Opinion | Empress Wu Zetian: An example of female power which remains relevant today
The empress who effectively ruled the Tang dynasty empire had to fight against all-male officials, who described her as ‘a hen that crowed’
On December 16 in the year 705, Empress Wu Zetian passed away. She effectively ruled the vast empire of the Tang dynasty for more than half a century. Being the only empress regnant of imperial China, she was also arguably the most capable woman to have been recorded in Chinese history.
Empress Wu ruled with an iron fist. That might have been necessary at the time because of strong resistance by the royal family which considered her to have usurped the throne. Several military revolts against her took place, and they were all brutally put down.
Resentment was common within the ruling bureaucracy. The all-male officials quietly described her as “a hen that crowed”, a derogatory remark with full gender bias which was typical at the time.
The aristocratic families were also dead against her. They had hitherto monopolised important positions in the government. But her big push to build up a meritocracy to replace the hereditary system of official appointment threatened to take away the aristocracy’s powers.
During her reign, Empress Wu expanded the imperial public examination system significantly. She increased the frequency of public examinations and built local schools to train up potential scholars. She instituted the system of final interview at the imperial court so the best might be picked for important official positions.
In time, she filled the bureaucracy with a capable cadre of scholarly officials chosen from a competitive examination system called keju. This system was institutionalised thereafter. It provided subsequent imperial rulers with the brainpower from a wide gene pool, making it possible to rule a vast empire with minimal power of coercion, which is unusual in the days of emperors and kings.