Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God

by Jonathan Clements

Wu was the first and only woman in Chinese history to become a reigning empress. Jonathan Clements tells the dramatic and colourful story of the seventh-century daughter of a lumber merchant who used her looks, cunning and connections to rule one of the largest empires of the world. Before Wu was born, prophecies predicted that she would become an emperor. It was thus a source of disappointment to her family when she turned out to be a girl. But they underestimated Wu's steely determination to succeed. At the age of 13 she took the first steps on her path to power when she was selected as a concubine to the 40-year-old Supreme Emperor (Taizong). When the emperor fell ill, the ambitious Wu committed a capital crime by seducing his heir. Her gamble paid off, and when the emperor died, his besotted heir, now the High Emperor (Gaozong), rescued Wu from life in a convent. Back in the palace, Wu wasted no time in framing and executing her opposition, the empress and the beautiful Pure Concubine. Her ruthlessness even extended to her own family. After her husband had died, she poisoned her strong-willed eldest son, tried to rule through his two more malleable brothers but eventually took the throne herself. Coloured by intrigue, murder, incest and seduction, Wu's incredible true story is a rich and fascinating tale. Drawing on the original Chinese sources, Jonathan Clements reveals the life of this extraordinary woman who proclaimed herself a living god, founded a new dynasty and was only deposed, aged 79, after jealous courtiers had murdered her two young lovers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, China, Biography, Historical, Asia, Audiobook

239 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Jonathan Clements is an author, translator, biographer and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Marco Polo, Mao Zedong, Koxinga and Qin Shihuangdi. He also writes for NEO magazine and is the co-author of encyclopedias of anime and Japanese television dramas.

Reviews

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God by Jonathan Clements is a well written, entirely readable and fully informative narration of Empress Wu Zeiten of the Tang Dynasty.

Other well written book about Empress Wu: Empress by Shan Sa.

Who is Empress Wu? She was the legendary female emperor from the Tang Dynasty (when Chinese art, cultures, economy, trade, military and...woman's fashion were developed to a new height), and she was also the one and *only* woman to rule in the place of emperor in the entire history of China.

Her path from bottom to the very top began when she became a lowly concubine of the Emperor, after the dead of her imperial husband, she married the dead Emperor's son and then she schemed and murdered her way to become her second husband's Empress (it wasn't easy when there were so many women in the harem fighting over one man's affection). And years after the death of her second husband, Empress Wu finally crowned herself Sacred Emperor and Holy Mother, the holy reincarnation of Buddha, and ruled China for nearly 20 years more.

How did Empress Wu manage all these Cinderella level of great successes? At what cost did she mange these? Was she a successful ruler or was she an evil, lousy woman who ruined the empire like many male historians claimed? You can find out for yourself!

Although the viewpoints offered by Mr. Clements (e.g. Empress Wu shouldn't be measured by her gender, but her policies and her behaviors, and her evil doings aren't any worse than the male emperors'; etc)are nothing new to me, still I appreciate how his book manages to cover the long and eventful life-story of Empress Wu and made all these historical details look interesting and very easy-to-read. So, 4.2 stars.

PS: I also like how Mr. Clements listed out the movies/TV dramas/novels based on Empress Wu (she has always been a hot topic in the Chinese pop culture/folklore) at the very end of his book. Oh boy Mr. Clements must have read/watched all these novels/movies/TV dramas, starting from those old movies from 1930s right up to the novels/TV series in the 2000s.

[Anna From Gustine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the lurid title, this book is an interesting overview of the remarkable Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty. Empress Wu began as a concubine and managed to become the wife of an Emperor, essentially ruling in his stead when he became ill. When he died, she took power from her own sons. This was a woman who knew how to get what she wanted and heaven help whoever got in her way. But, really, as the author responsibly points out, she was no different than any other Chinese Emperor. She just happened to be the first female who made herself emperor in her own right. Not regent, but truly Emperor. And she wielded that power confidently, even going so far as to change some written Chinese characters to reflect her political philosophy. There are many nasty stories from her rule, all the way through to her old age. Of course, again as the author points out, we don’t necessarily know how many of the stories are true. The Tang Chronicles are mainly written by those who hated her and the very idea of a woman in power. I would have liked a longer book that went into more depth, but for those who have never heard of this historical figure, it’s a quick and enjoyable read.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walau detail dengan data dan full note tapi narasi dan puisi-puisi ini cepat membuat bosan pembaca yang tidak terbiasa dengan non fiksi sejarah dan menimbulkan banyak tanda tanya. Kenapa? Karena si penulis jelas ragu untuk berspekulasi dan mlancarkan beberapa "tuduhan dan motivasi tindakan" yang tipis dan terselubung.

Aku beruntung karena sebelumnya sudah membaca versi HF dari karakter ini, sehingga paling tidak aku bisa memahami motivasi karakter utama dan memaklumi tindakannya.

[Emma Wiles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wu was an incredibly strategic and entrepreneurial person who worked her way up from chambermaid to become Emporer of all China (the first and only woman to be Emporer.) One distinction I hadn’t understood is that while English has only one word for both “female Emporer” and “wife of Emporer” (i.e. Empress.) But while every Emporer in imperial China had an Empress (wife), Wu was first Empress (wife of Emporer Gaozong) and then later Empress (supreme ruler of China.)

It’s certainly incredible to read her story and to be reminded that power hungry sociopaths are not exclusively male traits. The body’s of enemies, family members, and anyone in her way line the path of Wu’s ascent. However, it is important to remember that this was true for the Emporer’s before and after her (to varying degrees) who were all remembered as heroes. While Wu was very popular in her time (largely because she reigned over a time of active trading on the Silk Road and good weather/harvests) she has been written about by her descendants and historically extremely critically. As the book concludes:

“There is evidence that she was an evil, callous despot, but is there any other kind? Was there really any difference between her behavior and that of Taizong and Gaozong, both of whom are regarded as heroes? Empress Wu was a woman, and it remains tantalizingly possible that, in the eyes of her chroniclers, that was her one true offense.”

[Summer Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, just about the only comprehensive book about Empress Wu. Very well done. Used this to help me research a lengthy paper in class.

[Grace Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

girlbosses have been changing the meanings of words for centuries

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poorly written and atrociously sourced, Mr. Jonathan Clements makes the case that Empress Wu, like Martha Stewart before her, wasn't so much guilty of the felonious crimes she did in fact commit as she was of being born a woman.

And yes, in writ ironic.

[Marley Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This biography is much closer to historical fiction than it is to history. Clements put an irresponsible amount of misinformation and biased guess-work to fill in gaps and make the novel more sensational. This should be categorizes as historical fiction, not a biography.

[Mervyn Eastman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, accessible & utterly absorbing

Over the years I have been, at various times both engaged & disengaged with China, but in the main, the periods of the mid mid 1800's and the whole 20th C. Born in 1949 I was particularly drawn to Mao & then read much about his "successors", human rights and modern history. There was some dalliance with mid medieval political goings on.
Having recently discovering The Lady of Marcia, reference was made in reading a number of biographies, to a certain Empress Wu ( I hasten to add not in any way to compare, but related to historical women who ruled countries/kingdoms etc) Apart from some pretty light research, this book by Jonathan Clements was recommended.

This rating speaks for itself, and whilst I will probably go no further in reading about Wu specifically Clements more than satisfied my curiosity. I loved his writing style, his objectivity and ability to communicate a complex historical figure, countless personages (most of whom I couldn't begin to pronounce) and story for that I highly recommend this book, and certainly this author. Mr Clements thank you.

[Guillaume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessant stukje Chinese geschiedenis en feminisme. Een vrouw die de hoogste positie inneemt in een mannenmaatschappij en daarvoor gehaat wordt, want was zij zo anders dan haar mannelijke voorgangers?

De inkijk in het keizerlijk hof bewijst nogmaals hoe vrouwen altijd al hard onderdrukt werden. Ik vond het leuk hoe ze als keizerin zelf verschillende jonge mannelijke 'concubines' had.

Het was ook boeiend om te lezen dat je zomaar een ander huis aan het hoofd van een keizerrijk kunt plaatsten. De strategie, diplomatie, competenties... die daarvoor nodig zijn, zijn enorm.

De stamboom aan het begin van het boek vond ik een meerwaarde. Het was even schrikken toen ik het dodenaantal en doodsoorzaak onder haar nakomelingen las. Dat gaf mij direct zin om te beginnen lezen.

Ik ga nog boeken lezen van deze auteur. Vlot geschreven en doortastend onderzoek.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is well written and the subject matter is very interesting. Ironically, however, is the fact that the author mentions how many people write partly fictitious stories about Wu, while he himself fails to (in my eyes) adequately annotate his sources.
So I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in Wu - it's definitely worth the read. But I would not recommend it to anyone who wants to use it for historical research purposes. It's not really historical fiction, but at the same time it's not the best historical biography I've read.

[Ergative Absolutive · Rating 3 out of 5]

Through no fault of the book's own, I found my attention wandering quite a bit. The scheming and murdering was really quite extensive here. I quite liked the discussion of the various adaptations of the story in film and literature, because my GOD there is scope here for so much fictional(ized) drama! The story is quite a magnificent collection of events, any one of which could be a novel on its own.

[Yu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baru pertama kali, saya membaca buku dokumentasi tentang sejarah yang lumayan panjang, dan intrik dalam cerita mengenai kekuasaan lumayan kompleks, ya walaupun perebutan kekuasan lebih banyak dipengurahi dengan tipu daya + kelicikan seorang wanita. Pertanyaan... Kenapa semua pria dalam buku yang menjadi Kaisar begitu mudahnya tergoda, dan terkesan bodoh dibandingkan ratu Wu hah?!!!

[Merry Sung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novel ini mengumpulkan banyak dokumentasi tentang Permaisuri Wu, dan meringkasnya dengan menarik. Banyak tulisan yang menyatakan kekejaman Wu namun ada pula tulisan yang membelanya. Sedangkan novel ini memaparkan kedua sisinya dengan seimbang. Dan bahwa satu-satunya kesalahan Wu adalah karna beliau wanita. Karna merupakan hal yang wajar jika apa yang beliau lakukan, dilakukan oleh seorang lelaki.

[JoyeeL · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was an easy read - great introduction to get back into the habit of reading again.
Overall, a very easy and simplistic read on such a topic. Great for children in my opinion. Nothing too concrete nor in depth enough to understand. For me, better in depth and elaboration about the life back then in history would have been better.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked this book and I thought the author did a good job telling the complex story of Empress Wu. 3 stars because it was very slow in the beginning for me and the syntax was a little awkward at times. Also, I wish that the footnotes weren’t in the back of the book- it would’ve been much easier to read them if they’d been at the end of each chapter.

[Paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book-it was accesible enough for someone (me) who's not used to biographies.

Could I tell if this is a good biography? Not really, so for me it was good enough.

The only thing I do have to point out is the fact that there were a few things that lacked explanation so I guess it was just editing mistakes.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for a history class, honestly so good. It was captivating and interesting in a way normal textbooks aren't. I'm glad I had to read this for class and honestly might read it again in my own free time.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kisah Nyata yang cukup bikin penasaran dan ngeri tapi di tulis dengan baik oleh penulis, bikin kita enak baca nya dan skaligus nambah pengetahuan .

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting overview of Wu and the times that she lived in. I know very little of Chinese history, but after reading this i have the urge to find out more.

[Husnaini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Debora Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fascinating woman

[Ignacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polecam. Bardzo interesująca historia cesarzowej Wu, a w dodatku przedstawiona w równie ciekawy sposób.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wu was one awesome and terrible lady. I can see why so much media has been made about her life and I hope there's more! Glad I picked this one up.

[yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wu slayed

[Pallas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very entertaining as some non fiction can be but it’s about a very interesting woman during an interesting time. Makes me want to watch the series The Chinese Empress with Fan Bingbing.

[Anneliese Cheadle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. But truly shows what lengths people will go to, to have power.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know anything about Emperor/Empress Wu before I read this book, and now I have a well-rounded general understanding of the events of her life and the debate surrounding her character.

This book was intended for a lay audience and did its job very well, though I did wish for more clarity concerning which elements of the story were factual, which debatable, and which clearly legend. In fact, I may end up finding another history of Wu which focuses on the sources to tell the story. Clements cites his sources, but most of them seem to be tertiary, or biographies based on the annals of Tang historians writing after Wu's reign. I would like to know more about what primary sources are available from this time period. He cites some polemic from a rebellion, a poem Wu possibly wrote, and maybe some court records here and there, but I am unaware of how he accessed these sources and therefore do not know what information to give greater credence to. I will give him credit for pointing out the very confusions I am complaining of, however, I just wish he could have done more to clarify things.

I chose this biography of Wu because reviewers said that Clements presented both sides of the story and let readers judge for themselves. He did, and I appreciated it, but my final impression is that all of the facts of the story are questionable and any version of Wu goes. I am now armed with information about an impressive historical figure, but anything I can claim to "know" of her is as hazy and generalized as a fairy tale, which is often how this book read. On the other hand, maybe this is the most honest way to tell the story of Wu after all.

[Nura · Rating 2 out of 5]

buku pendek yang isinya lebih parah dari sinetron. di satu sisi, gw salut sama Wu yang gigih jadi maharani, tapi di sisi lain, intriknya buat naik takhta ga bisa dibilang tanpa dosa. dia juga menentang ajaran konfusius dengan menganggap bahwa wanita setara dengan pria, yang berbuntut pada perubahan tradisi, seperti dalam pelaksanaan upacara feng-shan yang sebelumnya hanya dilakukan laki-laki. sebagian besar buku ini kontradiktif banget, nyeritain keberhasilan (reformasi birokrasi), kekejaman (tega membunuh supaya pemerintahannya tdk goyah), kebejatan (skandalnya dengan si tukang kosmetik dan kakak-beradik Zhang), kepedulian (memerintahkan waktu berkabung untuk ibu sama dengan waktu berkabung untuk ayah) Wu. yang paling menghebohkan karena si Wu--ga cukup menjadi maharani dengan nama keluarganya sendiri--mengangkat dirinya sebagai dewi dengan berbagai sifat ilahiahnya, yang direkayasa dari pertanda-pertanda.

[G. Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly interesting, although I did find myself wondering if all the things ascribed to the Empress Wu were actually done by her. Whilst I would not argue she was certainly a ruthless and clever woman, there does seem to be quite a lot of demonization to her story... Ever a part where she is accused of killing her own newborn baby in order to get rid of a rival... Could the child not have died of cot-death, and Wu simply suspected her rival of killing her child? I don't deny Wu was involved in quite a few remarkable deaths in the Imperial palace, however I just wonder if everything attributed to her was in fact true. Having said this however, this was well-written and interesting. The author tries to balance out Wu's ruthless side with her devotion and offerings to temples, and her attempts to bring women into greater respect generally, but all her actions are represented as politically motivated. A good account, very readable.