Today, the History Encyclopedia editor has prepared for you: Wu Zetian and Princess Taiping. Interested friends, come and take a look! Why did Princess Taiping, the daughter of Empress Wu Zetian, fail when she was able to proclaim herself emperor? Where did Princess Taiping fail?
We all know that Princess Taiping has been mentioned in many movies and TV dramas, and she is also a very famous princess in Chinese history.
Princess Taiping’s life was quite legendary. She wanted to emulate her mother and become a female emperor, but this wish never came true throughout her life. So why didn’t she succeed in ascending to the throne and become emperor? There are mainly two reasons.
1. There is no foundation for proclaiming oneself emperor
Princess Taiping did not have the foundation to declare herself emperor like her mother, why do you say that? Because Princess Taiping has never controlled the emperor.
Let’s first take a look at the process of Wu Zetian ascending to the throne and proclaiming herself emperor. Wu Zetian took advantage of Tang Gaozong’s health issues and began to engage in politics, gradually gaining decision-making power over major events in the court.
Then, during the reigns of his sons Tang Zhongzong and Tang Ruizong, he gradually gained control of the imperial power and made his sons puppet emperors.
Next, he used imperial power to eliminate dissidents and asked his ministers to propose making her emperor. In the end, Tang Ruizong felt that being a puppet emperor was boring and took the opportunity to abdicate in favor of Wu Zetian.
Although Princess Taiping became involved in politics after the restoration of Tang Ruizong, he did not hold imperial power and could not control Tang Ruizong, making him a puppet emperor and thus controlling the court. Of course, Tang Ruizong would not abdicate to Princess Taiping, as the ministers would not agree.
During the conflict between Princess Taiping and Li Longji, Tang Ruizong had no choice but to abdicate in favor of his son Li Longji. After Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, Princess Taiping had no ability to control the government.
And at that time, the ministers in the court did not want another empress to appear, so Princess Taiping did not have the basis to declare herself emperor, which was the main reason why she could not become emperor.
2. The method used is not appropriate
Princess Taiping did not have the foundation to declare herself emperor, and she could not hold the court power in the short term, as Li Longji had already ascended to the throne at this time.
Then what shall I do? As a result, she chose an inappropriate method, which was rebellion. But this matter was soon discovered by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, so he took the initiative and eliminated Princess Taiping’s conspiracy, leaving her with no chance.
We never used the tactic of rebellion when we saw Wu Zetian ascend to the throne and become emperor. Instead, she used controlling the emperor to gain control over the court’s affairs, ultimately forcing Tang Ruizong to abdicate in her favor.
That is to say, when Wu Zetian declared herself emperor, she had already gained great power in the court and had the support of a group of ministers. So, Wu Zetian’s reign as emperor was not hindered.
And how can Princess Taiping become an emperor if she neither holds great power nor receives the support of most of her courtiers? However, her excessive desire for power led her to adopt inappropriate methods, which ultimately resulted in her failure and her aunt and nephew turning against each other.
From these, it can be seen that the timing for Princess Taiping to declare herself emperor was not ripe, and there was no foundation. Her forced actions led to the tragedy of the Tang Dynasty royal family.
So, we can clearly recognize that a person cannot aim too high. They should do what they have the ability to, and their desires should be suitable for the level of ability they can bear.
References:
Old Book of Tang, Volume 4/183
New Book of Tang, Biography Eight
Zizhi Tongjian Volume 210
