Wu Zetian, Sacred and Divine Empress of China
Empress Wu
by Anna Kathryn Lanier
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a post using LADIES FIRST: history’s greatest female trailblazers, winners and mavericks by Lynn Santa Lucia. Today, I’m doing one on the only female Empress of China, Wu Zetian. In comparison to her male contemporaries, Wu was not much different from the Emperors, but the fact a woman ruled so ruthlessly adds a new dimension to the story. Wu was not the only woman to rule with an iron-fist, indeed she joins a list, albeit short compared to the list of male rulers: Catherine De’ Mendici, Elizabeth I, Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress, to name a few. What may make Empress Wu unique is the fact she killed her own children on her climb to the top. (more…)
