ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Wu Zetian. A highly controversial figure, Wu Zetian was a descendantof a woman from the imperial family of the Sui Dynasty. She was raised by devout Buddhistson her mother's side of the family. At thirty-three, she was made imperial consort by Emperor Gaozong. After the year 660 CE, when Gaozong started to suffer from strokes, Wu Zetian began to governfrom behind the scenes. After Gaozong's death, she reigned in the name of subsequent puppetemperors her elder son Emperor Zhongzong and then her younger son Emperor Ruizong. In 690 CE she assumed power herself, declared the Zhou Dynasty, The Zhou Dynasty was named after Wu Zetian's father's nominal posthumous fief. It was also an allusion to the illustrious Zhou Dynasty, from which Wu Zetian claimed the Wu family was descended. This was a totally unprecedented move, as Wu Zetian is the only woman in the history of imperial China to ascend the throne and use the title 'Emperor'.
