So now that we now that Wu was possibly one of the Wurst mothers ever (read the blog here if you haven’t already!), we will begin to explore if Wu would have been able to achieve what she did, if she was alive today.
Information systems available in the 7th century common era were much more limited than anything we come across today. In order for Wu to achieve what she did, such as framing others for her daughter’s death and banishing one son and abdicating the other, Wu needed the support of her people. Say, for example with the death of her daughter, Wu was able to frame Lady Wang by simply using the power of her own word. If this was to happen today, there is no doubt there would be uproar. Baby monitors, phone trackers and CCTV cameras all would have played a vital role. Not only this, but forensic evidence would have aided an investigation into who really murdered the child.
Throughout this blog, two aspects of Wu’s actions will be analysed. The first being how could modern information systems prevented Wu from successfully framing Lady Wang and the second being, what could Wu have done instead of killing her own child to advance to the role of Emperor?
Could modern Information Systems prevented the Wunado?
The Tang dynasty was undoubtedly ahead of its time in terms of the information systems. They had developed everything from woodblock printing to clocks and even an rotatory air fan. They were ambitious and forward looking in their creations. (TotallyHistory, n.d.) However, in comparison to a millennial and a half later, they a worlds apart, literally.
In terms of crime solving during the 7th century, there was almost no information systems available. The Tang code was used to establish the law in relation to the punishment enforced on those who disobeyed. (Wuji, n.d.)Many of these laws resulted in strict and brutal punishment, however the punishment that was enforced on their people greatly depended on who committed the crime.
In the case of Wu and Lady Wang, Lady Wang had considerable advantage being an empress over Wu, with Wu being merely a consort. However, Lady Wang had not only being accused of the murder of Wu’s daughter, but had also been accused of using witch craft, believed to be a great crime at the time. It was Emperor Gaozong, the husband of Lady Wang and who Wu had been a concubine to, who had the final say. (PeoplePill, n.d.) Lady Wang, was found guilty and a short time after when Wu was empress, she ordered Lady Wang to be brutally murdered.
If this was to happen today in a modern society, it would have never been permitted nor the responsibility of one individual to inflict a punishment such as death on a subject. There would be numerous enquiries made using modern information systems to aid in the investigation into who really committed the crime. The use of tracking through smart phones and other wearable devices, for example watches would have allowed a more detailed investigation into the whereabouts of both Lady Wang and Wu at the time the murder was committed. (“Damn Apple Watch”)
Similarly, surveillance tools such as CCTV cameras would also have been able to detect who was at the said location at the time of the murder. Finally, biometrics would have played a huge part in pinning the murder on who strangled Wu’s daughter. Fingerprint analysis, DNA and pathology reports who have been at the centre of this investigation allowing, no one individuals power to frame or over rule anyone else. For this reason, we can be sure if Wu was to commit the murder today, things would have played out much differently.
What could Wu have done differently?
(quickmeme.com)
So now that we can be almost sure that Wu would not have gotten away with her actions. We can begin to look at what Wu would have done differently in order to gain power. With the knowledge that Wu was a ruthless, win at all costs individual, there is no doubt that in todays world she would have been out for blood (metaphorically, of course). In order to do this, we can explore the many methods of attack that individuals employ today to gain rank over others.
A 21st century Wu would have embarked on the most malicious and relentless character assignation of her rivals and all those she feared, including Lady Wang. Fake news stories would be published all over social media, emails would have been leaked and Twitter feuds would have erupted. With the wide availability of information systems and technology today, we could imagine Wu inventing all sorts of dirt on Lady Wang and spreading it across the Web for all to see. “Lady Wang has previous gang affiliations” and “Lady Wang attempted to poison her husband’s concubines with a nasty meal on Valentine’s day” would be spread across rag media in order to damage her reputation. Knowing Wu’s malicious and relentless nature, I think we could see Lady Wang “stepping back from her role” in a similar nature to that of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Wu would then have a clear route to the role of emperor and TADAA, she would probably have gotten her way.
So to answer the question “Wud this happen today?”, I think the answer would be a simple NO. However, a more important question to ask might be, “Would Wu have been able to rise to the role of Emperor today?”, yes. Given her relentless, win at all cost character, she could almost definitely sabotaged her rivals, resulting in a similar outcome, Emperor.
On a side note, Wu could have subsequently been subject to an impeachment trail similar to that of Trump, but we can leave that till another day.
Bibliography
PeoplePill, n.d. People Pill. [Online]
Available at: https://peoplepill.com/people/empress-wang-5/
[Accessed 16 02 2020].
TotallyHistory, n.d. Totally History. [Online]
Available at: http://totallyhistory.com/tang-dynasty-inventions/
[Accessed 15 02 2020].
Wuji, Z., n.d. Columbia Edu. [Online]
Available at: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/zhangsun_wuji_great_tang_code.pdf
[Accessed 2020].
When Hens Announce the Dawn 