Wu Zetian was a gifted scholar in Li Shimin of Emperor Taizong and the queen of Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong. Taizong called it "Mei Niang". She assisted Emperor Gaozong in handling military affairs. After managing state affairs for 30 years, she ascended the throne and claimed to be the emperor of the Holy Spirit. She abolished Tang, changed her name to Zhou, and became the only queen in the history of China. From her participation in the court affairs, claiming to be the emperor, to her illness, moving to Yang Palace, and being in power for nearly half a century, she inherited the "rule of Zhenguan" and opened up the "prosperous era of Kaiyuan", which is known as the "legacy of Zhenguan". As Soong Ching Ling commented on her, Wu Zetian was "an outstanding female politician in feudal times".
Wu Zetian was born in the early Tang Dynasty, a rich and prominent official family. Her prominent power and luxurious life nourished her infinite desire for power. However, the gentry's family style prevailed in the early Tang Dynasty, and she was born in cloth and humble origins, which made her despised by the secular and unwilling to bury her. This special situation and experience strongly stimulated Wu Zetian when she was young, and cultivated her desire to pursue and seize the highest power arrogantly, to achieve obedience, and to ruthlessly retaliate against all unscrupulous means. This is particularly prominent in a series of political struggles after she entered politics, and even called herself an orphan in the south, which became an uneven achievement in her life. Moral, personality and psychological roots.
Then Tian was smart, quick-witted, expressive and courageous from an early age. Deeply impressed by her talent, her father taught her to read and write to familiarize her with the world. Shi Zi, when he was thirteen or fourteen years old, was already well-read and learned by heart. He also laid a certain foundation in poetry and lyrics, and he was good at calligraphy and outstanding in words.
In the 11th year of Zhenguan (637), 14-year-old Wu was chosen as a "gifted scholar" because of his handsome appearance. After entering the palace, Emperor Taizong was named "Mei Niang". After knowing Li Zhi.
In the 23rd year of Zhenguan (649), Emperor Taizong died, and Tian and all his concubines were sent to Chang 'an Ganye Temple to have a haircut for Ni. Li Zhi, the ninth son of Emperor Taizong, was very interested in her after she acceded to the throne, so she often went to Ganye Temple. After two or three years, she was recalled to Zetian's official position and was promoted to "Zhao Yi". In the sixth year of Yonghui (655), Wu Zetian, who was deeply loved by Gaozong, was a shoo-in in the battle for the Inner Palace, urging Gaozong to establish himself as his successor. However, in feudal society, the abolition of the queen is a national event and must be agreed by etiquette. When he explained to loyal ministers such as Chu Suiliang and Wuji his plan to abolish the king and establish a queen, he was immediately strongly opposed. They think that Wu was born from a humble background and is not suitable for the future. Moreover, when Emperor Taizong collapsed, he once said that "a good wife and a good mother" should not be abolished. However, Emperor Gaozong's idea was also supported by Xu, an accomplice of Wu Zetian, and some traitors in North Korea, such as Li Yifu. Later, Wu Zetian personally killed her daughter and framed the Queen Wang, forcing the emperor to finally write a letter in 10 this year, abolishing the Queen Wang and officially canonizing Zetian as the Queen. After canonizing the queen, Wu Zetian cut off the hands and feet of the queen and made her drunk, forcing the emperor to kill his own uncle.
After Tian ascended the queen's throne, her advantages of wit, shrewdness and "knowledge of literature and history, resourcefulness" were fully exerted and developed by leaps and bounds, which made Zong sit up and take notice of her. She also took advantage of the queen's position and the emperor's love for herself to actively participate in the discussion of state affairs. "The best thing for a secretary to play with is decided after the season." During the five years from the sixth year of Yonghui (655) to the fourth year of Xianqing (659), she created a wide range of unjust cases, the world was crowded, a large number of political enemies were eliminated, and ministers were demoted and shot Zhu Suiliang, which made her die of depression. Sun Chang Wuji was forced to hang himself under the door of Zhongshu; Zhu Suiliang and Sun Chang Wuji's supporters in North Korea were eliminated, which consolidated and expanded their influence and power, removed the obstacles to her participation in politics, and ended Yonghui's rule, which was called the legacy of Zhenguan.
In 660, the Emperor Li Zhi was dazzled by the wind and could see nothing, so he wrote a letter to Wuhou, entrusting him to be a counselor. Since then, people have been in power since they participated in politics. "Life and death are decided by the mouth, and the son of heaven has just fallen." Although people are behind the scenes, they remotely control the real power of the imperial court. Later, Emperor Gaozong regretted it and tried to regain power, and secretly ordered Shangguan Yi, assistant minister of Zhongshu, to depose the queen. I was secretive, "wanting to vent", Wu Hou was ruthless, and Shangguan Yi was executed immediately. The emperor's move fell short, which made the marquis of Wu more alert.
Wu Zetian, the eldest son Li Hong died of illness, the second son Li Xian was exiled (later killed), the third son was abolished, and the fourth son was renamed Wu Lun after Wu Zetian ascended the throne.
Although Emperor Gaozong hated her arbitrariness, many state affairs had to rely on her. In this way, Wuhou gradually walked from behind the scenes to the front desk, unexpectedly came to Chenzidian with Emperor Gaozong, and accepted the worship of ministers together. In the first year of Shangyuan (674), after Gaozong and Empress, the world called them "Two Saints". Since then, Emperor Gaozong has existed in name only, and the authority of the Tang Dynasty is in the hands of Wuhou.
From the first year of Shangyuan (674) when Zetian became the "Queen of Heaven" to the first year of Tiancai (690) to 16, Wu made a lot of long-term preparations and took various effective measures. First of all, when he inherited the throne, Emperor Gaozong wanted Zen to take the place of his eldest son, Li Hong. However, Wu Hou didn't care about his mother and son, poisoned Li Hong and made his second son, Li Xian, a prince. Li Xian was appointed Prime Minister by Emperor Gaozong, and he was very good at handling government affairs. The marquis of Wu abolished Li Xian as Shu Ren and made his third son, Li Xian, a prince. In the first year of Hongdao (683), Emperor Gaozong died, and Li Xian, the emperor of Zhongzong, just succeeded to the throne, and Wuhou was named the Queen Mother. A year later, he abolished Zhongzong, renamed Luling Wang, and made the fourth son Li Dan emperor, that is, Zong Rui. Li Xian and Li Dan are both impotent people, and they are also puppets on the throne of the emperor, subject to Wu Zetian everywhere.
Secondly, the clan record is changed to the surname record. Wu, who can't even be included in the genealogy, was listed as the first surname in Surname Spectrum, which didn't change the family concept, but was just a manifestation of Wu Zetian's desire to improve the status of Wu.
Thirdly, it is an important step to change the official name, change Luoyang, the eastern capital, into the God Capital, and establish a new order for itself. Show the whole country that their position is unified and supreme. Wuhou's New Deal measures were quickly opposed by the royal Li family and many gentry bureaucrats. Xu Jingye, the secretariat of Longzhou after Xu Shijie, the founding father of the early Tang Dynasty, called hundreds of thousands of military forces to take the lead in Yangzhou, and King Robin wrote a masterpiece "Please Wu Zhao", which spread all over the territory at one time. Li Chong, the imperial clan king, was in Bozhou, and Li Zhen, the king of Yue, was also fighting against Wu. On the same day, Wu Houjian decided to suppress this matter. Under her direct command, these rebellions quickly subsided, and the main attackers such as Xu Jingye, Li Chong and Li Zhen were either killed in the battlefield or killed.
Horrible killings and extensive involvement fully exposed the ruthlessness and decisiveness of Wuhou.
In 690 AD, Wu Zetian thought that the conditions for the audience were ripe. First, she created public opinion through the mouth of Faming, a Buddhist monk: "Wuhou was reincarnated as Maitreya Buddha, and the contemporary Tang Dynasty was the son of heaven." Then he directed the matter, and 60 thousand subjects, led by him, wrote to Jin, please change the name of the country. At this point, naturally, the marquis of Wu came to Dabao in the sound of "long live" of "respecting heaven" and "obeying public opinion", and realized his long-cherished wish, changing the Tang Dynasty to "Zhou" and calling himself "the Holy Spirit Emperor". This year, she is 67 years old.
If we say that Wu Zetian showed amazing political strategies and means in her political career of participating in and discussing state affairs for more than 30 years before she proclaimed herself emperor. Then, during more than ten years as emperor, she fully demonstrated her outstanding political talent and statesmanship in employing people, handling affairs and governing the country.
After Emperor Tiandi proclaimed himself emperor, he paid more attention to the selection and use of talents. She believes that "the nine domains are wide, and if one person strengthens them, they can become wings." Anything that can "secure the country" and "define the frontier" will be used according to her family background and qualifications. In order to recruit talented people, she developed and improved the imperial examination system since the Sui Dynasty, liberalized the recruitment of talented people, allowed herself to be an official and try out officials, and set up foreign officials. In addition, she also initiated the palace entrance examination and martial arts system, which created favorable conditions for more and more talents to be discovered and collected. For example, Guo Ziyi, a famous soldier in the mid-Tang Dynasty, just "joined the army at leisure". In this way, during her several years in power, there are always a group of capable ministers and generals who are "literate as a man" and "fighting against martial arts" to serve her and effectively safeguard Wu Zhou's political power.
For agricultural production, then Heaven also attaches great importance to it. She said: "The foundation of the founding of the country must be agriculture", "Agriculture leads to cultivation, cultivation leads to more millet, and more millet leads to wealth". She stipulates that local officials who can "reclaim land and have surplus grain at home" can be promoted; "The government is too harsh and the household registration is shifting." "Those that are light will be degraded and even replaced at inappropriate times." In this way, during her reign, agriculture and handicrafts have been greatly developed. The population is increasing. According to the statistics at that time, the number of households in Yonghui was 3.8 million. By the first year of Shenlong, when he died, it gradually increased to 6 1.5 million, almost doubling. Only in this way can we explain the development of agricultural economy in this period.
During Japan's administration, it made great efforts to resist foreign invasion, safeguard border peace and improve relations with neighboring countries. The invasion and harassment of Tubo nobles were resolutely resisted and countered by heaven. Longevity for two years (692), she sent general Wang Xiaojie to defeat Tubo, recapture four towns in Anxi, and move the capital to Anxi and Qiuci. Later, the northern court was established in Tingzhou, which consolidated the northwest frontier defense and opened the once-interrupted "Silk Road" to Central Asia. During her several years in power, she adhered to the policy of land reclamation by border troops. During the fiscal year, Lou Deyi, governor of Chafeng Prefecture, "plowed a million crops, and no soldier was spared." In the first year of Dazu (70 1), Guo was appointed as the governor of Liangzhou, and insisted on farming the fields for five years, "rations can last for decades." Wu's large-scale long-term reclamation. It has a positive effect on the development of border areas, reducing people's traffic burden and consolidating border defense.
Of course, during Wu Zhao's nearly half-century in power, there were also many mistakes. She used cruel officials and rewarded informers. Let many corrupt officials run amok for a while. They extorted confessions by torture, killed innocent people and framed others, which caused many civilian military commanders to suffer injustice. Although it played a role in consolidating the regime of Wu Zhou, the contradictions within the ruling group intensified, and everyone feared for himself, which would inevitably affect the governance of the country and the development of production. She let go of the election of officials and sharpened the bureaucratic group. Enlargement and bureaucratic expansion will inevitably increase the burden on the people. In his later years, he was overjoyed and lived in luxury, consuming a lot of money and labor. This has affected and delayed the development of productive forces to varying degrees. However, these mistakes and faults are, after all, tributaries of Wu Zetian's political career. As the only female emperor in the history of China, she was able to overcome all difficulties. During the half century's rule, she formed a strong centralization, social stability and economic development, inherited the "rule of Zhenguan", created a "prosperous era of Kaiyuan", eliminated the disadvantages of the times, developed production, improved the imperial examination, broke the concept of the door, appointed talents in an eclectic way, followed the historical trend and made drastic reforms. Every achievement of Wu Zetian is accompanied by contradictions. As Mr. Linda said, "Every ray of sunshine casts a shadow." In the more than 1000 years after Wu Zetian's death, people's evaluation of her has changed repeatedly. For example, the evaluation of her in the early Tang Dynasty was more positive; Since the revival of Confucianism in the middle Tang Dynasty and the ideological dominance of Neo-Confucianism in the Southern Song Dynasty in China, the evaluation of Wu Zetian has been declining since the Southern Song Dynasty. Wang Fuzhi, a famous thinker in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, commented on Wu Zetian: "Ghosts and gods are hard to tolerate, and subjects are resentful"; In modern times, due to the rise of feminist movement, people gave Wu Zetian the color of women's liberation.
In 705, Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi took advantage of Wu Zetian's old age and critical illness, supported the restoration of Zhongzong, and respected Wu Shi as the "Great Sage Emperor". In the winter of the same year, Wu Shi died at the age of 82, and his will said, "I played the emperor and called him the Great Sage Queen." Li Bai listed Wu Zetian as one of the "Seven Saints" in the Tang Dynasty.