Last modified March 17, 2016. emperor angelfish (Pomecanthus imperator) See CHAETODONTIDAE. She installed a series of copper boxes in the capital in which citizens could post anonymous denunciations of one another, and passed legislation, R.W.L. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. She ordered the executions of several hundred of these aristocrats and of many members of the imperial family of Li. Gaozong divorced his wife, barred her mother from the palace, and exiled Lady Xiao. Chapter 2 SOURCES FOR THE LIFE AND CAREER OF WU TSE-T'IEN The chief primary sources for the life of the Empress Wu are her annals in the two dynastic histories of the T'ang, her biography in the New T'ang History, and the numerous references to her in Ssu-ma Kuang's Comprehensive Mirror.^ In some of the large official compilations of later ages, Unknown, . (He would camp out in the palace grounds, Clements notes, barbecuing sheep.) Cheng-qian was banished for attempted revolt, while a dissolute brother who had agreed to take part in the rebellionso long, Clements adds, as he was permitted sexual access to every musician and dancer in the palace, male or femalewas invited to commit suicide, and another of Taizongs sons was disgraced for his involvement in a different plot. Although this system opened government positions to a wider group than ever before, in the final stages of the process candidates continued to be judged on their appearance and speech. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University. In 705, Wu Zetian's grandson, the later Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712756), slaughtered the Zhang brothers in spite of Wu Zetian's protest and forced her to return the Li-Tang imperial family to power. Even if she took full advantage, however, she must have possessed not only looks but remarkable intelligence and determination to emerge, as she did two decades later, as empress. The mute and limbless concubine was then tossed into a cesspit in the palace with the swine. Wu Zetian was in effect taking the unprecedented step of transforming her position from empress dowager to emperor. She herself would thus be seen as a restorationist of the Zhou Dynasty, with the Wu family replacing the Li-Tang family. Under Xuanzong's reign, China became the most affluent country in the world at the time. Traditionally, only the emperor, as the son-of-heaven, could communicate with heaven and carry out sacrifices to heaven and earth. When he fell out of favor, he burned the building to the ground. R. W. L. Guisso, Wu Tse-ten and the Politics of Legitimation in Tang China (Bellingham: Western Washington University, 1978). This page titled 4.16: Links to Primary Sources is shared under a CC BY-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by George Israel (University System of Georgia via GALILEO Open Learning Materials) . Sunzi/Sun Wu, Eastern Zhou Period (770-221 BCE) Selections from the Sunzi: Art of War [PDF] Agriculture, Han Period. During her reign she ordered the erection of temples in every province to explain the Dayunjingy which predicted the emergence of a female world ruler seven hundred years after the passing of the Buddha. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. One of the most powerful champions of Buddhism in China was the Empress Wu Zetian. had been organized in a systematic way by the year 669. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. In 697 CE, Wu's hold on power began to slip when she became more paranoid and began spending more time with her young lovers than on ruling China. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. She was the daughter of Wu Shihuo, a chancellor of the Tang Dynasty. Traders from the Mediterranean and Persia also came from both the overland and maritime trade routes, where Buddhism and Central Asian culture, dress, and music reached China. No contemporary image of the empress exists. She was also assured that her sons would rule the country after the death of her husband. Taizong forced the abdication of his own father and disposed of two older brothers in hand-to-hand combat before seizing the throne. By the fourth century CE, the Roman Empire was at the apex of its power and strength. Ouyang, Xiu. In defiance of convention Emperor Gaozong started an affair with her, and she bore him a son in 652. Wu (she is always known by her surname) has every claim to be considered a great empress. 04 Mar 2023. Unlike most young girls in China at this time, Wu was encouraged by her father to read and write and develop the intellectual skills which were traditionally reserved for males. The earliest sources on Wu Zetian already contained rumors of sex scandals in her court. After Gaozongs death, in 683, she remained the power behind the throne as dowager empress, manipulating a succession of her sons before, in 690, ordering the last of them to abdicate and taking power herself. A Japanese example: In the late 7th century, Japans Emperor Shomu and Empress Komyo both were involved in Buddhist buildings. Unknown, . "Kao-tsung and the Empress Wu," in Denis Twitchett, ed. 04 Mar 2023. Patronage of Buddhism. Not the United States, of course, but one thinks readily enough of Hatshepsut of ancient Egypt, Russias astonishing Catherine the Great, or Trung Tracof Vietnam. When Taizong died, Wu and his other concubines had their heads shaved and were sent to Ganye Temple to begin their lives as nuns. And does she deserve the harsh verdict that history has passed on her? After Wu's death, Zhongzong reigned but only in name; real power was held by Lady Wei who used Wu Zetian as a role model to manipulate her husband and the court. China during Wu Zetian's ReignIan Kiu (CC BY-SA). She was the last wife and the only empress of Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu Han, and a younger sister of Wu Yi . Wu Zetian was born in Wenshi County, Shanxi Province, in 624 CE to a wealthy family. On the question of succession after her death, Wu Zetian entertained notions of an heir from a Wu and Li marriage. The spirit road causeway to Wus still-unopened tomb lies between two low rises, tipped by watchtowers, known as the nipple hills.. Her patronage of Buddhism also expanded to other temples and sects, and much work was done on the cave temples at Longmen on her orders. It may be helpful to consider that there were in effect two empressesthe one who maintained a reign of terror over the innermost circle of government, and the one who ruled more benignly over 50 million Chinese commoners. Your Privacy Rights To consolidate her power, in 657 Wu designated Luoyang as a second capital. We are told that through cruel manipulations, including strangulating her own infant daughter to falsely implicate Gaozong's then current barren empress, Wu Zetian replaced her as empress in 657 and dominated the rest of Gaozong's reign. None of these actions, though, would have attracted criticism had she been a man. ." Pronunciation: Woo-jeh-ten. While Confucian historians condemned her usurpation, extravagance, and scandal, Wu Zhao has been credited for providing strong leadership and ruling during an age of relative peace and prosperity. False: In fact, the Roman Empire was in decline at this time. Rothschild describes a confrontation which reflects the feelings of majority of those at court. First emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Quin Shi Huang-di (259 B.C.-210 B.C.) Lineage Her experience reflected a reversal of the gender roles and restrictions her society and government constructed for her as appropriate to women. Meanwhile, the Turks invaded Gansu, and the Tibetans posed a threat to Chinese possessions in Central Asia. The efficiency of her court declined as she spent more and more time with the Zhang brothers and became addicted to different kinds of aphrodisiacs. Wu Zetian came to the throne when she was 67, making her the oldest person ever be crowned. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. A third problem is that the empress, who was well aware of both these biases, was not averse to tampering with the record herself; a fourth is that some other accounts of her reign were written by relatives who had good cause to loathe her. Princess Taiping had shielded Li Longji from her mother when he was young and supported him in his efforts to take the throne. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). She then began to plot against Gaozongs consort, Empress Wang, incriminating the empress in the death of Wus infant daughter. Empress Wu was buried in a tomb in Qian County, Shanxi Province, alongside Gaozong. This is very similar to the story of the Empress Lu Zhi (l. 241-180 BCE) of the Han Dynasty who got rid of her rival Qizi in the same way (although Qizi was drowned in a pigsty and had her eyes gouged out as well). When Taizong died, Gaozong became emperor, and Wu Zetian joined a Buddhist nunnery, as required of concubines of deceased emperors. RELIGION AS A PERCENTAGE OF WORLD POPULATION: 0.1 percent Even though there were many important and influential women throughout China's history, only one ever became the most powerful political figure in the country. 181. Buddhism was carried into East Asia by merchants and Buddhist monks traveling the Silk Road from Northern India, Persia, Kashmir and Inner Asia. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. The insurrections had received little popular support and in the years that she dominated politics as empress, empress dowager, and finally as emperor, there were no widespread military unrests. Not only do we pay for our servers, but also for related services such as our content delivery network, Google Workspace, email, and much more. This spy system served her well in giving her early warning of any plots in the making and enabled her to take care of threats to her reign before they became actual problems. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Your Majesty may take this as 'Mount Felicity', but your subject feels there is nothing to celebrate. Thank you for your help! Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/empress-wu-wu-zhao. Historians remain divided as to how far Wu benefited from the removal of these potential obstacles; what can be said is that her third son, who succeeded his father as Emperor Zhongzong in 684, lasted less than two months before being banished, at his mothers instigation, in favor of the more tractable fourth, Ruizong. 23 Feb. 2023
. Empress Dowager. The area around Changan could not produce the amount of food required to feed the court and garri-sons, and the transportation of grain up the Yellow River, traversing the Sanmen rapids, was exceptionally expensive. 127148. Empress Wu is the only female to have ever ruled in her own name in China. Most nations of note have had at least one great female leader. Wu Zetian was one of the longest-lived monarchs (82 years old) in Chinese history. Wu Zhao viewed the situation differently: she claimed the mountain was a good omen which reflected the Buddhist mountain of paradise, Sumeru. Born: February 17, 624 Lizhou, China Died: December 16, 705 in Luoyang, China Reign: October 16, 690 to February 22, 705 Best known for: The only woman to be Emperor of China Biography: Empress Wu Zetian by Unknown [Public Domain] Growing Up Wu Zetian was born on February 17, 624 in Lizhou, China. Shanghai: Sibu congkan ed., 1929. Born ne Wu (first name at birth not known) in 624 in Taiyuan, Shanxi province; died in 705 in Luoyang, Henan province; daughter of a high-ranking official, Wu Shihuo, and his aristocratic wife; married Emperor Taizong (r. 626649), in 640 (died 649); married Emperor Gaozong (r. 650683), in 654; children: (second marriage) Crown Prince Li Hong; Crown Prince Li Xian; Emperor Zhongzong; Emperor Ruizong; Princess Taiping ; another daughter (died in infancy). The emperor believed her story, and Wang was demoted and imprisoned in a distant part of the palace, soon to be joined by the Pure Concubine. Luoyang was favorably located on the last stop of the river routes from the South, which greatly reduced the cost of shipping grains from the Southeast to the imperial capital. A history known as the Comprehensive Mirror records that, during the 690s, 36 senior bureaucrats were executed or forced to commit suicide, and a thousand members of their families enslaved. Empress Wu Zetian (Empress Consort Wu, Wu Hou, Wu Mei Niang, Mei-Niang, and Wu Zhao, l. 624-705 CE, r. 690-704 CE) was the only female emperor of Imperial China. One of these served as her new personal name, Zhao, which articulates the fundamental Buddhist notion of universal emptiness. Wu Zetian turned to the Buddhist establishment to rationalize her position. Wu Zetian is believed to have been born in Wenshi County, Shanxi Province around 624 CE. Wu began her life at court taking care of the royal laundry but one day dared to speak to the emperor when they were alone and talked about Chinese history. Although Wu's account claims that Lady Wang murdered her daughter, later Chinese historians all agree that Wu was the murderer and she killed her child to frame Lady Wang. Why should you weep for me?" She also organized military campaigns against Korea in 668 CE which were so effective that they reduced Korea to the status of a vassal state. Running a website with millions of readers every month is expensive. Beginning in 660 CE, Wu was effectively the emperor of China. She carefully eliminated any potential enemies from the court and had Lady Wang and Lady Xiao killed after they had gone into exile. We would much rather spend this money on producing more free history content for the world. The baby was strangled in her crib and Wu claimed that Lady Wang had killed her because she was jealous. Removing the legitimate heir, she took the name of Emperor Zetian and founded the Zhou dynasty in 690, becoming the first and only female emperor in Chinese history. . In 704 CE, court officials could no longer tolerate Wu's behavior and had the Zhang brothers murdered. If it still won't be tamed, I'll cut its throat with the knife. ." Her paranoia resulted in a purge of her administration. These monumental statues, like the one carved into the mountain at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, which was destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, alerted the populous to the dominance of Buddhism. Lady Wang had no children and Lady Xiao had a son and two daughters. Political Propaganda and Ideology in China at the End of the Seventh Century. Historical Significance: Empress Wu was very significant in the Tang Dynasty. With her exceptional intelligence, extraordinary competence in politics, and inordinate ambition, she ruled as the "Holy and Divine Emperor" of the Second Zhou Dynasty (690-705) for fifteen years. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Uploaded by Ibolya Horvath, published on 22 February 2016. Empress Wu used the intelligence she gathered to pressure some high-ranking officials who were not performing well to resign; others she simply banished or had executed. I always think that's the most interesting things about primary sources - the bias. Each dynasty was considered a new beginning and when Wu changed the name from Tang to Zhou she was following this tradition but went further to make it clear that she was the beginning of a completely new era by calling her reign Tianzhou ('granted by heaven'). His rule covered a span of 63 years, a reign lo, Zhao Kuang-yin He refused to cooperate well with his mother and his wife, Lady Wei, assumed too much power. How did she hold on to power? As an effective woman ruler, she challenged the traditional patriarchical dominance of power, state, sovereignty, monarchy, and political ideology. Lady Wu played the role of the shy, respectable emperor's wife well in public but, behind the scenes, she was the actual power. She contended with petitions against female dominance which argued that her unnatural position as emperor had caused several earthquakes to occur and reports being filed of hens turning into roosters. One of the brothers, she declared, had a face as beautiful as a lotus flower, while it is said she valued the other for his talents in the bedchamber. The reversal of gender roles was nowhere more objectionable than Wu Zetian's sexuality, in the eyes of the traditional historians. The Story Of Wu Zetian, China's First Female Emperor, The Demonization of Empress Wu by Mike Dash, The Karmic Retribution of Pei Huaigu by Kelly Carlton (University of Florida), Wu Zetian: China's One and Only Woman Emperor by Jim Down. Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter! No-one knows what secrets it holds, for like many of the tombs of the most celebrated Chinese rulers, including that of the First Emperor himself, it has never been plundered or opened by archaeologists. She commissioned statues of the Maitreya in the Longmen Caves outside Luoyang. Her social, economic and judicial views could hardly be termed advanced, and her politics differed from those of her predecessors chiefly in their greater pragmatism and ruthlessness. Even the terror of the 680s, in this view, was a logical response to entrenched bureaucratic opposition to Wus rule. The Empress Wu Zetian (690-704 CE) is the only female ruler in the history of China. 1, 1993, pp. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. The Tang Dynasty also witnessed significant military, political, and social changes, as reflected in the transformation of an aristocracy into a meritocracy from the 7th to the 10th centuries. The Woman Who Discovered Printing. Economic considerations also played a role in this relocation. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. 6, no. The Analects of Confucius Primary Source Activity - Google Drive - Print & Digital. Guisso, Richard W.L. A huge stele was erected outside the tomb, as was customary, which later historians were supposed to inscribe with Empress Wu's great deeds but the marker remains blank. While functioning and surviving in the male-ruled and power-focused domain, she exhibited strengths traditionally attributed to men, including political ambition, long-range vision, skillful diplomacy, power drive, decisive resolve, shrewd observation, talented organization, hard work, and firm dispensal of cruelty. Wu probably did dispose of several members of her own family, and she ordered the deaths of a number of probably innocent ministers and bureaucrats. Her extravagant construction projects and expensive frontier campaigns had exhausted the treasury, which led to a financial crisis. She was painted as a usurper who was both physically cruel and erotically wanton; she first came to prominence, it was hinted, because she was willing to gratify certain ofthe Taizong emperors more unusual sexual appetites. She reformed the structure of the government and got rid of anyone she felt was not carrying out their duties and so reduced government spending and increased efficiency. McMullen, David. 22 Feb. 2023 . One reason, as we have already had cause to note in this blog, is the official nature and lack of diversity among the sources that survive for early Chinese history; another is that imperial history was written to provide lessons for future rulers, and as such tended to be weighted heavily against usurpers (which Wu was) and anyone who offended the Confucian sensibilities of the scholars who labored over them (which Wu did simply by being a woman). What role, if any, the undeniably ambitious concubine played in the events of the early Tang period remains a matter of controversy. 7789. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1994, pp. Her daunting task was convincing the Confucian establishment about the legitimate succession of a woman who was the widow of the deceased emperor and the mother of the currently legitimate ruler. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Wu Zetian. But if she is observed in the context of the sexuality of male rulers, then the number of her favorites is insignificant. Empress Lu Zhi (241-180 B.C.) Jiu Tangshu [Old history of the Tang]. However, when Li Zhi became emperor and took the name Gaozong, one of the first things he did was send for Wu and have her brought back to court as the first of his concubines, even though he had others and also a wife. Encyclopedia.com. Shortly after she took the throne there was an earthquake which was interpreted as a bad omen. Her travel writing debuts in Timeless Travels Magazine. It was used for religious rites supervised by her lover Xue Huaiyi. These criteria no doubt favored the aristocratic families. In their place, she appointed intellectuals and talented bureaucrats without regard to family status or connections. She was in very poor health anyway by this time and died a year later. But already in 666 when Wu Zetian was empress to the reigning Gaozong, she had prepared for her imperial ambitions by defying tradition and mockery as she led the unprecedented procession of imperial ladies to sacrifice to earth, believed to be a female deity. In 690 C.E., Zetian forced Li Dan to abdicate the throne to her, and declared herself the founding empress of the Zhou dynasty. She could not become an emperor under the Tang Dynasty because of the long tradition of male succession and the fact that she was not a member of the imperial family by birth. 21/11/2022. In 652 CE, Wu gave birth to a son, Li Hong, and in 653 CE had another son, Li Xian. Chen, Jo-shui. Van Gulik, Robert. Became concubine to Emperor Taizong (640); entered Buddhist nunnery (649); returned to the palace as concubine (654), then as empress (657) to Taizong's son Emperor Gaozong; became empress dowager and regent to her two sons (68489); founded a dynasty (Zhou, 690705) and ruled as emperor for 15 years. Wu was the daughter of Wu Jin, a commoner in Kaifeng. She was also able to re-open the Silk Road, which had been closed because of the plague of 682 CE and later raids by nomads. Her spy network and secret police stopped rebellions before they had a chance to start and the military campaigns she sent out enlarged and secured the borders of the country. Her Buddhist supporters interpreted the Madamegha (Great Cloud) sutra to predict a maitreya Buddha (Buddha-to-come) in female form, presumably Wu Zetian herself, who would embody the concept of the cakravartin (wheel-turner, universal emperor, or the ideal man who is king). In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1989, pp. However they rose, though, it has always been harder for a woman to rule effectively than it was for a manmore so in the earlier periods of history, when monarchs were first and foremost military leaders, and power was often seized by force. Gaozong had caught a disease which affected his eyes (possibly a stroke) and needed to have reports read to him. Although she gave political clout to some women, such as her capable secretary, she did not go as far as challenging the Confucian tradition of excluding women from participating in the civil service examinations. ." Modern popular novels and plays, in Chinese, Japanese, and English, also exaggerate the sexual aspect of her rule. When she died, she was laid to rest in an elaborate tomb in the countryside about 50 miles north of the then capital, Xian. Functioning in a male-oriented patriarchy, Wu Zetian was painstakingly aware of the gender taboos she had to break in political ideology and social norm. This was a common practice after the death of the emperor. In 654 CE, Wu had a daughter who died soon after birth. (2016, February 22). The only woman ever to rule as emperor of China, Wu Zhao (Wu ZeTian) was born in 624 C.E. Her success in the campaigns against Korea inspired confidence in her generals and Wu's decisions on military defense or expeditions were never challenged. Gaozongs third son succeeded to the throne in 683 after his death, but Empress Wu became the empress dowager in a few months, after forcing the young emperor to abdicate. The political success of Wu Zetian indicates that the attributes needed in diplomacy and rulership were not restricted to men. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. The Shiji Thus Wu Zetian's experience might have caused some redefinition of gender in her time, but this direction has not translated into enduring gains in the society and political organization that she left behind. New Haven: YUP, 2008; Jonathan Clements. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2007; Dora Shu-Fang Dien, Empress Wu Zetian in Fiction and in History: Female Defiance in Confucian China. Tang China during the 7th century was a period of military strength and cultural attainments, its empire stretching into Central Asia and Southwest Asia and ruled by the Li-Tang imperial family from the capital city of Xi'an (Xian), Shanxi province. From 697 onward she found it so diffi-cult to win support that she attempted to return the throne to her son Zhongzong. 1, Sui and T'ang, pp. When Gaozong suffered a stroke in 660, the empress made herself the ruler. Hauppauge : Nova Science Publishers, 2003; Richard Guisso, Wu Tse-Tien and the Politics of Legitimation in Tang China. She worked against the Confucian dictum that women must restrict their activities to the home and in the wildest imagination could not become emperors. It could also be, like it was in Egypt after Queen Hatshepsut's reign, that no one in power wanted to record the reign of a woman and hoped that Empress Wu would be forgotten. Her reign was peaceful and prosperous; she introduced the meritocratic system of entrance examinations for the imperial bureaucracy that survived into the 20th century, avoided wars and welcomed ambassadors from as far away as the Byzantine Empire. These characters were supposed to replace between 10 and 30 of the older characters and were Wu's attempt to change the way her people thought and wrote. Vol. Mark, Emily. Historians have documented Wu Zetian's resort to slander, torture, and murders to reinforce the propaganda of omens. She also reformed the department of agriculture and the system of taxation by rewarding officials who produced the greatest amount of crops and taxed their people the least. Ruthless and decisive, she stabilized and consolidated the Tang dynasty at a time when it appeared to be crumblinga significant achievement, since the Tang period is reckoned the golden age of Chinese civilization. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/4558/empress-wu-zetian/. In preparing for the legitimacy of her emperorship, she claimed the Zhou Dynasty (1045256 bce) and its founders among her own ancestors. Nevertheless, the legitimation was not without problems, and there was continued resistance from among the high officials who collaborated with the Li-Tang crown princes, princes, and princesses to get her dismissed as empress in 674 and dethroned as de facto ruler in 684, but both events failed. Empress Wu, or Wu Zhao, challenged the patriarchal system by advocating womens intellectual development and sexual freedom. We care about our planet! The critical Anderson concedes that, under Wu, military expenses were reduced, taxes cut, salaries of deserving officials raised, retirees given a viable pension, and vast royal lands near the capital turned over to husbandry.. Wu also learned to play music, write poetry, and speak well in public. Explaining why the empress was so reviled, then, means acknowledging the double standard that existedand still existswhen it comes to assessing male and female rulers. Changing the dynasty was the easier task and was accomplished by securing the approval of the Confucian establishment. "Wu Zetian." Alternate Names Ho-shen (1750-1799) was a high Manchu official in the government of the Ch'ing dynasty in China and a close associate of Emperor Ch'ien-lung.. Her courtiers, however, hatched a plot and afterward forced her to abdicate in 705; she died later that year. To ensure the security of her new reign she had any members of the Tang Dynasty royal family imprisoned (including the future emperor Xuanzong) and proclaimed herself an incarnation of the Maitreya Buddha, calling herself Empress Shengsen which means 'Holy Spirit'. Neither of these boys was a threat to Lady Wang or Lady Xiao because Gaozong had already chosen a successor; his chancellor Liu Shi was Lady Wang's uncle, and Gaozong appointed Liu Shi's son, Li Zhong, as heir. Liu, Xu. She changed the compulsory mourning period for mothers who predeceased fathers from the traditional one year to three yearsthe same length as the mourning for fathers who predeceased mothers. Her reign witnessed a healthy growth in the population; when she died in 705 her centralized bureaucracy regulated the social life and economic well-being of the 60 million people in the empire. According to almost all her biographers, she was extremely cruel in her personal life, murdering two sons, a daughter, sister, niece, grandchildren, and many Li and Wu princes and princesses who opposed her.
Wuollet Bakery Lawsuit,
Characters Named Penelope,
Colchester, Vt Police Logs,
Our Town Realty Belleville, Il,
Articles E