"My Favorite Historical Figure" essay of 1,000 to 2,000 words

My favorite historical figure is Wu Zetian~

Wu Zetian is a name with quite historical charm. She was the second daughter of the founding warrior of the Tang Dynasty and the concubine of Li Shimin, the great emperor of the Tang Dynasty. , the queen of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi. After assisting Emperor Gaozong in handling military and state affairs and supporting the government for thirty years, she ascended the throne in person and called herself the Holy Emperor. She deposed Tang Zuo and changed her country's name to Zhou, becoming the only empress unprecedented in Chinese history. From her participation in government affairs and calling herself the emperor until her illness moved her to Shangyang Palace, she was in power for nearly half a century. She inherited the "Government of Zhenguan" and started the "Kaiyuan Dynasty". Her historical achievements are evident to the world. As Song Qingling sincerely evaluated her: Wu Zetian was "an outstanding female politician in the feudal era."

Wu Zetian, whose real name was Wu Zhao, was changed to Wu Zhao after becoming emperor. (The character "曌" (zhào) was especially admired by Wu Zetian, and she used it as her own name. No one is allowed to use this character. From the glyph point of view, "曌" symbolizes the sun and the moon in the sky, symbolizing the Queen's majesty in the world. When the word "曌" is broken down, it also becomes "明空" or "empty and clear", which contains a bit of Buddhist philosophy and is in line with Wu Zetian's intention to worship the Buddha.)

Wu Zetian was born in the early Tang Dynasty. The family of an upstart eunuch, with its prominent power and luxurious life, nourished her unlimited desire for power. However, in the early Tang Dynasty, the aristocratic style of attaching great importance to the gentry was prevalent, and Wu's family status and humble background made her suffer from the contempt of the common people, and she was unwilling to be buried. This special situation and encounter strongly stimulated Wu Zetian in her youth, cultivating her to arrogantly pursue and seize the highest power, to achieve the desire to be self-obedient, and to ruthlessly and unscrupulously seek revenge for everything.

Zetian has been smart and agile since childhood, very good at expressing himself, and has super courage. Her father deeply felt that she was a talented person, so he taught her to read and write so that she could understand the world. According to historical records, when Zetian was 13 or 14 years old, he had already read a lot of books, had a strong memorization of knowledge, and had laid a certain foundation for poems and songs. He was also good at calligraphy, and his handwriting was outstanding.

In the eleventh year of Zhenguan (637), 14-year-old Zetian was selected into the palace for his handsome appearance and was awarded the title of "talented man". After entering the palace, Zetian was capable, considerate, and charming, which made Taizong very happy, so he gave her the title "Meiniang". After a long time, Taizong found that Zetian was quite knowledgeable and knew etiquette, so he moved her from the ranks of servants to the imperial study to serve Wenmo. This incident enabled Wu Zetian to come into contact with royal official documents, learn about some important court affairs, and read many rare books and regulations. Her horizons broadened, and she became increasingly familiar with official politics and power tactics.

In the 23rd year of Zhenguan (649), when Taizong died, Zetian and all his concubines were sent to Ganye Temple in Chang'an to become nuns. After Taizong's ninth son, Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, he was very interested in her because he had secretly communicated with Zetian in the past, so he often visited Ganye Temple. Two or three years later, Zetian was summoned to serve as an official again and was given the title of " Zhaoyi".

In the sixth year of Yonghui (655), Wu Zetian, who was extremely favored by Emperor Gaozong, was sure to win in the inner palace struggle, and increasingly urged Emperor Emperor Gaozong to establish himself as his queen. However, in feudal society, the abolition of a queen was a major national event and had to be discussed with important ministers. When Emperor Gaozong explained his plan to abolish the Queen Wang family and establish Zetian as Queen to Zhu Suiliang, Changsun Wuji and other senior ministers, he immediately encountered strong opposition.

They believed that the Wu family was from a humble background and was not suitable for future generations. However, Gaozong's proposition was also supported by Wu Zetian's accomplice Xu Jingzhong and some important officials in the court such as Li Yifu and Xu Shi. With their help, Emperor Gaozong finally issued an imperial edict in October of that year, deposing the Queen Wang family and officially enthroning Zetian as Queen. From then on, all the power in the royal palace fell into the hands of the Wu family.

After Zetian ascended the throne of the queen, her wit and shrewdness, and her strengths of "well-versed in literature and history, and rich in tactics" were greatly developed and developed, which made Gaozong favor her and look down upon her. She also took advantage of her status as a queen and the emperor's favor for her to actively participate in government affairs.

In the five years from the sixth year of Yonghui (655) to the fourth year of Xianqing (659), she tried to eliminate political opponents, demoted Shangshu's right servant and shot Zhu Suiliang, causing him to die of depression; deposed Tong Zhongshu's eldest grandson Wu Ji, forced her to hang herself; dismissed the supporters of Zhu Suiliang and Changsun Yuanji in the court, consolidated and expanded her influence and power, and removed obstacles on her path to political participation.

In the fifth year of Xianqing (66O), Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi suffered from phoenix dizziness and was unable to see, so he issued an edict to entrust Empress Wu to assist in political affairs. From then on, Zetian changed from participating in politics to being in power. "The decision to depose and kill the emperor depends on his mouth, and the emperor just hands it over." Although people were behind the scenes, they controlled the real power of the court. Later, Emperor Gaozong regretted it and attempted to take back his power, and secretly ordered Shangguan Yicao, the Minister of Zhongshu, to abolish the imperial edict. Little did he know that the matter was not secret and "the plot to leak it failed." Empress Wu was ruthless and ruthless, so she acted first and had Shangguan Yi executed immediately. Gaozong's move fell short of success, but made Empress Wu even more vigilant.

Because Empress Zetianwu handled government affairs in an orderly and orderly manner, unlike Gaozong who was indecisive for a long time, she was highly respected by the ministers. Although Emperor Gaozong hated her for acting alone, he had to rely on her for many national affairs. In this way, Empress Wu gradually moved from behind the scenes to the front stage, and actually came to the Purple Palace with Gaozong and accepted the worship of the ministers together. In the first year of Shangyuan (674), Emperor Gaozong was named Emperor and the Queen was named Queen of Heaven. People in the world called them the "Two Saints". From then on, Emperor Gaozong was in name only, and all the power of the Tang Dynasty was in the hands of Empress Wu Zetian.

In the 16 years from the first year of Shangyuan (674), when Zetian began to rule as the "Queen of Heaven", to the first year of Tianshou (690) when he officially proclaimed the emperor, Wu made preparations for the emperor. A lot of long-term preparations were made and a variety of powerful and effective measures were taken. First of all, in terms of succession to the throne, Gaozong wanted to take the throne from his eldest son Li Hong. Empress Wu ignored the love between mother and son, poisoned Li Hong to death, and made her second son Li Xian the crown prince. Li Xian was entrusted by Emperor Gaozong with the post of Lin Guo, and he was very capable in handling government affairs. Empress Wu deposed Li Xian as a commoner and established her third son Li Xian as the prince. In the Tiannian year of Hongdao (683 years), Gaozong died, Zhongzong Li Xian just succeeded to the throne, and Empress Wu came to the court in the name of the Empress Dowager. A year later, Zhongzong was abolished, and he was granted the title of King of Luling. His fourth son, Li Dan, was made emperor and became Ruizong. Li Xian and Li Dan were both mediocre and incompetent people. They were also puppets in the position of emperor and were controlled by Empress Wu in everything.