Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers
()
About this ebook
Wu Zhao (624--705), better known as Wu Zetian or Empress Wu, is the only woman to have ruled China over the course of its 5,000-year history. How did she rise to power, and why was she never overthrown? Exploring a mystery that has confounded scholars for centuries, this multifaceted history suggests that Wu Zhao drew on China's rich pantheon of female divinities and eminent women to aid in her reign.
Wu Zhao could not obtain political authority through conventional channels, but she could afford to ignore norms and tradition. Deploying language, symbol, and ideology, she harnessed the cultural resonance, maternal force, divine energy, and historical weight of Buddhist devis, Confucian exemplars, Daoist immortals, and mythic goddesses, establishing legitimacy within and beyond the confines of Confucian ideology. Tapping into deep, powerful subterranean reservoirs of female power, Wu Zhao built a pantheon of female divinities carefully calibrated to meet her needs at court. Her pageant was promoted in scripted rhetoric, reinforced through poetry, celebrated in theatrical productions, and inscribed on steles. Rendered with deft political acumen and aesthetic flair, these affiliations significantly enhanced Wu Zhao's authority and cast her as the human vessel through which the pantheon's divine energy flowed. Her strategy is a model of political brilliance and proof that medieval Chinese women enjoyed a more complex social status than previously known.
Related to Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers
Related ebooks
Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Historical Records of the Five Dynasties Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Exemplary Women of Early China: The Lienü zhuan of Liu Xiang Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cult of the Fox: Power, Gender, and Popular Religion in Late Imperial and Modern China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecords of the Grand Historian Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei, Volume Three: The Aphrodisiac Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The World of Wu Zhao: Annotated Selections from Zhang Zhuo’s Court and Country Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMyths and Legends of China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue: An Annotated Translation of Wu Yue Chunqiu Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5‘This Culture of Ours’: Intellectual Transitions in T’ang and Sung China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaoist Astrology: A Handbook of the Authentic Chinese Tradition Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Resurrected Skeleton: From Zhuangzi to Lu Xun Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShang and Zhou Dynasties: The Bronze Age of China - Early Civilization | Ancient History for Kids | 5th Grade Social Studies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEarly Medieval China: A Sourcebook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pitfalls of Piety for Married Women: Two Precious Scrolls of the Ming Dynasty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of Han Xiangzi: The Alchemical Adventures of a Daoist Immortal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chinese Alchemy: Taoism, the Power of Gold, and the Quest for Immortality Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Works of Zhuangzi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Xunzi: Basic Writings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unearthing the Changes: Recently Discovered Manuscripts of the Yi Jing ( I Ching) and Related Texts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Luxurious Networks: Salt Merchants, Status, and Statecraft in Eighteenth-Century China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaoist Feng Shui: The Ancient Roots of the Chinese Art of Placement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Lord Shang: Apologetics of State Power in Early China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSources of Chinese Tradition: Volume 2: From 1600 Through the Twentieth Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChina's Hegemony: Four Hundred Years of East Asian Domination Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Asian History For You
Wise Thoughts for Every Day: On God, Love, the Human Spirit, and Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Ieyasu Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnit 731: Testimony Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unit 731: The Forgotten Asian Auschwitz Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inglorious Empire: what the British did to India Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Yakuza: life and death in the Japanese underworld Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfrican Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsZen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Caste (Oprah's Book Club): by Isabel Wilkerson - The Origins of Our Discontents - A Comprehensive Summary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Buddhas Seated Side by Side: A Guide to the Lotus Sūtra Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pillow Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 2]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-1962 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago: The Authorized Abridgement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 3]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Voices from Chernobyl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cultural Revolution: A People's History, 1962—1976 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers
0 ratings0 reviews