Wu Zetian

Author: Nan Gong Bo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Wu Zetian is the only female emperor in Chinese history. In terms of autonomy, there were other young empresses who sat on the throne, but now, the general view regards Wu Zetian as the sole female emperor because she ascended the throne through her own strength, not as a puppet of others. Excerpt: The quiet New Year's Eve on the snow slowly faded away as dawn arrived. The thunderous bell of the Zi Chen Palace announced this extraordinary dawn in the history of the Tang Dynasty. The people who stayed up late took a long breath, opened the windows, and let the north wind dispel the smoke of charcoal in the room. Then, they lit red candles to celebrate the New Year's Day—the first day of the new emperor's reign. However, the people of the Tang Dynasty would not forget the former emperor. Emperor Taizong reigned for twenty-three years, leading the nation from chaos to peace, and the people returned from wandering to settled lives. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, through the Three Kingdoms and the Six Dynasties, wars had followed one another, with no true peace or unity. However, Li Shimin created a grand unified, and for the twenty-three years of his reign, the nation flourished. People thought he would live as long as his father, but unexpectedly, after returning from the campaign against Goguryeo in the twentieth year of the Zhenguan era, Emperor Taizong was plagued by rheumatism and rapidly weakened. By the summer of the twenty-third year of the Zhenguan era, he had grown seriously ill. This brave and valiant emperor lived only to the age of fifty-three, causing everyone to mourn and regret. Nevertheless, the people still welcomed the first New Year of the new emperor with tearful smiles, as the new emperor, Li Zhi, was the beloved son of Emperor Taizong. Out of their affection for the former emperor, they held hope for the new emperor. The morning bell of the Zi Chen Palace rang three times, followed by the bells of all the palaces and temples in Luoyang, their grand sounds shaking the city covered in snow. Inside the Ganye Temple, Wu Meiniang stood alone on the long, gazing at the dawn sky, welcoming the New Year with sighs. The grand bell sounds disturbed her, and the dawn left her bewildered. Her heart felt heavy, as if pressed by a massive stone. The north wind blew, and the cold seeped through her sleeves and collar, making her shiver slightly. However, the biting cold did not make her. Six months had passed—since the former emperor's death, she had been a nun in this gloomy Ganye Temple. The lonely and desolate years were hard to endure. If she had not experienced the of the world or the grandeur and joy of the imperial palace, she might have died heartbroken in the temple. But she was a woman with a life of experiences. She had entered the palace in the eleventh year of the Zhenguan era, becoming a talent of the former emperor. For thirteen years, she remembered the year she entered the palace, when she was only fourteen years old. Now she was twenty-six. Today, she began