Only one woman in Chinese history declared herself emperor of her own dynasty.
How did Empress Wu rise from concubine to ruler?
And why did Tang cultural achievements reach their peak precisely when centralized political control was fragmenting?
Empress Wu's Rise
IMAGE PLACEHOLDER
"Empress Wu Zetian portrait"
National Palace Museum
From concubine to emperor in stages:
Started as concubine to Emperor Gaozong
Convinced emperor to demote empress, promote her
Dark legend: smothered own daughter to frame empress
665: When Gaozong had stroke, Wu made decisions "from behind screen"
Performed earth sacrifice at Mount Tai (complementing yang with yin)
Emperor Wu of Zhou: 690-705
683: Gaozong dies; Wu controls court through sons
684-690: Deposes two sons in succession
690: Declares herself emperor of new Zhou Dynasty (age 65)
705: Forced to abdicate at age 80; dies same year
Her Methods:
Used Buddhism to legitimate rule (Great Cloud Sutra prophecy)
Expanded examination system, brought new men into government
Patronized Longmen cave temples
Created new characters for Chinese script
Buddhism and Female Power
A Buddhist text, the Great Cloud Sutra, prophesied that a female bodhisattva would be reborn as a female universal monarchāWu used this to justify her rule.
Why Buddhism Worked:
Confucianism assumed male rulers; Buddhism offered alternatives
Buddhist patronage created loyal monks who supported her
Longmen caves proclaimed her legitimacy in stone
Universal monarch (Cakravartin) could be any gender in Buddhist thought
āø Pause & Process #1
Gender and Power
Quick Write (2 min):
Why was Empress Wu's gender such a challenge to Confucian ideology?
How did she use Buddhism to solve this problem?
What does her reign tell us about the flexibility of Chinese political culture?
712-756: After period of female power and factionalism
Early Reign (Activist Reformer):
Curbed monastery power
New census to shore up equal-field system
Set up frontier military provinces with professional armies
Cultural Court:
Poetry, painting, music thrived
Poet Li Bai served at court
Horse painter Han Gan
Interest in Daoism and Tantric Buddhism
Tang Poetry: The Golden Age
Li Bai (701-762)
Light-hearted celebration
Wine, friendship, nature
Daoist imagery
"Poetry immortal"
Du Fu (712-770)
Moral voice
Protesting injustice
"Confucian poet"
Witnessed An Lushan chaos
48,000 poems by 2,200 poets survive from Tang
Du Fu: Witness to Catastrophe
"A hundred years, a lifetime's troubles, grief beyond enduring.
Mansions of counts and princes all have new masters.
The civil and army uniforms differ from olden times.
Straight north past the fortified mountains kettledrums are thundering..."
ā Du Fu, "Autumn Meditation" (after the rebellion)
Du Fu's poetry documented the human cost of the An Lushan Rebellionādisplacement, loss, suffering. His work is valued for both literary brilliance and historical witness.
Spent more time with Yang Guifei (favorite concubine)
Her relatives gained enormous power
Frontier military provinces commanded by professional armies
General An Lushan commanded 100,000+ troops in northeast
Rivalry between An Lushan and Yang Guifei's cousin
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An Lushan (703-757)
Half-Sogdian, half-Turk professional soldier who rose to command Tang frontier armies.
Background: Born on frontier, spoke multiple languages, understood both Chinese and steppe cultures. Rose through military ranks to become favorite of Xuanzong.
Power: By 755, commanded three frontier commands with over 160,000 troopsāthe largest military force in the empire.
Rebellion: Quarrel with Yang Guifei's cousin led to open warfare. His veterans struck toward the capitals. He declared himself emperor of new Yan dynasty.
The An Lushan Rebellion: 755-763
755: An Lushan rebels with frontier army
756: Luoyang falls; veterans march on Chang'an
756: Xuanzong flees west; troops mutiny, kill Yang Guifei
756: Heir apparent declares himself emperor
757: An Lushan murdered by his own son
757: Tang calls on Uighurs to retake Chang'an (Uighurs loot it)
763: Rebellion finally suppressed
Estimated death toll: millions. The most destructive rebellion in Chinese history to that point.
Yang Guifei's Death
As Xuanzong fled west, his troops mutinied and demanded the execution of Yang Guifei and her relatives. The emperor had no choiceāhis guards killed the Yang family. Yang Guifei was strangled at a postal station.
This scene became one of the most famous in Chinese literature:
Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" immortalized their love
Blamed the woman for the emperor's failures (Confucian pattern)
But also celebrated their tragic romance
āø Pause & Process #2
Understanding "Decline"
Partner Discussion:
The An Lushan Rebellion killed millions and devastated China.
Yet historians say we shouldn't view "late Tang" simply as dynastic decline.
Why might that be? What continued or even flourished after the rebellion?
2 min discuss | 2 min share | 1 min synthesis
After the Rebellion: A Different Tang
What Collapsed
Equal-field system
Fubing militia
Centralized control
Court power over provinces
What Flourished
Poetry (Du Fu, Bai Juyi)
Trade (salt monopoly revenue)
Regional diversity
Buddhist culture
Regional military governors (jiedushi) held real power. The court survived by letting them govern themselves.
Late Tang Culture
Bai Juyi (772-846): Accessible poetry, huge output
Tang tales: Classical fiction with love stories, supernatural themes
Buddhism deeply embedded in daily life
845: Buddhist persecution (but Buddhism survived)
Han Yu: Confucian revival, "ancient style" prose
Key Insight:
Tang cultural achievements peaked AFTER political centralization collapsed. Culture and political power don't always correlate.
The late Tang saw both Buddhist flourishing AND Confucian revivalācultural ferment, not simple decline.
Tang's End: 907
The Tang dynasty formally ended in 907, but had been hollow for decades:
Regional military governors effectively independent
Eunuchs controlled palace and killed/made emperors
Huang Chao Rebellion (875-884) devastated south
Last Tang emperor forced to abdicate to warlord
Followed by Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
But Tang's cultural legacy endured: poetry, legal codes, examination system, cosmopolitan idealāall continued to shape East Asia.
Key Terms for Lecture 3
Empress Wu ā female emperor
Zhou Dynasty ā Wu's dynasty name
Xuanzong ā High Tang emperor
Yang Guifei ā famous concubine
An Lushan ā rebel general
Li Bai ā "poetry immortal"
Du Fu ā "Confucian poet"
Bai Juyi ā late Tang poet
Han Yu ā Confucian revivalist
Jiedushi ā military governors
Closing: The Tang Legacy
The Tang created institutional frameworks and cultural achievements that defined Chinese civilization for centuriesāeven as political unity fragmented.
The dynasty limped on until 907, but the China that emerged was profoundly transformed: more commercial, more regionally diverse, and ironically more culturally vibrant.
Big Question Answered:
Why did cultural achievements peak when political control fragmented?
Because centralized power isn't the only source of cultural creativity. Regional diversity, commercial growth, and religious competition all fostered innovation.