Wu Zetian was born in Wude, Tang Gaozu in 624. Her ancestral home was in Wenshui (now Wenshui County, Shanxi Province) and she was born in Lizhou (now Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province). My father is engaged in timber business, and his family is well-off. At the end of the great cause, when Li Yuan was working in Hedong and Taiyuan, he met each other because he had defected to the Wu family many times. Yang Di ordered Tang gaozu to guard Taiyuan, and once promoted a soldier to join the army as a marching company. After Li Yuan rose up in Taiyuan to resist Sui Dynasty, the Wu family once subsidized money, food and clothing. Therefore, after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, he successively served as Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, Assistant Minister of Huangmen, Assistant Minister of Treasury Affairs, Six Judges, Governor of Yangzhou, Governor of Lizhou (now Guangyuan, Sichuan) and Governor of Jingzhou (now Jiangling, Hubei). Wu Zetian has a strong personality since childhood. She doesn't like needlework, no. She only likes reading, so she is polite and knows politics well. When she was a child, she traveled with her parents to famous mountains and rivers, and her experience was profound, which cultivated her vision and talent. In November of the 11th year of Zhenguan (637), Emperor Taizong heard that the young Wu Zetian was beautiful and charming, so he took her into the palace, named her a five-character gifted scholar, and called her "Wu Mei", so he called her Wu Meiniang. Before Wu Zetian entered the palace, she said goodbye to her widowed mother Shi Yang. "I wonder if it is a blessing to serve the sage emperor?" (There is also a record that says, "Is it a blessing to see the sun?" Why are you crying like a child? Once, she heard that Emperor Taizong had a fierce horse named "Lion Son", and no one could tame it. She took the initiative to say to Emperor Taizong, "Both men and women can subdue your fierce horse, but they need three instruments: one is iron whip, the other is an iron jar, and the third is a dagger. I'll smoke it with iron whip first. If I don't accept it, I'll hit it on the head with a hammer. If I don't accept it, I will cut its throat with a dagger. " As a horse lover, Emperor Taizong disagreed with her method of training horses, and only thought that Wu Cairen was overbearing. In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan (643), Li Chenggan, the prince, was abolished and Li Zhi, the king of Jin Dynasty, was established. From then on, while serving Emperor Taizong, Wu Zetian met Li Zhi and developed admiration. After the death of Emperor Taizong, Wu Zetian followed the example of the Tang harem and went into the dry leaf hall to cut her hair. In May of the first year of Yonghui (650), on the anniversary of Emperor Taizong's death, Tang Gaozong met Wu Zetian again when he entered the Ganye Temple for pilgrimage. The two men recognized each other and told each other their thoughts after leaving. At this time, the queen who had just fallen out of favor because she had no children saw it in her eyes and offered to ask the emperor to bring Wu Zetian into the palace in an attempt to attack her rival in love, Xiao Shufei. Tang Gaozong had this idea and immediately replied. In May of the 2nd year of Yonghui (65 1), Tang Gaozong's mourning was full, and Wu Zetian entered the palace again. In May of the following year, he became a second-class Zhao Yi. At the beginning of the 5th year of Yonghui (654), Wu Zetian gave birth to a baby girl, and Tang Gaozong regarded her as the apple of her eye. One day, the queen came to visit the baby girl alone. After the queen left, Wu Zetian found that the baby girl was dead. Tang Gaozong was furious when he learned that, and immediately ordered to trace the murderer. The ladies-in-waiting all told the story that the queen had just left here, and Wu Zetian also cried bitterly, taking the opportunity to list the queen's dissatisfaction. Tang Gaozong was convinced that the baby girl was killed by the Queen, and he was in a state of abandonment, and he also wanted to attack the powerful minister by abolishing the Queen. So, he and Wu Zetian came to the Wuji Palace in Sun Chang to find out the location of Wu Zetian through a banquet. During the dinner, Emperor Gaozong first worshipped Wuji's three sons as doctors, then gave them a lot of gold, silver and silk, and then revealed his intention to abolish the queen. But Sun Chang Wuji just changed the subject and avoided a formal statement. Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian didn't achieve their goal, so they had to return to the palace in an unhappy way. Soon, Wu Zetian instructed her mother Yang to plead with Mowgli, but Mowgli sternly refused. In June of the 6th year of Yonghui (655), the Queen Wang and her mother, the Liu family, found a wizard in an attempt to curse Wu Zetian and die with their "inexhaustible" skills. After the incident, he was furious, not only drove Liu out of the palace, but also wanted to promote Wu Zetian from being a product. Due to the opposition of prime ministers Han Yuan and Lai Ji, they finally failed. Soon, Li Yifu and others learned that they wanted to abolish Empress Wu Zetian, and colluded with Xu, Cui, Yuan and other ministers, and successively submitted a request to establish Empress Wu Zetian. Tang Gaozong saw many people supporting him, and the idea of abolishing legislation sprouted again. 10 13, with the support of court officials, an imperial edict was finally issued: on the charge of "conspiring to poison", the Queen Wang and his wife were abolished and imprisoned, as well as their parents and brothers. He was also dismissed and exiled to Lingnan. Seven days later, Tang Gaozong wrote another letter and made Wu Zetian the queen. At the same time, the most opposed prime minister, Chu Suiliang, was demoted to the governor of another state. At the beginning of November, Wu Zetian sent someone to beat the ruined and imprisoned Wang and Wang with a hundred sticks, cut off their hands and feet, and put them into wine jars. She also said angrily, "Let the bones of these two bitches be drunk to death." Wang and Xiao cried in the wine jar for days and nights before they died. Before he died, Xiao Shufei cursed loudly: "Ah, Wu Yao, how cruel this is! May I be reborn as a cat and a mouse in the next life. I will bite her throat alive. " It is said that Wu Zetian later banned cats in the palace, and often dreamed of Wang and Xiao Changmao making trouble in the palace. So after she took charge of the state affairs, she lived in Luoyang, the eastern capital, and never returned to Chang 'an. In April (659) of the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Xianqing, Wu Zetian fabricated charges again, and dismissed Sun Chang Wuji, Yu Zhining, Han Yuan, Lai Ji and others, and moved the capital. At this point, all the ministers who opposed Wu Zetian were either demoted or killed, and none remained. In the fifth year of Qing Dynasty (660), Emperor Gaozong suffered from head wind and was dizzy, so he could not handle the affairs of state affairs, and ordered Wu Zetian to act as the agent of state affairs. But Wu Zetian was overbearing by nature, so whenever he made a decision, the emperor always obeyed her. The emperor was very dissatisfied, so he consulted with Prime Minister Shangguan Yi in the first year of Linde (664) and planned to abolish the post of Wu Zetian. However, before Shangguan Yi's imperial edict was drafted, Wu Zetian had got the news. She went directly to the emperor to ask about it. Tang Gaozong had to put the blame on Shangguan Yi. In December, Shangguan Yi was arrested and imprisoned, and was soon beheaded. From then on, every time Tang Gaozong went to court, Wu Zetian was behind the scenes, and the world power was completely in the hands of Wuhou. Even life and death are decided by the marquis of Wu, and Emperor Taizong can only do whatever he wants. Therefore, both inside and outside the imperial court are called "two saints". In the second year of Ganfeng (667), Emperor Gaozong ordered Prince Li Hong to run the country because of his long illness. In the autumn and August of the first year of Shangyuan (674), Emperor Gaozong was the emperor, and Wuhou was the Tianhou Palace, which was called avoiding the first emperor. I really wanted to respect myself. In December, Wu Hou suggested twelve things in the above table: "First, advise farmers to plant mulberry and not pay attention to it. Second, give it to the third auxiliary place (exempt from the corvee in Chang 'an and its nearby areas). Third, stop fighting and moralize the world. Fourth, the South and North China (handicraft workshop government) still prohibits skillful floating. Fifth, save labor and effort. Sixth, talk extensively. Seven, Dewey mouth. Eight, princes and princes will all learn from Laozi. Nine, the father mourned for his mother for three years (it used to be one year). X. Before Shangyuan (year number), the meritorious person has given himself (power of attorney) and has no pursuit. Eleven, Beijing official more than eight products, benefit sharing (salary increase). Twelve, officials have served for a long time, and those with high qualifications have to apply for advanced (promotion) residency. "The emperor's decree was carried out. Wu Zetian can attach importance to agricultural production and stipulate that people who "reclaim land and have surplus grain at home" will be awarded prizes; Those who "abuse the government and transfer accounts" will be punished. The agricultural books compiled by Zhaoren Benye have been published all over the world, which has a great influence. During the reign of Wu Zetian, Emperor Taizong continued to implement the policy of developing agricultural production and selecting talents. In March of the second year of Shang and Yuan Dynasties (675), Wuhou gathered a large number of scholars and wrote a large number of books, including Xuan Lan, Ancient and Modern Internal Models, Minutes of Qing Palace, Shaoyang Zheng Fan, Canon of the Acropolis, Zi Shu Yao Lu, New Commandments of Fenglou, Biography of Filial Piety and Biography of Female Students. Moreover, in order to carve up the power of the prime minister, this group of scholars were ordered to participate in the proceedings of the court, which was called "North Gate Bachelor". At that time, Emperor Gaozong was even more dazzled, and he planned to make Wuhou a regent. Prime Minister Hao Yue said, "Why did your majesty entrust the world of such an immortal son as Taizong to the emperor? "The emperor doesn't want to be a regent. Prince Hong is deeply loved and wants to meditate on him. Wu Hou wanted to take over the power, but he was dissatisfied with Prince Hong. It happened that Princess Yiyang and Princess Xuancheng, the daughters that Prince Hong saw, were imprisoned in the palace because of their mother's crime. They were over 30 years old and unmarried, so they were invited to surrender, and the emperor made a promise. The marquis of Wu was furious, and soon the prince died in Hebei Palace. People think that Wu Hou poisoned him. In December of the first year of Hongdao (683), he died of illness. His last words were: The prince succeeded to the throne before Chang, and whether military affairs can be decided is up to Wu Zetian. Four days later, Li Xian acceded to the throne for Tang Zhongzong. Wu Zetian was honored as the Empress Dowager. In February of the first year of Guangzhai (684), Zhongzong wanted to take Wei, the stepmother of Wei, as an assistant, but Pei refused to listen. Wu Zetian was abolished as the king of Luling and moved to Fangxian County, Hubei Province. Li Dan, his fourth son, became emperor with Wu Zetian, who became a court official and changed his country name to Zhou. In September of the same year, Tang, Luo, Du and others supported King Luling and opposed Wu Zetian's sending troops to Yangzhou, and gathered 100,000 people in more than ten days. Wu Zetian immediately took the left general Li Xiaoyi as the general leader of Yangzhou Road and led 300,000 troops to conquer. 1 1 month, Xu Jingye defeated and committed suicide. In March of the second year of the vertical arch (686), Wu Zetian ordered the manufacture of copper boxes (small boxes made of copper) and placed them in front of Luoyang Miyagi, ready to accept the respect of the liegeman. At the same time, open the door to informers and stipulate that anyone can tell them. The state should provide all informers with chariots, horses and food. Even the farmer Qiao Min and Wu Zetian have seen it in person. If the content is in line with the wishes, it can be promoted without exception. If the accusation is not established, there will be no guilt. At the same time, Wu Zetian successively appointed a large number of cruel officials such as Suo Yuanli, Zhou Xing, Lai Junchen and Hou Sizhi to take charge of the prison system. If the defendants are put into this prison and cruel officials use all kinds of torture for interrogation, there is no doubt that they can get out of prison alive. In this way, with the trend of more and more informers, more and more people are tortured to death by cruel officials. So a terrible political atmosphere was formed inside and outside the imperial court, so that ministers had to say goodbye to their families every time they went to court and lived in fear all day. Wu Houmou seized Li Tang and wiped out the imperial clan of the Tang Dynasty. The kings felt uneasy and wanted to fight with each other. In August of four years (688), Li Chong (Li Zhenzi), the evil king of Bozhou, sent troops to Bozhou (now northeast of Liaocheng). Li Zhen, the son of Emperor Taizong, sent troops to Yuzhou (now Runan, Henan) to respond. Wu Hou sent Qiu and Wei to attack him. The evil king Li Chong rose up and died on the 7th. In September, Li Zhen, the king of Yue, committed suicide after his defeat. This year, monk Xue Huaiyi was ordered to lead more than 10,000 people to destroy the Yuan Hall and build the Ming Hall, which took nearly a year to complete, with a height of 294 feet and a width of 300 feet. * * * Three floors, with a round cover on the top and nine dragons holding it. There is an iron phoenix on the mountain, ten feet high. Decorated with gold, it is called "Vientiane shrine". After the completion of Tang Ming, monks were ordered to cast a statue of righteousness, and the little finger of the statue could support dozens of people. A five-story paradise was built in northern Tang Ming to house the statue. The cost is trillions, and the government finances are exhausted. At that time, I ordered someone to chisel the white stone as a text, saying, "The Virgin is a human being, and the Yongchang Emperor is also. "It is said that it was found in waterinfo and dedicated to Wuhou. The marquis of Wu was overjoyed and ordered people to call this stone a "treasure map". Later, Wuhou was honored as the "Virgin Jade Emperor". Wu Zetian tried to kill the kings of Li, so that Zhou Xing and others were tried, and forced North Korean kings Yuanjia, Ling Kui, Huang Guogong, Dongguan County Gongrong and Princess Changle to commit suicide, and their cronies were all punished. The imperial examination system was further developed during the reign of Wuhou. In Zhenguan period, * * enrolled 205 students, and in post-Gao Zongwu period, * * enrolled more than 0/000 students. The average number of students admitted each year is more than double that of Zhenguan. In the first year of Wuhou (690), Wu Zetian personally asked about palace affairs in the Temple of Los Angeles, which was the beginning of the "Palace Entrance Examination". 1989, ten governors were sent to recommend talents. A year later, * * * recommended more than 100 people. Wu Zetian, regardless of her background, was interviewed and appointed according to her qualifications, or tried to seal a cabinet for others (Zhongshu Province), or tried to be a foreign minister, counselor, a captain and an official. The language. Although Wuhou won the hearts of the people with his official position, he would also depose incompetent people; Seeing clearly and judging well, people at that time were also happy to play for Wuhou. In order to reward the informer, Wu Hou made an exception and awarded the informer an official position. Hou Sizhi, who sells cakes for a living, is a hooligan. Because of falsely accusing Shu of rebelling against Hengzhou secretariat Pei Zhen, he was appointed general and counselor. Known for his immorality, Wang sued the village for rebellion and appointed guerrilla generals and imperial advisers to the temple. In that year, he killed Annan, Deng 12 members of the imperial clan and flogged the second son of the late Wang Xian. The imperial clan of the Tang Dynasty was completely annihilated, and its young and weak survivors also flowed to Lingnan, killing hundreds of pro-Party people. In July this year, Faming monks and others wrote four volumes of the Great Cloud Sutra, pointing out that Wuhou was the next life of Maitreya, and that the contemporary Tang Dynasty was the master of the world, and Wuhou ordered its promulgation. Ordered two Beijing to build a Dayun Temple to store the Dayun Sutra, and ordered monks to explain it, raising the status of Buddhism above Taoism. In September of that year, Fu Youyi, an imperial envoy, led 900 people to the table in Guanzhong. Please change the country name to Zhou and the emperor's surname to Wu. So more than 60 thousand officials, the emperor's people, the people, the overflowing leader and the shaman Taoist priest also asked to change the name of the country. The marquis of Wu must invite him to change the Tang Dynasty to Zhou Dynasty and Yuan Tiancai. Wuhou is called the Holy Spirit Emperor, with Zong Rui as the heir, Wu Shi as the surname, and the Crown Prince as the grandson. After the establishment of the seventh samurai temple, Zhou Wenwang was honored as the ancestor of Wendi. Wu was appointed as Wang Wei, Wu Sansi was, and the rest of the Wu people were Wang and princess royal. In September of the same year, Wu Zetian sent Wang Xiaojie, the general of Xingyang Weiyou, as the general manager of Wuwei Army, and led troops to the western regions with Ashina, the general of Wuwei, to conquer Tubo. In October, Tang Jun won a great victory. Even the four towns of Anxi, such as Khotan, Shule, Qiuci and Broken Leaf, still set the capital of Anxi in Qiuci and sent troops to defend it. After three years' longevity (694), Wu Sansi led the leaders of Siyi to cast Shu Tian out of copper and iron, and stood outside the Duanmen to celebrate the virtues of the marquis of Wu. The marquis of Wu wrote in his own handwriting: "All countries in the Zhou Dynasty praised Shu Tian". Shu Tian was elected in August. It is shaped like a column, with a height of 105 feet and a diameter of 12 feet. It has eight sides, five feet on each side, iron mountain at the bottom, circumference of 170 feet, and bronze dragons and Kirin around it. At the top, Yun Teng's exposed dish is three feet in diameter, and the four dragons on it stand upright, holding fire beads and one foot high. Worker Mao Polo made a model, written by Wu Sansi, engraved with the names of Guan Bai and the leader of April 1st. With 2 million Jin of copper and iron, "please gather millions, copper and iron are not enough, and it is not enough for folk farm tools." In May (696) of the first year of Long Live Ye, the Khitan leader and Sun Wanrong rose up and captured Yingzhou, killing the Taishou Zhao. Wu Zetian sent generals Cao, Li Duozuo and others to lead the army to conquer. Because Tubo was ambushed by mistake, the whole army was wiped out. Then, Wu Zetian sent Wu Yousi, Wang Xiaojie and other soldiers to crusade, and they were all defeated. In April of the first year of siddhi (697), Wu Zetian sent Wu Zongyi, Lou Deyi, Sha Yi and Zhongyi to lead 200,000 troops to crusade against Qidan. In June, Sun Wanrong was defeated and killed, and the rest of the Khitans defected to the Turks. In the first year of Shengong (697), Wu Houling interrogated Liu Mourebellion. Wu Shuo, as long as Liu points out which courtiers have any rebellion, he will be free from capital punishment. So Liu falsely accused Prime Minister Li and Sun and other 36 "celebrities at home", all of whom were exterminated and exiled for more than a thousand people. At that time, people thought that Wu's cruelty was second only to Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen. That year, Lai Junchen wanted to sue the kings of Wu Shi and Princess Taiping (the loyal emperor's sister, Wu Zetian's only biological daughter), and also wanted to falsely accuse the imperial heir (emperor) and Luling king (emperor) and the northern and southern officials * * *, so that he could inherit the throne and be emperor. King Wu and Princess Taiping were so afraid that they exposed their crimes, were imprisoned and sentenced to death. The enemy is fighting for their meat, and soon they will eat it up. Lai Junchen is fierce, cunning, greedy and violent, netting innocent people and weaving them into opposites, killing people is even more incalculable. "Bribery is like a mountain, and ghosts are in the way." Wu Hou, also aware of the resentment of the world, ordered him to count his crimes and confiscate his property. In the first year of the holy calendar (698), Wu and Wu Sansi conspired to be princes, and several times they made people say to the marquis of Wu: "Since ancient times, the son of heaven has never taken a different surname as an heir." The marquis of Wu hesitated, and the emperor said to the marquis of Wu, "Who is closer, aunt, nephew or mother and son? (Wu and Wu Sansi are both nephews of the marquis of Wu, sons of Wu Hou Zhongzonghe) If your Majesty sets up a son, he will live a long life and worship his ancestors in the ancestral temple; Those who set up nephews have never heard that nephews are sacrificed to the ancestral temple. " Also advised Wuhou to recall Luling Wang (Zhongzong). Wu Hou has no intention of establishing Wu Chengsi or Wu Sansi. It is said that the king of Luling returned to the eastern capital, and the imperial heir () invited Xun to be stationed in Luling King. Wu Hou, the king of Luling was appointed as the Crown Prince, and was appointed as the Marshal. Di Renjie led the troops to attack the Turks as a deputy marshal. After Wu Xin became emperor, he often called him "Guo Lao" instead of calling him by his first name. De is good at persuasion, and Wuhou does it every time. When Ren Jie died, Wu Hou cried, "The imperial court is empty!" I often sigh: "It is too early for God to take away our country!" In the first month of the first year of Shenlong (705), Wu Zetian was seriously ill and bedridden, with only his minions Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong waiting on her. Prime Minister Zhang Jian and his ministers Jing Hui, Cui Xuanyong, Huan and Yuan led more than 500 people into the palace and killed their brothers. Wu Zetian was forced to abdicate to Prince Li Xian and was honored as the Great Sage Emperor. Restore the old system of titles, officials, flags, costumes and figures in the Tang Dynasty. And restore god as the east capital. In the same year 1 1 month, he died in shangyang palace at the age of 82. Tianhou Palace called the Emperor's Legacy System. In May of the second year of Shenlong (706), he was buried with Emperor Gaozong in Ganling.