Empress Wu Zetian: An example of female power which remains relevant today
The empress who effectively ruled the Tang dynasty empire had to fight against all-male officials, who described her as ‘a hen that crowed’
On December 16 in the year 705, Empress Wu Zetian passed away. She effectively ruled the vast empire of the Tang dynasty for more than half a century. Being the only empress regnant of imperial China, she was also arguably the most capable woman to have been recorded in Chinese history.
Empress Wu ruled with an iron fist. That might have been necessary at the time because of strong resistance by the royal family which considered her to have usurped the throne. Several military revolts against her took place, and they were all brutally put down.
Resentment was common within the ruling bureaucracy. The all-male officials quietly described her as “a hen that crowed”, a derogatory remark with full gender bias which was typical at the time.
The aristocratic families were also dead against her. They had hitherto monopolised important positions in the government. But her big push to build up a meritocracy to replace the hereditary system of official appointment threatened to take away the aristocracy’s powers.
During her reign, Empress Wu expanded the imperial public examination system significantly. She increased the frequency of public examinations and built local schools to train up potential scholars. She instituted the system of final interview at the imperial court so the best might be picked for important official positions.
In time, she filled the bureaucracy with a capable cadre of scholarly officials chosen from a competitive examination system called keju. This system was institutionalised thereafter. It provided subsequent imperial rulers with the brainpower from a wide gene pool, making it possible to rule a vast empire with minimal power of coercion, which is unusual in the days of emperors and kings.
Empress Wu’s legacy went further than that. She knew the empire’s well-being depended largely on proceeds from farmland. She kept farm taxes low. She oversaw local household and land-holding statistics closely to ensure land would be reallocated regularly to protect the status of free and self-standing peasants.
She also encouraged the active expansion of cultivable land. In the half century when she was in power, farming households increased from 3.8 million to 6.2 million. It was firm proof that her agricultural policy had been highly effective. By that, she kept her standing high among the people.
Her popularity helped to fend off her enemies who increasingly found her too formidable to unseat.
Wu Zetian’s success in governance had to do with her abilities rather than her gender. But it is a useful reminder that women have been ignored in politics for too long in history. Even in democracies, it was not until the early 20th century that women began to secure voting rights. And it took decades more for female politicians to break the glass ceiling.
If we continue to pay lip service to women’s capabilities, we will not be able to tap the other half of our talent pool who might well make our world a much better place.
Lam Woon-kwong is convenor of the Executive Council
