Wu ZeTian who deserves to be better known

/ turninglifespagesblog

Christmas holidays 2023.

First stop was Luoyan, 500 miles from Shanghai and over 5 hours on the high speed train. This was the ancient capital during the Tang dynasty and where the infamous Wu ZeTian (for whom I get my Chinese name) ruled.

At that time being chubby was considered a sign of beauty

We traveled 1st class which was very comfortable and still cheaper than going from Lancaster to London by cattle class!

In the train

First stop was Wu Zetian’s office and splendid it was too

Chinese Emperors use the Dragon as their symbol, the dragon being the most powerful animal. You see dragons all over the Forbidden City or older Royal palaces but dragons are male and so for an Empress the symbol used is the Phoenix. Luoyan is the only place where you will see this as Wu ZeTian was the only female ruler in the whole of Chinese history.

I am named for Wu ZeTian because she was a strong woman and good at Taiji not for her other attributes, that of killing all her husbands and children to stay in power! (Kevin is relieved)

Empress ZeTian wanted longevity and so she slept with younger men. Allegedly she had a different one each night and if they didn’t please her she had them killed! She had so many male concubines that she even set up an office to manage them. Two of her favorites were the Zhang brothers who apparently also committed lots of crimes. Born in 624 AD Wu ZeTian died in 705 aged of 81 in an era when most people died early, so ladies maybe there is something in her method!

Wu ZeTian was known for her exceptional intelligence and her shrewd political acumen. She has become one of China’s greatest leaders due to her strong governance which made China one of the most powerful nations in the world at that time.

We also visited a gallery of Wu ZeTian’s fashion as she was quite influential on the styles of the day. During her reign she promoted both Buddhism & Taoism in what became a period of open mindedness. Consequently her fashions also reflect this philosophy.

Wu ZeTian introduced striped with alternate dark and light colors which are Yin and Yang
This style of scarf is worn in a ‘S’ shape around the body resembling the inside of a Taiji ball
Fabrics with the phoenix pattern
This was her audience chamber. Curtains would be drawn so that petitioners could not see her face but behind the screen her ‘boys’ would be massaging her!
Luoyan’s flower is the peony which is the King of Flowers and symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

In the Longmen grotto there is a giant Buddha which bears the face of Wu ZeTian

Honestly someone should write a mini series about her for the BBC

One thought on “Wu ZeTian who deserves to be better known”

  1. Sounds like my kind of woman x amazing facts as always Lisa. The whole visit looked fascinating. So good to hear you’re getting out and about again xx

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