Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers
(The Sheng Yen Series in Chinese Buddhist Studies) Hardcover – 14 Jul 2015
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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.
REVIEWS
"This is a fascinating study of the only female emperor in the whole of Chinese history. By delving deeply into the religious underpinnings of Wu Zetian's power in a way that not even the most dedicated approach to her utilization of Buddhist scriptures and doctrines alone could manage, this investigation illuminates the unique quality of Wu Zetian's reign far more effectively than previous studies. Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers is a solid piece of well-documented scholarship, yet it is vibrant and entertaining throughout." — Victor H. Mair, University of Pennsylvania
"Wu Zhao is one of world history's most fascinating figures and the most powerful woman in China's long past. N. Harry Rothschild sheds new light on the ideological underpinnings of Wu Zhao's rise to power and unprecedented female dynasty. The Buddhist prophesies justifying her rule are well known, but Rothschild uncovers a more complex story that includes wise mothers and potent goddesses drawn from the Confucian, Daoist and Buddhist traditions. In lively prose Rothschild reveals an ever-evolving pantheon of female paragons that Wu Zhao deployed strategically before and after claiming the throne." — Jonathan Karam Skaff, author of Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Neighbors
"With pain-staking research, unerring insights, rich prose, and a sense of humor, Rothschild lavishly illustrates the political genius of Wu Zhao, China's only female emperor. Along with her talented propagandists, she plumbed the depths of China's three faiths, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, to create a female pantheon of exemplars that legitimated her unprecedented rule. Indicative of her keen political instincts and expansive knowledge of China's cultural traditions, Rothschild adeptly delineates how, over the span of her fifty-year rule, Wu Zhao selectively made use of different goddesses and heroines to match the specific circumstances of her career's twists and turns." — Keith N. Knapp , The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
"Rothschild finally answers the question everyone has asked ever since Wu Zhao became the only female emperor of China in 690 CE: how on earth did she do it? He shows that she drew upon Chinese myth, religion, and traditional systems of thought to craft her image and support her unique claim to legitimacy as ruler. This book is a tour de force of textual analysis and historical detective work that leaves previous sensationalistic accounts of Wu Zhao's rise to power in the dust." — Suzanne Cahill, University of California, San Diego
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
N. Harry Rothschild is associate professor of Asian history at the University of North Florida. He specializes in Tang history and the study of women and gender in China and East Asia. He is also the author of Wu Zhao, China's Only Female Emperor.
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Dynasties and Rulers Through the Mid-Tang
Wu Zhao's Titles at Different Stages of Her Career
Reign Eras from 655 to 705
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Female Political Ancestors
I. Goddesses of Antiquity1. Wu Zhao as the Late Seventh-Century Avatar of Primordial Goddess Nüwa
2. Sanctifying Luoyang: The Luo River Goddess and Wu Zhao
3. First Ladies of Sericulture: Wu Zhao and Leizu
II. Dynastic Mothers, Exemplary Mothers4. The Mother of Qi and Wu Zhao: Connecting to Antiquity, Elevating Mount Song
5. Ur-Mothers Birthing the Zhou Line: Jiang Yuan and Wu Zhao
6. Wenmu and Wu Zhao: Two Mothers of Zhou
7. Four Exemplary Women in Wu Zhao's Regulations for MinistersIII. Drawing the Numinous Energies of Female Daoist Divinities8. The Queen Mother of the West and Wu Zhao
9. The Mother of Laozi and Wu Zhao: From One Grand Dowager to Another
10. Rejected from the Pantheon: The Ill-Timed Rise of the Cult of Wei Huacun
IV. Buddhist Devis and Goddesses11. Dharma Echoes of Mother Maya in Wu Zhao
12. Bodhisattva with a Female Body: Wu Zhao and Devi Jingguang
Conclusions
Appendix: Wu Zhao's Pantheon of Female Political Ancestors
Glossary of Chinese Places, Names, and Terms
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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