For those who are interested in the succession of Empress Wu Zetian, the History Encyclopedia editor brings a detailed article for your reference. If Wu Zetian had not passed on the throne to the Li family, would there have been more female emperors in history?
Introduction
During the Tang Dynasty, Sichen had a female chicken, which almost wiped out the remnants of the royal family. In ancient Chinese feudal dynasties, except for Empress Wu Zetian, all other emperors were male, indicating her special position in history. But the actions of such a legendary woman in her later years are quite puzzling, that is, Wu Zetian returned the throne to the descendants of the Li family. What is going on?
01
Perhaps people at that time did not understand, but it was not until two hundred years later that they realized that Wu Zetian was truly intelligent. We may not see Wu Zetian as just a weak woman on the surface, but her political wisdom is quite high and she has her own understanding of military affairs. How could someone like her do something that is not beneficial to herself? Wu Zetian’s ability can be seen from the achievements she made during her reign as emperor. During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, it was known as the “legacy of the Zhenguan era” and even laid a solid foundation for the later “prosperous era of the Kaiyuan era”. From the perspective of a ruler, Wu Zetian was a wise and astute ruler who made good use of her talents and made wise decisions.
Wu Zetian in movies and TV dramas
However, during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, she killed too many people, not only leaving only two or three big cats and small cats in the Tang Dynasty royal family, but also many cruel officials such as Junchen, causing many wrongful deaths. Therefore, the evaluation of Empress Wu Zetian in history is mixed. Some people believe that she was a tyrant, while others believe that she was a hero. For the evaluation of the crowd, Wu Zetian left a wordless monument in front of the tomb – the right and wrong, the merits and demerits, to be commented on by later generations.
▲ Wordless Stele
Perhaps no one expected that someone like Wu Zetian, who was so obsessed with power, would be willing to return the throne to the descendants of the Li family before her death. So why did Wu Zetian do this? Is there any reason inside?
Firstly, Wu Zetian understood that she would eventually die one day. If the descendants of the Li family were to regain power, they would inevitably turn over old accounts and criticize Wu Zetian heavily. Wu Zetian was incredibly glorious during her lifetime, so naturally she did not want to be insulted after dying. Therefore, for the sake of caution, Wu Zetian returned the throne to the descendants of the Li family and buried them in the name of the empress. To some extent, at this time, Wu Zetian was equivalent to the Li family. Since that’s the case, the succeeding emperor can’t insult his ancestors, right?
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Secondly, although Empress Wu Zetian was a good emperor at that time, the common people generally believed that the world should still be governed by the descendants of the Li family. At that time, when Wu Zetian became the emperor, there were a large number of people who were dissatisfied with the Wu family. Although the courtiers in the court appeared to submit to Wu Zetian on the surface, Wu Zetian was also very clear about their intentions behind the scenes. If Wu Zetian passes away at this time, and there is no strong willed figure in the Wu family like her, then after the descendants of the Li family become emperors again, the Wu family will suffer a catastrophic disaster. It was precisely because of this reason that Wu Zetian had to return the throne to the descendants of the Li family.
▲ Related paintings of Empress Wu Zetian and her ministers
In addition, Empress Wu Zetian returned the throne to the descendants of the Li family, which to some extent followed the trend of history. In ancient feudal society, it was widely believed that women should take care of their husbands and children at home, and the emperor was naturally held by men. Although Empress Wu Zetian was already an emperor in name, people subconsciously believed that women could not be emperors. Wu Zetian was also one of the top people of that era, how could she not understand this historical trend? Wu Zetian understood that she could not resist the tide of history with her own strength, and her own ideas had already been realized. So, what’s the harm in returning the throne to the descendants of the Li family?
Finally, Wu Zetian did not want to cause chaos in the world. Wu Zetian was well aware that while she was still alive, there was a balance of power between the Wu family and the Li family. However, if she passed away, the Wu family would lose its strongest pillar. If the heirs to the throne were still the Wu family, the Li family would inevitably rebel. The reason why the Wu family can compete with the Li family is simply because of the existence of Wu Zetian. If Wu Zetian is no longer around, then the Wu family has no chance of winning against the Li family. So later, Emperor Tang Zhongzong Li Xian ascended to the throne.
▲ Illustrations related to ancient warfare
And most importantly, in the process of competing for the throne, war is bound to break out between the Wu and Li families, and the world will be in chaos. This is something that an emperor does not want to see. Moreover, if one voluntarily hands over the throne, in the future when the Li family deals with the Wu family, they can also show some loyalty and affection.
Conclusion
From the perspective of future generations, Wu Zetian’s approach is undoubtedly very wise, so they also praise her for considering the overall situation. If Wu Zetian remained unwilling to return the throne to the descendants of the Li family, then the arrival of war was inevitable. In that era of male superiority and female inferiority, Wu Zetian could only be an exception. Apart from her, no other woman could become a female emperor. So Wu Zetian was a wise person, full of foresight in dealing with this issue. However, no matter what, being able to become the only female emperor in a feudal society where men were superior and women were inferior, Wu Zetian deserves everyone’s admiration for this alone.
Reference: Wu Zetian
