In the twenty-third year of Zhenguan (649), Emperor Taizong died of illness, and his son Li Zhi succeeded him to the throne, changing the name to Yuan Yonghui for Emperor Gaozong. After Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne, the power of the imperial court was in the hands of the Guanlong aristocracy headed by Changsun Wuji. During the Yonghui period, the military generals of Wenchen were basically Zhenguan old ministers. Emperor Gaozong also took inheriting his father's business as his own responsibility, and at the beginning of his accession to the throne, he was diligent in political affairs, willing to consult and rest with the people. History says: The rule of Yonghui, there is a legacy of zhenguan. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the country's population continued to increase and the economy was further developing.
Wu Zetian (624-705), a native of Wenshui, Shanxi, was known as Wu Zetian in historical records because he was revered as the "Great Sage Empress of Zetian". His father, the samurai Kumihara, was a timber merchant who joined Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan to fight in Taiyuan and paid tribute to Shangshu of the Ministry of Work.
Wu Zetian was well versed in literature and history, outstanding in appearance, clear and decisive, and at the age of 14, he was selected as a talented person of Emperor Taizong, given the title "Mei", and after Emperor Taizong's death, he entered Chang'an Ganye Temple as a nun. Emperor Gaozong was summoned to the palace and soon after was given the title of Zhaoyi. In the sixth year of Yonghui (655), Emperor Gaozong deposed Empress and made Wu Zetian empress.
The abolition of the establishment was fiercely opposed by the ministers Sun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, and the prime ministers Han Yu and Lai Ji also expressed opposition. Wu Zetian gained power, so he relied on Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu and others to attack political enemies, Changsun Wuji was degraded for conspiracy and forced to commit suicide, and Han Yu, Lai Ji, Liu Xi, and others were also demoted to remote prefectures. The Changsun Wuji clique, which had held real power for a long time, was completely destroyed, and the situation in which the Guanlong aristocracy controlled the central power since the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties also came to an end.
In the fourth year of Xianqing (659), under the instigation of Wu Zetian, Emperor Gaozong ordered the "Clan History" to be revised, and the name was changed to "Family Name Record". This "Surname Directory" stipulates that the existing official position shall prevail, and all those with five grades or above, regardless of the rank and rank, will be paid; Those who have attained military merit to the fifth rank may also be included in the book. All clans who do not enter the rank are excluded. After the completion of the "Family Name Directory", the martial artists of the descendants were listed as the first class, and a large number of bureaucrats of the Yu ethnic group joined the Shi clan. Although the "Surname Directory" was despised by the nobles and nobles, and was regarded as "Xunge", it completely broke the boundary between the Tu and Yu tribes. Improving the status of officials from the Yu ethnic group also played a great role in enlisting the landlord bureaucracy of the Yu ethnic group.
In the fifth year of Xianqing (660), Emperor Gaozong was dazzled, unable to see the matter, and Wu Zetian was either a ruling on his behalf, and Wu Zetian began to participate directly in the handling of political affairs. Wu Zetian also recruited literati into the palace, because these literati often waited at the north gate of the palace, and were called "bachelors of the north gate", named writing classics, and actually participating in important politics to divide the power of the prime minister.
Wu Zetian successively got rid of his eldest son Li Hong and second son Li Xian, and actually controlled the heavenly power of the dynasty, and even when Emperor Gaozong was in the dynasty, "behind the imperial throne, the political affairs were heard of by all the day." At that time, Emperor Gaozong was called the emperor, Wu Zetian was called the queen of heaven, and people called him the "two saints".
In the first year of Hongdao (683), Emperor Gaozong died of illness, and the crown prince Li Xian ascended the throne for Emperor Zhongzong, and Wu Zetian participated in the imperial government as the empress dowager. The following year, Wu Zetian deposed Li Xian and installed Emperor Gaozong's fourth son, Li Dan, as emperor. At this time, the trend of the Wu clan and the Tang dynasty was increasingly revealed.
The minister Xu Jingye called for the throne of "Kuangfu" Li Xian, and first raised troops in Yangzhou to attack Wu Zetian. Then, the kings of the clan responded by troops in Tongzhou (present-day Tongxian County, Beijing), Yuzhou (present-day Runan, Henan), and Bozhou (present-day Liaocheng, Shandong). After Wu Zetian quelled the rebellion, he killed a large number of kings and court dignitaries surnamed Li, successively killed hundreds of clan nobles, slaughtered hundreds of ministers, assassinated Shi and Lang generals, and killed countless people. She also consciously rewards whistleblowers, appoints cool officials, and fights political opponents. Suo Yuanli, Zhou Xing, Lai Junchen and other cool officials came into being for their use. In this process, the Guanlong clan was hit particularly hard, and it was almost slumped.
In the first year of Tianfu (690), Wu Zetian sent Emperor Ruizong Li Dan as the heir, personally ascended the throne, proclaimed himself the Holy Spirit Emperor, changed the Tang Dynasty to Zhou, and took Luoyang as the divine capital, becoming the only female emperor in the Chinese imperial era. Wu Zetian's proclamation as emperor was closely related to the trend of the times when the power of the Yu landlords rose and the power of the Shi landlords gradually declined.
At that time, in the imperial court, the contradictions between the Shishu and the people were quite sharp. Wu Zetian came from a humble background, and when he was made empress, he immediately attracted the resolute opposition of the noble ministers of the Shi family. However, Wu Zetian received the full support of the bureaucrats of the Korean and Central Chinese ethnic groups and finally took control of the situation. At that time, the social atmosphere was relatively open, and the restraint on women was relatively weak, which was conducive to women's talents, and Wu Zetian's own political talents also played a key role in her political career.
During Wu Zetian's reign, in order to win the hearts and minds of the people, he took a series of measures to consolidate his political position and the Wu Zhou regime. She moved the political center from Chang'an to Luoyang to get rid of the interference of the old forces and implement new decrees. She made great efforts to visit talents, open the doors of people, "undoubtedly use and tirelessly", forming a bureaucratic team for her use.
Wu Zetian developed the imperial examination system, implemented the "palace examination", personally took the examination to obtain officials, and increased the number of admission places for scholars. She established the "self-nomination" and "trial officials" system, in addition to frequently supervising courtiers to recommend talented people, she also encouraged officials and opposition people to promote their talents in order to use them. Talents recommended by subordinates and those who self-proclaimed their talents can be appointed to officials if they can pass the examination of the imperial court. She also made special military moves to recruit military talents.
In addition, during the period of assisting Emperor Gaozong, Wu Zetian had ordered the selection of talents in Liangguang and other places, which was called "Southern Selection". After the Wu Zhou Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, the "Southern Election" became more prosperous and became a regular system, so that talents from remote areas such as Lingnan could have the opportunity to enter the ranks.
While opening the door to entry and often employing people in an unconventional way, Wu Zetian also paid attention to the strict evaluation of appointed officials, and immediately dismissed those who found incompetent officials, and even killed those who had committed evil, and those who had committed crimes were quickly promoted. Wu Zetian was able to be discerning and judgmental, and to learn from the truth, so at that time, "heroes and sages also competed for it", attracting outstanding talents such as Li Zhaode, Di Renjie, Lou Shide, and Li Jiao. Later important ministers of the Kaiyuan period, such as Yao Chong, Song Jing, Zhang Shuo, Zhang Jiuling and others, were selected during the Wu Zetian period.
During Wu Zetian's reign, he attached great importance to agricultural production, often issued edicts to advise farmers and farmers, and used the quality of agricultural production as a standard for measuring the performance of local prefecture and county officials. Wu Zetian also promulgated the agricultural book "Zhaorenbenyeji" to guide agricultural production. Therefore, the trend of social and economic development since Zhenguan continued during Wu Zetian's reign, with abundant grain reserves and continuous population growth.
In dealing with the border issue, Wu Zetian also showed certain talent. She sent troops to defeat the Western Turks and took control of the northwestern region; Defeated Tubo and recovered the four towns of Anxi.
Wu Zetian was a complex figure, and the impact of her rule on Tang society was also quite complex. During Wu Zetian's reign, the social, political, and economic order was basically stable. But she appointed ruthless officials and killed innocents. Although the selection of officials can win people, the letting go of the recruitment of officials has caused the bureaucracy to expand dramatically. In order to deify herself, she created a theocratic basis for the Wuzhou regime and vigorously venerated Buddha.
In the first year of the Heavenly Grant (690), monk Fa Ming and others presented the Great Cloud Sutra, claiming that Wu Zetian was the next life of Maitreya Buddha, and the contemporary Tang was the Son of Heaven. Wu Zetian was very happy, and ordered the prefectures to build the Dayun Temple and preach the "Great Cloud Sutra". The construction of the temple costs money and money, increases the burden on the people, and the negative impact should not be underestimated.
In his later years, Wu Zetian attempted to establish the descendants of the Wu clan as heirs, but he knew that the time was unbearable, and finally reinstated Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian as the crown prince. In the first year of Shenlong (705), Wu Zetian was seriously ill, and Li Duozuo, a joint forbidden general such as Prime Minister Zhang Kamzhi, led troops into the palace, killed Wu Zetian's inner favorites Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong's brothers, forced Wu Zetian to abdicate, supported Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian to restore the throne, and restored the Tang Dynasty. Wu Zetian was moved to Shangyang Palace, and the Wu Zhou regime ended. In November of the same year, Wu Zetian died of illness at the age of 82.