Page 72 - All About History - Issue 59-17

Tang Dynasty China

Expert
Ask the

Wu biographer Dr Jonathan
Clements weighs in on the legacy Wu bankrolled the Longmen
of China’s infamous empress Grottoes, one of the finest
examples of Buddhist art
Q: How reliable do you believe
the historical accounts of Wu
Zetian’s reign to be?
A: The accounts of Wu’s reign are
full of lies and spin from her, her
enemies and her descendants. We
actually have lots of information
about the period but all of it is sus-
pect in some way, so it’s essential
to compare varying sources to get
a sense of what they are circling around.
Q: To what extent do you believe that her reign im-
proved or harmed China’s perception and treatment of
women in the 7th century and beyond?
A: There’s a huge deal of hypocrisy. Wu gets blamed for
dragging the dynasty down but she presided over its peak A stele written with the modified Wu briefly claimed to be the bodhisattva Maitreya in
of prosperity, promoted a meritocracy and pushed for Chinese characters Wu introduced order to win supporters, inspiring statues like this
greater recognition of women’s contribution to society.
Women in Chinese history were traditionally neither seen
nor heard — it was considered rude to address a lady by her She ensured her grip on the throne would go officials who produced the most crops and taxed
name, so they are often anonymous when they do show up. unchallenged, and this was even more pertinent their people the least being rewarded. These
Earlier historians tend to use stories of women in power as given that she knew there was a bull’s-eye on her changes were highly successful and agricultural
cautionary tales to remind everybody what a bad idea it is
supposed to be. back. Wu’s time had come and she did not intend production reached an all-time high.
Beneath the surface, there’s a subtly racist tinge as to lose it easily. The military began to be filled with competent
well. The periods in Chinese history when women had One of her most brazen actions was to create soldiers instead of those with family ties and this
political influence tended to be those where ‘barbarians’ new characters for the Chinese writing system. paid off in the wars in Korea. Wu’s reforms helped
were in charge, like the Mongols or the Jurchen, so often Intended to replace 10 to 30 of the older ones, this create a capable and deadly military force that had
you’re seeing a backlash against foreigners and not women
in general. In modern times, however, Wu has become was Wu’s way to change not only how China was belief in its commanders. Her military systems
something of an icon. A lot of modern Chinese women fixate operating, but the way in which people thought were so admired and produced such good results
on the intrigues and the rags-to-riches storyline. Hopefully and wrote. It was no mere grasp for power — Wu that they were never challenged. China’s borders
not on all the murders. wanted to change everything about the country, were more secure than ever and Wu’s spy network
even the words spoken by her people. This, worked hard to squash any sniff of rebellion
combined with the horrors she had wrought at before it started. Thanks to her solid
court, would lead one to assume she was widely leadership, she ruled over a
despised but the majority of lay-people actually prosperous and stable country
adored her. Wu had shaken things up. and her reign was one of the
Her spying at court had rooted out institutional most peaceful that China
corruption and she also opened up the civil had ever seen.
examinations to a wider group of people so that However, a
more variety was present in local and regional lifetime of plotting
governments. She also created petition boxes, and dodging her
which allowed people to disclose their issues and enemies’ blades
grievances against court officials. Although she did had made the
use these complaints to gain information against empress paranoid.
rebellious subjects, Wu used the comments to Historians would
enact reforms that she knew her people wanted later claim that she
— an act that led many of her subjects to believe was haunted by
that they were finally being listened to after being the corpses of
silenced for centuries. Wang and Xiao,
The public education system was also revised, their bloody
Dr Jonathan Clements is the author of Wu: The Chinese with new teachers hired and an overhaul of curses echoing
Empress who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to
Become a Living God. He is currently a visiting professor at teaching methods and the curriculum. Agricultural in the dark. But
Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. production was almost entirely rebuilt with Wu herself was
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