In ancient China, where men held all the power, one remarkable woman didn’t just break the glass ceiling – she shattered it completely and crowned herself emperor. Get ready to meet Wu Zetian, the ultimate power player of Chinese history.
武则天是中国历史上唯一的女皇帝。她在公元624年出生在中国，父亲是唐朝的官员。她的家庭很重视教育，所以武则天从小就学习读书和写字。她非常聪明，喜欢看书，也喜欢学习历史和政治。
武则天十四岁的时候进入了唐太宗的皇宫。她在皇宫里工作，帮助皇帝处理事情。唐太宗去世以后，新皇帝唐高宗非常喜欢她，让她成为皇后。武则天成为皇后以后，开始帮助唐高宗管理国家。因为唐高宗身体不好，所以很多重要的决定都是武则天做的。
唐高宗去世以后，武则天变得更加有权力。她先后帮助自己的两个儿子做皇帝，但是真正管理国家的人是她自己。公元690年，武则天做了一个很大的决定——她宣布自己是皇帝，建立了新的国家，叫做”周”。她成为了中国历史上唯一的女皇帝。
武则天做皇帝的时候，做了很多好事。她重视农业，让老百姓的生活变得更好。她也改变了选官的方法，让更多有才能的人可以为国家工作，而不只是有钱有地位的人。在她管理国家的时候，唐朝变得更加强大。
武则天在705年去世，那年她八十二岁。她去世以后，唐朝的皇帝继续统治中国。很多人觉得武则天是一个非常厉害的领导人。虽然她是女人，但是她比很多男皇帝做得更好。今天，中国人还是非常尊重她，觉得她是中国历史上最重要的人物之一。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 皇帝 | huángdì | emperor |
| 皇宫 | huánggōng | imperial palace |
| 皇后 | huánghòu | empress |
| 权力 | quánlì | power/authority |
| 宣布 | xuānbù | to declare/announce |
| 农业 | nóngyè | agriculture |
| 才能 | cáinéng | talent/ability |
| 统治 | tǒngzhì | to rule/govern |
| 尊重 | zūnzhòng | to respect |
| 武则天 | Wǔ Zé tiān | Wu Zetian (624-705), Tang empress, reigned 690-705 |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 中国 | Zhōng guó | China |
| 历 | lì | old variant of 曆|历[li4]; old variant of 歷|历[li4]; calendar; to experience; to undergo; to pass through; all; each; every; history |
| 史 | Shǐ | surname Shi |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 唯 | wēi | only; -ism (in Chinese, a prefix, often combined with a suffix such as 主義|主义[zhu3 yi4] or 論|论[lun4], e.g. 唯理論|唯理论[wei2 li3 lun4], rationalism) |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 女皇 | nu:3 huáng | empress |
| 帝 | dǐ | (bound form) emperor; sovereign; supreme deity |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 公元 | gōng yuán | CE (Common Era); Christian Era; AD (Anno Domini) |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 出生 | chū shēng | to be born |
| 父亲 | fù qīn | father; also pr. [fu4 qin5]; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 唐 | Táng | Tang dynasty (618–907); surname Tang |
| 朝 | Cháo | abbr. for 朝鮮|朝鲜[Chao2 xian3] Korea |
| 官 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 员 | yuán | (bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity; (bound form) member; classifier for military generals |
| 家庭 | jiā tíng | family; household; CL:戶|户[hu4] |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 重视 | zhòng shì | to attach importance to sth; to value |
| 教 | Jiào | surname Jiao |
| 育 | yù | to have children; to raise or bring up; to educate |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 从小 | cóng xiǎo | from childhood; from a young age |
| 就学 | jìu xué | to attend school |
| 习 | Xí | surname Xi |
| 读书 | dú shū | to read a book; to study; to attend school |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 写字 | xiě zì | to write (by hand); to practice calligraphy |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 聪明 | cōng ming | intelligent; clever; bright; acute (of sight and hearing) |
| 喜欢 | xǐ huan | to like; to be fond of |
| 看书 | kàn shū | to read; to study |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 学习 | xué xí | to learn; to study |
| 政 | zhèng | political; politics; government |
| 治 | zhì | to rule; to govern; to manage; to control; to harness (a river); to treat (a disease); to wipe out (a pest); to punish; to research |
| 十四 | shí sì | fourteen; 14 |
| 岁 | suì | variant of 歲|岁[sui4], year; years old; classifier for years (of age); year; year (of crop harvests) |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 进入 | jìn rù | to enter; to join; to go into |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 宗 | zong | ancestor; clan; sect; to honor; principal; surname Zong |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | to work; (of a machine) to operate; job; work; task; CL:個|个[ge4],份[fen4],項|项[xiang4] |
| 帮助 | bāng zhù | assistance; aid; to help; to assist |
| 处理 | chǔ lǐ | to handle; to deal with; to punish; to treat sth by a special process; to process; to sell at reduced prices |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; thing; business; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1] |
| 去世 | qù shì | to pass away; to die |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 新 | Xīn | abbr. for Xinjiang 新疆[Xin1 jiang1]; abbr. for Singapore 新加坡[Xin1 jia1 po1]; surname Xin |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 成为 | chéng wéi | to become; to turn into |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 管理 | guǎn lǐ | to supervise; to manage; to administer; management; administration; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 国家 | guó jiā | country; nation; state |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 身体 | shēn tǐ | the body; one's health |
| 不好 | bù hǎo | no good |
| 多重 | duō chóng | multi- (faceted, cultural, ethnic etc) |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 决定 | jué dìng | to decide; to determine; to make up one's mind; decision (CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]) |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 变得 | biàn de | to become |
| 更加 | gèng jiā | more (than sth else); even more |
| 有权 | yǒu quán | to have the right to; to be entitled to; to have authority; powerful |
| 力 | Lì | surname Li |
| 先 | xiān | beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself) |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 个儿 | gè r | size; height; stature |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 真正 | zhēn zhèng | genuine; real; true; really; indeed |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 建立 | jiàn lì | to establish; to set up; to found |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 周 | Zhōu | surname Zhou; Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC); week; weekly; variant of 周[zhou1] |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 好事 | hǎo shì | good action, deed, thing or work (also sarcastic, "a fine thing indeed"); charity; happy occasion; Daoist or Buddhist ceremony for the souls of the dead |
| 老百姓 | lǎo bǎi xìng | ordinary people; the "person in the street"; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 更 | gēng | to change or replace; to experience; one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided; watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard) |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 改变 | gǎi biàn | to change; to alter; to transform |
| 选 | xuán | to choose; to select |
| 方 | Fāng | surname Fang |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 不只 | bù zhǐ | not only; not merely |
| 有钱 | yǒu qián | well-off; wealthy |
| 地位 | dì wèi | position; status; place; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 强 | qiāng | strong; powerful; vigorous; better; to force (qiang3); stubborn (jiang4); surname Qiang |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 八十 | bā shí | eighty; 80 |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 继 | jì | to continue; to follow after; to go on with; to succeed; to inherit; then; afterwards |
| 续 | xù | to continue; to replenish |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 厉 | lǐ | strict; severe; fierce; to sharpen; surname Li |
| 害 | hài | to do harm to; to cause trouble to; harm; evil; calamity |
| 领导人 | lǐng dǎo rén | leader |
| 虽然 | suī rán | although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc) |
| 女人 | nu:3 rén | woman |
| 比 | Bǐ | Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利時|比利时[Bi3 li4 shi2] |
| 男 | nán | (bound form) male; baron, the lowest of the five ranks of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4] |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 中国人 | Zhōng guó rén | Chinese person |
| 还是 | hái shi | still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant; major |
| 人物 | rén wù | person; personage; figure (esp. sb of importance); character (in a play, novel etc); (genre of traditional Chinese painting) figure painting |
| 之一 | zhī yī | one of (sth); one out of a multitude; one (third, quarter, percent etc) |
Wu Zetian was the only female emperor in Chinese history. She was born in China in 624 AD, and her father was an official in the Tang Dynasty. Her family valued education highly, so Wu Zetian learned to read and write from a young age. She was very intelligent and loved reading books, as well as studying history and politics.
When Wu Zetian was fourteen years old, she entered the palace of Emperor Taizong of Tang. She worked in the palace, helping the emperor handle affairs. After Emperor Taizong passed away, the new emperor, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, liked her very much and made her empress. After Wu Zetian became empress, she began helping Emperor Gaozong manage the country. Because Emperor Gaozong was in poor health, many important decisions were made by Wu Zetian.
After Emperor Gaozong passed away, Wu Zetian became even more powerful. She helped her two sons become emperor one after another, but the person truly managing the country was herself. In 690 AD, Wu Zetian made a very big decision – she declared herself emperor and established a new dynasty called “Zhou.” She became the only female emperor in Chinese history.
When Wu Zetian was emperor, she did many good things. She valued agriculture and made the common people’s lives better. She also changed the method of selecting officials, allowing more talented people to work for the country, not just those who were wealthy and had high status. During her rule, the Tang Dynasty became even stronger.
Wu Zetian passed away in 705 AD, when she was eighty-two years old. After her death, the Tang Dynasty emperors continued to rule China. Many people think Wu Zetian was a very capable leader. Although she was a woman, she did better than many male emperors. Today, Chinese people still greatly respect her and consider her one of the most important figures in Chinese history.