Wu Zetian was the first female ruler of the traditional Chinese Empire. Through her methods and excessive ambition, she elevated China and solidified her authority. Her ruthless actions and cunning strategies are still talked about today.
Wu Zetian, essentially starting from scratch, ascended to the pinnacle. By employing torturous methods to eliminate anyone she saw as a rival, she can be considered the creator of Chinese torture.
At the age of 13-14, Wu Zetian was brought to the Chinese Palace as a concubine. Due to her exceptional intelligence, she began executing her plans one by one. First, she ensnared Emperor Gao Zong and bore a child from him. Despite Emperor's strong interest in her, Wu Zetian aimed to supplant Empress Wang, Gao Zong's primary wife. For this, she devised an extremely diabolical plan. It is an undeniable fact that a mother's greatest vulnerability is her child, but for this diabolical woman, nothing was more important than her power.
Upon Empress Wang entering the nursery to see the child born to Wu Zetian and subsequently, Wu Zetian entering right after her to claim that she had killed Empress Wang's child out of jealousy, she furthered this scheme. To substantiate this, she had previously placed a statue in Empress Wang's room inscribed with the birth date of the child, implying that the Empress had engaged in witchcraft.
As a result of this devilish plan, Emperor Gao Zong handed Empress Wang over to Wu Zetian for punishment. Wu Zetian had her hands and feet cut off, then she was thrown into a wine barrel.
Subsequently, as the wife of the emperor, Wu Zetian took charge of the country and implemented incredibly cruel torture techniques on her rivals and dissenters. It was during her reign that the use of various torture techniques, especially those involving interrogation, became prominent.
Furthermore, it is said that the legendary Chinese torture, which involved shaving prisoners' heads and dripping water onto their foreheads and heads to drive them insane, emerged during Wu Zetian's reign. Another torture tactic involved sleep deprivation; prisoners were not allowed to sleep, and if they attempted to do so, they were violently awakened.
Wu Zetian spared no one who sought to approach her husband within the palace, having them brutally murdered. Among the women she killed was her own half-sister, whom she murdered on the pretext of trying to approach her husband.
When Emperor Gao Zong fell ill and died, in 683, she placed her own son on the throne, which led to uprisings in the country. She ruthlessly suppressed all the uprisings.
With her newfound confidence from ruling the country alone, Wu Zetian proclaimed herself Empress, bringing an end to the Tang Dynasty and establishing the Zhou Dynasty. In 690, she became the sole Empress of China. The Zhou Dynasty lasted until 710 after her death.
Although Wu Zetian's life was marked by ruthless massacres and ambition, and she was merciless enough to kill her own child and sister, she accomplished significant feats in Chinese history, such as achieving unity in China and gaining control over Korea.
Post a Comment