N. Harry Rothschild
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231169387
- eISBN:
- 9780231539180
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231169387.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This book focuses on the remarkable political career of Wu Zhao (624–705), China's first and only female emperor better known as Wu Zetian or Empress Wu. In the tortuous half century of her reign, Wu ...
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This book focuses on the remarkable political career of Wu Zhao (624–705), China's first and only female emperor better known as Wu Zetian or Empress Wu. In the tortuous half century of her reign, Wu Zhao faced daunting cultural obstacles and fierce opposition. Acutely aware of the breadth of resistance to her public political engagement, Wu Zhao capably deflected much of the virulent criticism. This book examines how Wu Zhao overcame these ponderous obstacles to become the sole female emperor in China's long historical pageant by developing and embracing a lineage of culturally revered female ancestors, goddesses, and paragons from different traditions, all of whom were closely associated with her person and her political power. It explains how Wu Zhao, by endorsing these various cults and drawing upon each of the “three faiths” (san jiao)—Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism—significantly bolstered her political authority, providing both a divine aura and tremendous normative charisma. The book explores the timing, nature, and purpose of Wu Zhao's connections to this eclectic assemblage of past influential women and female divinities.Less
This book focuses on the remarkable political career of Wu Zhao (624–705), China's first and only female emperor better known as Wu Zetian or Empress Wu. In the tortuous half century of her reign, Wu Zhao faced daunting cultural obstacles and fierce opposition. Acutely aware of the breadth of resistance to her public political engagement, Wu Zhao capably deflected much of the virulent criticism. This book examines how Wu Zhao overcame these ponderous obstacles to become the sole female emperor in China's long historical pageant by developing and embracing a lineage of culturally revered female ancestors, goddesses, and paragons from different traditions, all of whom were closely associated with her person and her political power. It explains how Wu Zhao, by endorsing these various cults and drawing upon each of the “three faiths” (san jiao)—Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism—significantly bolstered her political authority, providing both a divine aura and tremendous normative charisma. The book explores the timing, nature, and purpose of Wu Zhao's connections to this eclectic assemblage of past influential women and female divinities.
N. Harry Rothschild
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231169387
- eISBN:
- 9780231539180
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231169387.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter examines the role of mother-creator Nüwa in Wu Zhao's assemblage of female political ancestors. In Han mortuary iconography, Nüwa is often paired with a male divinity, her ...
More
This chapter examines the role of mother-creator Nüwa in Wu Zhao's assemblage of female political ancestors. In Han mortuary iconography, Nüwa is often paired with a male divinity, her brother-husband Fuxi. Nüwa and Fuxi were worshipped as primordial creators, guardian spirits and “tutelary genii of the dead.” Nüwa's signature serves as a symbol of social organization, marking her not only as a creator goddess, but also as “a goddess of proportion and measurement,” vital to both architecture and hydro-engineering. This chapter considers Wu Zhao's efforts to resuscitate Nüwa, how she discovered a valuable political immediacy in this shadowy creator and mender of the heavens, and how she gained leverage and legitimacy by connecting herself to this mythic avatar. With the help of Wu Zhao's propagandists, Nüwa reemerged as a significant cultic figure who played an important role in helping legitimate and magnify the imperial authority of China's first and only female emperor.Less
This chapter examines the role of mother-creator Nüwa in Wu Zhao's assemblage of female political ancestors. In Han mortuary iconography, Nüwa is often paired with a male divinity, her brother-husband Fuxi. Nüwa and Fuxi were worshipped as primordial creators, guardian spirits and “tutelary genii of the dead.” Nüwa's signature serves as a symbol of social organization, marking her not only as a creator goddess, but also as “a goddess of proportion and measurement,” vital to both architecture and hydro-engineering. This chapter considers Wu Zhao's efforts to resuscitate Nüwa, how she discovered a valuable political immediacy in this shadowy creator and mender of the heavens, and how she gained leverage and legitimacy by connecting herself to this mythic avatar. With the help of Wu Zhao's propagandists, Nüwa reemerged as a significant cultic figure who played an important role in helping legitimate and magnify the imperial authority of China's first and only female emperor.
