Hello everyone, this is the editor of History Encyclopedia. Today, I will tell you the story of Wu Zetian’s successor. Welcome to follow us. Wu Sansi was also the most suitable successor for Wu Zetian in the beginning. Why did Wu Zetian exclude him in the end?
There are many examples of women in the imperial harem participating in politics in history, even Xiaozhuang, who made contributions to the Qing Dynasty, has been involved in politics for many years. However, only Wu Zetian was able to become an emperor on her own, daring to be the first in the world and leaving the most distinctive mark for women in the long river of history.
But in the end, Wu Zetian did not leave the throne to the Wu family, nor did she pass it on to her own daughter, but returned it to Li Tang. Was it due to Wu Zetian’s limited means? Or are historical laws irreversible?
Image: Still of Empress Wu Zetian, who declared herself emperor
1、 Wu Zetian’s successor
In terms of candidates, Wu Zetian did not lack heirs at that time. Whether it was her family or her own biological children, she could choose the most outstanding heirs, but she was not very satisfied with these three choices.
1. Wu Sansi
Wu Sansi once believed himself to be the best heir to the “aunt” throne, with the same surname Wu and ambitious ambitions. Wu Zetian’s ascension to the throne was largely due to the contribution of the Wu family. Therefore, when Wu Zetian stepped onto the political stage, Wu Sansi was equally uneasy.
Image: Still of Wu Sansi
In the following years, Wu Sansi worked tirelessly to become an emperor one day. At the beginning, Empress Wu Zetian limited the scope of the crown prince to her own sons, so Li Xian was ordered by her to change his surname to “Wu” and become the crown prince. As a result, Wu Sansi couldn’t sit still.
Wu Sansi and some officials in the court who supported him jointly persuaded Wu Zetian to depose the crown prince and establish the Wu surname as the successor, which is the right path. In fact, Wu Zetian really wavered.
Due to her mother’s excessive dominance, Wu Zetian’s only surviving sons, Li Xian and Li Dan, were both too cowardly in character and were not the best candidates for the emperor. And Wu Sansi had ambition, courage to do things, and was also her own nephew. Thinking of this, Wu Zetian immediately made up her mind to make Wu Sansi the crown prince.
Unexpectedly, this idea was strongly opposed by several ministers such as Di Renjie. Although Wu Zetian punished and exiled a group of officials as a result, the idea of appointing Wu Sansi as the crown prince was ultimately not realized.
2. Princess Taiping
The glory and honor she received were unmatched by any princess of any dynasty, and Princess Taiping was also entrusted with infinite expectations by Empress Wu Zetian.
According to historical records, Princess Taiping was lively and outgoing from a young age, with strong opinions, especially in politics. She inherited her mother’s sensitivity and talent, and had unique political views on some issues in the court.
Therefore, Princess Taiping was involved in political affairs during her boudoir period, and in such an environment, she easily had access to the core of political power. She also had a group of loyal supporters of her own.
Princess Taiping becoming the successor of Empress Wu Zetian, whether at that time or now, should be the most reliable approach in people’s eyes. Allowing her daughter to inherit the throne was the most natural way for Empress Wu Zetian to pass on the throne, and it also made the succession of Princess Taiping more orthodox.
Anyway, she is also a descendant of Li Tang. As long as the civil officials and ministers operate, Princess Taiping’s accession to the throne can still be justified in history. So, Princess Taiping at that time was also one of the heirs considered by Empress Wu Zetian.
Image sourced from the internet: Princess Taiping
3. Li Xian
Another heir considered by Wu Zetian was Li Xian. Although Wu Zetian had many sons, those who lived to the end were not the most outstanding. The eldest son, Li Hong, was crowned Crown Prince during the reign of Emperor Gaozong and unfortunately passed away at a young age.
According to unofficial sources, at that time, Empress Wu Zetian had already begun planning to take power, and removing Li Hong was inevitable. Therefore, the Crown Prince was poisoned and killed by Empress Wu Zetian herself. We do not know the truth, but later Li Xian also died tragically, putting the remaining Li Xian and Li Dan in a precarious situation.
Li Dan started designing and pretending to be crazy and foolish early on, deviating from the reference range of the heir and staying away from the political center. Li Xian was selected by Wu Zetian and became one of the candidates for the heir.
Image: Still of Li Xian pretending to be crazy and foolish
At this time, Li Xian was in unbearable pain, and Wu Zetian was equally conflicted. Under Wu Zetian’s suppression, Li Xian dared not show too much sharpness and was cautious all day long, which was still a thorn in Wu Zetian’s eyes.
She forced Li Xian to change his surname to Wu, but she couldn’t change the fact that Li Xian had the legitimate blood of Li Tang flowing in his body. Once Li Xian ascended to the throne, changing back to the Li dynasty would be a matter of minutes, and his hard-earned world might be in vain.
Therefore, facing these three candidates, Wu Zetian was also unable to make a decision for a long time, but what made Wu Zetian most concerned was what would happen after her death.
2、 Who will worship Wu Zetian after death
Wu Zetian ascended the throne at the age of 67 and abdicated at the age of 82. During these ten years, the biggest problem that troubled her was the issue of posthumous worship by her descendants. Although Wu Zetian dared to act boldly and gradually became an empress and emperor from a small talented person, her power strategy made many men feel inferior.
Combined with the innate caution and meticulousness of women, she has crushed countless men in politics. However, if anyone who has read the biography of Empress Wu Zetian knows, she is actually very superstitious.
Although she has become an emperor, the more blood she has been exposed to along the way, the closer she is to retirement, the more worried she is about her future. The most important thing is that she worries that no one will offer her incense after she dies!
At that time, Empress Wu Zetian had already made up her mind to appoint Wu Sansi as the crown prince, but in the end, she was stifled by a carefree question from Di Renjie, which was: Is there a nephew in the world who has been worshipping his aunt for generations?
Image: Still of Empress Wu Zetian in her twilight years
This question reminded Wu Zetian that even though they all had the surname Wu and Wu Sansi was the most legitimate heir, after Wu Sansi became emperor, he worshipped his own parents and ancestors every year in temples and ancestral halls. What is the relationship between them and Wu Zetian? Her name will be removed from the Wu Clan Ancestral Temple sooner or later, which made Wu Zetian firmly exclude Wu Sansi and start to seriously consider her own affairs after death.
This problem that troubled Wu Zetian ultimately interfered with her choice of successor, because from the initial ranking of the best candidates, whether it was Wu Sansi or Princess Taiping, whether they could enshrine themselves for generations to come had already been greatly discounted.
Although it is true that she is her own daughter, according to the character of Princess Taiping, she still identifies herself as a descendant of the Li family. However, she also married someone surnamed Wu. How could her descendants be devoted to worshiping their grandmother?
Image: Still of Ancestor Worship
Due to this huge problem, Wu Zetian was still unable to make up her mind to choose her successor when she was seriously ill at the age of 82. This led to supporters of Li Xian launching a palace coup, allowing Wu Zetian, who was bedridden, to reinstate Li Xian. Tang Zhongzong Li Xian became the ultimate winner in this ten-year succession struggle.
