The Path to Power
4 min readFrom then on Wu Zetian began to lay bare her political ambition. At first she allied herself with Wang to deal with Xiao. Once Xiao was consigned to limbo, she then shifted the target to Wang who had helped her to get out of the abyss of misery.
In 654Wu gave birth to a daughter. In order to fabricate a charge against the empress consort, she cold-bloodedly stifled the baby in the cradle immediately after Wang came to visit. Unaware of the truth, Li Zhi believed Wang to be the murderer, and one year later issued an edict to depose her. Both Wang and Xiao were tortured to death soon afterwards. Wu became the empress instead, having her long-cherished wish fulfilled. However, this was far from her ultimate aim.
The following year, Wu Zetian forced Li Zhi to issue another edict; according to it, four-year-old Li Hong replaced Li Zhong(the emperor’s eldest son) as the crown prince. Meanwhile, as Li Zhi sufferedfrom serious headaches and was thus unable to hold court, power gradually passed into Wu’s hands.
Burial ligurine of an Imperial Maid on Horseback, Tang Tri-color LiHong was a person with a soft heart. When he once found Xiao’s two daughters who were over their twenties were still imprisoned, he went straight to plead with his mother for mercy on their behalf. Wu Zetian was greatly infuriated by this action of his, and since then the relationship between mother and son steadily deteriorated.
In 675, LiHong died suddenly when touring the Hebi Palace in the East Capital(Luoyang) along with his parents.Historians had believed that it was Wu Zetian who poisoned him.
In the following years Wu Zetian’s two other sons，both going by the name of Li Xian，became the crown prince in succession.And when LiZhi died in 683 it was her third son who succeeded to the throne；however，this LiXian（656-710，reverently entitled Zhongzong after death）held it for less than two months before he was deposed by his mother.Wu then enthroned her fourth son Li Dan（662-716），but arrogated all power to herself actually.
The Zhou Dynasty
The puppet emperor Li Dan met with the same fate as his brothers.After dethroning him in 690，66-year-old Wu Zetian proclaimed herself emperor，and changed the dynastic title to Zhou.
Partial Rubbings of Stone Carvings on Mount Shaoshi in Henan，Inscribed by wu sansi（Wu zetian’snephew）Partial Rubbings of stone carvings on Mount Gouin Henan，Inscribed by Wuzetian Honestly speaking，during her reign of 16 years the empress had run the country well and ensurednational security.In 692，she commissioned general Wang Xiaojie to recapture Suyab（situated near present Tokmok in Kyrgyzstan），Qiuci（present Kuche County of Xinjiang），Yutian（present Hetian City of Xinjiang），and Shule（present Kashi City of Xinjiang）from the Tubo army.In 702，she set up the Beiting military viceroy，along with the previously established Anxi viceroy，to govern northern and southern Xinjiang respectively.
Wu believed that agriculture was the base on which to build up a nation，and if each family was provided for and every person was well-fed and well-clothed，a stable social environment would naturally follow.Therefore，she ordered garrison troops to open up wasteland in outlying regions for cultivation of food grains.Meanwhile，she urged local officials to undertake new water conservancy projects，and linked up their promotion with whether or not they were able to increase agricultural production.
Wu Zetian also devoted much attention to the selection of talented people.Having a thorough knowledge of literature and history and being a good poet herself，she created the palace examination–presided over by the emperor–as the final civil exam.Besides，she added military knowledge and skillas a separate subject to make perfect the imperial examination system.As a result，outstanding people came forth in large numbers.
Nonetheless，Wu Zetian had adopted high-handed measures to solidify her rule.Just within one month before she ascended the throne，she killed several dozens of royal kinsmen including hertwo grandsons，and sent many more into exile.She also put her trusted aides such as Suo Yuanli，Lai Junchen and Zhou Xing in key positions，using them to frame up，torture and even kill those courtiers who were suspected of disloyalty，not even sparing Chancellor Di Renjie（630-700）.
Portrait of Di Renjie（630-700）
DiRenjie，whose courtesy name was Huaiying，was a native of Taiyuan.He was an outstanding statesman of the early Tang Dynasty and served as chancellor twice duringthe reign of Empress Wu zetian.
A Bronze Mirror Inlaid with Mother-of-pearl, the Tang Dynasty In the first lunar month of 705, Chancellor Zhang Jianzhi(625-706) and others staged a palace coup, forcing Wu Zetian to abdicate and return the crown to Li Xian. Ten months later, Wu Zetian died a solitary death at the age of 81. Her dying words were to be buried with her husband Li Zhi in the same grave, and no longer to be referred to as emperor herself. According to her will, an uninscribed monument was put up in front of the couple’s mausoleum, indicating that posterity would give verdict on her rights and wrongs, merits and demerits.
llAccording to another version, her birthplace was Lizhou(present Guangyuan city of sichuan Province).
Founder of a Khitan Empire in North China Yeli Abaoji(872-926) who was ethnically Khitan came from an aristocratic family in what’s now Alukeerqin Banner of Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia. In 916 established the Khitan Kingdom(916-1125)–which was renamed “Liao”in 947–and had been on the throne for 11 years(916-926).
