"was also the former empress consort of a Tang emperor and was buried in Qianling Mausoleum, a Tang royal mausoleum. Furthermore, Wu Zetian was the only emperor of Zhou China, which does not fit the concept of a dynasty. There were, however, other dynasties of a similar length, such as the Xin dynasty, or much shorter in length, such as the Shun dynasty. Wu Zetian's rule was long also seen as a period of great tyranny, though in more recent decades this seems to have lessened or reversed, as the appearance of Wu Zetian in countless Chinese works of fiction"
"(interrupting the Tang dynasty), ruling personally under the name Sacred and Divine Huangdi (聖神皇帝), and variations thereof, from 690 through 705. Wu Zetian is said to be the only woman in Chinese history to wear the yellow robe as a monarch (otherwise reserved for the sole use of the emperor, with the exception of empress dowager Liu of Song Dynasty). The Wu family clan originated in Wenshui County, Bingzhou (an ancient name of the city of Taiyuan, Shanxi). The birthplace of Wu Zetian is not documented in preserved historical literature and remains controversial. Some argue that Wu Zetian was born"
"the throne, Emperor Ruizong offered to take the name of Wu as well. On 18 August, 690, she approved of the requests. She changed the name of the state to Zhou, claiming ancestry from the Zhou dynasty, and took the throne as Empress Regnant (with the title of Empress Regnant Shengshen (聖神皇帝), literally ""Divine and Sacred Emperor or Empress Regnant""). Emperor Ruizong was deposed and made crown prince with the atypical title of ""Huangsi"" (皇嗣). This thus interrupted Tang dynasty, and she became the first (and only) woman to reign over China as Empress Regnant. Beside her own literary work,"
"Empress Liu (Li Maozhen's wife) Empress Liu (劉皇后, personal name unknown) (877–November 8, 943), formally Lady Dowager Xiande of Qin (秦國賢德太夫人), was the wife of Li Maozhen, the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi. During Li Maozhen's reign as the independent Prince of Qi, she carried the title of empress (even though he never assumed the title of emperor). After he later submitted as the vassal of the new Later Tang, she became known as the Lady of Qin, and later Lady Dowager of Qin after his death. Nothing was said about Empress"
"fact made apparent to all by his defeat. It was generally not accepted for a female to succeed to the throne as a sovereign regnant in her own right, rather than playing the role of a sovereign's consort or regent for a sovereign who was still a minor in age, so that in history of China there has only been one reigning empress, the Empress Wu, whose reign occurred during (and actually caused) an interregnum of the Tang dynasty. However, there have been numerous cases in Chinese history where a woman was the actual power behind the imperial throne (see"
"List of Chancellors of Wu Zetian). Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), alternatively named Wu Zhao, Wu Hou, during the later Tang dynasty as Tian Hou, in English as Empress Consort Wu or by the deprecated term ""Empress Wu"", was a Chinese sovereign who ruled unofficially as empress consort and empress dowager and officially as empress regnant (皇帝) during the brief Zhou dynasty (周, 684–705), which interrupted the Tang dynasty. Wu was the sole officially recognized empress regnant of China in more than two millennia. Wu was the concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death,"
"Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), alternatively named Wu Zhao, Wu Hou, during the later Tang dynasty as Tian Hou, in English as Empress Consort Wu or by the deprecated term ""Empress Wu"", was a Chinese sovereign who ruled unofficially as empress consort and empress dowager and officially as empress regnant (皇帝) during the brief Zhou dynasty (周, 684–705), which interrupted the Tang dynasty. Wu was the sole officially recognized empress regnant of China in more than two millennia. Wu was the concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death, she married his successor—his ninth son,"
"Empress Wang (Yang Pu) Empress Wang (王皇后, personal name unknown), known as Empress Rang (讓皇后, ""empress of the emperor who yielded"") during Southern Tang, was the wife and empress of Yang Pu (Emperor Rui), the final ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Wu. As he was the only ruler who claimed the title of emperor, she was the only person to carry the title of empress during Wu. Very little is known about her. It is known that she initially carried the imperial consort title of ""Defei"" (德妃). In fall 933, Yang Pu created her"
"Huaiyi Huaiyi (懷義) (died December 25, 694), né Feng Xiaobao (馮小寶), sometimes referred to as Xue Huaiyi (薛懷義), was a Buddhist monk who was known for being the lover of Wu Zetian, the only woman to be commonly recognized as ""emperor"" in the history of China. Huaiyi, whose birth name was Feng Xiaobao, was from Hu County (鄠縣, in modern Xi'an, Shaanxi). He was making a living by selling medicines on the streets of Tang Dynasty's eastern capital Luoyang, when he was spotted by Princess Qianjin, a daughter of Tang's founder Emperor Gaozu, and in or before 685, she recommended"
"of seventeen. The Empress Dowager Liu now openly and officially assumed power as regent of China during his minority. She enjoyed all the Imperial prerogatives: she held court (with the child emperor by her side), she had her birthday celebrated with special names, she had envoys sent in her own name, and she even attended to the holy plowing ceremony and the imperial ancestral worship, all of which was normally only done by a ruling emperor. As a regent she became the second woman in Chinese history to wear the imperial robe, after Wu Zetian, the only empress regnant in"
"her, and her ability at selecting capable men to serve as officials were admired throughout the rest of the Tang dynasty as well as in subsequent dynasties. (She would be overthrown in a coup in 705 and Emperor Zhongzong returned to the throne, but she would continue to carry the title of ""emperor"" until her death later in that year). Although Emperor Ruizong held the title of emperor, Empress Dowager Wu held onto power even more firmly, and the officials were not allowed to meet with Emperor Ruizong, nor was he allowed to rule on matters of state. Rather, the"
"Pan Shu Empress Pan (died 252), personal name Pan Shu, was an empress of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. She was the only empress of Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan, even though he had a succession of wives before her. She was the mother of Sun Liang, Sun Quan's successor and the second emperor of Wu. Lady Pan was from Gouzhang County (; within present-day Ningbo) in Kuaiji Commandery. Her personal name was not recorded in her biography in the ""Records of the Three Kingdoms"" (""Sanguozhi""), the authoritative source of the history of"
"Empress Li (Liu Shouguang's wife) Empress Li (李皇后, personal name unknown) (died February 12, 914) was one of the two wives of Liu Shouguang, the only emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Yan. Very little is known about Empress Li, and it is not known whether she bore any of Liu Shouguang's children. (Indeed, it is not completely clear that she was given an empress title when he declared himself emperor in 911, although the modern Chinese historian Bo Yang asserted that she was, as was Liu's other wife Empress Zhu.) When Yan's capital You"
"stating, ""My husband did not make such an order! It is the princess who wants to kill me."" Bai seized her physically and forced poisonous peppers into her mouth, and she died. She was buried with imperial honors with her husband. Feng Run Empress Feng Run (馮潤) (died 499), formally Empress You (幽皇后, literally ""the lonely empress"") was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. She was the second empress of Emperor Xiaowen. Feng Run was a daughter of Feng Xi (馮熙) the Prince of Changli, who was a brother of the powerful Grand Empress Dowager Feng, the wife"
"Empress Zhu (Liu Shouguang's wife) Empress Zhu (祝皇后, personal name unknown) (died February 12, 914) was one of the two wives of Liu Shouguang, the only emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Yan. Very little is known about Empress Zhu, and it is not known whether she bore any of Liu Shouguang's children. (Indeed, it is not completely clear that she was given an empress title when he declared himself emperor in 911, although the modern Chinese historian Bo Yang asserted that she was, as was Liu's other wife Empress Li.) When Yan's capital You"
"regimes including the Later Zhao, Former Yan, Former Qin, and Later Yan continuously controlled Shanxi. They were followed by Northern Wei (386–534), a Xianbei kingdom, which had one of its earlier capitals at present-day Datong in northern Shanxi, and which went on to rule nearly all of northern China. The Tang Dynasty (618–907) originated in Taiyuan. During the Tang Dynasty and after, present day Shanxi was called ""Hédōng"" (), or ""east of the (Yellow) river"". Empress Wu Zetian, China's only female ruler, was born in Shanxi in 624. During the first part of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period"
"were mentioned (although officials named Ran in the later Northern Wei Dynasty claimed descent from Ran Min, presumably through Ran Zhi), and it is not known when Empress Dong died. Empress Dong (Ran Min's wife) Empress Dong (董皇后, personal name unknown) was the only empress of the short-lived Chinese state Ran Wei. Her husband was its only emperor, Ran Min. When he proclaimed the new state in 350 after overthrowing the Later Zhao emperor Shi Jian and declared himself emperor, he created her empress and created her oldest son Ran Zhi crown prince. After he was captured and executed by"
"705, a palace coup deposed Wu Zetian and Emperor Zhongzong was restored as emperor three days later. Emperor Zhongzong reigned for five years but was a rather weak and easily influenced ruler. Real power was in the hands of his empress consort, Empress Wei and her lover Wu Sansi (Wu Zetian's nephew). In 710, Emperor Zhongzong died, allegedly poisoned by Empress Wei, who then installed his son, Li Chongmao, as Emperor Shang. Empress Wei, who had failed to install her daughter Li Guo'er, the Princess Anle, as heir to Emperor Zhongzong, thought that Li Chongmao, born of Zhongzong and a"
"two months. She proclaimed the Tianshou era of Wu Zhou on , and three days later demoted Emperor Ruizong to crown prince. He was also forced to give up his father's surname Li in favor of the Empress Wu. She then ruled as China's only empress regnant. A palace coup on , forced Empress Wu to yield her position on February 22. The next day, her son Zhongzong was restored to power; the Tang was formally restored on March 3. She died soon after. To legitimize her rule, she circulated a document known as the ""Great Cloud Sutra"", which predicted"
"Empress Ma (Southern Han) Empress Ma (馬皇后, personal name unknown) (died January 22, 935) was the only known empress of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Southern Han. She was the wife of Southern Han's founding emperor Liu Yan (Emperor Gaozu), and the daughter of Ma Yin (Prince Wumu), the prince of Southern Han's northern neighbor Chu. It is not known when the future Empress Ma was born. Further, while she was known to be a daughter of Ma Yin's, no historical record indicated who her mother was. In 913, Liu Yan, who was then formally a"
"and cut off Yuwen Hu's head, ending Yuwen Hu's hold on power. Empress Dowager Chinu died in 574. She was buried with honors due an empress, but not with Yuwen Tai, who was already buried with his wife Princess Fengyi (mother of Emperor Xiaomin and sister of Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei). Empress Dowager Chinu Empress Dowager Chinu (叱奴太后, personal name unknown) (died 574), formally Empress Xuan (宣皇后, literally ""the responsible empress""), was an empress dowager of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou. She was the mother of Emperor Wu (Yuwen Yong). She was ethnically Xianbei, and she was a concubine"
"Empress Dong (Ran Min's wife) Empress Dong (董皇后, personal name unknown) was the only empress of the short-lived Chinese state Ran Wei. Her husband was its only emperor, Ran Min. When he proclaimed the new state in 350 after overthrowing the Later Zhao emperor Shi Jian and declared himself emperor, he created her empress and created her oldest son Ran Zhi crown prince. After he was captured and executed by Former Yan's prince Murong Jun in 352, Former Yan forces quickly arrived at the Ran Wei capital Yecheng. Empress Dong, Ran Zhi, and high-level officials led by the commander of"
"in Lizhou (利州) (modern day Guangyuan in Sichuan), while some others insist she was born in the imperial capital of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an). She lived from 17 February 624 – 16 December 705. Wu Zetian was born in the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang. In the same year, a total eclipse of the sun was visible across China. Her father Wu Shihuo was engaged in the timber business and the family was relatively well off. Her mother was from the powerful Yang family. During the final years of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li"
"instead as Empress Consort Zetian Dasheng (則天大聖皇后). In 706, Wu Zetian's son Emperor Zhongzong had Wu Zetian interred in a joint burial with his father Emperor Gaozong at the Qianling Mausoleum, located near the capital Chang'an on Mount Liang. Emperor Zhongzong also buried at Qianling his brother Li Xián, son Li Chongrun, and daughter Li Xianhui (李仙蕙) the Lady Yongtai (posthumously honoured as the Princess Yongtai)—victims of Wu Zetian's wrath. Wu Zetian proclaimed herself as the ruler of the ""Zhou dynasty"", named after the historical Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC); and, thus, from 690 to 705 the Chinese Empire was known"
"Chinese characters of Empress Wu Chinese characters of Empress Wu, or the Zetian characters (), are Chinese characters introduced by Empress Wu Zetian, the only reigning female in the history of China, to demonstrate her power. The characters were not created by the Empress herself, but were suggested by an official named Zong Qinke, the son of one of her cousins, in December 689 AD. The number of characters varies between 12, 17, 19, or 30 characters. They were forcibly used by people during her reign but fell into disuse immediately after her death, so they help to determine dates"
"making her the only person in Chinese history to serve as empress for two emperors and two empires. He created her son Liu Xi crown prince. He also changed the name of the state from Han to Zhao. (Liu Yuan had declared the empire's name Han to create a linkage with Han Dynasty—to which he claimed he was a descendant, through a princess, but Liu Yao felt that it was time to end the linkage with Han and explicitly restore the linkage to the great Xiongnu ""chanyu"" Maodun, and therefore decided to change the name of the state. However, this"
"Empress Dou (Wen) Empress Dou (; died 135 BC), formally Empress Xiaowen (孝文皇后), was an empress of the Chinese Han dynasty who greatly influenced the reigns of her husband Emperor Wen and her son Emperor Jing with her adherence to Taoist philosophy; she was the main support for the Huang-Lao school. She therefore contributed greatly to the ""Rule of Wen and Jing"", commonly considered one of the golden ages of Chinese history. Empress Dou was born into a poor family in Qinghe (清河, in modern Xingtai, Hebei). She had two brothers, Dou Zhangjun (竇長君) and Dou Guangguo (竇廣國) or Shaojun"
"title at this point). Three months later, however, she died. (The historian Bo Yang speculated that because Yuwen Hu had in 557 forced her father Dugu Xin to commit suicide after Dugu Xin was implicated in a plot to overthrow Yuwen Hu, that Yuwen Hu had her murdered, but had no concrete evidence to show that that happened.) In spring 559, Yuwen Hu formally returned his authorities to Emperor Ming, and Emperor Ming began to formally rule on all governmental matters, but Yuwen Hu retained authority over the military. Emperor Ming was generally credited with making sensible decisions and being"
"Secret History of Princess Taiping Secret History of Princess Taiping, also known as Taiping Gongzhu Mishi, is a 2012 Chinese historical television series. The protagonist is the firstborn daughter (posthumously known as Princess Andingsi, who died in infancy according to history) of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. However, in this television series, the princess survived, and when she grows up she impersonates her younger sister Princess Taiping to take revenge on her mother and attempts to seize the throne for herself. Directed by Lee Hon-to and Zhou Min, the series starred three actresses — Alyssa Chia,"
"Empress Lü Empress (Dowager) Lü Zhi (241–180 BC), commonly known as Empress Lü () and formally Empress Gao of Han (), was the empress consort of Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. They had two known children, Liu Ying (later Emperor Hui of Han) and Princess Yuan of Lu. Lü was the first woman to assume the title Empress of China. After Gaozu's death, she was honoured as Empress Dowager and later as Grand Empress Dowager (太皇太后) during the short reigns of Emperor Hui and his successors Liu Gong (Emperor Qianshao) and Liu Hong (Emperor Houshao). Less than"
"and executed them there. As they were to be executed, Liu Shouguang was begging for his life, and Empresses Li and Zhu rebuked him for not acting bravely like an emperor should, while they accepted their own executions. Empress Li (Liu Shouguang's wife) Empress Li (李皇后, personal name unknown) (died February 12, 914) was one of the two wives of Liu Shouguang, the only emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Yan. Very little is known about Empress Li, and it is not known whether she bore any of Liu Shouguang's children. (Indeed, it is not"
"Empress Wang (Ping) Empress Wang (王皇后, personal name unknown) (8 BC – AD 23), formally Empress Xiaoping (孝平皇后), formally during her father Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty Duchess Dowager of Ding'an (定安太后) then Princess Huanghuang (黃皇室主), was an empress during the Han Dynasty and the last empress of the Western Han Dynasty. She was the daughter of the eventual usurper Wang Mang, who established the Xin Dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Ping. She is largely viewed by historians as a tragic figure, the victim of circumstances who tried to remain loyal to her husband of only a few years, but whose"
"soon afterwards. On 1 April 528, Empress Dowager Hu installed the infant on the throne for a matter of hours before replacing her with Yuan Zhao the next day. Xiaoming's daughter was not recognised as an emperor (""huangdi"") by later generations. No further information about her is available. Empress Dowager Hu (d. 528), known posthumously as Empress Dowager Ling, was originally one of Emperor Xuanwu's (483–515, r. 499–515) consorts; she gave birth to his only living heir Yuan Xu (510–528). Following Xuanwu's death, Yuan Xu ascended the throne as Emperor Xiaoming, and Hu was honoured as Consort Dowager, and soon"