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.
Key vocab
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：中国唯一的女皇帝
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。
Wu Zetian: China’s Only Female Emperor
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.
