The Unprecedented Reign of China’s Only Female Emperor

In 690 AD, Wu Zetian shattered centuries of tradition by proclaiming herself emperor of the newly established Zhou Dynasty, becoming the only woman in Chinese history to rule in her own name. This remarkable achievement, however, came with an existential question: who would inherit her hard-won throne? The succession crisis that followed would pit her biological sons against her ambitious nephews in a high-stakes political drama that threatened to unravel her legacy.

The Impossible Choice: Blood vs. Name

At the heart of Wu Zetian’s dilemma lay a fundamental conflict between Confucian familial ethics and political survival. By tradition, emperors passed the throne to their sons—but her sons carried the surname Li of the deposed Tang Dynasty. Choosing her eldest son, Li Dan (whom she had renamed Wu Dan in a symbolic gesture), risked restoring the Tang regime she had overthrown.

Her alternative—nephews like the powerful Wu Chengsi—shared her surname but lacked direct blood ties. As historian Meng Man explains, this created an agonizing paradox: “A son would restore the Tang, while a nephew would break the sacred bond between mother and child.” Wu’s compromise—granting Li Dan the ambiguous title of “Imperial Heir” (皇嗣) rather than Crown Prince—only intensified the power struggle.

The First Round: Petitions and Political Maneuvering

In 691, Wu Chengsi launched his campaign by orchestrating a populist petition. Through the puppet figure Wang Qingzhi, hundreds “spontaneously” demanded Li Dan’s replacement with Wu Chengsi, arguing: “The gods do not bless outsiders; the people do not worship another clan’s ancestors.”

Wu Zetian’s initial interest alarmed Chancellor Cen Changqian, a Tang loyalist who had supported her rise. His warning—”How can state succession be decided by mobs?”—triggered Wu Chengsi’s retaliation. Using false charges of rebellion, he had Cen exiled and later executed, along with dozens of officials.

The Court Strikes Back: A Eunuch’s Defiance

Undeterred, Wu Chengsi sent Wang Qingzhi to harass the empress daily—until the exasperated Wu Zetian ordered his beating. The task fell to Li Zhaode, a shrewd official who “accidentally” beat Wang to death. Seizing the moment, Li delivered a masterful argument:

1. Inheritance Principle: Sons supersede nephews in familial hierarchy.
2. Ancestral Worship: No nephew in history had ever enshrined an aunt, leaving Wu Zetian spiritually vulnerable.
3. Conjugal Loyalty: Passing the throne to Wu Chengsi would condemn her late husband Emperor Gaozong to “starve as a ghost” without descendants to make offerings.

This appeal to emotion and ritual proved decisive. Wu Zetian demoted Wu Chengsi, marking a temporary victory for the Li faction.

The Second Round: Scandal and Survival

The conflict reignited through an unlikely figure—Wei Tuán’er, a palace maid infatuated with Li Dan. After his rejection, she accused his consorts of witchcraft (厌胜), a capital offense. Wu Zetian’s response was chillingly indirect: during New Year rites in 693, she replaced Li Dan’s ceremonial role with Wu Chengsi, signaling his waning status. Days later, Li Dan’s primary and secondary wives vanished after a court visit—presumably executed.

The crisis peaked when Wu Chengsi fabricated treason charges against Li Dan in 698. As the notorious torturer Lai Juncheng prepared to extract confessions from Li’s staff, a lowly musician named An Jinzang performed a shocking act of loyalty:

“To prove the heir’s innocence, I’ll show you my heart!” he declared before plunging a dagger into his chest. His visceral sacrifice—and survival—moved Wu Zetian to halt the persecution, sparing her last surviving son.

Legacy: The Restoration of the Tang

The crisis ultimately resolved in 698 when Wu Zetian, now in her 70s, recalled her exiled son Li Xian (later Emperor Zhongzong) as heir—a decision influenced by:

– Popular Sentiment: Uprisings supporting Tang restoration.
– Divine Omens: Interpretations of a prophetic text, the Great Cloud Sutra.
– Pragmatism: Ensuring her posthumous worship through her sons.

Though her Zhou Dynasty ended with her death in 705, Wu Zetian’s unprecedented reign redefined gender roles in imperial politics. Her succession struggle remains a timeless study of power’s intersection with kinship, ideology, and survival—a testament to how even the mightiest rulers remain bound by the human dilemmas they seek to transcend.

The story of Wu Zetian’s dilemma continues to resonate, offering lessons about leadership, legacy, and the enduring tension between individual ambition and dynastic continuity.