Wu Zhao
Subtitle: China's Only Female Emperor (Library of World Biography)
Publisher: Longman; Pearson Longman
Published: December 28, 2007
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9780321394262
Subjects: Asian / Middle Eastern history: c 500 to c 1500; Biography: general; c 500 CE to c 1000 CE; History; Biography / Autobiography; History: World; Asia - China; Historical - General; Women; History / General; General; 624-705; Biography; China; Empress of China,; Empresses; Wu hou,
Description: The story chronicles Wu Zhao's humble beginnings as the daughter of a provincial official and follows her path to the inner palace, where she improbably rose from a fifth-ranked concubine to emperor. Using Buddhist rhetoric, architecture, court rituals, and a network of "cruel officials" to cow her many opponents in court, Wu Zhao inaugurated a new dynasty in 690, the Zhou. She ruled as emperor for fifteen years, proving eminently competent in the art of governance, balancing factions in court, staving off the encroachment of Turks and Tibetans, and fostering the state's economic growth.