Wu Zetian: From Age Three to Eighty-Two (6-Volume Set)

Wu Zetian's journey from empress dowager to emperor begins here!

If fate refuses to create a great Wu Zetian, then the great Wu Zetian will create her own destiny.

Wu Zetian lived for 82 years. During the first 31, she was caught in a maelstrom of political power struggles, fighting her way from palace maid to empress just to survive. For the next 51 years, she unleashed storms of bloodshed, using the imperial robes to secure her own safety.

Every crisis Wu Zetian faced became a stepping stone on her path to the throne.

At three, she was a merchant's daughter, hailed as “the ruler of all under heaven” after the fortune-teller Yuan Tiangang read her face. At 25, after ten years in the palace, she went from Taizong's sickbed to the crown prince's bed. At 27, confined to a Buddhist convent, she nevertheless managed to rekindle her relationship with the new emperor. At 31, she risked everything and won the deadly battle to become empress. At 36, she governed in Gaozong's stead, gradually taking power into her own hands. At 59, she seized control of the court, eliminating the imperial clan with one hand and cultivating new forces with the other. At 67, she accepted the pleas of her officials and ascended the throne, beginning 14 years of a magnificent reign as empress. At 82, she abdicated and was honored by her political foes as “Emperor Zetian Dasheng.” Her rule ushered in the opening of the High Tang, and she left behind a wordless monument after her death.

Throughout her 82 years, Wu Zetian lived every day on the edge of death, yet won every battle she fought.