Daughter of Heaven: The True Story of the Only Woman to Become Emperor of China written by Nigel Cawthorne is the true story of the first and only woman ruler of China and her path to the throne. Early in her life it was predicted that she would rule the Empire one day. Wu Chao was born into a successful family, and as a young teenager in the Tang Dynasty she became a concubine in the court of Emperor T’ai-tsung. Traditionally, the Emperor’s concubines were banished to a Buddhist convent after his death, but at a young age Wu Chao was clever and was not about to lose her place in court. To secure her place she seduced T’ai-tsung’s son, the Emperor Kao-tsung, who was next in line for the throne. This was believed to be an incestuous act according to traditional Confucian practices, but from early on Wu Chao was willing to take drastic measures to get what she wanted. Early on in the book I wondered how far Wu Chao was willing to go for a spot on the throne. She used a combination of feminine sexuality and strong will to claim the throne. The first obstacle in her way was the Empress Wang, but her being barren was an advantage for Wu Chao. She was able to provide healthy male heirs for the Emperor, while the Empress could not. When Wu Chao gave birth to a baby girl the Empress came to pay her respects to the newborn, and not long after her visit the baby was found smothered in her bed. The Emperor was devastated by the death of his daughter, and although it was never proven how the child died, Wu Chao had discredited the Empress through this ordeal. She was promoted to the Emperor’s wife and on her way to abusing her power to keep rivals out of her way. Wu Chao was ambitious and used her beauty and wit to manipulate her way to... ... middle of paper ... ...edchamber. Empress Wu completely reversed the sex roles in court; a “woman is superior to man in the way water is to fire. Those who are expert in sexual intercourse are like good cooks who know how to blend the five flavours into tasty broth. Those who know the art of yin and yang can blend the five pleasures (Cawthorne, 49). Daoist philosopher Laozi believed that yin and yang cannot exist without the other. Even into her seventies Empress Wu enjoyed the company of her young consorts regularly; clearly she was very open about her sexual needs and interest in immortality. Behind every great man is an even greater woman, and Empress Wu is a prime example of this. Although at times she was a ruthless leader, she knew how to get the job done, and was a sufficient ruler during her time on the throne. After Wu Chao’s rule there seemed nothing that a woman could not do.
Chinese eunuchs were the original gate-keepers of the imperial palace, menial servants in the imperial harem, and messengers between the emperor, his concubines, and the imperial court. The Chinese inscriptions combing the graphs for ‘male reproductive organ’ and for ‘knife’ have been found on oracle bones dating from about 1300 BCE.1 The context of the inscriptions generally indicates that the castration of captured prisoners of differing ethnicities existed at this early date.2 The word for eunuch, taijan , often connotating a pervert, first appeared in the Chinese language about one thousand years ago.3 Eunuchs were deemed suitable candidates for the emperor’s close aides and attendants because they possessed both a masculine physique and a feminine docility. More important, however, was the use of men deprived from their reproductive power and sexual desires was thought to safeguard the moral purity and sanctity of an emperor’s private chambers.4 Throughout the three-thousand year old institution, the number of eunuchs in the imperial palaces varied between less than 100 in the early years, to more than 100,000 in 1620, roughly 1% of the population.5 The extent, role, and nature of the eunuch presence in Chinese history varied according to specific social and political backgrounds throughout the long existence of the political institution, but identifying some recurring themes of eunuch activities is useful towards reconstructing the social history of eunuchism in China. It is apparent, however, that as imperial power and autocracy increased, the use of castrated men to fill various male jobs in the palace gradually became a necessity.
Wu Zhao, the first female emperor of China, rose to power during the Tang Dynasty and her active role with Buddhism fabricated a perpetual impact in the Chinese society as a whole. There is no doubt that Buddhism and the Tang administration, under Wu’s reign, formed a symbiotic relationship with one another. She is considered to be one of the most prominent advocators of the religion during the era. Her efforts to spread of Buddhism and the monetary support help Buddhism to expand throughout the people significantly, which provide the religion another source of financial income to spread even further. Regardless of Empress Wu’s intention, she has furnished the religion in numerous ways, but what did she receive in return? This proposes the question: To what extent did Empress Wu’s support of Buddhism, politically and financially, help Wu and better her empire overall?
Because they did not have a traditional role in government, women had work their way around the system to gain any type of political leverage. Empress Lu violated every cultural and social norm by retaining power as a regent throughout the reins of her son, grandson and adopted grandson. Tradidtionaly regents ruled from behind the scenes while the emperor himself was unable to make decisions, usualy due to age or heath complications, however Empress Lu eradicated any competitors for the thrown. As the end of her reign was nearing, she expected her nephews to succeed her. Even as the first empress, not unfamiliar with disrupting tradition, she left the emperorship to the next male in her bloodline (Doc. 5) not a female. Though Empress Lu defied all expectations of women, her power as an Empress was still undisputed due to the Mandate of Heaven, an idea originating in the Shang dynasty....
Joan Scott, an American historian in gender history and intellectual history, argues that gender is the key category to analyze history, and Joan Piggott and Akiko Yoshie point out the incontrovertible fact that women did rule in ancient Japan. Scott argues that it is crucial to study how culture constructed femininity and masculinity. She applied theory to the study of the relationship of gender roles in different societies, and also linked this history approach to poststructuralism. The examination of the category women must be carefully analyzed in terms of the process of how gender created the difference in male and female identities. Therefore, it is vital to study historical female sovereignty, in order to understand the political significance, in this case, of female emperors in ancient Japan.
Empress Wu’s rise to power was due to her unwavering determination and ruthless spirit. She first entered the palace as a thirteen year old concubine and from an early age she realized the importance of raising her status. Wu was ‘not just another imperial consort… she was very much a political fig...
However, not all women embodied to these roles. Some women sought literacy and some high ranking women were highly educated. Empress Dau was an enthusiastic scholar. She lived in a time when Confucian ideals has not yet fully taken hold, and thus, she was able to use her authority to push Daoist ideals upon Emperors Wen and Jing [7]
Zhu Ying was a member of the military’s theatre troupe, and about to be a member of the party, until she refused to sleep with party members. After that, they transferred and then imprisoned her. While her role in the military could have made Zhu Ying an androgynous figure, an emblem of communist gender equality, the party’s expectation that she have sex with party members makes her a sexual object, which is its own form of feminization. Zhu Ying is allowed to retain her femininity only if she consents to being a sexual object; when she does not, she is sent to be a laborer, and later imprisoned. Moreover, by being separated from her boyfriend, her chance at domestic happiness is taken away. After imprisonment, she has no opportunity to fill the traditional female role of marriage and children (which she may or may not have desired). Thus, the party halts the “natural” order of marriage and
One of the first traditional aspects of Chinese masculinity was the concept of wen-wu. In order for one to achieve and understand the substance of masculinity, one has to have either wen or wu, or
Men and women in early China were separated by the idea of the Yin and Yang cosmic forces. These forces are complementary to each other. However they are hierarchical. Consequently, they lead to oppression. With the aspect
Power and Money do not Substitute Love and as it denotes, it is a deep feeling expressed by Feng Menglong who was in love with a public figure prostitute at his tender ages. Sadly, Feng Menglong was incapable to bear the expense of repossessing his lover. Eventually, a great merchant repossessed his lover, and that marked the end of their relationship. Feng Menglong was extremely affected through distress and desperation because of the separation and he ultimately, decided to express his desolation through poems. This incidence changed his perception and the way he represents women roles in his stories. In deed, Feng Menglong, is among a small number of writers who portrayed female as being strong and intelligent. We see a different picture build around women by many authors who profoundly tried to ignore the important role played by them in the society. Feng Menglong regards woman as being bright and brave and their value should never be weighed against
The only female emperor in China, Wu Zetian, had a marvellous life. I would tell her, “As I been taught, you are a bad woman, who killed thousands of innocent life including your daughter. How cruel are you, does the power really important? Why? I cannot understand. This view on you didn’t change until I read the Epic of Gilgamesh. As I read the book, I thought Humbaba is an evil, but the newly discovered tablet shows that Humbaba is actually the king of a foreign country. This makes me realized that people are misinterpreting history, so I look back to your story. This time, I find that you are not as bad as I thought before, instead you are doing what you suppose to do. In the time period you lived in, women are being mistreated. When you
Chung, Sue Fawn. “The Much Maligned Empress Dowager : A Revisionist Study of the Empress Dowager Tz’u-his.” Modern Asian Studies. 13 vol. Cambrige UP, 1979. JSTOR. 1 May 2005 < http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-749X%281979%2913%3A2%3C177%3ATMMEDA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-U>.
The Last Great Empress of China, written by Charlotte Haldane, is the story of how Tzu Hsi (1861-1908, rose to power and managed to keep it. Known by several names through out the course of her life, Tzu Hsi was intelligent, beautiful, and had a voice that could charm anyone. Chosen as an Imperial Concubine in the third class, Yehonala (as she was known at the time) took great care to win the favor of the current Empress Dowager. Her next step was to win the favor of the young Emperor Hsien Feng, which she accomplished with the help of the Chief Eunuch, who she had also won over. In her quest for ultimate power the luckiest event that befell her was the birth of her son. Because the Empress Consort Sakota failed to produce an heir, Yenonala’s son was to become the heir apparent, raising her to the position of first rank concubine. Throughout the course of her life, Tzu Hsi played her cards well, continuously increasing her power.
While it may not be shocking that Western audiences had distaste for the practice of Eastern castration practices, it is a bit more surprising that, despite evidence of the use of eunuchs in China for over a period of 3,000 years, their reputation in China was no more positive. Throughout its history, Chinese historians have made eunuchs the objects of shame and disdain, all the while categorizing them as guilty of greed and female traits that made them susceptible to their weaknesses.27 Yet, while Chinese historians of late Qing often linked eunuchs to the decline of dynasties of the past, indulgence, and corruption, they more often than not seemed to regard eunuchs as necessary to the function of the palace and imperial court, no matter what their qualms with them may have been.28
...ying in a marriage since divorce was frowned upon during that era. Her decision was a succession for all expectations put on a woman and wife by society.