Empress Wu Zetian: Iron-Blooded Officials and Political Schemes (Part One)

This book explores stories of the empress Wu Zetian's wisdom, her ability to recognize and appoint capable people, and her efforts to govern the country. Wu Zetian was from Wenshui, Bingzhou, now Wenshui County in Shanxi Province. She was the second daughter of Wu Shihuo, a founding hero of the Tang dynasty, and the empress of Emperor Gaozong, Li Zhi. After assisting in governing the court for 30 years, she took the throne herself, proclaimed herself the “Emperor of the Divine and Sagely,” and changed the dynasty's name to Zhou. She became the only female emperor in the history of imperial China, a distinction never before or since matched.