Wu Zetian

Empress Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the only undisputed female sovereign in the history of China. She had previously held power as the empress consort of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty from 660 to 683 and as empress dowager during the reigns of her sons, Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, between 683 and 690. Breaking with precedent, Wu then consolidated power and prevented her sons from ruling. In 690, she proclaimed the Zhou dynasty in place of the Tang and crowned herself emperor.

During her 45-year de facto rule over China, Wu institutionalized the use of informants and enforced stringent legal measures, purged members of the Tang royal house and veteran officials from earlier administrations, reformed the civil service system to promote merit, patronized Buddhism as well as literature and the arts, and conducted military campaigns against Turkic and Tibetan incursions.

Names and titles

In Chinese history and literature, Wu Zetian was known by various names and titles. Mention of her in the English language has only increased their number. A difficulty in English translations is that they tend to specify gender (as in the case of "emperor" versus "empress" or "prince" versus "princess"), whereas, in Classical Chinese, words such as hou (, "sovereign", "prince", "queen") or huangdi (, "imperial supreme ruler", "royal deity") are of grammatically indeterminate gender.

Names In Wu's time, women's birth names were rarely recorded. She changed her name to Wu Zhao after rising to power, often written as ( has also been written as on occasion, and both are derivatives of , which may be her original name, with 瞾 being one of the characters invented by Wu). Wu was her patronymic surname, which she retained, according to traditional Chinese practice, after marriage to Gaozong, of the Li family. Emperor Taizong gave her the art name Wu Mei , meaning "glamorous". Her tenure as de facto ruler of China and official regent of the Tang dynasty (first through her husband and then through her sons, from 665 to 690) was not without precedent in Chinese history, but she broke precedent when she founded her own dynasty in 690, the Zhou (interrupting the Tang dynasty), ruling personally under the name Sacred and Divine Huangdi , and variations thereof, from 690 to 705.

Wu Zetian and Empress Dowager Liu of the Song dynasty are said to be the only women in Chinese history to have worn a yellow robe, ordinarily reserved for the emperor's sole use, as a monarch or co-ruler in their own right.

Background and early life A painting portraying Emperor Taizong of Tang by painter Yan Liben (c. 600–673)

The Wu family clan originated in Wenshui County, Bingzhou (an ancient name of the city of Taiyuan, Shanxi). Wu Zetian's birthplace is not documented in preserved historical literature and remains disputed. Some scholars argue that Wu was born in Wenshui, some that it was Lizhou (modern-day Guangyuan, Sichuan), while others insist she was born in the imperial capital of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an).

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 Shiyue, worked in the timber business and the family was relatively well-off. When she was summoned to the palace, her mother, the Lady Yang, wept bitterly when saying farewell to her, but she responded, "How do you know that it is not my fortune to meet the Son of Heaven?" Lady Yang reportedly then understood her ambitions, and therefore stopped crying.

But Consort Wu did not appear to be much favored by Emperor Taizong, though it appears that she did have sexual relations with him at one point. According to her own account (given in a rebuke of Chancellor Ji Xu during her reign), she once impressed Taizong with her fortitude:

Emperor Taizong had a horse with the name "Lion Stallion", and it was so large and strong that no one could get on its back. I was a lady in waiting attending Emperor Taizong, and I suggested to him, "I only need three things to subordinate it: an iron whip, an iron hammer, and a sharp dagger. I will whip it with the iron whip. If it does not submit, I will hammer its head with the iron hammer. If it still does not submit, I will cut its throat with the dagger." Emperor Taizong praised my bravery. Do you really believe that you are qualified to dirty my dagger?

Taizong had 14 sons, including three by his beloved Empress Zhangsun (601–636), but none with Consort Wu. Thus, according to the custom by which consorts of deceased emperors who had not produced children were permanently confined to a monastic institution after the emperor's death, Wu was consigned to Ganye Temple with the expectation that she would serve as a Buddhist nun there for the remainder of her life. After Taizong's death, Gaozong met her at the death anniversary of Taizong when he was offering incense. At the time, Consort Xiao and Empress Wang were fighting for the favour of Gaozong, and Wang asked Gaozong to bring Wu back into the palace, hoping to divert Gaozong's attention. Gaozong agreed and gave Wu the title Lady of Bright Deportment . Soon, Gaozong became enamored with Wu, and both Wang and Xiao lost favor.

Rise to power By early 650, Consort Wu was a concubine of Emperor Gaozong, and she had the title Zhaoyi, the highest ranking concubine of the nine concubines in the second rank. Wu progressively gained immeasurable influence over the governance of the empire throughout Emperor Gaozong's reign. Over time, she came to control most major decisions made. She was regarded as ruthless in her endeavors to grab power, and was believed by traditional historians to have killed her own children. This was later proven false, as these rumors seem to have surfaced 400 years after her death. This was likely due to the belief in ancient China that a woman was not suited to hold the power of the emperor.

Imperial consort (650–655) Gaozong became emperor at the age of 21. He was not the first choice, as he was inexperienced and frequently incapacitated with a sickness that caused him spells of dizziness. At that time, Gaozong did not favor Wang. Instead, he favored his concubine Pure Consort Xiao. Furthermore, Wang had no children while Xiao had one son (Li Sujie) and two daughters (Princesses Yiyang and Xuancheng).

Wang, seeing that Gaozong was still impressed by Wu's beauty, hoped that the arrival of a new concubine would divert the emperor from Xiao. Therefore, she secretly told Wu to stop shaving her hair and later welcomed her to the palace. (Some modern historians dispute this traditional account. Some think that Wu never left the imperial palace and might have had an affair with Gaozong while Taizong was still alive.)

Wu soon overtook Xiao as Gaozong's favorite. In 652, she gave birth to her first child, a son named Li Hong. In 653, she gave birth to another son, Li Xián. Neither of these sons was in contention to be Gaozong's heir, because Gaozong, at the request of officials influenced by Wang and her uncle (the chancellor Liu Shi), had designated his eldest son Li Zhong as his heir. Li Zhong's mother, Consort Liu, was of lowly birth. Wang did this in order to receive Liu's gratitude.

By 654, both Wang and Xiao had lost favor with Gaozong, and these two former romantic rivals joined forces against Wu, but to no avail. For example, as a sign of his love for Wu, Gaozong conferred posthumous honors on her father, Wu Shiyue. In the same year, Wu gave birth to a daughter. But her daughter died shortly after birth, with evidence suggesting deliberate strangulation. The evidence include allegations made by Wu herself, and she accused Wang of murder. But first he needed to make sure that he had the support of the government chancellors. So Gaozong met with his uncle Zhangsun Wuji, the head chancellor. During the meeting, Gaozong repeatedly brought up Wang's childlessness. Childlessness was a sufficient excuse to depose Wang, but Zhangsun repeatedly found ways to divert the conversation. Subsequent visits made by Wu's mother, Lady Yang, and an official allied with Wu, Xu Jingzong, to seek support from Zhangsun were met with disappointment.

In the summer of 655, Wu accused Wang and her mother, Lady Liu, of using witchcraft. In response, Gaozong barred Liu from the palace and demoted Wang's uncle, Liu Shi.

Gaozong therefore resolved to demote Chu to commandant at Tan Prefecture (roughly modern Changsha, Hunan),

Wu came to believe their spirits were after her. For this reason, Emperor Gaozong started remodeling a secondary palace, Daming Palace , into Penglai Palace . When Penglai Palace's main hall, Hanyuan Hall , was completed in 663, Gaozong and Wu moved there. It was later renamed Hanyuan Palace, yet Empress Wang and Consort Xiao still continued to appear in her dreams. Therefore, for the rest of Gaozong's reign, he and Wu often took up residence at the eastern capital Luoyang and only infrequently spent time in Chang'an.

Empress consort Involvement in politics (655–660)

In 655, Wu became Tang Gaozong's new empress consort . In 656, on the advice of Xu Jingzong, Emperor Gaozong deposed Consort Liu's son Li Zhong from being his heir apparent. He changed Li Zhong's status to Prince of Liang and designated Empress Wu's son, Li Hong as the title of Prince of Dai and crown prince (that is, heir apparent). He began to have Empress Wu make rulings on daily petitions by officials. Thereafter, her authority rivaled Emperor Gaozong's. Shangguan Tingzhi's daughter Shangguan Wan'er, then an infant, and her mother, Lady Zheng, became slaves in the inner palace. After Shangguan Wan'er grew up, she became Empress Wu's trusted secretary.

She and Gaozong were thereafter referred to as the "Two Saints" both inside the palace and in the empire.

In 670, Wu's mother, Lady Yang, died, and by Gaozong's and Wu's orders, all of the imperial officials and their wives attended her wake and mourned her. Later that year, with the realm suffering from a major drought, Wu offered to be deposed, which Gaozong rejected. At her request, he further posthumously honored Wu Shiyue (who had previously been posthumously honored as the Duke of Zhou) and Lady Yang by giving them the titles of the Prince and Princess of Taiyuan.

The Fengxian cave (c. 675) of the Longmen Grottoes, commissioned by Wu Zetian; the large, central Buddha is representative of the Vairocana In 675, as Emperor Gaozong's illness worsened, he considered having Empress Wu formally rule as regent. The chancellor Hao Chujun and the official Li Yiyan both opposed this, and he did not formally make her regent, and did not formally bestow her with such authorities. But Empress Wu was more powerful than Emperor Gaozong and he was afraid of Wu because of her high intelligence and skills in manipulating officials; thus, until the end of his reign, she had decision-making power on most events in the governmental and border matters, and could appoint civil ministers and military generals.

Also in 675, a number of people fell victim to Empress Wu's ire. She had been displeased at the favor that Emperor Gaozong had shown his aunt, Princess Changle. Changle was married to General Zhao Gui and had a daughter who became the wife and princess consort of Wu's third son, Li Xiǎn, the Prince of Zhou. Princess Zhao was accused of unspecified crimes and placed under arrest, eventually starving to death. Zhao Gui and Changle were exiled. Meanwhile, later that month, Li Hong, the Crown Prince—who urged Wu not to exercise so much influence and authority on Gaozong's governance and offended her by requesting that his half-sisters, Consort Xiao's daughters, Princess Yiyang and Xuancheng (under house arrest) be allowed to marry—died suddenly. Traditional historians generally believed that Wu poisoned Li Hong to death. At her request, Li Xián, then carrying the title of Prince of Yong, was created crown prince.

Empress dowager Plenipotentiary regent for Emperor Zhongzong Upon the death of her husband Emperor Gaozong, Wu became empress dowager and then regent and she automatically gained full power over the empire. She had the power to remove and install emperors. Just as before, government decisions were made by her. Wu had already poisoned the crown prince Li Hong and had enough other princes exiled that her third son, Li Zhe, was made heir apparent. Furthermore, Gaozong's will included provisions that Li Zhe should ascend immediately to the imperial throne, he should look to Empress Wu in regards to any important matter, either military or civil, and Empress Wu should claim the senior authority in the Empire for herself. In the second month of 684, Li Zhe ascended to the imperial throne, known as his temple name Zhongzong, for a short six weeks.

The new emperor was married to a woman of the Wei family. Because Zhongzong was as weak and incompetent as his father, the new Empress sought to place herself in the same position of great authority that Empress Wu had enjoyed.

Immediately, Emperor Zhongzong showed signs of disobeying Empress Dowager Wu. Emperor Zhongzong was under the thumb of his wife, Empress Wei. Under her influence, the Emperor appointed his father-in-law as prime minister. He also tried to make his father-in-law (, the head of the examination bureau of government, , , and a post considered one for a chancellor) and gave a mid-level office to his wet nurse's son—despite stern opposition by the chancellor Pei Yan, at one point remarking to Pei: He held the title of emperor, but Wu firmly controlled the imperial court, and officials were not allowed to meet with Ruizong, nor was he allowed to rule on matters of state. It was to Wu that officials reported, with Ruizong not even nominally approving official actions. Soon after Ruizong took the throne, Wu carried out a major renaming of governmental offices and banners. Wu elevated Luoyang's status, making it a coequal capital. At her nephew Wu Chengsi's suggestion, she expanded the shrine of the Wu ancestors and gave them greater posthumous honors, and made Wu's ancestral shrine the size of the emperor's ancestral shrine. In 686, Wu offered to return imperial authorities to Emperor Ruizong, but Ruizong, knowing that she did not truly intend to do so, declined, and she continued to exercise imperial authority. Meanwhile, she installed copper mailboxes outside the imperial government buildings to encourage the people of the realm to report secretly on others, as she suspected many officials of opposing her. Wu personally read all the reports of betrayal. Secret police officials, including Suo Yuanli, Zhou Xing, and Lai Junchen, began to rise in power and carry out systematic false accusations, torture, and executions.

Early reign (690–696)

Shortly after Wu took the throne in her newly established dynasty, she elevated the status of Buddhism above that of Taoism. She officially sanctioned Buddhism by building temples named Dayun Temple in each prefecture belonging to the capital regions of the two capitals, Luoyang and Chang'an, and created nine senior monks as dukes. She enshrined seven generations of Wu ancestors at the imperial ancestral temple, while continuing to offer sacrifices to the Tang emperors Gaozu, Taizong, and Gaozong.

Also in 692, Wu Zetian commissioned the general Wang Xiaojie to attack the Tibetan Empire. Wang recaptured the four garrisons of the Western Regions that had fallen to the Tibetan Empire in 670 – Kucha, Yutian, Kashgar, and Suyab.

In 695, after the imperial meeting hall and the Heavenly Hall were burned by Huaiyi, who was jealous at Wu's taking another lover, the imperial physician Shen Nanqiu , Wu became angry at these mystics for failing to predict the fire. The old nun and her students were arrested and made into slaves. Wei committed suicide. The old non-Han man fled. Wu put Huaiyi to death. After this incident, she appeared to pay less attention to mysticism and became even more dedicated than before to the affairs of state.

Around 698, Wu Chengsi and another nephew of Wu Zetian's, Wu Sansi, the Prince of Liang, repeatedly made attempts to have officials persuade Wu Zetian to make one of them crown prince—again arguing that an emperor should pass the throne to someone of the same clan. But Di Renjie, who by now had become a trusted chancellor, firmly opposed the idea, and proposed that Li Zhe be recalled instead. He was supported in this by fellow chancellors Wang Fangqing and Wang Jishan, as well as Wu Zetian's close advisor Ji Xu, who further persuaded the Zhang brothers to support the idea. In spring 698, Wu agreed and recalled Li Zhe from exile. Soon, Li Dan offered to yield the crown prince position to Li Zhe, and Wu created Li Zhe crown prince. She soon changed his name back to Li Xiǎn and then Wu Xian. Mochuo had no intention to cement the peace treaty with a marriage. Instead, when Wu Yanxiu arrived, he detained him and then launched a major attack on Zhou, advancing as far south as Zhao Prefecture (, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) before withdrawing. killing Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, and had Changsheng Hall , where Wu was residing, surrounded. They then reported to her that the Zhang brothers had been executed for treason, and forced her to yield the throne to Li Xian. On 21 February, an edict was issued in her name that made Li Xian regent, and on 22 February, an edict was issued in her name passing the throne to him. On 23 February, Li Xian formally retook the throne, and the next day, under heavy guard, Wu was moved to the subsidiary palace, Shangyang Palace , while still honored with the title of Empress Regnant Zetian Dasheng .

Wu died on 16 December, The 15-year period that Wu designated as her "Zhou dynasty", considered in the context of nearly a half century of de facto and de jure rule (–705), reveals a remarkable and still debated period of history. In this context, designating a new dynasty with her as emperor can be seen as part of her power politics and as the culmination of her rule. Though Wu's Zhou dynasty had its own notable characteristics, they are difficult to separate from Wu's reign of power, which lasted for about half of a century.

Wu's consolidation of power in part relied on a system of spies. She used informants to choose people to eliminate, a process that peaked in 697 with the wholesale demotion, exile, or killing of various aristocratic families and scholars, furthermore prohibiting their sons from holding office.

Wu eliminated many of her real, potential, or perceived rivals to power by means of death (including execution, suicide by command, and more or less directly killing people), demotion, and exile. Mostly this was carried out by her secret police, led by people like Wan Ganjun and Lai Junchen, who were known to have written the Manual of Accusation, a document detailing steps for interrogation and obtaining confessions by torture. One of these methods, the "Dying Swine's Melancholy" , which merely indicated a level of pain inflicted by a torture device, seems to have been conflated in the years following Wu's death with the story of the "human swine" torture conducted by Empress Lü Zhi, in which her victim had her eyes gouged out, hands and feet chopped off, ears burnt, and was imprisoned in a latrine.

Wu targeted various people, including many in her own family. In reaction to an attempt to remove her from power, in 684, she massacred 12 entire collateral branches of the imperial family. Additionally, at the beginning of Wu's ascendency, Guanzhong was still the stronghold of the most nationally powerful aristocratic families, even though economic development in other parts of China had improved the lot of families in other regions. The Guangzhong aristocracy was not willing to relinquish its hold on the reins of government, but some of the more newly wealthy families in other areas, such as the North China Plain or Hubei, were eager for a larger share of national power. Most of the opposition to Wu was from the Guangzhong families of northwest China. Accordingly, she repressed them, instead favoring less privileged families, thus raising to the ranks of power many talented but less aristocratic families, often recruited through the official examination system. Many of those so favored originated from the North China plain. Through a process of eliminating or diminishing the power of the established aristocracy, whom she perceived as disloyal to her, and establishing a reformed upper class in China loyal to her, Wu made major social changes that historians are still evaluating. Model of of Luoyang commissioned by Wu Zetian (original 294 = 93m tall). Many major construction projects were started during Wu Zetian's time. Many of Wu's measures were popular and helped her to gain support for her rule. Wu came to power during a time in China in which the people were fairly contented, the administration was run well, and the economy was characterized by rising living standards. In 694, Wu's forces decisively defeated the Tibetan–Western Turk alliance and retook the Four Garrisons of Anxi.

In 651, shortly after the Muslim conquest of Persia, the first Arab ambassador arrived in China. The historical details of the consequences of Wu's promoting a new group of people from previously disenfranchised backgrounds into prominence as powerful governmental officials, and the examination system's role, remain debated by scholars of this subject.

Religion The features of Vairocana statue in Longmen Grottoes are supposedly based on Wu Zetian's image.

The Great Cloud Sutra Wu Zetian used her political powers to harness from Buddhist practices a strategy to build sovereignty and legitimacy to her throne while establishing the Zhou dynasty in a society under Confucian and patriarchal ideals. One of the first steps she took to legitimize her ascension to the throne was to proclaim herself as the reincarnation of the Devi of Pure Radiance through a series of prophecies. In 690, Wu sought out the support of the monk Xue Huaiyi, her reputed lover, and other nine orthodox Buddhist monks, to compose the apocryphal Commentary on the Meanings of the Prophecies About the Divine Sovereign in the Great Cloud Sutra . In the sutra, the Buddha foretells to that he would be a bodhisattva reincarnated in a woman's body in order to convert beings and rule over the territory of a country. Wu's Buddhist supporters meticulously propagated the Commentary "on the eve of her accession to the dragon throne" while seeking to justify the various events that led Wu to occupy the position of as a female ruler and bodhisattva. Her narrative was intentionally crafted to persuade the Confucian establishment, circumvent the Five Impediments that restricted women from holding political and religious power, and gain public support.

Indian influences According to William Dalrymple, Wu used Buddhist texts brought from Nalanda University by Xuanzang to legitimise her rule, and her reign resulted in a substantial importation of Indian ideas. Under her, Buddhism became a state religion, and slaughter of animals was strictly prohibited. Wu also implemented several Indian principles, such as those of the Ashokan edicts, into the governance of her empire, and had many Indians become part of the royal court, including faith healers and astrologers.

Sacrifice on Mount Tai In relation to Daoism, there are records that point to Wu's participation in important religious rituals, such as the on Mount Song, and and on Mount Tai. One of the most important rituals was performed in 666. When Emperor Gaozong offered sacrifices to the deities of heaven and earth, Wu, in an unprecedented action, offered sacrifices after him, with Princess Dowager Yan, mother of Gaozong's brother Li Zhen, Prince of Yue, offering sacrifices after her. Her participation in the rituals had political as well as religious motives. Such ceremonies served to consolidate Wu's life in politics and show she possessed the Mandate of Heaven.

Literature North Gate Scholars Toward the end of Gaozong's life, Wu began engaging a number of mid-level officials who had literary talent, including Yuan Wanqing , Liu Yizhi, Fan Lübing, Miao Chuke , Zhou Simao , and Han Chubin , to write a number of works on her behalf, including the Biographies of Notable Women , Guidelines for Imperial Subjects , and New Teachings for Official Staff Members . Collectively, they became known as the "North Gate Scholars" , because they served inside the palace, which was north of the imperial government buildings, and Wu sought advice from them to divert the powers of the chancellors. One was that the work of Laozi (whose family name was Li and to whom the Tang imperial clan traced its ancestry), Tao Te Ching, should be added to imperial university students' required reading. Another was that a three-year mourning period should be observed for a mother's death in all cases, not just in cases when the father was no longer alive. Emperor Gaozong praised her suggestions and adopted them. she approved the requests. She changed the state's name to Zhou on 16 October, claiming ancestry from the Zhou dynasty, and took the throne as Empress Regnant (with the title Empress Regnant Shengshen , literally "Divine and Sacred Emperor or Empress Regnant") on 19 October. Ruizong was deposed and made crown prince with the atypical title . Many of those writings serve political ends, but there is one poem in which she laments her mother after she died and expresses her despair at not being able to see her again.

During Wu's reign, the imperial court produced various works of which she was a sponsor, such as the anthology of her court's poetry known as the (Collection of Precious Glories), which contained poems by Cui Rong, Li Jiao, Zhang Yue, and others, arranged according to the poets' rank at court. Among the literary developments that took place during Wu's time (and partly at her court) was the final stylistic development of the "new style" poetry of the regulated verse , by the poetic pair Song Zhiwen and Shen Quanqi.

Wu also patronized scholars by founding an institute to produce the Collection of Biographies of Famous Women. one of Wu's ministers.

Literary allusions Literary allusions to Wu may carry several connotations: a woman who has inappropriately overstepped her bounds, the hypocrisy of preaching compassion while simultaneously engaging in a pattern of political corruption and vicious behavior. For many centuries, the establishment used Wu as an example of what can go wrong when a woman is in charge.

Mao Zedong's wife Jiang Qing rehabilitated Wu as part of a propaganda campaign to suggest she be considered as a successor to her ailing husband. Frank Dikotter asserted that Jiang Qing "had started to compare herself to the only empress ever to have ruled in Chinese history, namely Wu Zetian. Articles praising the sixth-century empress as a great unifier of the nation appeared in the press, even though she was popularly reviled as a ruthless, wicked ruler who had mercilessly crushed her opponents." However, Dikotter did not cite sources for his claim.

In his biography Wu, Jonathan Clements writes that these wildly differing uses of a historical figure often led to contradictory and even hysterical characterizations. Many alleged poisonings and other incidents, such as her daughter's premature death, may have rational explanations that have been twisted by later opponents.

Evaluation

Quotes

The traditional Chinese historical view of Wu Zetian generally was mixed—admiring her for her abilities in governing the state, but vilifying her for her actions in seizing imperial power. Luo Binwang even wrote along these lines in a declaration during her lifetime, in support of Li Jingye's rebellion. Typical was a commentary by the Later Jin dynasty historian Liu Xu, the lead editor of the Old Book of Tang:

Some of the diversity in terms of points of agreement and even outright divergences in modern evaluations of Wu can be seen in the following quotes by modern non-Chinese authors:

To the horror of traditional Chinese historians, all members of the class, the continued success of the T'ang was in large measure due to an ex-concubine who finally usurped the throne itself. ... Though she was ruthless towards her enemies, the period of her ascendency was a good one for China. Government was sound, no rebellions occurred, abuses in the army and administration were stamped out and Korea was annexed, an achievement no previous Chinese had ever managed. and Yuan Shu, But, some of those had praises for Wu Zetian like Liu Xu (in Quotes section), Sima Guang

In the early period of the Tang dynasty, because all the emperors were her direct descendants, Wu was evaluated favorably. But commentary in subsequent periods, especially the book compiled by Sima Guang, harshly criticized her. By the period of Southern Song dynasty, when Neo-Confucianism was firmly established as China's mainstream political ideology, it determined the evaluation of Wu.

Era names Zhou dynasty (690–705): Convention: use personal name Temple names Family name and first name Period of reign Era names and their associated dates None Wǔ Zhào 690–705

Chancellors during reign

Wu Zetian had many chancellors during her reign as monarch of her self-proclaimed Zhou dynasty, many of them notable in their own right. (For full list see List of chancellors of Wu Zetian).

Family