Peerless and Standing Alone: Wu Zetian

武则天Sep 2017

Rating 3.7
Word count
28K words
Chapters
25

Tags

General Biography Tang PoliticsEmpress LegendImperial PoetryLiterary and Political TalentPath to PowerBiography Study

Summary

Wu Zetian was resourceful and shrewd, well versed in letters and history, and notably gifted as a poet. She summoned literary attendants Zhou Maosi, Fan Lübing, and others to compile such works as Essentials for Reading, The Sea of Characters, and Record of Music, and she herself wrote the 100-volume Collected Works of Chuigong and the 10-volume Collected Works of the Golden Wheel, both now lost. The Complete Tang Poems preserves 46 of her poems, including “Ruyi Niang,” “Song of the Raised Tripod,” and “Music for Tang Sacrifices to Heaven” (Nos. 1–12). This book selects Wu Zetian’s Rules for Ministers (parts one and two), fully revealing the sharp edge of her literary accomplishment. With an exclusive appendix, a brief biography of Wu Zetian, it is a fine work that must be read.

Editor's review

Centered on Wu Zetian’s Rules for Ministers, this book presents both parts in full, revealing the dual aspect of this exceptional woman in political ethics and literary expression. Unlike conventional biographies, it puts readers directly before texts written by Wu Zetian, showing how she discusses the way of ministers, authority and responsibility, and the art of governance in elegant, well-ordered parallel and prose lines, so that her reputation for being “resourceful and shrewd, well versed in letters and history” can be understood as no empty praise. A brief biography is appended to sketch the outline of her life and provide the necessary personal background for reading Rules for Ministers; the mention of poems collected in The Complete Tang Poems also alerts readers to her side as a poet. Overall, this is a text-centered volume suited to close reading, usable both as a sample of Tang political thought and official prose style and as an entry point for understanding Wu Zetian’s writing style.

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Reading tips

  1. Read the appended brief biography first to clarify the outline of her life, then enter the main text of Rules for Ministers for smoother understanding
  2. Read parts one and two of Rules for Ministers against each other, noting changes in emphasis in Wu Zetian’s statements on ministers’ duties
  3. When you come to especially incisive passages, copy out the original text and consider its intended admonitory targets and purposes in the political context of the Tang

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序
  3. 武则天小传
  4. 家世出身
  5. 初入宫廷
  6. 再次入宫
  7. 二圣临朝
  8. 登基为帝
  9. 女皇岁月
  10. 政变退位
  11. 臣轨
  12. 编者序
  13. 原序
  14. 卷上 同体章
  15. 卷上 至忠章
  16. 卷上 守道章
  17. 卷上 公正章
  18. 卷上 匡谏章
  19. 卷下 诚信章
  20. 卷下 慎密章
  21. 卷下 廉洁章
  22. 卷下 良将章
  23. 卷下 利人章
  24. 题《臣轨》后
  25. 附录：名人评价

FAQ

What kind of book is Rules for Ministers? Rules for Ministers is a political treatise written by Wu Zetian in two parts, discussing the way of ministers and political ethics. This book selects and presents both parts in full, with annotation and relevant background, so readers can directly sense the sharp edge of Wu Zetian’s literary accomplishment and expression of statecraft.
Does the book include Wu Zetian’s poems? Sources show that The Complete Tang Poems preserves 46 of Wu Zetian’s poems, such as “Ruyi Niang” and “Song of the Raised Tripod,” but the main body of this book is the two parts of Rules for Ministers plus an appended brief biography. Readers who want to read her poetry systematically may consult the relevant volumes of The Complete Tang Poems for comparison.
What background knowledge is needed to read Rules for Ministers? A basic familiarity with Tang history is enough. It is advisable first to understand the general course of Wu Zetian’s experience from concubine to emperor, as well as the institutional background of ruler-minister relations in the Tang. The appended brief biography in the book can serve as an introduction. When encountering institutional and classical terms, read slowly with the annotations; there is no need to grasp everything at once.

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About the author

武则天 Author

Wu Zetian is the only woman in Chinese history to have formally taken the imperial throne, and her name is inseparably tied to the political history of the Tang dynasty. The library currently holds five of her works, including Early Spring Night Banquet, The Minister's Guide, The Minister's Guide (Unannotated Edition), and a further title, Peerless and Independent: Wu Zetian. Because public information is limited, details of her life remain disputed and are not elaborated here. Judging from the works at hand, her writing spans classical poetry, historical reading, and social-science topics: Early Spring Night Banquet is a poem, concise in language and rich in courtly atmosphere, while The Minister's Guide is a work of admonition for officials, centering on remonstrance, ethics, and the art of governance in a solemn, clearly ordered style. These works reflect the literary orientation of a writer who was also a political figure, and they offer a distinctive sample for later generations seeking to understand Tang political culture and women's writing; they are often mentioned in biographical and literary-appreciation reading.