Editing Wu Zetian (section)

=== Empress consort ===
==== Involvement in politics (655–660) ====
{{More citations needed section|date=November 2024}}

In 655, Wu became Tang Gaozong's new empress consort ({{lang|zh|皇后}}, ''húanghòu''). In 656, on the advice of Xu Jingzong, Emperor Gaozong deposed Consort Liu's son Li Zhong from being his heir apparent. He changed Li Zhong's status to Prince of Liang and designated Empress Wu's son, Li Hong as the title of Prince of Dai and crown prince (that is, Heir Apparent).<ref name="ZZTJ200" /> In 657, Empress Wu and her allies began reprisals against officials who had opposed her ascension. She first had Xu and Li Yifu, who were by now chancellors, falsely accuse Han Yuan and Lai Ji of being complicit with Chu Suiliang in planning treason. The three of them, along with Liu Shi, were demoted to being prefects of remote prefectures, with provisions that they would never be allowed to return to Chang'an. In 659, she had Xu accuse Zhangsun Wuji of plotting treason with the low-level officials Wei Jifang ({{lang|zh|韋季方}}) and Li Chao ({{lang|zh|李巢}}). Zhangsun was exiled and, later in the year, was forced to commit suicide in exile. Xu further implicated Chu, Liu, Han, and Yu Zhining in the plot as well. Chu, who had died in 658, was posthumously stripped of his titles, and his sons Chu Yanfu ({{lang|zh|褚彥甫}}) and Chu Yanchong ({{lang|zh|褚彥沖}}) were executed. Orders were also issued to execute Liu and Han, although Han died before the execution order reached his location.

It was said that after this time, no official dared to criticize the emperor. In 660, Li Zhong, Gaozong's first-born son (to consort Liu) was targeted. Li Zhong had feared that he would be next and had sought out advice of fortune tellers. Wu had him exiled and placed under house arrest.<ref name="ZZTJ200" />

==== Ruling with Emperor Gaozong (660–683) ====
In 660, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu toured Bian Prefecture (modern-day Taiyuan), and Empress Wu had the opportunity to invite her old neighbors and relatives to a feast.<ref name="ZZTJ200" /> Later that year, Emperor Gaozong began to suffer from an illness that carried the symptoms of painful headaches and loss of vision, generally thought to be hypertension-related.<ref>See, ''Bo Yang Edition of the Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 40, p 683.</ref> He began to have Empress Wu make rulings on daily petitions by officials. Thereafter, her authority rivaled Emperor Gaozong's.<ref name="ZZTJ200" />

By 664, Wu was said to be interfering so much in the empire's governance that she was angering Gaozong with her controlling behavior. Furthermore, she had engaged the [[Taoist]] sorcerer Guo Xingzhen ({{lang|zh|郭行真}}) in using witchcraft—an act prohibited by regulations, which led to Empress Wang's downfall—and the [[Eunuch (court official)|eunuch]] Wang Fusheng ({{lang|zh|王伏勝}}) reported this to Gaozong, angering him further. He consulted the chancellor [[Shangguan Yi]], who suggested that he depose Wu. He had Shangguan draft an edict. But as Shangguan was doing so, Wu received news of what was happening. She went to the emperor to plead her case just as he was holding the edict that Shangguan had drafted. Gaozong could not bear to depose her and blamed the episode on Shangguan. As both Shangguan and Wang had served on Li Zhong's staff, Wu had Xu falsely accuse Shangguan, Wang, and Li Zhong of planning treason. Shangguan, Wang, and Shangguan's son Shangguan Tingzhi ({{lang|zh|上官庭芝}}) were executed, while Li Zhong was forced to commit suicide.<ref name="ZZTJ201">{{harvp|Zizhi Tongjian|1084|loc= [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷201|vol. 201]]}}</ref> Shangguan Tingzhi's daughter [[Shangguan Wan'er]], then an infant, and her mother, Lady Zheng, became slaves in the inner palace. After Shangguan Wan'er grew up, she became Empress Wu's trusted secretary.

She and Gaozong were thereafter referred to as the "Two Saints" ({{lang|zh|二聖}}, ''Er Sheng'') both inside the palace and in the empire.<ref name="ZZTJ201" /> The [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Later Jin]] historian [[Liu Xu]], in [[Old Book of Tang]], commented:

{{blockquote|When Emperor Gaozong could not listen to the court issues, all affairs were decided by the Empress of Heaven. Since the execution of the [[Shangguan Yi]], she and the emperor appeared together at the court as Sheng (Holy). The Empress of Heaven hung a curtain behind the throne, and all the political affairs were settled by her, and they were called "two saints" ({{lang|zh|二聖}}, ''Er Sheng'') inside and outside. The emperor wanted to issue an edict to make the Empress of Heaven would formally take over the throne of the empire, and [[Hao Chujun]], persuaded him to stop this issue (appoint of regent).}}

Meanwhile, on Empress Wu's account, her mother Lady Yang had been made the Lady of Rong, and her older sister, now widowed, the [[Wu Shun|Lady of Han]]. Her half-brothers Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang and cousins Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun, despite the poor relationships that they had with Lady Yang, were promoted. But at a feast that Lady Yang held for them, Wu Weiliang offended Lady Yang by stating that they did not find it honorable for them to be promoted on account of Empress Wu. Empress Wu, therefore, requested to have them demoted to remote prefectures—outwardly to show modesty, but in reality to avenge the offense to her mother. Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang died in effective exile. Meanwhile, in or before 666, Lady of Han died as well. After Lady of Han's death, Emperor Gaozong made her daughter the [[Lady Helan|Lady of Wei]] and considered keeping her in the palace—possibly as a concubine. He did not immediately do so, as he feared that Empress Wu would be displeased. It was said that Empress Wu heard of this and was nevertheless displeased. She had her niece poisoned, by placing poison in food offerings that Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun had made and then blaming them for the death of the Lady of Wei. Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun were executed.<ref name="ZZTJ201" /><ref name="WuShihuo">For Wu Shihuo's career and family, see generally ''[[Old Book of Tang]]'', [[:zh:s:舊唐書/卷58|vol. 58]] and ''New Book of Tang'', [[:zh:s:新唐書/卷206|vol. 206]]</ref>

In 670, Wu's mother, Lady Yang, died, and by Gaozong's and Wu's orders, all of the imperial officials and their wives attended her wake and mourned her. Later that year, with the realm suffering from a major drought, Wu offered to be deposed, which Gaozong rejected. At her request, he further posthumously honored Wu Shiyue (who had previously been posthumously honored as the Duke of Zhou) and Lady Yang by giving them the titles of the Prince and Princess of Taiyuan.<ref name="ZZTJ201" />

Meanwhile, the son of Empress Wu's older sister the Lady of Han, Helan Minzhi ({{lang|zh|賀蘭敏之}}), had been given the surname Wu and allowed to inherit the title of Duke of Zhou. But as it was becoming clear to Empress Wu that he suspected her of murdering his sister, the Lady of Wei, Wu began to take precautions against him. (Helan was also said to have had an [[incest]]uous relationship with his grandmother Lady Yang.) In 671, Helan was accused of disobeying mourning regulations during the period of mourning for Lady Yang and raping the daughter of the official Yang Sijian ({{lang|zh|楊思儉}}), whom Gaozong and Wu had previously selected to be the wife and crown princess for Li Hong. On Wu's orders, Helan was exiled and either was executed in exile or committed suicide. In 673, Wu provided 20,000 cash for a gigantic statue of Maitreya at [[Longmen Grottoes]]. In 674, she had Wu Yuanshuang's son [[Wu Chengsi]] recalled from exile to inherit the title of Duke of Zhou.<ref name="ZZTJ202">{{harvp|Zizhi Tongjian|1084|loc= [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷202|vol. 202]]}}</ref>

[[File:Luoyang 2006 7-29.jpg|thumb|The Fengxian cave (c. 675) of the [[Longmen Grottoes]], commissioned by Wu Zetian; the large, central Buddha is representative of the ''[[Vairocana]]'']]
In 675, as Emperor Gaozong's illness worsened, he considered having Empress Wu formally rule as [[regent]]. The chancellor [[Hao Chujun]] and the official [[Li Yiyan]] both opposed this, and he did not formally make her regent, and did not formally bestow she with such authorities. But the Empress Wu's as so powerful that she even surpassed Emperor Gaozong and he was afraid of Wu because of her high intelligence and skills in manipulating officials; thus, until the end of his reign, she has decision-making power on most events in the governmental and border matters, and appoints civil ministers and military generals.

Also in 675, a number of people fell victim to Empress Wu's ire. She had been displeased at the favor that Emperor Gaozong had shown his aunt, Princess Changle. Changle was married to General Zhao Gui ({{lang|zh|趙瓌}}) and had a daughter who became the wife and princess consort of Wu's third son, Li Xiǎn, the Prince of Zhou. Princess Zhao was accused of unspecified crimes and placed under arrest, eventually starving to death. Zhao Gui and Changle were exiled. Meanwhile, later that month, Li Hong, the Crown Prince—who urged Wu not to exercise so much influence and authority on Gaozong's governance and offended her by requesting that his half-sisters, Consort Xiao's daughters, Princess Yiyang and Xuancheng (under house arrest) be allowed to marry—died suddenly. Traditional historians generally believed that Wu poisoned Li Hong to death. At her request, Li Xián, then carrying the title of Prince of Yong, was created crown prince.<ref name="ZZTJ202" /> Meanwhile, Consort Xiao's son Li Sujie and another son of Gaozong's, [[Li Shangjin]], were repeatedly accused of crimes by Wu and were subsequently demoted.<ref name="ZZTJ202" />

Soon, Empress Wu's relationship with Li Xián also deteriorated because Li Xián had become unsettled after hearing rumors that he was not born to Empress Wu—but to her sister, the Lady of Han. When Empress Wu heard of his fearfulness, she became angry with him. In 678, contemporary poet [[Luo Binwang]] criticizes Empress Wu's involvement in governmental affairs: "She whispered slander from behind her sleeves, and swayed emperor with vixen flirting." Luo Binwang remarks angered Empress Wu and he dismissed and imprisoned.
	
Furthermore, the sorcerer Ming Chongyan ({{lang|zh|明崇儼}}), whom both she and Emperor Gaozong respected, had stated that Li Xián was unsuitable to inherit the throne and was assassinated in 679. The assassins were not caught—causing Wu to suspect that Li Xián was behind the assassination. In 680, Li Xián was accused of crimes and during an investigation by the officials [[Xue Yuanchao]], [[Pei Yan]], and [[Gao Zhizhou]], a large number of weaponry was found in Li Xián's palace. Empress Wu formally accused Li Xián of treason and the assassination of Ming. Emperor Gaozong wanted to forgive Li Xián for treason, but Empress Wu refused and he surrendered at her insistence. Li Xián was deposed and exiled, and at her request, he was placed under house arrest as a normal person.

At Empress Wu's request, after the exile of Li Xián, his younger brother Li Xiǎn [similar-sounding name but different Chinese characters] (now renamed Li Zhe) was named crown prince.<ref name="ZZTJ202" />

In 681, Princess Taiping was married to Xue Shao ({{lang|zh|薛紹}}), the son of Emperor Gaozong's sister Princess Chengyang, in a grand ceremony. Empress Wu, initially unimpressed with the lineages of Xue Shao's brothers' wives, wanted to order his brothers to divorce their wives—stopping only after it was pointed out to her that Lady Xiao, the wife of Xue Shao's older brother Xue Yi ({{lang|zh|薛顗}}), was a grandniece of the deceased chancellor [[Xiao Yu]]. The official Feng Yuanchang was appointed by Gaozong, and he trusted him very much. In 682, Feng also lamented Empress Wu's power and involvement in the administration of the empire and told the emperor: "The queen's authority is very strong, should it be reduced?" Gaozong opposed it, and he was afraid of her, and there was nothing he could do. Upon learning of Feng's ineffective advice to the emperor, Wu became very angry with Feng, and accused him of corruption and degraded him.<ref name="ZZTJ202" />

In late 683, Gaozong died at Luoyang. Li Zhe took the throne as [[Emperor Zhongzong of Tang|Emperor Zhongzong]], but Wu retained the real authority as [[empress dowager]] and regent.<ref name="ZZTJ203">{{harvp|Zizhi Tongjian|1084|loc= [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷203|vol. 203]]}}</ref>