Wu Zetian, the unprecedented generation of empresses, although there are many names, in fact, she does not show us her truest name.
Wu Zetian, the second daughter of Wu Shiyi, the founder of the Tang Dynasty, is from Wenshui, which is now Wenshui County, Shanxi Province, and the heroine Liu Hulan is a fellow villager. She was born on the 23rd day of the first month of the seventh year of Tang Gaozu Wude (624) in Lizhou (present-day Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province), when her father was serving as the governor of Lizhou. However, Wu Zetian lost her father at the age of twelve, and she and her mother, Yang, were abused by their brothers.
Therefore, in the eleventh year of Zhenguan (637), the fourteen-year-old Wu Zetian was forced to enter the palace to serve Tang Taizong. Tang Taizong initially favored her very much, gave her the name "Wu Mei", and named her a talented person of the five grades, which gave rise to the two titles of "Wu Mei Niang" and "Wu Cai Ren". Wu Zetian has been a talented person for 12 years, but her status has never been promoted, and she feels extremely disappointed. However, during the serious illness of Tang Taizong, she established a special relationship with the crown prince Li Zhi, who later became Tang Gaozong.
After the death of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian and other childless concubines were sent to Ganye Temple as nuns, with the legal name Mingkong. But she kept in touch with the new emperor Tang Gaozong Li Zhi. After Tang Gaozong ascended the throne, Wu Zetian was recalled to the harem and quickly defeated Concubine Xiao Shu, gaining Gaozong's favor.
The following year, she was named Zhaoyi of the second grade. Wu Zetian has been in the Tang Dynasty harem for decades, from Zhaoyi to the queen, from the queen to the queen, from the queen to the emperor, and finally changed the country name from "Tang" to "Zhou", and sat on the unique dragon chair.
In order to show the weather and spirit of the new dynasty, Wu Zetian decided to change his name. So, on the eve of becoming emperor, she chose the first word from the twelve new characters offered by her nephew and Fengge Shilang Zong Qinke - "Cao" as her new name. Although the pronunciation of the word "曌" is the same as that of the word "zhao", its special structure reminds people of the majestic scene of "the sun and the moon are in the sky, and the light is covered by all things".
Wu Zetian's love for the word "Cao" may be due to the following two reasons: First, Wu Zetian claims to be the reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha who is compassionate and purifies all sentient beings, and the glyph of the word "Cao" is very similar to the sun and moon on the head of the pot-bellied Maitreya Buddha;Second, the inspiration for the character "曌" obviously came from Wu Zetian's Dharma name "Mingkong" when he was forced to become a nun, which can bring her a strong sense of identity and satisfaction.
In the first year of Shenlong (705), Wu Zetian was seriously ill, the "Great Zhou Revolution" ended, and his son Zhongzong Li Xian was reinstated, and she was given the honorific title of "Zetian Great Sage Emperor". Soon, a generation of empresses died in loneliness, and after her death, Tang Zhongzong followed her will, removed the emperor's name, and changed her name to "Zetian Great Sage Empress".
Since then, people have begun to refer to her by the name Wu Zetian. Although we already know some of Wu Zetian's deeds and honorific titles, there is still a mystery about her original name.
There is a record in the geography part of the New Tang Dynasty Book: "Huayin County, Huazhou, Shangfu." In the first year of Yining, Zheng and Huayin of Jingzhao County were analyzed. In the second year of the vertical arch, the Wu clan said that Dazhou, and the first year of the dragon was restored. From this, it can be determined that Wu Zetian's honorific name should contain the character "Hua", but other details about her name still need to be further explored and discovered. History