A Subtle Hand: Wu’s use of Subterfuge as a Tactic

(Maybe this is what Wu’s meeting with Gauzong looked like. (Ancient Origins, 2019))

Wu Zetian was a woman (shocker), but in 7^th century China it was difficult for women to acquire power. The Shangshu, or Book of Documents, the foundation of Chinese political philosophy throughout history, outright opposes women holding power in ancient China (McMahon, 2013). You may remember that our blog’s name “When hens announce the dawn” is a play on a quote from the Shangshu “Hens should not announce the dawn” (McMahon, 2013), a statement meant to condemn women in power. With an influential piece like the Shangshu making such a statement, one can only imagine the difficulty involved in acquiring and holding power at all as a woman at the time. Yet Wu saw a way, using subterfuge and indirect approaches to problems as means of acquiring and holding power without drawing too much ire from her enemies.

Wu’s talents in manipulation go right back to her first crucial political move; returning to the Chinese court after the death of Emperor Taizong. When an emperor died, their concubines were made nuns, so Wu was sent away from the Chinese court once Taizong passed away. However, Wu managed to catch the eye of Taizong’s son, the new emperor Gauzong. Wu skilfully manipulated Gauzong by telling him the last thing a newly made emperor wants to hear; that he didn’t have the power to allow her to come back to court (Lee, 2015). Gauzong immediately sought to show off the extent of his newfound power, and made Wu his concubine, bringing her right back where she needed to be to start climbing the ladder towards becoming Emperor.

Manipulation was not the only tool that assisted Wu throughout her reign. Wu’s enemies in court were numerous, and threats to her position were frequent, especially during her later life when she was declared emperor. When Wu’s granddaughter princess Yong Tai became pregnant, the Zhang brothers, Wu’s lovers during her later life, poisoned the princess, killing her (Timeline – World History Documentaries, 2019). This is likely to have been at Wu’s command, who may have feared the threat a male child would pose to her rule. This example is only one of hundreds of cases whereby Wu deposed of her enemies through indirect means. The fact that Yong Tai was Wu’s granddaughter was not enough to save her. When Wu sensed a threat, she dealt with it. While poison is certainly more direct than the manipulation Wu performed on Gauzong, it is still a more subtle way of dealing with her enemies. It would be difficult for anyone to tie the death of Yong Tai back to Wu, and even more of a challenge to actually prove she had done it, at least before she got you too.

 This event took place late in Wu’s reign, with her already established as the emperor of China. To me this shows that Wu’s approach had to remain subtle, despite her powerful position, as to meet enemies head on may have incurred more condemnation from the powerful members of Chinese society that viewed Wu’s reign as illegitimate. This could potentially lead to further disquiet and uprisings. Despite being one of the most powerful people in the world, Wu was still constrained by the hundreds of years of male dominated dynasties that shaped the society around her, but instead of venting this frustration, Wu adapted, doing what she needed to do to ensure her strategic vision could be made a reality.

While Wu’s need for subterfuge when it came to improving the well being of China’s people was limited, it was a crucial tactic in both her rise to power and in allowing her to hold on to that power for so long. Wu lived to the age of 81, being involved in a tense political climate in a society that viewed her holding power with great disdain for most of those years, and without her talents for subterfuge, it is unlikely that she would have survived so long.

Rory Murphy

Bibliography
– Ancient Origins (2019). Wu Zetian. [image] Available at: https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/wu-zetian-0012453 [Accessed 8 Oct. 2019].
-Lee, Y. (2015). Wu Zhao: Ruler of Tang Dynasty China. Education About ASIA, [online] 20(2), pp.14-18. Available at: http://aas2.asian-studies.org/EAA/EAA-Archives/20/2/1361.pdf [Accessed 26 Sep. 2019].
– McMahon, K. (2013). Women Rulers in Imperial China. Nan Nü, 15(2), pp.179-218.
– Timeline – World History Documentaries (2019). The Empress Who Ruled The World (Chinese History Documentary) | Timeline. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeZ7esmQcm4 [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].