued fattening livestock since ancient times, considering "large sheep" beautiful, and thus, in ethnic aesthetics, they valued plumpness. Yang Ke nodded repeatedly and smiled: That's right! But it's a bit off-topic. Chen Zhen said: Not at all. The Tang Dynasty's preference for plumpness also proved, from an aesthetic perspective rooted in national consciousness, the reason behind the Tang's fierce and great character. The Han Chinese have always avoided the nomadic spirit and grassland bloodline of the Tang Dynasty. In reality, the Han Chinese are reluctant to credit half of the achievements of China's greatest dynasty to the accomplishments of the grassland peoples. I will continue to explain Li Shimin's exceptional qualities, which also lie in his extreme emphasis on cultural governance and adopting Wei Zheng's policy of "reducing military and promoting culture." He promoted the imperial examinations, valued advisors, focused on education, improved governance, reduced corvée and taxes, and encouraged the economy. He pioneered the famous Zhenguan era in Chinese history, expanding the Tang Dynasty's territory to an unprecedented extent. I must particularly mention that Li Shimin was the only Chinese emperor to propose the policy of "equal status between Han and barbarians." He said, "Since ancient times, the Han Chinese have been valued, while the Yi and Di have been despised. I alone love them equally, so all ethnic groups rely on me as parents." The proposal of Emperor Taizong's policy of "equal status between Han and barbarians" was rooted in the mixed Han and barbarian bloodline and the balance of "wolf and sheep" in the character of the Li Tang imperial family. In the past and later, the orthodox Confucian thought of the Han Chinese has "respected the Han and despised the barbarians," completely ignoring the immense value of the nomadic spirit and grassland ethnic character, as well as their life-saving contributions to the Han Chinese nation and civilization. Moreover, they targeted this "wolf-like" character as a key focus of Confucian education. Only Li Shimin, with a nomadic bloodline, deeply recognized the strengths and weaknesses of both the Han Chinese and the grassland ethnic groups, and he practiced the policy of "equal status between Han and barbarians" in body. The reason the Tang Dynasty reached the pinnacle of ancient Chinese civilization was fundamentally because it combined the bold and enterprising character of the grassland ethnic groups with the essence of Confucianism of the agricultural nation. Unfortunately, China's vast and deep agricultural soil quickly stifled Li Shimin's brilliant idea of "equal status between Han and barbarians" with the powerful yet narrow Confucian consciousness of the Han Chinese. Later, the fresh blood that sustained the Han Chinese nation was still forcibly injected by the grassland ethnic groups through military means. However, due to the severe "agricultural disease" of the Han Chinese, no matter how much blood was transfused, it could not restore the heroic and fierce national spirit of the Han and Tang dynasties. The " " (Eastern Sleeping Lion) began its long hibernation after the mid-Tang Dynasty, and the vast farmlands of the Han Chinese became its comfortable "soft bed," while Confucianism was the "hypnotic lullaby" and "sleeping pill" that kept it in a deep slumber. Starting from the An Lushan Rebellion, the Han Chinese nation, which had softened and become more like sheep, fell into great chaos for 200 years during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. From then on, the Han Chinese agricultural nation embarked on a long downward slope. Although there were a few small peaks, the overall downward trend could not be reversed. The continuation and preservation of Chinese civilization and territory became increasingly dependent on the grassland ethnic groups. Although the entire agricultural nation was softening, the genetic inheritance of the "wolf-like" blood of the Yellow Emperor's ancestors, combined with the continuous transfusion and intermingling with the nomadic peoples, still preserved some fierce seeds among the vast Chinese farmers. The peasant uprisings in Chinese history were led by these "wolf-like" heroes among the farmers. However, peasant uprisings were merely tools for changing dynasties and could not add much new blood or substance to the new dynasty. The great peasant uprising led by Huang Chao at the end of the Tang Dynasty, as a major action for the Han Chinese national revival, failed. The reason was that peasant uprisings were "agricultural byproducts" grown from the agricultural soil, and the limitations of the soft character of agricultural dynasties made it inevitable for them to fail. Only a few exceptions could avoid this. Although Huang Chao's rebel army crushed the imperial army like a storm and cruelly and ignorantly burned down the grandest capital of ancient China, Chang'an, it was still defeated by the cavalry of the little-known Western Turk Shato tribe, which the Tang government had borrowed. This was because the recipients of blood transfusion could never be as strong as the donors in both body and spirit. After the Han and Tang dynasties, whether the government army or peasant uprisings of the Han Chinese agricultural nation always suffered more defeats than victories in battles against the nomadic cavalry. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, northern China fell into a great era with a much stronger "wolf-like" character than "sheep-like" character. Among the northern Five Dynasties—Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou—Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han were all regimes established by the Western Turk Shato tribe. At the same time, the powerful Liao Kingdom, a nomadic nation established by the Khitan descendants of the Xianbei, also existed. In 960, Zhao Kuangyin seized the Central Plains kingdom, which had been established by Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, without any effort, in a treacherous manner, and founded the Northern Song Dynasty. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, with the blood transfusion from the nomadic peoples during the Five Dynasties period, there was still some vitality. However, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty no longer had the sharpness of a "civilized wolf" like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Twice, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty suffered at the hands of the Khitan Liao Kingdom in northern campaigns. However, he easily subdued the southern Han Chinese states.