We have already discussed how Wu Zetian funded various religious projects to improve public perception of her rule (see here), but this tactic did not stop with religion. Throughout Wu’s reign, she used social reforms as a tactic to not only improve the lives of the working class of China, but also to solidify her own position as ruler. As mentioned previously, there is debate on whether these social reforms were meant solely to consolidate power, and this will be discussed after assessing how various social reforms achieved Wu’s aims.
During Wu’s reign, China commonly faced drought issues, so Wu funded the construction massive granaries around the city of Chang’an, which was China’s capital at the time, some of which can still be seen today. These massive pits were used to store rice transported by canal from East China to prevent starvation in the case of drought, and rice could be stored in them for up to 10 years (Timeline – World History Documentaries, 2019). Like many of Wu’s tactics, the benefits were twofold. Most obviously, building granaries helped significantly reduce the casualties occurring in drought seasons, and there are few ways to benefit society more than significantly reducing starvation. Secondly, these granaries reaffirmed Wu’s power, establishing that her government was effective at solving China’s problems and wealthy enough to fund such solutions. Like with the construction of Buddhist temples, government spending on the public could only serve to raise Wu’s popularity among her people, solidifying her position of power.
Another key public project Wu pursued was the overhauling of the Chinese education system. We previously explored Wu’s use of subterfuge to deal with threats to her power base (see here), and Wu knew she could not trust her court. So, what did Wu do? She upskilled the working class, establishing an examination system that allowed the working-class people to rise to government positions based on exam results, something that was not possible in China up to this point. The successful candidates who were recruited through the examination system became an elite group and Empress Wu sought advice from them to divert the powers of the chancellors she could not trust (Lepekhova, 2017). Once again, the fact that this tactic addressed both Wu’s challenges in court in maintaining her position while also upskilling her workforce and improving public attitudes towards her government all at once highlights the excellence of her strategic thinking.
Wu’s reign also served to improve the status of women throughout her empire. Wu’s prime minister, Shangguan Wan’er, had a similar story to Wu, rising from servitude in the imperial palace to a position of great power (in part thanks to Wu herself, who saw great potential in Wan’er when she served Wu and Gauzong) (Timeline – World History Documentaries, 2019). Having either a female emperor or prime minister before Wu’s time was unheard of, let alone both, and even today women in political positions is rare, both on China and across the rest of the world, with women making up small percentages in political decision-making bodies all over the world (BBC News, 2019). Furthermore, Wu permitted women to divorce and remarry (Timeline – World History Documentaries, 2019), an example of one of many policies Wu implemented to improve women’s standing in society. As with Wu’s public image as the goddess Nügua (McMahon, 2013) (discussed under religion), empowering women served to legitimize her own claim as emperor. Furthermore, this also helped to make China a more equal society, and we can see evidence from this period in history of the positive effect this had. Statues have been found from just after Wu’s reign of women on red horses and wearing men’s clothing, both indicating that women had more freedom and treated with greater equally both during and after Wu’s reign (Timeline – World History Documentaries, 2019). Once again, Wu’s tactics achieving more than one of her strategies is evident.
There is no argument that Wu’s social reforms didn’t help her consolidate power, but Wu’s strategies tended to be multi-faceted. Her tactics reduced mortality, upskilled the workforce and improved gender equality in ancient China. While all of these served to be benefit her, it greatly helped the development of Chinese society. It is also possible Wu’s focus on these projects was due to her own background. As a woman, especially during her youth, Wu was expected to fulfill very specific roles throughout her life. We discussed how Wu was forced to become a nun after the death of Emperor Taizong (here), having to manipulate her way back into court as a result. This is only one example of the many ways being a woman made Wu’s political career more difficult, so it is not hard to believe that Wu felt some sympathy for the working class and women of China who were in a similar position. Whether she did or did not can only be guessed at now, however what is indisputable is that Wu used this inequality to bolster her own power base while simultaneously creating a society that was better fed, allowed more opportunities to advance politically and where women were treated more fairly.
Whether it was out of political awareness, a soft spot for those put down by society or both, Wu paved the way for social reforms that greatly benefited the working class of society. Ultimately, whatever the purpose, improving the standard of living of the Chinese people through the pursuit of social reforms was certainly part of Wu’s agenda, and this served both to safeguard her own position in court while creating a more equal and empowered empire.
Rory Murphy
Bibliography
-BBC News. (2019). Reality Check: Are women welcome in Chinese politics?. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41652487 [Accessed 16 Sep. 2019].
-Lepekhova, E. (2017). Two Asian Empresses and Their Influence on the History and Religion in Tang China and Nara Japan (VII-VIII cc.). Studies in Asian Social Science, [online] 4(2), pp.20-25. Available at: http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/sass/article/view/11900 [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].
-Women of History (2013). Shangguan Wan’er. [image] Available at: http://womenofhistory.blogspot.com/2013/09/tomb-of-shangguan-waner.html [Accessed 8 Oct. 2019].
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