Wu Zetian-the only orthodox female emperor in Chinese history

Wu Zhao, namely Wu Zetian, a statesman from the Tang Dynasty to the Wu Zhou Dynasty and the founding monarch of the Wu Zhou Dynasty (690-705), is also the only orthodox female emperor in Chinese history and one of the emperors with the oldest age to ascend the throne (67 years old) and the longest life span (82 years old).

Wu Zetian is the second daughter of Yu, a knight under the governor of Jingzhou. At the age of 14, he entered the harem. He was a talented person of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and was given the name "Wumei". Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty granted Zhaoyi the title and became the queen after the "Abolishing Wang Liwu" incident in the sixth year of Yonghui (655). In the first year of the Shangyuan Dynasty (674), he added the symbol "Tian Hou", and was called "two saints" together with Gaozong to participate in the imperial government. After the death of Emperor Gaozong, as empress dowager of emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong of Tang Dynasty, she was called the imperial court system.

In the first year of Tianfu (690), Wu Zetian became the emperor, changed the country's name to Zhou, made Luoyang the capital, called "God capital", and established Wu Zhou. Before and after his reign, he was "observant and judgmental", had many strategies, knew people well, paid attention to the selection of talents, and created the palace examination, martial arts examination and official examination system. It also rewarded farmers and mulberry trees and reformed the administration of officials. At the same time, the imperial clan of the Tang Dynasty was killed wantonly, and the "cruel official politics" arose. Militarily, the four towns of Anxi were recovered and stabilized, which once brought back the post Turks. Gradually, extravagant and tyrannical students gradually become corrupt in their later years.

In the first year of the divine dragon (705), Wu Zetian was seriously ill. Prime Minister Zhang Cambodian launched the "divine dragon revolution", supported the restoration of the emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty and forced him to abdicate. After the restoration of the Tang Dynasty, Zhongzong was honored as "the great sage emperor of Zetian". In November of the same year, Wu Zetian died in Shangyang Palace at the age of 82. Zhongzong obeyed his last orders and renamed it "empress Zetian" and was buried in Qianling as Queen. Later, Lei posthumous title was "the holy queen of zetianshun".

Wu Zetian is extremely resourceful, involved in literature and history, and has a lot of poetic talent. There are "vertical arch collection" and "Golden Wheel collection", which have been lost. "Whole Tang poetry" has its poems.