Empress Wu Zetian
Early Start
Wu Zetian was born in 624 and she received a good education throughout her early schooling. When she was 14 she was selected to go to the palace because of her beauty and intelligence. While she was there she was elected to become the secretary to the Emperor (Emperor Taizong). After the emperor died she was sent to become a nun, but when the new emperor, Emperor Gaozong, came to power he called her back to the palace.
|
Becoming an Empress
Shortly after that, Emperor Gaozong disposed of his wife and took Wu as his new Empress. Emperor Gaozong was of ill-health most of the time so Empress Wu made all the decisions. She got rid of all of her political enemies and renamed herself the "Empress of Heaven." She successfully made both of her sons emperors, but still made all the political decisions. When Wu died in 705 she became the first empress to ever have complete control over the dynasty for over half a century and she redefined women's roles in China.