Let’s begin with the ORIGINAL femme fatale of Chinese History, WU ZETIAN. 

Wu Zetian (624-705) was the first (and only) female emperor in the more-than-two-thousand-year history of China. She first entered the palace as a concubine of Emperor Tang Taizong. Instead of becoming a nun after the emperor’s death, Wu was ordered to be back to the palace to marry Taizong’s ninth son and successor, Tang Gaozong. Wu became extremely powerful that she eventually established her own short-lived dynasty, Zhou. 

 

Under Wu’s adept military leadership, China’s territory expanded into Central Asia and Korea Peninsula. A devoted Buddhist, Wu also had major contributions to the spread of Buddhism such as the development of the Longmen Grottoes and the Qianling Mausoleum. These were some ways that Wu tried to justify her position as a female ruler since the traditional belief of Chinese culture was patriarchal. 

 

Recommended movies and books: 

🎞 The Empress of China (2014-2015) 

🎞 Detective Dee films (2010, 2013, 2018) 

📔 Wu Zhao: China’s Only Woman Emperor (N. Harry Rothschild) 

📔 Empress: A Novel (Shan Sa)