Wu Zetian is the second daughter of Wu Shihuo, the founder of the Tang Dynasty. Her mother's name is Yang (born in the royal family of Sui Dynasty, and her father is the younger brother of King Sui and Duke Ning Sui), and her ancestral home is in Wenshui County, Bingzhou (now a native of Beixu Village, Wenshui County, Shanxi Province).
Wu Zetian was born in Lizhou (now Guangyuan, Sichuan) and Chang 'an (now Xi 'an, Shaanxi) in the seventh year of Wude (624). There are two half-brothers, Wu and Wu, and two half-sisters. One is Wu Shun, a Korean wife (Wu Shun is called a sister in history books and a sister in Wu Shun's epitaph), and the other is Mrs. Guo.
Extended data:
According to records, Wu Zetian in her later years was "good at self-whitewashing. Although her children and grandchildren were around, she didn't feel old." When I abdicated and moved to Shangyang Palace, I stopped dressing up and looked haggard. Once, when Li Xian met Wu Zetian, he was afraid of it.
Wu Zetian cried: "I brought you back to Shen Du from Fangling, of course, to entrust the world to you, but the greed of the five thieves (the five kings who participated in the Dragon Coup) shocked me here."
Hearing this, Li Xian wept bitterly and knelt down to "thank humbly to death". Some people think that it is this incident that makes Wu Sansi and other Wu clansmen still able to participate in the discussion of state affairs (because they think twice and get their own place).
Character story:
One year, Wu Zetian banned the slaughter of livestock. There is a Zuo Shiyi, surnamed Zhang. It happened that his wife gave birth to a boy. He wanted to celebrate on a small scale, so he quietly slaughtered a sheep without telling the emperor. Then, invite a few colleagues who are usually good to dinner.
Everyone came secretly, naturally to celebrate, and then, after pushing a cup for a change, they had a big mutton dinner. Among my friends, there is a man named Du Su, who fills the vacancy with official worship and belongs to the supervision department like Zuo Shiyi.
So a person, after eating, wiped his mouth and sued his colleagues. A piece of paper directly sued Wu Zetian. Zhang thought it had been done in the dark, but he was still immersed in joy.
The next day, above the imperial court, Wu Zetian suddenly said to Zuo Shousui, "I heard that your wife gave birth to a boy. Congratulations! " Hearing this, he quickly kowtowed and thanked him, but his heart was secretly jumpy, wondering how the emperor knew about it.
Wu Zetian then asked, "But where did the mutton you treated come from?" Knowing that the story was revealed, he bowed down again and again and said that he should make it clear. Thought, this is over, angered the emperor, only a dead end.
Wu Zetian looked at the courtiers kneeling on the ground and said, "I ordered the world to ban the slaughter of livestock." In fact, it doesn't matter if you are married. What I want to say is that when inviting guests, please be selective. Like some hooligans, there is no need to have dinner with him. "
Say that finish, she took out the piece of paper that Du Su wrote to herself and showed it to everyone. As a result, "I sweated and vomited." In other words, Wu Zetian did not punish illegal gleaning.
However, Du Su, a little informer, was humiliated in public. This story was read in Tai Ping Guang Ji. In ancient times, the matter of monarch and minister was just that the monarch was condescending and the minister was obedient.
Wu Zetian can expose a villain in the court, which makes the emperor of the world suddenly more lovely. Moreover, in this way, she taught ministers a life lesson and warned them to be cautious in choosing friends.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Wu Zetian