A Revolutionary Ascent in a Man’s World Wu Zetian (624–705 CE) shattered the ultimate glass ceiling of imperial China by […]
The Rise and Fall of China’s Only Female Emperor Wu Zetian, the only woman to rule China as emperor in […]
The Twilight of an Extraordinary Reign In the final years of Empress Wu Zetian’s unprecedented rule over China’s Zhou Dynasty […]
The Rise of the Zhang Brothers in Wu Zetian’s Court In the final years of Empress Wu Zetian’s unprecedented reign […]
The Twilight of an Empress and the Rise of New Favorites In the final years of Empress Wu Zetian’s unprecedented […]
From Street Vendor to Imperial Favorite In the twilight years of Empress Wu Zetian’s unprecedented reign (690–705 CE), two controversies […]
The Sacred Origins of Fengshan Fengshan, the grandest sacrificial ceremony in imperial China, represented a ruler’s divine mandate from heaven. […]
The Rise of Wu Zetian and the Succession Dilemma Empress Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, ascended […]
The Unprecedented Reign of China’s Only Female Emperor In 690 AD, Wu Zetian shattered centuries of tradition by proclaiming herself […]
The Political Landscape Before Wu Zetian’s Rise When Wu Zetian ascended to power as China’s only female emperor (r. 690–705), […]
The Turbulent Ascent of Wu Zetian The Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) witnessed one of history’s most extraordinary political upheavals when […]
The Unprecedented Rise of a Female Emperor In 690 AD, at the remarkable age of 67, Wu Zetian shattered centuries […]
The Path to Power: Eliminating Opposition After Emperor Gaozong of Tang’s death, Wu Zetian—then empress dowager—moved decisively to consolidate power. […]
The Divine Stone and the Gathering Storm In 684 AD, Empress Wu Zetian faced her greatest crisis since seizing power—the […]
A Kingdom in Crisis: The Historical Backdrop In the turbulent year of 684 AD, the Tang Dynasty faced its most […]
The Political Landscape in 684 AD The year 684 marked a turning point in Chinese imperial history. With the death […]
The Precarious Transition of Power In the winter of 683 AD, the Tang Dynasty faced a pivotal moment. Emperor Gaozong, […]
The Tang Dynasty’s Power Struggle The relationship between Emperor Gaozong of Tang (Li Zhi) and his empress, Wu Zetian, was […]
The Political Landscape of Early Tang Dynasty The mid-7th century Tang Dynasty was a period of remarkable political intrigue, particularly […]
The Rise of a Doomed Prince In the complex political landscape of 7th-century Tang China, few figures embody the tension […]
The Political Ascent of Wu Zetian By 664 CE, Wu Zetian had achieved an unprecedented position in Tang Dynasty politics. […]
The Origins of “Listening to Governance Behind a Curtain” The political practice known as “listening to governance behind a curtain” […]