Wu Zetian, whose real name was Wu Hao, was born in 624 AD and passed away on December 16, 705 AD. Her hometown was Wenshui, Bingzhou (now Wenshui County, Shanxi Province). She was not only an outstanding politician from the Tang Dynasty to the Wu Zhou Dynasty, but also the founder of the Wu Zhou Dynasty. She reigned from 690 to 705 AD and became the only legitimate female emperor in Chinese history. Wu Zetian ascended to the throne at the age of 67 and lived for 82 years, becoming one of the oldest and longest reigning emperors.
Wu Zetian came from a prominent family and was the second daughter of the warrior Wu, the governor of Jingzhou. She was exceptionally intelligent from a young age and entered the palace at the tender age of fourteen, becoming a talented figure of Emperor Taizong of Tang and bestowed with the title of “Wu Mei”. With the changes in the situation, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, she was promoted to Zhaoyi and successfully ascended to the position of empress in the sixth year of Yonghui (655 AD) through the political game of “abolishing the king and establishing military power”. In the first year of the Shangyuan era (674 AD), Wu Zetian was revered as the “Heavenly Queen” and jointly governed the country with Emperor Gaozong. She was later known as the “Two Saints” and deeply participated in the formulation of national policies.
After the death of Emperor Gaozong, Wu Zetian, as the mother of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong of Tang, served as the empress dowager and effectively controlled the lifeline of the empire. She is not only exceptionally intelligent, but also knowledgeable and versatile, with a wide range of interests, especially in literature and history, and has demonstrated remarkable talent in poetry creation. Unfortunately, her collections of works “Chuigong Collection” and “Jinlun Collection” are now hard to find, but some of her poems are still included in the “Complete Tang Poems” and have been passed down to this day, witnessing the talent and charm of this extraordinary woman.
