Wu Zetian Proclaims the Zhou Dynasty and Becomes China's Only Female Emperor
- Date
- 16 October 690 CE
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- China (East Asia)
- Era
- Post-Classical / Medieval
- Significance
On 16 October 690 CE, Wu Zetian formally declared herself huangdi (emperor), supplanting the Tang dynasty with her own short-lived Zhou dynasty and becoming the only woman in the history of China to rule as emperor in her own right rather than as a regent or consort.
Having risen from imperial concubine to empress consort of Emperor Gaozong and then empress dowager during the nominal reigns of her sons Zhongzong and Ruizong, she had already wielded de facto power for decades before seizing the throne outright at the age of 66. As emperor she reformed the civil service examination system to promote officials on merit, expanded the bureaucracy, patronised Buddhism, and conducted military campaigns against Turkic and Tibetan incursions, while also relying on informants and harsh measures to purge the Tang royal house and entrenched officials. Her fifteen-year reign formed part of the High Tang era, a peak of Chinese political power and cultural achievement. She was forced to abdicate in the Shenlong coup of 705, which restored the Tang, and died later that year.
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Empires active in 16 October 690 CE
- Umayyad Caliphate661 CE – 750 CE
- Tang Dynasty618 CE – 907 CE
- Byzantine Empire330 CE – 1453 CE
- Tibetan Empire618 CE – 842 CE
- Classic Maya Civilization250 CE – 900 CE
- Khazar Khaganate650 CE – 969 CE
Related politics & governance events
- Emperor Kanmu founds Heian-kyo, opening Japan's classical golden ageNovember 17, 794 CE
- Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the Romans25 December 800 CE
- Kublai Khan founds the Yuan dynasty and conquers Song China1271 CE (conquest completed 1279)
- The First Fitna and rise of the Umayyads656–661 CE
- Justinian codifies Roman law in the Corpus Juris Civilis529-534 CE
- The Abbasid Revolution overthrows the Umayyad Caliphate25 January 750 CE (Battle of the Zab)
Further reading
The wider story
China's Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty
Readable survey of Tang China (Harvard History of Imperial China).
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