Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God by Jonathan Clements - 9780750939614 - Compare Prices on New & Used Textbooks, Cheap Textbooks

Wu was the first and only woman in Chinese history to become a reigning empress. Jonathan Clements tells the dramatic and colourful story of the seventh-century daughter of a lumber merchant who used her looks, cunning and connections to rule one of the largest empires of the world.

Before Wu was born, prophecies predicted that she would become an emperor. It was thus a source of disappointment to her family when she turned out to be a girl. But they underestimated Wu's steely determination to succeed. At the age of 13 she took the first steps on her path to power when she was selected as a concubine to the 40-year-old Supreme Emperor (Taizong).

When the emperor fell ill, the ambitious Wu committed a capital crime by seducing his heir. Her gamble paid off, and when the emperor died, his besotted heir, now the High Emperor (Gaozong), rescued Wu from life in a convent. Back in the palace, Wu wasted no time in framing and executing her opposition, the empress and the beautiful Pure Concubine. Her ruthlessness even extended to her own family. After her husband had died, she poisoned her strong-willed eldest son, tried to rule through his two more malleable brothers but eventually took the throne herself.

Coloured by intrigue, murder, incest and seduction, Wu's incredible true story is a rich and fascinating tale. Drawing on the original Chinese sources, Jonathan Clements reveals the life of this extraordinary woman who proclaimed herself a living god, founded a new dynasty and was only deposed, aged 79, after jealous courtiers had murdered her two young lovers.

		Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God by Jonathan Clements ISBN-10: 9780750939614 ISBN-10: 0-7509-3961-3 ISBN-13: 9780750939614 ISBN-13: 978-0-7509-3961-4 Hardcover 2007-02-01 The History Press Find Lowest Price
Editorials

Product Description Wu was the first and only woman in Chinese history to become a reigning empress. Jonathan Clements tells the dramatic and colourful story of the seventh-century daughter of a lumber merchant who used her looks, cunning and connections to rule one of the largest empires of the world. Before Wu was born, prophecies predicted that she would become an emperor. It was thus a source of disappointment to her family when she turned out to be a girl. But they underestimated Wu's steely determination to succeed. At the age of 13 she took the first steps on her path to power when she was selected as a concubine to the 40-year-old Supreme Emperor (Taizong). When the emperor fell ill, the ambitious Wu committed a capital crime by seducing his heir. Her gamble paid off, and when the emperor died, his besotted heir, now the High Emperor (Gaozong), rescued Wu from life in a convent. Back in the palace, Wu wasted no time in framing and executing her opposition, the empress and the beautiful Pure Concubine. Her ruthlessness even extended to her own family. After her husband had died, she poisoned her strong-willed eldest son, tried to rule through his two more malleable brothers but eventually took the throne herself. Coloured by intrigue, murder, incest and seduction, Wu's incredible true story is a rich and fascinating tale. Drawing on the original Chinese sources, Jonathan Clements reveals the life of this extraordinary woman who proclaimed herself a living god, founded a new dynasty and was only deposed, aged 79, after jealous courtiers had murdered her two young lovers.
Reviews

Historical text plus intrigue novel in one While I don't particularly agree with all the author's takes on Wu and the situations surrounding her, this book does lend a more objective view than most other written works about her life. The format within the book is not exactly of the most organized nature and some of the names may have been muddled for simplification's sake, but the writing itself is refreshingly straightforward. Anecdotes and rumors are stated as such. The author gives some pretty well-informed assessments of the kind of person Wu may have been. I like the speculative approach regarding Wu's actions and personality because most of the recorded history about her are in fact tainted by the agenda being pushed by those writing it. Very detailed and up to date research on the author's part about his subject. Overall, it reads like a historical text but with strong intrigue novel overtones.
Finally the right book! Brilliant, academic work w notations, just what I was looking for. Very well written and engaging, at all time critical towards sources. Recommended!
A Wonderful Adventure! Jonathan Clements has managed to take the story of the controversial Empress Wu and make it extremely entertaining, while still maintaining historical accuracy. He keeps the narrative going at a quick pace, but provides enough details to keep the reader from becoming lost or confused. Empress Wu is a really difficult historical figure. She is neither a good guy or a bad guy. She is a woman who did some amazing things, and some really terrible things. So many biographies of Wu have an agenda, either to make her look like a martyr or a villain, and the truth is far more complicated than that. Clements provides both what is known about Empress Wu, and various opinions and constructs of her made by those who came later. He shows how the image of Empress Wu is often twisted to meet the needs of political fads, and that all of these perspectives should be taken with a grain of salt. Even if you know nothing about Chinese history, you will find this book a fascinating and lively read.
A Chinese story whose lightest word will freeze thy blood This is a wonderful biography. I was somehow worried it would be boring. However, the author manages to narrate Wu's life and times in such a way that I could not put it down, and read it in less than a week's time. Starting as a 13-year-old concubine favorite in the harem of Emperor Taizong, Wu seduced his son by whom she later became pregnant and murdered her rivals - including the empress - to become empress herself. Possibly guilty of infanticide, and of murdering her own sister, once she became the 'power behind the curtain Wu schemed and cheated her way to the throne and ruled personally under the name Emperor Shengshen from 690 to 705 (the first woman ever to use the title emperor which had been created 900 years before by the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang). After surviving two revolts against her, in her early 80s ailing Empress Wu was unable to thwart a coup. While considering her frequent portrayal as a despot, one must bear in mind the traditional Confucian idea widely held in her day that women in general, and especially influential women, caused trouble and were not to be trusted. For a better understanding of China, I would recommend reading: 1 and 2) two books by S.A.M Adshead: "China in World History" and "T'ang China: The Rise of the East in World History"; and 3) "Fools Are Everywhere: The Court Jester Around the World" by Beatrice K Otto, which is full of information on witty Chinese jesters. Additionally, another excellent biography of a much maligned queen worth reading is "Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman" by Stephen Zweig.