The Story of the Only Empress in China 
 
Her crowning as the first and only empress in the history of China contradicts traditional Chinese Confucian attitudes about women, who are thought to belong at home doing housework and taking care of the family, and so her example has inspired diverging views throughout Chinese history.
 
Wu Zetian was born in a rich and noble family, she was recruited to the palace of Emperor Taizong at the age 13 for her beauty and intelligence. Although she did not become the emperor’s favorite concubine, she had eyes for his son, the later Emperor Gaozong. When Taizong died, Wu Zetian and other concubines were sent to a Buddhist temple. But she refused to accept the fate of spending the rest of her life as a Buddhist nun. Instead, she kept contact with Gaozong, the new emperor, and was brought back to the palace the second year.
 
She wasn’t satisfied with just being a concubine. Wu Zetian soon eliminated the empress and another favored concubine and was made the new empress. Then she progressively gained more and more influence over the governance through her husband. And toward the end of Emperor Gaozong’s reign, she took over the most administrative duties of the empire.
 
After Gaozong died, Wu Zetian managed to move her weakest son into power so she could rule the country by telling him what to do. After a few years of being the puppet emperor, her son removed himself from the office. And by cruelly squashing the opposition, Wu Zetian finally ascended the throne, the Empress Wu.

Tickets available via the promoter directly via calling (08) 9355 2974