Wu Zetian: Mandate of the Tang reading Exercise

Wu Zhao entered the Tang imperial palace in 636, selected from a talent draft of educated young women. She served Emperor Taizong as a fifth-rank concubine, copying sutras, tending the imperial library, and observing court debates where ministers weighed border security against taxation. Palace tutors noticed her confident calligraphy and ability to quote the Analects and Buddhist scriptures with equal ease.

When Taizong died in 649, court custom required lower-ranking consorts to take vows at the Ganye Temple. Wu obeyed, yet officials recorded that Crown Prince Gaozong often visited the convent to ask her about court etiquette and military logistics. Within a year he petitioned for her return to palace service, citing her “astute counsel” in the volatile first months of his reign.

Historians debate whether Gaozong was drawn more to Wu’s intellect or her readiness to challenge entrenched clans. Either way, she re-entered the palace, was elevated to the position of Zhaoyi (favored consort), and began building alliances with scholars, scribes, and palace guards who valued her quick memory and disciplined composure.

By the mid-650s Gaozong suffered recurring illness, so he delegated more decisions to Wu. She reviewed memorials from provincial governors, cross-checked tax ledgers, and recommended officials for promotion based on written examinations rather than aristocratic pedigree. Her rivals accused her of overstepping, yet she used Buddhist rhetoric to frame her actions as a quest for moral governance.

In 655 she displaced Empress Wang and was formally installed as empress consort, giving her access to the imperial seal. Wu cultivated historians, poets, and the Bureau of Censors, rewarding them for accurate reports while punishing those who forged documents. She sponsored public works along the Yellow River and reduced corvée labor in disaster-stricken prefectures.

Wu’s emphasis on merit angered powerful clans like the Lis and Changs, who feared losing hereditary privileges. Palace rumor scrolls circulated stories painting her as ruthless, but she countered with edicts highlighting the prosperity of the capital and the stability of frontier garrisons under her watch.

After Gaozong’s death in 683, Wu acted as regent for young Emperor Zhongzong, then replaced him with another son, Ruizong, when ministers tried to limit her authority. By 690 she proclaimed the Zhou dynasty, taking the unprecedented title of emperor (Huangdi) in her own right. Court artists carved steles crediting her with manifesting the Buddhist Maitreya and revitalizing the state.

Wu established the Luoyang-based Secretariat of Governance, where petitions were read aloud to ensure transparency. She expanded the civil service examinations to include essays on statecraft and hired officials from humble families who excelled. Female relatives were appointed to key religious posts, creating new models of leadership for women within the empire.

Opponents raised rebellions in northern prefectures, accusing Wu of breaking Confucian gender norms. She dispatched seasoned generals like Di Renjie to negotiate truces or swiftly suppress unrest. Diplomatic missions from Silla Korea and Tibet recognized her rule, confirming that foreign states would treat her court as legitimate.

In her final years, Wu faced court fatigue and plots from within her own family. She balanced factions by recalling Zhongzong to the capital and arranging marriages to tie rival clans to her descendants. Aging and ill, she nevertheless continued to review memorials daily, relying on trusted ministers such as Di Renjie and Zhang Jianzhi to filter information.

By 705 a palace alliance persuaded her to abdicate in favor of Zhongzong, restoring the Tang name. Chroniclers who had once criticized her acknowledged that the empire she returned was fiscally stable, with exam-qualified officials embedded across the provinces and Buddhist foundations funding social relief.

Wu died later that year and was buried alongside Gaozong at the Qianling Mausoleum. Her uninscribed stele—left blank by imperial decree—invites readers to judge her themselves, a symbol of the debate she sparked about who could rightfully hold the throne and how power could be earned through intellect and governance rather than birth alone.