Ancient China and Empress Wu - Essay Example

Empress Wu Introduction China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world today. The country over the last two thousand years has been ruled by over two hundred and three emperors of whom only one is a woman; Empress Wu. Most nations in the world have had at least one great female leader today. This signifies the difficulties of a woman rising to power and ruling the male dominated field of politics. Most women who have risen to power are either through stealth or default. Against all odds these women rose to power effectively albeit better than most men. In ancient china Empress Wu ruled for years marred with cunning, malicious, genius and scrupulous methods. Her thirst and quest for power made her do the unthinkable from murdering her own daughter and son. Empress Wu Zhao was born in Wenshui part of the Shanxi Province in 624 A.D. Her father Wu Shihuo was a rich merchant who educated her daughter well. The education the Empress received at a young age was very pivotal for her political shrewdness and prowess (Woo 5). During the time of her birth, China was under the rule of the Tang dynasty which accorded women more freedom compared to the earlier dynasties. The Emperor at the time Tai Tzong had encouraged cultural awareness in which the women were allowed to be economically independent and were well enlightened in the fields of philosophy, social ethics and culture. The power of female sexuality was at that time widely recognized in medieval china; the ladies of the Sui and Early Tang dynasty elite were relatively independent. They could ride horses, henpeck their husbands and they took charge when their men were away for herdsmen or military duty (Will 128). Due to this, Emperor Wu was adequately educated in the disciplines of music, writing, reading, and Chinese classics. By the time she was thirteen years old, Empress Wu not only recognized her womanly beauty, but she also appreciated her intelligence and wit. Due to her intelligence, Empress Wu was soon recruited to the court of Emperor Tai as a concubine and she doubled up as a secretary in the Imperial Study. She obviously took her chance to study more about official documents and politics. The rest is history. Empress Wu held power for more than a century in one guise or another, firstly she ruled as a consort; the favored wife of Emperor Gaozong, then secondly as the ruler behind the throne of her youngest son and finally herself until her death. She ruled with sheer ruthlessness and decisiveness as she stabilized the Tang dynasty when it seemed to be crumbling and collapsing. The empress in her rule would utilize personal, political, religious, ritual, assets and institutions to obtain absolute power in her dynasty. The ceremonies of Mount Tai As a young lady, the Empress always showed great liking for significant symbols and omens. In 666 she designed the feng Shan ceremonies at Mount Tai (Will 131). This event was discussed throughout the dynasty as it was only one of the few times such an event had been held. These events were very symbolic in china. Such events were marvelous in the assertion of moral and spiritual power of a community; they enhanced peace, prosperity, and unity. The ceremony enhanced the repetition of the empress and won her political patronage from her supporters and critics alike. It was not a secret to realize just how intelligent the Empress was. She had conquered her people’s hearts and imagination on how her rule would be. The ceremony elevated the position of the emperor as an intermediary between human and the gods. The Xuanwu Gate incidence The reign of Empress Wu was characterized by ruthlessness and cold heartedness even towards family members. Unlike her male predecessors who had tolerated betrayal from family members, empress Wu did not tolerate any act on disloyalty. Almost at the time of her Birth during the reign of emperor Gaouzou, one of the sons of the emperor assassinated his brothers in cold blood inform of the palace. The two brothers Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng were locked in a power struggle (Will 134). When the emperor had this, he forgave his son and gave him more power. We could imagine what the Empress would have done at the time. She had committed grave iniquities in her effort to become the empress. She had murdered her own daughter, son and husband; in addition, she had exiled her son and framed him. These are just but some of the indiscretions she committed, she was more iron fisted than her male emperors. Her coldness and ruthlessness made her a formidable force to recon with. The North gate Scholars During her rule, Empress Wu expressed her intelligence by forming a special advisory committee that helped her rule. In 670, she strengthened her grip I power by seeking involvement of politics outside the palace. She formed a group of scholar whose mandate was purely on drafting policies and state papers. This committee was based outside the gates of the palace. This move mad the people outside the gates of the feel part of the rule. The move proved a great political score for the empress (Wills 140). The North Gate Scholars was very instrumental propaganda tool for Empress Wu. During a power struggle with his own son, she instructed these scholars to compile a set of Biographies called Biographies of Filial Sons accusing him of murdering a seer who had told him he did not have a face of a future emperor. later she accused his son Li Xian of plotting to overthrow his parents after several arms were found in his palace, he was later exiled and banished then forced to kill himself. The Twelve-Point Memorial During this period, the Confucian ideals on good governance, ceremonies and patronage involved the authorship scholarship materials. The Empress in her intelligence formulated a brilliant memorial on agriculture, finance, labor, taxes and human resource. The memorial also included a clause on female liberation that requested the emperor to allow a full three-year old mourning period to be observed for the mothers even if the fathers are still alive. These proposals to emperor Gaozong her husband were implemented while others were rejected. All in all her intelligence was admired by many due to this and they supported her due to her reign. It was unimaginable for a woman to bear such genus ideas and author them. The twelve point memorial was very important in building a substantial power base for her. She did not sit back as the emperor’s wife, but she took substantive part in the political undertakings in the court. Empress Wu’s shrewd leadership methods that helped her to squash opposition by rewarding spy’s huge benefits if they reported any traitor. She would offer hefty rewards in the form of appointments and promotions to anybody who reported those who were plotting against her. This move led to the emergence of a system of informers increasing her network of intelligence. There were two men who rose to the highest power of intelligence as they coordinated the network of informers; they were Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen. The two men conducted interrogations in special prisons where they used inhumane means to extract information from perceived traitors. This strategy of intelligence was genus from emperor Wu and she was able to instill fear amongst her critics and opposers hence tightening her grip in power. The empress during her reign practiced competitive hiring of court officials. Having come from a non elite family herself, she understood she needed the commoners more to win the race to more power. The families of commoners were quickly promoted to the Imperial court, she new she needed their support to eliminate the influence of the aristocratic elite who opposed her rule. The monopoly of aristocratic families had monopolized the power in ancient china. She did not just appoint people into the court but she designed imperial examinations and sources to the officials. These meant that the courts were filled with her loyalists and competitive officials who would deliver. This kept her in power and ensured her reign was successful. During her reign the Empress was very cunning and a master of public relations. One of her famous informants Lai Junchen accused her family members and the imperial family of conspiracy after dissatisfaction with the Empress. He was duly executed and the people of Tang celebrated wildly tearing down his corps in delight. The Empress released a statement stating that she did not know about Lai’s reign of power and promised to take serious steps in terminating the prison tortures. (Chen 255) Conclusion The daring effort of empress Wu to rule and hold on to power bravely has had long term effects on Chinese political trends and the world at large. She clearly broke the conventional aristocracy that has been promoted by many men from modest background and managed the upper beaurcracy in such a level that nobody in her government was capable of developing a parallel powerbase from which people would oppose her. Her contribution to the role of women in political and leadership positions crusade is unrivaled. Despite her controversial methods in ruling, she is one of the most economically prosperous leaders that china has ever had. In addition to this, she has opened several opportunities for female leaders in the male dominated field Works Cited Chen Jinhua, Philosopher, Practitioner, Politician; the Many Lives of Fazang (643-712), Amsterdam: Martinus Nijhof Publishers, 2007. Wills John E., Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1994. Woo X.L., Empress Wu the Great: Tang Dynasty China, New York: Algora Publishers Read More

 

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