Why Was Wu Zetian China's Only Female Emperor

For more than two thousand years, China was ruled by emperors. Almost all of them were men. Then Wu Zetian broke the rule. She began her life inside the imperial palace as a teenage concubine. She became an empress, controlled the government, and eventually declared herself emperor in 690 AD. But was Wu Zetian really the ruthless ruler described by traditional histories? In this documentary, we explore Wu Zetian's extraordinary rise to power, the political struggles of the Tang imperial court, her controversial reign, and the legacy of the only woman in Chinese imperial history to officially rule as emperor in her own name. Sources & Further Reading Smithsonian Magazine — The Demonization of Empress Wu The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Tang Dynasty World History Encyclopedia — Wu Zetian World History Encyclopedia — Women in Ancient China