Legendary Heroes of History & Myth: Wu Zetian
For the fourth card in my Legendary Heroes of History & Myth series, I'm heading to ancient China to tell the story of one of the most remarkable women ever to hold political power.
Wu Zetian is one of those historical figures whose story almost sounds too incredible to be true.
Born in 624 CE, Wu Zetian eventually became the only woman in Chinese history to rule as emperor in her own right. She rose from a relatively modest background to become one of the most powerful people in China.
Her path to the throne was anything but ordinary. She entered the imperial court as a young woman and eventually maneuvered her way through the complicated world of palace politics, first becoming empress and later taking control of the government herself.
In 690 CE, she declared herself emperor and established the Zhou Dynasty.
Her reign was controversial, and she was certainly not universally loved. But there's no denying that she was an extraordinarily capable and determined ruler.
Wu Zetian strengthened the imperial government, expanded the use of examinations and other methods of selecting officials, and promoted talented people based more on ability than simply on family connections. Her reign also saw important developments in culture, religion, and the arts.
What I find fascinating about Wu Zetian is the sheer determination it took to get where she did. In a world where political power was overwhelmingly controlled by men, she didn't simply find a place within the existing system. She took control of it.
That's one of the things I'm enjoying about this series. Every person has a different story, and some of those stories are much more complicated than the short version we usually hear.
Wu Zetian certainly wasn't a perfect person, and her legacy remains controversial. But she was intelligent, ambitious, politically skilled, and determined enough to accomplish something no other woman in the history of imperial China had done.
That's a pretty remarkable story.
If you'd like to take a closer look at the card, click on either image in this post. I've linked the images directly to the eBay listing.
This is #4 in the Legendary Heroes of History & Myth series. So far we've gone from ancient Alexandria, to the American West, to Greek mythology, and now to imperial China.
And there are plenty more stories to tell.
— Copper State Cards