The Astonishing Life Of China's Tyrant Empress | Wu Zetian | Absolute History
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2024
- Since her death 1300 years ago, Wu Zetian has been remembered as a callous tyrant, who brought calamity to China. But now, extraordinary new discoveries are revealing a very different picture of her reign.
As archaeologists investigate hidden tombs, spectacular pagodas, gigantic palaces and priceless treasures from her time, they are uncovering a very different story of China’s female Emperor, her skills and her empire. Wu Zetian’s China was a military, economic and cultural superpower, whose influence stretched from the edge of the Mediterranean to Japan and India. Recent discoveries reveal the wealth and stability of her reign, and point to her skills as a politician and a leader. But they also provide tantalising new evidence of the cruelty and violence at the heart of her regime.
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The most absurd part about her defamation is that they criticized her for sleeping with younger men (particularly the Zhang brothers, as mentioned in the video) when she was like 60-70 but like... every male ruler in history has done that with younger women and no one batted an eye
women cant bear children at that age so her sleeping with younger men means she's doing it for sex. men can be perceived as doing it for the purpose of having children. women were once revered for being able to create a child. it was mysterious and powerful. sex was only as eating drinking sleeping. the man could claim a woman as his particular partner before and sex with other men wasnt an issue until it was discovered that sex/sperm contributed to the procreation of a child. before he was proud if his woman could mysteriously produce children. decision to punish women for having sex for sex sake became a religion and has been so ever since. this is where the word illegitimate comes in to play and so on. once plump bosomy goddess figures were revered before mens jealousies and obsessions got in the way and a man god was conjured up and women became a mere rib lol
Theresa Braddock oh wow I just learned a lot because of you tysm 😌✋💖💖
@@yankat3724 lol good and yvw
@@theresabraddock9310 Even if it was for children sometimes concubines were sometimes young as 13 and 14
She must have been good 😉
"She brought disaster to the empire. She rained for 50 years." Dude if she brought disaster the empire wouldn't have lasted 5 let alone 50. Something ain't right about that statement.
@Selma De Faria If you watch the documentary, you can clearly see what they mean. China was a major player in world trade at that time. Europe was in the Dark Ages. Byzanthine had their own problems and were warring other nations incl Persia. Persia was warring too. Islam had only started and had not reached golden age yet. So the only place of great development at that time was Asia (and mostly the regions of India and China).
@Selma De Faria china was the most powerful at the time and most advanced. then the west came and tributed themselves and stole useful technology and turn them into weapons.
@Selma De Faria you missed the point. The title is still correct since it's a figurative use. Just like Rome was considered "the world" for a few centuries, or Athens before that, even though it wasn't. Same can be said about China of this age, since it was at the top of commerce and development. Which you should know given by the long credit to yourself you listed above. By the way I never claimed my knowledge of this came from the documentary, you did.
@Selma De Faria she did rule the world, at that time, in her era china was the most powerful country in asia, no other Asian country came as close as china in terms of power except maybe for thailand!
15, not 50. Still a decently long enough reign, but certainly nowhere close to 50.
She was a literal concubine at 14 to a guy 25+ years older than her but the ~men~ talked shit about her sleeping with younger men...
It was the norm back then, it wasn’t normal for a woman to do that, as well Emperors wouldn’t do sex for pleasure but for more sons and daughters.
Women were seen as objects and inferior back then , no matter what class they are. She can be the most powerful goddess of china and men will still criticize her for being a woman.
@@thepoet6888 i think they are just pointing out the wrongs.
..still a double standard for men in this video documentary 'till today. Shame!
this is like centuries ago, and wu ze tian was a horrible human being, but i understand what you're saying. but still, your comment is kinda funny
"In a man's world, you don't need a man to lead it." Moved me.
@FichDich InDemArsch and you get back to cleaning chimneys
@FichDich InDemArsch and why should they do that?
@@supersillyguy2 maybe because they have daddy issues 💀
@@roxtherock2071 LMAO
@FichDich InDemArsch incel alert lmao
Women in power from the past: *_exist_*
Men making records: _"is this a tyrant?"_
Yeesh the fact that some of you can’t see this for the joke it is…
Amazingly interesting.
Many people didn't know that she actually wore the normal MALE EMPEROR attire once she proclaimed herself the emperor. She never go back to female attire after she becomes the emperor.
@@jeffreysetapak she's still a lady.
@@ef5328 She used to say that since the day I entered the palace, I am no more lady but the property of the palace and emperor.
@A loud Italian But Tang Dynasty was at its best was during her rule. She knew how to use talents.
She left it blank. Awesome . She did not felt the need to explain anything to anyone. She took life as it came. Bravely.
Yes . Her another name is actually means Sun and moon all together in the skin . Cool
Yes, I love that attitude as well. Let the others judge what they want, she lived hers.
She did not do that intentionally, after her death her chosen inscription was scorned by the nobility left after her death and no agreement was ever formed on what to place on the tomb so it went blank throughout the ages, it's kinda sad actually;-;
@@Mymywashere12345 Thanks ..i guess facts really do put things in perspective..reality mostly is not that great and noble.😂
Let yourself jugde what is right or wrong,let others decide whether to praise or to condemn, let gains and losses be uncommented on.
Listen, if I was exploited as concubine at the age of 14 I would be ruthless too.
Same fr
Cleopatra was ruthless too
yep
Exactly they take these girls super young throw them in with other fucking tyrants to be raped think about it right
That’s what I’m saying
I think she kept her tomb blank because she knew that the men that came after her would try to erase her history so by leaving it blank she took that power away from them.
I would go as far as to say she welcomed it: "just try and erase what I did from history, the truth will follow soon enough"
Truth
she was political, this was a great political move, it helped her tomb not be destroyed for centuries, and instead be left alone. It allowed for historians centuries later to be able to know who she was and research about her.
Wow. This is awesome.
YES ... I think she was saying F-U to them from the grave 🤣🤣🤣
it was the same for Hatshepsut in ancient Egypt they tried to cancel her from history or depict her as bad while in reality her real fault was to be a woman.
Was looking for this comment! Thanks for mentioning another female ruler that got the short-end of the history-stick!
Exactly. I was going to make this same connection.
Didn't Hatshepsut went as far as wear male attire?
@@nunyabiznes33 she wore a beard and a male head piece.
@@nunyabiznes33 She also wore a fake beard to look more like a Pharaoh.
'She was a woman who did what she had to do to stay in power. She was a great leader. She had a lot of political acumen but most of all she was a woman that proved that in a man's world you didn't need a man to lead it.' - Jonathan Dugdale. Welll said, Jonathan... especially the last part.
I love reading about her.
she did what she had to do to live, in china comcombines were barried with their emperors, she survived by grabbing power to the top
Seems like the opportunist beginning with manuvering her way into someone else's marriage as a concubine, and forcing her way forward at any cost. "She got what she wanted."
She uses men,not a bad thing for ambitious people who wants something done. To stay in power no man is an island.
I teared up when I heard that.
While I appreciate the archeological information presented here, this documentary keep stressing how the Empress was portrayed as evil. As a Chinese I grew up to learn that, yes, she was a very controversial person, and that she was ruthless toward her enemies, but historically she was also extremely beautiful (such that the son emperor would marry his father’s woman against all Chinese traditions), and highly intelligent and capable. During her rule, the Tang Dynasty was at its peak of power and prosperity, that she was very capable at governing the empire. A well-known story was: an official wanted to overthrow her reign and listed a dozen of her “major crimes” in beautifully and powerfully composed prose. When the Empress read his writing, she asked her ministers: “Such talent! How come he is not in my court?” So, I would say if ask an average Chinese who cares about history, their view toward Empress Wu is not so one-sided and negative. She has always fascinated the Chinese historians.
nice!
I don’t disagree with you, but against Chinese tradition? The emperor’s family was not Han people. They have different tradition.
The issue is that we don't hear about things like that in the West, as a white American this is not only the first time I've heard of this amazingly powerful woman, It's likely the only time any person who isn't Chinese, or interested in Chinese History and archeology heard that what was written about her after her death and painting her reign as a troubled time was almost all lies. I'm so glad that I learned anything about her, and the whole time they were saying about how she was portrayed as evil I just thought "Of course they did, and of course she did things the way she did, she had no other option!"
controverisial what? she did what men did?
@@vz6365 they are Han Chinese people, they were under influence with non Han ethnicities background , but all custom, system of ruling were no different than previous Han Chinese dynasty.
I love how she did the same exact thing as any male king/lord/etc. yet is noted in history for being the most devious. Love it lol.
"For most of the history, anonymous was a woman" - Virginia Wolf
Beautiful quote ....
There was only female Emperor, but a lot of famous powerful women in Ancient China. Like we say in China, a king is born out of a woman no matter how powerful he is.
There are more movies depicting powerful white women than any other group so cry me a river somewhere else, YOU and YOURS are not victims. Quote that.
💯
I like her, she killed so called nobles, put common people in office, got women a divorce, kept her people and soldiers fed, socialized with other countries....she was better that any chinese emperor male who favored so called nobles who killed and tortures commoners...shameless historians could not stand woman in power so they removed her from history and now truth is written in the stone...LOL
I'm not even Chinese but damn do I feel so proud of her...
Same
As a Chinese, I would say she is well respected in our high school history education. Our teachers told us a lot about her contributions to Tang Dynasty and to Chinese culture in general.
She is considered to be one of the best emperors in ancient China.
Same im black
Same
If I remember correctly, it said she reigned 50 years? To some people that might not sound like a lot, but that’s a CRAZY number. With the amount of royalty that was killed off (either by their own family or officials), it’s insane to me that a WOMAN leader was able to survive and rule that long. All props to her👏🏻
I remember her official reign wasn’t that long, maybe just a decade. She was a empress dowager for many years, with her young sons serving as puppet rulers.
Yes. If she really was that bad she wouldn’t be able to stay on the throne for soooo long. Or else there would be rebel from either citizen or even government themselves so there MUST be something about her that keep her there. Maybe she was extremely good at governing or steeling lands something that only she can do so. She has to be *irreplaceable* so worth keeping despite her sex, age and she’s not even royal blood. Why keep her if she isn’t a highly beneficial for their country?
she reigned for 15 years as emperor, which isn't really considered short either. (But if we were to include the years where she was the de facto ruler behind the puppet emperors, then yes, almost half a century.) She abdicated the throne due to political rebellion. She was already 67 when she ascended the throne, which is really the oldest age in the history of the ascension age of all Chinese emperors
queen elizabeth 11 rulered for 70 year
@@julicooke4266 but she never had full power like Wu Zetian. Plus, a kingdom is smaller than an empire.
the fact that she let foreigners in just says something about confidence in her empire to me and I love it.
pretty much every male emperor before and after wu zetian: *killed people who got in their way or opposed them*
wu zetian: *did the same thing*
male historians and politicians: sHe wAs A tErRiBlE pErSoN bEcAuSe sHe KiLlEd pEoPlE
Maybe because as a girl she's not supposed to kill? to hunt, to rule, and to do all the other things only reserved for men? That's how people thought then, until now, actually. Sad...
@@8thousevirgin yes that was what i was alluding to. she did everything an emperor did but because she is of the "fairer sex" all her actions were condemned.
@@pb7199 yeah, i feel bad for her. I hope that as more findings turn up, HIS-tory will be revised.
@@8thousevirgin yes, it is time that we look back at history with fresh perspectives that are not blinded by sexism
@@pb7199 absolutely right.
So she basically learned how to gain power, how to keep that power, how to rule a country and put those who were against her in their place. And was basically told in a horrible light because the men of the time didn't like that a woman had power over them and was able to keep it.
She was clever and she knew how to use her intelligence.
The men of the time? Men EVER you mean.
Yup
@@loaches80 yah that's why I love her. Ugh ❤️
Do you see that huge penis?
她取笑人類的裝模作樣。
And she lived by her and her people's religion.
Andddd... ironically - the only time someone destroy's evidence like her successor did, is when they clearly want to hide something good about them (wu zetian in this case) or something corrupt that they (wu zetian in this case) found.
History is fascinating when it's told like this.
In school: History sounds like a bunch of numbers and names.
I couldn't agree more
Exactly. I have said, myself that if history, and other subjects, were taught like this in schools, there would probably many more historians or at least better interested students.
@@Mercurychyld1 Like it would be stuck on your brain like the Snow White story.
@@xiejyunbai5891 LOL ok this is probably coming from a kid who cant read one page and not cry about it. We didnt learn history through documentaries we learned it off analysis and connections.
I thankfully had a history teacher that taught like this, so that’s why I love history
How on earth is it possible that i have never heard a person as influential as her in history classes?
Many Chinese drama series tell "her story" and has so many depictions of her in taiwan,Hong Kong,mainland China series and she is portrayed by so many Chinese actresses,the latest is fan bing bing's " empress of china" with 96 episodes
"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."
and she won and kept winning for 50 years when other emperors can't even do 5
the real GOT.
Robert Raghav no not really
Robert Raghav
you do realize that happen bcuz sexism in Ancient China is super extreme right, no women should be the queen, no women have rights to speak up, even if they speak up, they would be quickly shut down by men, also there’s a rule for women to listen to a men for an entire a life icluding her dad, her husband, her son. If you don’t know the context at that period of time then shut the f* up. You don’t know how hard women have lived in the past, you know nothing.
just the fact that she’s the emperor made the whole Ancient China angry esp the men, those men will always find a way to dethrone her, those will always come for her no matter what she have done for the country. If she has able to be the emperor for 50 years, she’s def super smart and intelligent, she has to be cruel to survive in that society. You will never understand what have the women in the Eastern have suffered in the past so should shut the f* up right now, u uneducated stupid racist asshole, keep that toxic male ego to ur selfish self
hlamdt you go girl! 😍
@Robert yikes We found the man who's masculinity was hurt haha
If you have ever been to the Emperor Palace in China, you would understand how concubines lived. It was quite a miserable life from what I saw cause a concubine had a lonely living in a limited space with limited activities. Concubines were so numerous that the Emperor might never visited many of them, even at least once in a lifetime. So, it was like a prison with no hope. Therefore, that woman must have been really extraordinary and clever to rise up from just a concubine to a ruler of China for so many years. And of course it wouldn't have come without sacrifices even awful ones.
I agree and the concubines were always trying to get noticed, so to win the war for the emperor’s attention was extremely hard
@Ashtaroth Solemn Hypnotic it's called research
@Ashtaroth Solemn Hypnotic doesnt take a genius to find out about it
Jungkookie ARMY(?)
and yes I agree
Damn I guess Chinese dramas really helped for me lol
If I was made a concubine at 14, I’d be ruthless too🤦🏾♀️
Exactly. I will rise to power and get revenge to every person involved haha
This is the second time I watched this documentary. Wu Zetian, was revolutionary, intelligent, capable, inspirational, I cry for Wu Zetian. This woman was amazing and it's such shame that for centuries her story had been distorted because men could not accept she was a greater ruler than any one of them could have ever been. She is a figure that girls should grow up with, to aspire to be as smart and beautiful as she was. Wu Zetian, along with the legend of Mulan are and the Mongolian princess who would only marry a man who could defeat her in battle are so inspirational, and breath taking. The courage these women, true or myth, had have me at my knees.
This is a perfect exemple of how history is distorted depending on who worte/told it, which in this case, male aristocrats. This was very interesting.
Saint Michael you k dude bro fam? Maybe watch the video and listen to the male archeologists that are being interviewed in it before jumping to conclusions.
@@JoiIsakYT so you try to tell me I am jumping to conclusions by jumping to the conclusion I am jumping to conclusions 😂😂 to sad little pleb
Saint Michael "uneducated"? HAHAHAAAA. I wouldn't point these out if you didn't try to insult others by claiming them uneducated... Their, not there. You're, not your. Loser, not looser. Too, not to. Illegal, not illigal.
@@JoiIsakYT Take out every sentence that says "may have been" or "suggests" and this video would be 3 minutes long.
These male archeologists are part of the worship the female tripe that runs rampant through "higher education".
Saint Michael Wtf is “Black people words”? English words doesn’t change from race to race. So if there’s a uneducated person here, it’s you
Kinda funny how historians used to paint her in a bad light because she's a women, cuz I'm Chinese and always grew up hearing about how powerful and inteligent she was from my dad.
It's a wonderful experience when you grow up with parents who give you the tools that enable you to think for yourself
My mum quite often told me that if I ever meet a woman like Wu Zetian, I shouldn't mess with her... I was too young to understand what she meant o.O
that sound half similar to mine. my dad used to say she's bad because she's ruthless, but then he caught himself asking which ruler isn't ruthless. then he talk about how she killed her children, but then caught himself saying how awesome she is to be a WOMAN and raise to power, and power is always dirtied with blood. one part of his brain process the textbook that he read, but the other part of him can't help but caught himself admiring how awesome she is. lmao she is a controversial figure for sure. one thing I do rmb my dad said is he always call her an awesome and fascinating figure. she's so great that history probably can't handle more than one of her that's why they wrote her so bad lmao
I wonder whether historians did paint her in solidly bad light, or it is the past historians that are painted in bad light by the current ideologically correct ones.
@@tompajo8189 Woah there buddy, I'm all for criticizing the Chinese government and the authorities, but the people are innocent. That's quite some casual racism you got there.
Wu Zetian's title is Emperor, not Empress. The video even opens with labelling Wu Zetian correctly as a "female Emperor", I think the title of the video should accurately reflect this.
Maybe a more appropriate term would be Empress Regnant, because usually when the term Empress is used, its understood as an emperor's consort
In fact, "female emperor" is more accurate. Wu Zetian was indeed the spouse of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, which is the "empress". In the Chinese context, it refers more to the king's wife. But then Wu Zetian prevented his sons from ascending the throne but became the emperor of China. It’s like Elizabeth I. The blunt name is "the female king of England"
I'm not a Chinese but I admire how empress Wu Zitian came out and show to the world how powerful a woman is.
I am Chinese,She is my favorite Chinese emperor, not just me, almost everyone in China likes her.
She was ruthless towards her political opponents and her private life was chaotic, but she was a great ruler and the empire prospered under her rule. People live and work in peace and contentment,
For ordinary people, this is enough.
I find it odd that anyone would admire a tyrant, regardless of gender. It's like someone fond of Henry VIII and choosing to ignore the blood trail.
MAYBE just MAYBE if we were taught about fascinating people like this in school we would actually be interested
Taught by a good teacher
lol they would somehow make someone this interesting utterly boring
YES u are so right! seriously!!!
Nah white people history books only serve to sugarcoat their history and make themselves look like saints. In Asia there are many shows showing off different cultures and honestly it's fucking fun to watch. But in America I think it'd flop hard. Generally, we're the type to not know your president and get a little annoyed you're telling us their name when we said we don't know.
Western superiority complex is a big deal.
@@supahsmashbro Well as far as I know Western History is more important to people living in the West as is Eastern history more important for people living in the East. So it's self-evident that Western history gets more attention in schools. Though as far as I know, they teach us more history than just that and if you were to watch tv, you would get to see way more history than just that. It's also important to note that most of our modern world is shaped by Western history and that for example Indian history since the 18th century is also Western History.
Western superiority complex isn't a big deal, but yes a lot of people have it I think. But it's really a big deal in India, China and other non-Western nations. I'd say Western people are out of touch with the world. They don't really seem to notice how the rest of the world has modernized. But Westerners thinking they are superior... most do not.
Chinese historians just hate her X chromosomes. Some don't even acknowledge her & calling her a myth.
Tbh i still wonder how many powerful women had been wiped out from Chinese history.
That's not just an ancient Chinese historian problem, and I am pretty sure some ancient chinese historian, didn't hate her out pure misogyny but influenced by their historical condition, it's the societies of the ancient people.is it really hard to imagine them not being sexist? Also, this statement makes it seem like it's any better in the west.
@@USERZ123XD It's not sadly in the west. Many women who were extraordinary are often forgotten about. My favorite ruler was Catherine the Great and she is regarded in bad regards by many people, even though she ruled excellently. It's such a tragedy, that many women who were great, are often thrown to the side. I can't imagine how many women changed the world, and were forgotten in history because of their gender.
There is no misogyny in Europe anymore; in fact, owing to radical feminazis, misandry is predominant, even trendy to some extent. Seeing that there have been notorious male AND female sovereigns, I haven't the foggiest idea what people of your ilk are trying to achieve here.
@@goosequillian mabye you should not just listen to right wing sensationalism medias and start listening to some left wing medias to understand?
@@USERZ123XD Perchance you ought not to assume blindly and groundlessly a stranger's political views when they have none whatsoever, which is my case.
The title: “female empress”
Ah yes, the floor is made out of floor.
female emperor
The titles of Empress and Emperor were different. The Emperor was the ruler, while the Empress served alongside and under him as a queen and head of the concubines. The point they are making is that she was the first and only woman to hold the title of Emperor of China, sole ruler. They just messed up the title lol
@@annamermaid6359 there was no point in putting "female" and "empress" in the title together. Empress is literally a female emperor. That's what the point of the comment was.
@@MALICEofBALOR There might be a mistake in the title but from what I've known the title of Empress and Emperor in China are not the same in terms of how they work in the palace. So an Empress is not really a female Emperor.
@@angelmaulion5576 according to Google, empress is the female equivalent of emperor. According to several other sites when searching, it is also the same explanation.
I've been studying Asian history for a quite while now, I can tell you Wu Zetian was something else, the way she went on gaining power, defeat males in their own game in an absolute men's world, it's just glorious. And she did killed a lot of people and I can't blame her a bit, she was literally everyone's target at some point just because she's a woman, including her lovers, even some of her family members all wanted her dead. Any wrong step would lead her to her own grave. When you really think about it, a woman ruled one of the biggest kingdom ever existed on this planet for 50 years! It couldn't be done in most people's wildest dreams. It was nothing short of a miracle.
unless you one of her male playthings.
Not really kingdom. China at the time was a gigantic empire with multiple vassal states and tributary states at her whim. Envision a woman ruling the Roman empire at its peak with absolute power, that was basically Wu Zetian.
I find it adorable how the blue shirt guy was so excited while he was explaining 😂 you can tell that he’s very passionate
Omg same! I love seeing people be excited about things they're truly passionate about ❤️ it makes me feel a bit better about myself when I go on long ramblings about rodent's and like I'm less annoying for talking about the thing I love💕
@@evie402 exactly you shouldn’t mind people who find your passion and the way you talk about it is annoying 💕
RIGHT?!
I think you can really tell that this documentary was made with pure love, and dedication towards preserving and retelling history!!! I also love in 16:00 when the guy is excited to be in a space, and while the camera pans out to reveal the sheer emptiness of the area: he fills it with imagination, talking about the bustle of the past...it makes me happy!
History is amazing and can bring out that passion and intrigue.
Myths, made up by her opposition: the empress was terrible, cruel, vain and incompetent! wOmEN cAnT rULe!
Experts and archeologists: Actually, turns out she was brilliant, progressive and made China prosper under her rule. Men just hated on her because she was amazing.
Women, everywhere, in general: You don't fucking say????? Who would have guessed?!
Male ego is very fragile
Don’t know which myths you people are talking about. But in China, everyone knows she’s a good, powerful, and sharp-minded empress....
Gurl, they started and I went straight to this conclusion. And well yep, we right!
It is called the boy that cried wolf ;) ...
i believe them though. u need to kill ur own baby to move up the ranks in the imperial harem and kill off ministers who opposed her... do u think she got to being EMPEROR by being nice to everyone????? and its got nothing to do with her being female or fragile male ego... even chinese men had to kill their own brothers for the throne........ so it's only logical that Wu zetian also did the same to other ppl......
I thought "Female Emperor" is more suitable for the title than the Empress. She is the ruler, not the consort, wife, or anything
The title "female emperor" is wrong, because she never was "emperor".
@@oooBASTIooo Oh really? What she is then?
@@syafiranasution7830 An empress, as the title says. You simply don't know what the word "empress" means.. And apparently you also don't know that emperor (just as king) is a male title.
An empress can be any of the following:
- empress regent (An empress who runs the state for her underaged son), which she was for a long time.
- empress regnant (An empress who rules on her own behalf), which she was for over a decade
- empress dowager (an empress whose husband had died), which she was for some time.
- empress consort (the kind of empress you have in mind), which she was for some time.
So, you can see that she actually was every kind of empress, so the title is perfectly fitting.
One thing she never was is an emperor, because she was a woman.
@@oooBASTIooo terminology-wise, sure empress has the same exact meaning with emperor, only it was used for Women.
Culturally ? not really, empress are used to describe the Emperor's wife. While the ruler always been called Emperor. You get the title Empress bc you are linked to someone, and that title is usually gone the moment the emperor is changed. But she is the reign for years, she is the ruler. She is the King of that time. So it is more fitting for her to be called Emperor. But to each of their own knowledge and preferances
@@syafiranasution7830 You cannot redefine a word, just because it fits your (rather limited) knowledge.
Everyone makes her seem like a tyran bc she was smarter than most men and she wasn't born in a rich family, an emperor for the people, really
according to this doc - she was born into a rich family - her father was a lumber baron...
As stated before, she was born wealthy. That's why she was able to become the emperor's concubine.
Her story would make a fascinating movie
Watch The Empress of China or its Chinese title 武媚娘传奇 2014. Its the most accurate drama about her til date
I would absolutely watch that
@@jadelilly420 You won't regret it ! Its quite lengthy (82 episodes) but super worth it. I remember how obsessed I was with the series back when it released. Hope you able to find and watch it. Not only its the most historically accurate version til date but also painting her from an empowering woman/emperor light, which has never done before in previous dramas about her.
@@danielxph do you know where i can watch it
@@secretfiles4652 You can watch the drama on DramaCool or similar asian drama streaming sites. Here's the link to the one on DramaCool: www3.dramacool.movie/drama-detail/empress-of-china
The video has a good message but some of the statements such as she killed her children can be misleading. The actual history of how she came into power was a very complicated political process- after her husband died he did pass the throne to his son Li Xian. Li Xian was described in history texts as someone who was very meek and indecisive and as a result his wife Wei ruled the kingdom. Wei considered Wu a threat and wanted to persecute her, but Wu found out in time and won. She later abolished both Wei and Xian (Xian was a softboy who just wanted to follow wherever Wei goes) and sent them away. They came back again for a coup later but was killed by a pro-establishment force led by Wu’s daughter. Her other son Dan, who also ruled for some time simply couldn’t handle it, and stepped back and issued a note to give the throne to Wu Zetian. He later quit the royal family and allegedly lived a long life as a commonor. She did not really kill her sons- although you could argue that she did stuff to make sure they are not a threat to her power. And that she killed her other child daughter to frame someone else was a rumor which was never proven. Another fact was, her second daughter (Princess Taiping) actually grew very powerful as well later and was considered a heir to her throne after she dies, but her grandson(Xuanzong), who used to be in the same political camp with the princess turned against her after Wu died and persecuted the princess. He eventually became the next emperor , led a massive persecution of all women in power, and the society eventually became more conservative again. That whole part of the history was very chaotic yet interesting.
Wu had another son, who had never gotten the chance to be the emperor before he get locked down and died of suicide. That was the case that historians had the most suspicions about. The most common theories were : 1) He is a gay fuckboy who had quite a bit of debauchery and Wu found him unsuitable for an emperor, so locked him down and he killed himself. 2) He had unusual trust for a Taoist monk (a Rasputin kind of guy) who used superstitions to gain lots of power in court, and Wu didn’t like that at all. Still, no proven record of Wu actually poisoned him.
So you're telling me that in the end China fully decided to go backwards in social development ._.
@@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.. Wouldn't be the first time that happened to China. '_'
As a Chinese I'm not proud of those periods of our people's history, but nor do I regret it on my ancestors' behalf.
They tread the mistakes so that we, their descendants, can learn and move forward.
@@tranquil_dude That's a good train of thought to keep
@@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.. thanks ! :)
Consider how much better than her male counterparts she actually was to rise *above* them in a time when all things were created for their favor alone. Amazing
I got teary eyed at 33:50 when she appointed a female prime minister. What a powerful and important move on her part. The music helped elevate the grandeur.
If she was a man, she would've probably been titled "____ the Great"
Nah, she wouldn't be this famous if she was a man.
Makc Jiw i think she would no ruler has ever ruled 50 years if she was a man people would call her great but I agree she wouldn’t be as famous
@pagansforbreakfast Yes..... good comparison actually since she also did Shaddy things to take and maintain power.
@@hewanantensay6772 uh yes they have? king Louis XIV reigned for 72 years
could be Zetian the Great
Well... As a Chinese, i can tell that Wu Zetian actually has a very position picture in modern history book, at least in the part about her governing. She is considered to be as good as Emperor Taizong in term of governing, and has been described as one of the most important figure to bring the Tang Empire to its peak.
To be honest, cruel and brutal is not directly related to if a person is a good governor.
and in those times every king, emperor and ruler had to be brutal and cruel. in every dynasty and country across the globe. ruling came with it. so her being cruel means not much.
Yeah, that is true at least in current history textbooks used in middle and high schools in China.
Yeah, she's one of the major women in Chinese history that we're actually taught about, along with poets and other princesses.
I agree. Just because some historians describe her as "cruel and brutal" doesn't mean they don't respect her achievements.
Qin Shi Huang's "cruelty and brutality" was far more legendary. I regard him like an Ancient Chinese Hitler.
No Chinese in his/her right mind would wish for the return of such a ruler (in contrast, I wouldn't mind if someone like Wu Zetian came to rule China again),
but one also cannot deny that through his fascist-like policies, Qin Shi Huang basically forged the sense of unity that China is still enjoying now.
Without him, China might still be made up of small states like Europe is, having deep history and brilliant philosophies, but unable to keep together for long.
If one looks closely at any historical event, one can see a mix of both triumph and tragedy.
It's never all black nor all white.
Frank un Since the Party took control in China the importance of women has been more sincerely recognised and hence they are more willing to display ideal Chinese role models for young girls.
haven’t been this fascinated by a monarch since learning of anne boleyn from my childhood to now. yet another noble woman to look up to.
To be honest. I think she was probably ruthless and calculative. That’s the only way a female could become the emperor and make people respect your throne. That’s not necessarily a bad thing tho. She was also incredibly intelligent and ambitious. She had done the things no other person in history had done or even imagined possible. Her legacy is definitely one of the most incredible parts of Chinese history.
I second that
bruh, during her reign, women’s status’ were much higher and were much freer to do things that men could do
men just disliked her because she gave women freedom 🤷♀️
到了明清时期又是个大退步啊，还是现代好
中国人吗 哈哈哈
依婷emily · you can’t be sure 😐
没错 所以后面什么后宫不得干政 给女的裹小脚 都不过是男的怕女的爬到自己头上 比自己牛逼才弄出来的 就现代社会上职场上女性能力不比男的差 待遇什么的还是不如男的 什么时候中国职场官场能男女平分天下了才算是真的实现男女平等了
Melody Qiu 对
To be Clear: Wu Zetian's MAIN tomb has NEVER been unearthed - yet. They know where it is but they don't want to unearth it yet because the technicians do not think that they can preserve the artifacts without damaging them.
DD If her female prime minister’s tomb was destroyed, what’s to say Wu Ze Tian’s was not? I’m a little surprised that the emperor who succeeded her and prosecuted all women in power would not dare touch her tomb. Did she at least designed to full-proof it with traps like egyptians did? Curious. Genuinely curious.
@@angel_cat Because it's also the tomb of her husband. They are buried together. Now modern detection technique shows that the main structure of the tomb has been preseved well.
@@DennisJ16 that's so good to hear! i was thinking about the same thing angel cat was
Angel Cat ❤️ All the emperors who succeeded her were her son and grandson. And it was big crime to touch your own parents or ancestors’ tomb in Chinese culture.
They havent unearthed the First Emperors tomb yet either. Thats the one with the terracotta warriors but it is adjacent to the main tomb.
"A woman of courage in a man's world" very well said. I fount his story fascinating I am sure she was as stunningly beautiful as the model in your story. CZcams suggested this video and I am delighted. A remarkable Empress regardless of some negativity that goes along with the story of her life. Amazing!
Property developer in Xian be like: Sooo as you can see right now we're digging the groundwork for our next new estate and... ohshi- not another archaeological site!
Exactly what's happening in Xi'an. That's why the construction of the subway in Xi'an is so lagged behind the schedule.
Okay but this would be such a GREAT historical drama though.
Downton Abbey got nothing on Wu Zetian.
there is, it's called The Empress of China
@@luminous_moonlight Well I know what I'm doing soon. Thanks for informing me!!
YESS PLEASE SOMEBODY MAKE THIS A MOVIE/DRAMA 1000/10 WOULD WATCH
There is. There’s a whole Chinese drama series with fan bing bing starring as Wu ze tian
80 years is a really impressive age for that time! how did she manage that?!
nutzeeer it helps being empress and having almost anything within your reach.
actually if you survive child mortality and you aren't born into poverty than you should survive to 80 in any era. child mortality is what lowers the average, those who make it passed child death can expect to live long lives.
@Alla Veles opportunities can open up for a person to get into power. as long as those who are in support will fight and die to keep you in power you will get power and as long as that deters opposition.
@Alla Veles That is the rule but there are exceptions to every rule. Napoleon wasn't born as royalty, he was lucky to be upper class and yet he became emperor of France. Genghis Khan wasn't born emperor but his dad was a chief so he commanded his own forces and grew in power always surviving close calls. Islamic empires didn't start as royalty they started as some wealthy well educated soldiers spreading their faith, even slaves in Rome became emperors, Rome had many emperors weird ones as well. If you have an army willing to fight for you that's all you need no bloodline needed. The dominant belief system decides who gets to be king, if 99% of people believe that you should be king then you will be king. Like democracy it all comes down to numbers. People love power with a passion and every man women and child will fight tooth and nail to get it. Those that abuse power lose it kings are kept in check by governments, armies need money and food and supplies to project power. why should people let you rule? the best idea in peoples heads is lead by the leader, the top dog spreads the dominant belief system, every country is trying to America because they are top dog, in the past people try to emulate what they idealize, what they love. people love the best. If you have an army than you can be king if your army can defeat everyone.
@Alla Veles King = Army + Land +Nation
So essentially: like every other female leader in history, she was heavily criticised despite being very good at being in power
The Gender studies degree really seems to be a bliss...
@@oooBASTIooo Not my area of study but thanks for the compliment :)
@@bethhague8470 If you want to take it as a compliment, you're welcome :)
She may be devil in the eye of people before but she is one of the greatest ruler china ever had. She won't last that long in her throne if she is incompetent in being a ruler. She is manipulative but smart.
The people get the ruler they deserve. And they deserved a merciless devil. The men were no saints, she had to be manipulative.
I like to think that to be a leader you have to be persuasive and/or manipulative or else people will walk over you and you'll struggle to get things done whilst in power. This is why so many tyrannical, evil leaders lasted for so long throughout history.
I bet no “saintly” or too kind of a leader lasted longer than those “tyrannical” ones. Honestly, even in a classroom organization, you wont last long as the president if you try to please all of your classmates and stomp over you. Most times, and I bet most rulers from the past, used manipulation and iron hand to rule over their subjects.
She was called a 'tyrant' because she was able to achieve what a lot of men couldn't??????
MA'AM THE AUDACITY-
l u n a l i x i e n e MARz derp is probably going to spam the same wikipedia comment theyve been pasting in every comment saying she wasnt horrible.
She was called a tyrant because she killed HER OWN CHILDREN ! Did you get it?
she killed soo many innocent people lol
@@florinaregius1962 I’ve heard about number of kings who executed their sons for treason,they weren’t called a tyrant
S I M P
men have done a lot worse in history, some people just take offence because she was a women
@RealChrisWaltzOfficial what?
@RealChrisWaltzOfficial “they don’t give us girlfriends.” Good, women don’t owe you m*n anything.
It makes me so happy to see these historians so excited about the discoveries and history of Wu Zetian's rule. It's adorable honestly, like hell yeah I love when people love things
Ditto!
Her last big power move: Leave it blank. Let them write about me.
Leaves her mark of her achievements everywhere, even in the middle of the mountains.
Yes powerful women 😀
How many shots of lipstick paper application do you want?
Director: Yes.
It's perfect though ♡
Yep, one does get a bit sick of seeing this Over and Over and Over again.
Ikr. I was thinking that as I came across this comment
Many people didn't know that she actually wore the normal MALE EMPEROR attire once she proclaimed herself the emperor. She never go back to female attire after she becomes the emperor.
I think that this is actually important because it shows how a woman ruler didnt have to be masculine to rule, she kept in touch with her femininity
Cracks me up how outrageous the legends are. What emperor isn’t a tyrant!!! 😂
Seems like men tried to ruin her reputation
This is a pretty fantastic documentary of a ruler that I knew nothing about. From what I can get from this documentary is that Wu Zetian was a worthy Empress who deserves a high place in history. Also, the reenactments of Wu Zetian were so beautiful, elegant and relaxing.
Well, propaganda is supposed to work like that.
i watched the wu zetian series with fan bingbing as wu zetian its really good highly recommend it even if somethings were not accurate its still worth watching
methodmadness I’m in the middle of the series right now! And gosh darn it I wish the cat fights and everything else would just like literally stop for 1 bloody episode!!
Michelle Muir i know 😂 they are so bitchy lol but they get their comeuppance
she claimed the title as an Emperor, not just an empress.
So let's see, under her rule China became a formidable and wealthy nation, the people prospered, advances in technology were made, numerous contributions to art and religion, and she not only worked to secure her place, but the future of china as a whole. But she let the commoners work for her and liberated women so all the old men who were half as great as her were salty and mad that they couldn't enslave their wives anymore.
I'm seeing a LOT of similarities between how her memory was treated after death and how Queen Nefertiti was treated.
Yes! Great leaders are always insulted by their enemies, but for some reason with female rulers those insults are always taken as fact. Same with how people always called Cleopatra ugly, i think it might have been a way to discourage women from pursuing their dreams by telling them that they will be remembered as an ugly hag, so they should stay subserviant to men. For men, if there were rumors about them, historians would dig deaper to find the truth, but with women, historians would just say "ehh those rumors are probably right, she IS a WOMAN after all." -_- I think thats changing now though, lets bring more justice to the female rulers!
Or catharine the great
@@kittycatrina1861 they call her ugly due to the coinage of the time but do say she was a great intelligence and charm.... beauty is meaningless and doesn't stop you from success
Yes thank you
The first ever trade started with her.
RIP Dr. Rothschild. You were my favorite and greatest professor in college. You were so proud of this documentary and how it was shown. You will forever teach generations of students with your legacy.
I dont usually watch history like this, normally i watch things about the Victorian times or Tudors but this is a nice change. I didnt know there was only one female Emperor so thats really fascinating!
Her story has been exaggerated over and over what was the fact is already impossible to know. Only one thing for sure, she was an extremely smart woman who played a important part in the Chinese history.
perhaps more accurately a country that was located in the borders of china (which is only 70 years old). definitely predated china although they claim it and other states history, the great revolution purged all that,,, apparently only when convenient
@@willthix3822 IDK Is a country really defined by it's government? The name "China" comes into English from Portuguese, should we call it "The Middle Kingdom" in English instead? Cathay? Zhongguo or Zhōnghuá? Your reasoning is a little silly. We differentiate "Ancient China" and "Modern China", and that works pretty well.
hoLd uP
so you’re telling me that when women killed people to gain power , it was ruthless
but when men killed people it was normal???
please correct me if i’m wrong but that just doesn’t add up
Well, you're wrong, here's the correction. A lot of male rulers were considered ruthless:
- Qin Shi Huang Ti (First Emperor of China) destroyed a lot of things to streamline the country (admittedly probably for the better since it was basically the warring states prior to that)
- Genghis Khan allegedly executed someone by pouring molten silver down their eyes and ears
- Vlad the Impaler... well, I think the title gives it away
- Maximilien Robespierre
the French revolutionary had a relatively short reign the French call la Terreur (literally meaning "The Terror")
- Cnut the Great
- Czar Ivan the Terrible
- Joseph Stalin
- Mao Zedong
And probably a lot more were. In truth, many rulers were considered, and probably were actually, ruthless, just as there were many who were kinda just... there.
If you mean China standard for woman at the time, it probably is.
listen to the actuall meaning of the song: "cost of the crown" the slower version.
don't ask intelligent questions to people who accept absurdity as normal. To me, she was just as ruthless and ordinary as any other ruler of her days.
Many people didn't know that she actually wore the normal MALE EMPEROR attire once she proclaimed herself the emperor. She never go back to female attire after she becomes the emperor.
"In a man's world, you didn't need a man to lead it." 👏👏👏❤
Incredible. I've known about the Queens of Egypt but had never heard about Empress Wu! Very informative and interesting, great story telling. Thank you
Sadly similar has been done to amazing female rulers throughout history. They're erased, or (worse) often have horrific lies told about them, and have their good deeds erased. Others (like cleopatra) are reduced to just physical beauty. Cleopatra, for example, was actually an incredibly skilful ruler who significantly benefited the region.
DreamBelief - Egypt fell to Roman rule under Cleopatra's reign. She fumbled the region. She abandoned her defender and lover Marc Anthony in the middle of a sea battle against the forces of Emperor Augustus to die along with over 5,000 of his loyal soldiers/ sailors. She also had her own brother killed. So dream-on and believe-on, DreamBelief.
She wasn’t that beautiful she was very charismatic and intelligent. She spoke to Marc Anthony and Caesar on even ground. That’s why Augustus would not meet with her. He knew he would be ensnared by her.
cleopatra = inventor = alchemy = STEM . game recognize game
@@virvisquevir3320 They had fallen to the Greeks long before that. Cleopatra was Greek. Her brother, from whom she took the throne, was Greek. Alexander took Egypt in 332 BC. History does tell us that for all intents and purposes, she was a good ruler. Ugly as sin, but great politically. How the myth of her beauty got started, I'll never know.
karen Burrows - Yes, I know, but the question was: "Was Cleopatra a skilful leader?"
40:35 -- This blew my mind, that a THOUSAND years later, a farmer found the golden tablet that she once TOUCHED! Also the fact that it was so well preserved for so many years!! Mind blowing!
It's said that the farmer originally thought it was some kind of candy wrapper when he first noticed it in the stone crack. Actually, ancient Chinese emperors also used religious tablets made of jade or silver, and some tablets of these types have been discovered before. But this gold religious tablet was the first of its type to be discovered.
It was a good thing that the farmer was honest and gave it to the authorities instead of keeping it for himself. Nobody reported it missing so it wasn't a crime to keep it.
It was find a needle in a 1,000,000 haystack, by luck.
The message of the tablet is very important, because she was asking God to forgive her for her sins.
@@perfectstudents8361
Someone wanted to buy it. When he understood the value of this cultural relic, he didn’t ask for anything and selfless contribution to the museum.
She's not empress, but the Emperor. Empress usually means the wife of the emperor. Wu Zetian was the emperor.
I had never even heard of her before watching this. Raised in Canada I think the most interesting female monarch we read about in school was Queen Elizabeth I. And even then, details were left out. Wu Zetian sounds absolutely incredible, not only as a woman and leader but as historical figure altogether. She was exceptional at what she did and she made life better for all those people at her time. She's become my new favorite historical person. And to be honest, IF she were alive today and running for PM of Canada I'd vote for her.
I watched a Chinese documentary about her when I was little. The historian said it's vicious rumors that she murdered her kids, especially the baby girl. He said according to the birth years of her other children, there's no way she could have another baby in between the other two. According to some ancient historical book, the baby girl was born in the same year as her other son but they were not twins, and the months don't add up, I don't remember the details. But he basically said that baby girl probably never existed.
人民有更好的日子，她是个好皇帝。生在帝王家本来就是很残酷的事情，很多事情由不得己。不然国家就会乱。
Though it's extremely rare, some women can get pregnant when they're already pregnant. Something about having two uterus's. SO rare though, I doubt it would've happened here but hmm... maybe
@@ZoeThomson00 I don't think it's having two uteruses it's that another egg can be fertilized when one has already been fertilized leading to another baby that is born shortly after the first one, not twins, but siblings born within nine months of each other. it is super rare though
@G07 Denesse Anne Duran It's a medical condition. Uterus didelphys
You guys, the conditions you're talking about are not only extremely rare, but extremely risky, even by today's medical standards. I mean, yes it is theoretically possible, but in that case it would not at all be surprising if one of the fetuses died in utero.
Female rulers and leaders have always been, and continue to be, condemned for the things their male counterparts are praised and revered for.
Many men got smeared too. It's merely a battle going on between MUCH older narratives at play.
@Cindie Calderón Yeah but the thing is, the commentator said : A man who rules well, he gets praised. A woman who archieve the same thing, she gets condemned.
Don't you feel like there seems to be a problem there?
@Cindie Calderón Yeah but I was just referring to your previous comment.
Also, there are emperors who did like her but they weren't as condemned like her by her subjects... And the main reason she was frowned on at that time was because she was a woman... I mean, moral values probably played a part too, but the main reason wasn't that.
@@Makkaru112 Yes, but unlike men, whether they rule well or badly, women are scorned as rising above their station because of their Xx chromosomes. If they cant be erased from history, like Egyptian pharaoh Hapsetshut, they are branded as villains.
Killing your son isn't the sign of what we would consider a good parent today, but male emperors killed offspring all the time, to pave way for their chosen heir. Many emperors killed their entire harem of women to take with them to the afterlife or punished starving concubines severely for rising up. Few were condemned for the practice.
Wu doesn't sound any more bloodthirsty than an average male emperor of her time. As for cutting of people's limbs and leaving them to die; lingchi is a tried and true method of execution in her part of the world. She's only being condemned for doing do by the historians of her time because she was the wrong sex for doing so.
@@ladythalia227 well they killed their male offspring becasue the empire woudl be divided makin EVERYONE suffer more then enough. It was the best strategy might sound cruel now since we live in a great society but if we lost tecnology i wonder what would happen
I love having to read the captions, it allows me to hear the language as it is spoken and not selectively hearing English.
Elizabeth 1st, had all dissenters killed from the palace and outside of it including her sister in Scotland.
It was ruthless yes and strategically the only way to protect her own life and that of the country. She spoke 5 languages
and was vastly intelligent. She went on to rule what is called the Elizabethan Era, the UK's 'Golden Age'
with one of the most peaceful with religiously tolerant reigns for about 45 years.
She had a couple of movies made after her and it would be great to see a movie made after this female Emperor.
Idk about a movie but they have made Chinese drama series about her.
She may have been brutal but that's what all emporers did.
Especially in China, we had an emperor order the death of his entire concubine house, his servants and guards (who were still young healthy with their families) killed upon his death and buried with him to be brought to the afterlife as his servants.... Which one is the REAL tyrant here?
@@jeanetten.s.8557 true :((
True, doesn't justify it tho. They were all pretty horrible people. But i'd be lying if i said that their stories weren't fascinating and intriueging XD! Asian history(mostly chinese and japanese) was always one of my favorite types of stories, they're just very interesting.
@ShenJie 1924 And you say she is good just because she is a women , hypocrite
@@Cortesevasive well, she's of course amazing for the mere fact that she became the emperor in an age where women's social status is super low. So yeah. We can say she's good JUST bcuz she's a woman.
She was respectful all over the world during her reign. She surpassed most Emperors before her and even after her. She was brilliant and intelligent. She took care of the lest fortunates during her time.
"all over the world"? Really? based on what evidence? Can you name any leader in 7th century Europe that even knew about her, let alone "respected" her? This OP is all hyperbole.
Ignorant fool
@@dennishouse2172 So you are saying respect comes from knowing people by face? There are more than 200 countries today and I will bet a fortune no leader of any country knows the leaders of all the countries(for eg, I'm sure the president of Indonesia doesn't know the president of Argentina doesn't mean those countries don't trade and have diplomatic ties and respect each other). There are thousands of kingdoms during those times, no king will remember the names of other rulers. What you are missing is she during the time of men ruled one of the richest, huge kingdoms in the world and did trading with every corner of the world including Europe.
@@dennishouse2172 Europe was a dark hole during the 7th ct. The didn't seem to know anything about themself back then, let alone others. We like to exclude the New world and Sub-Saharan Africa when we talk about the ancient world, because of their lack of relevancy to that period. Same can be said about post Roman Empire- Europe (excluding the Byzanthine). Way until the Crusades.
@@jhingbangayan762 WOW, that was a great logic filled response that just shut him up.
She was a good ruler and the men jealous of her.
Good job! You learned exactly what you were intended to learn.
her history should me taught in school. i would love to learn about her
Me when l was in school learning history : sleepy
And me now learn history in these video : 😮
History could be very interesting. My 12 year old granddaughter tells me she loves the history I tell her but her social studies at school is very boring. It is a shame that whoever does text books do not include fascinating history.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
same.
she is my favorite historical character to read about. she was so misunderstood.
Your favourite? Who else is in your list?
@@saintmichael5945 She wouldn't have lasted 50 years if she was pure evil. She had to have been doing something right, especially as she was not born royalty.
Also, many documents from her time period were burned after her death, AND several others were changed. We have been finding new evidence that she was liked all the time.
Yulovelindssay
15 years not 50, bit of a difference there chum
@@cosmiclino2080 50 years not 15
I am obsessed. Like she means so much to me
She’s so iconic, she’s my new muse now.
Whatever she did to stay in power she must have been at least somewhat good at ruling.- otherwise, there is no way she would have stayed in power for 50 years surrounded by men.
One thousand fifty years ago, China was the most powerful country in the world so that's why they mentioned Wu ruled the world. Tang dynasty had the biggest population and highest civilization at that time.
Actually, Wu rose to power 1350 years ago from now, not 1050 haha.
Why have schools never taught us about her? This is the first time I'm hearing about this🤨
Our school actually teaches us about her but it's not much
Imagine learning about all great leaders In history. It would take too long.
Many people have a negative attitude but if you look through different civilizations you can find so many
Just too many rulers worldwide. Ironically we spent so much time on China in school, but in the end we barely had time to mention more than one or two Emperor's. Their empire was ancient and long lasting, but plagued by rebellions and instability. That is what those dynasties are. An overthrow of the ruling dynasty.
And we had to learn why each one was overthrown as well as inventions trade, etc. No time for rulers of China. Not that there was much more for the rest of the world....
Because any history class is about HIStory
I never hear of her until now
i love how he is so excited and just so happy learning more and telling us about the tang's history
i've been to most of the locations that this guy visited and it is every bit as fascinating as it is irl, you can literally feel the history of the place just by stepping on the land it was so beautiful
Tbh u just feel she was actually ahead of her time and she did things well calculated and efficiently.
@Ghost_Troupe lol, this video itself alrdy very accurate, man just didn't want woman to have a good history of ruling an empire in every history around the world, there's a reason is called 'his-tory' theres so many hidden and stolen woman accomplishment done by men bcs they dont want woman influence throughout history
@Ghost_Troupe Those nations only collapsed because the men writing records wanted us to think that. The version of stories you read are written by men. Of course, you're reading opinion over fact. They wanted us to believe that the nation collapsed because of a female leader.
a lot of people cause wu zetian of being ruthless and cruel, but many people forget that the emperor's harem was a warzone, either you fight to stay alive or you die at the hands of other concubines scheming, she did what she had to, to stay alive! another thing that many people like to forget about being chosen to be a concubine, once you were chosen to be the emperor woman if you displeased him or even get him angry your entire clan would be charged with a bogus crime and be killed, so girls entering the harem knew that not only was their lives in danger but also that of their entire families! that's why many people tried as hard as they could to keep their daughter away from entering the palace, another thing that many people don't know about is that in ancient times there was this law that was set by the first emperor of china that literally forced every household in the country to send at least one of their daughters to the palace during the harem selection and if they refuse they would be accused of being traitors! the people who claimed that wu zetian Braught calamity to china are macho men who don't want to accept that china had his most prosperous years when wu zetian was in power, in fact when wu zetian was in power china was seen as one of the most powerful countries in ancient times! also a lot of people are mad about the title, back then wu zetian was indeed at the center of the world, Europe was in the dark ages, the middle east was fighting among each other, china back then was at the center of the world commerce, so of course they were the most powerful in the region, were they the only powerful country in Asia? no, you had Thailand who's ancient city was second in terms of massive power in Asia, I hate it how these males so-called historians like to paint a dark curse on female rulers of their countries! always accusing the female leaders of being a calamity totally disregarding the man in their history that helps brings the country to his knees!
Liked your comment. Cause I thought so too.
But by the way, "The 2nd in term of power in Asia", were you refering to the Khmer Empire or (Funan Empire)? Because the Thai Empire, Sukhothai has just rose up at around 13th century.
N TS No Thailand’s late Sukhothai and Ayuthaya was more powerful and prosperous than the Khmer . Thailand was second most powerful in Asia at that time.
Plot twist - she was one of the greatest rulers of China.
Let's be real the history is written by men with rotten baseless pride. In reality she must've been a great ruler and every ruler in monarchy needs to be a tyrant to some extent.
I like the blank epitaph. it says "I know what i did. I am at peace with myself. Think of me what you will, it doesn't concern me."
And that's an awfully powerful message from a ruler, as most seem really insecure about being remembered.
So she gave women the most rights they ever had in China (probably till this date) and yet she's a villain... Ok
k s not to this day, no.
Believe it or not Nationalist Party and Communist Party expanded women's rights by a lot. China in the Qing dynasty before the revolutions was a terrible place, women's feet were broken before they are even old enough to go to school. They're kept illiterate and crippled so they're unable to even run away from their abusive marriage. My great grandmother had her feet bound, as well as an elderly neighbour, and their lives were awful. Nationalist party abolished this and other Qing dynasty practices, Communist party encouraged women's participation in the workforce and attainment of full education. Women's rights in China are pretty good right now, in some aspects better than US. In China contraception and abortion is readily available, maternity leave is guaranteed, literacy rates and university graduation rates are comparable to men's, workplace participation is comparable to men's. If you look at corporations in China today, women are able to achieve and attain leadership roles, for instance Huawei retains a number of intelligent women in leadership roles.
k s No，Chinese women's liberation began under the communist Party, not Wu Zetian, when MAO Zedong proposed that "women can hold up half the sky."
In our myth, women got more power long long time ago before Xia dynasty. for example, China is 中华 in Chinese, the character 华 is from the name of a woman named 风华胥, who was our first mother and leader. So, we name our country and civilization by the name of a woman. And her daughter is 女娲 or called 风里希. in our myth, she created human beings.
Not to this day lol
I learned something new today, that China had not only a female Empress but also many women in high places of her goverment. This lady made life better for a lot of women in China. This lady rose to power and although she did spill blood she ruled well. This is fitting to learn this on International Women s Day. So to all Women all around the world , I wish you all a Happy International Women s Day!!!!!!!!!!!!! May we all show great respect to all the hard working and loving Women of the earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok simp
@@user-jn1ts4wl1c clearly dont know what simp means
@Robert simp is lying to women and faking niceness to get in their pants. Considering this fella just sid that he appreciates women and what they've accomplished, he's nowhere near a simp
She was an Empress when she was married to her husband but she declared herself an Emperor with a "reigning era title" which is different in Chinese. In English an Emperor means male and an Empress means Female. But in China, there are significant differences. An Empress is inferior to an Emperor. By declaring herself Emperor she was taking the role of absolute power in the Chinese Empire. She was basically telling her people that she was the "Son of heaven" which was only exclusively for the ruling males to claim. She was the only female Chinese Emperor in all of Chinese history.
This was an excellent documentary. Her life would make a really good drama series on HBO or Starz
The empress Wu was the most misunderstood ruler. Just like Hapshepsut of egypt
Just from looking at her ability to rule a country at a men’s time is enough to show her high political skills.
She was also able to keep her country from being invaded while opening trade with foreign countries.
She didnt open up trade she simply fortified it. which as done by any good ruler. this documentary never said she was the best or one of the best emperors but that she's simply not as bad as she was thought to be
@@owl448 ur job is literally to troll comments here and there. Humm.. it is sad
There's a lot cruel women in history, and a lot more men. This just prove that woman and men aren't that different. In ancient time, they had to do anything to keep their power. For example Vlad the Impaler is view by many as a cruel and sadistic man, but for romanians he's actually a hero, one of the greatest Voievods (Kings) we had. It depends on the perspective, I don't think there's one ancient or medieval ruler in human history that didn't rise to power by force and violence. It's just how thinks were back then, but we can all appreciate those, who after gaining power worked for the benefit of their people.
I don't know, most rulers were actually boring but some were bad and some were good. Like Saladin, some didn't like to use violence but were not scared to do so if needed
Uhmm jesus?
@@ongseungwu4311 Jesus was not a ruler, but he definitely inspired a lot of violence.
@@missmaddy the bloods killed be on to the pope
@@missmaddy which is not his intention... extremists just ruined what he preached for.
What a great episode. Thank you Absolute History.
Love learning acient chinese and Asian history.....😊😊😊😊😊😊😊i grew up celebrating the chinese new year....😊😊😊😊loved it... im always interested in history...the true history
I watched a cdrama based on her and I never knew her character was real until my sister told me that she was based on a real person. Since then, I have admired Wu Zetían and tried learning more about her. She's one of my favorites historical figure.
What is the title of the C-Drama? I want to watch. Thank you!
That cdrama that you watched, was it The Empress Of China
@@junsuibeautystudio9900 there are many dramas about wu zetian
@@junsuibeautystudio9900 the cdrama is called 'The Empress of China' it's my favorite drama. That damn drama has a special place in my heart 😭
@@wendyk5489 yes and hi moo 👋 you got taste for stanning queen hwasa 💕