When Taizong died, Wu was thirty-two. Since Taizong’s son is too young to be an emperor, Wu took the place and became the first female emperor in Chinese history. Although she was cruel in many points, say, for instance, she killed or force suicide on anyone who opposed or insulted her, she still had great achievements for China. First, she incorporated Buddhism into society. In addition, Empress Wu helped peasants by lowing taxes and helped raise agricultural products improving public works. She continued to improve agricultural production by putting irrigation systems in place. Moreover, she had men devoted to improving and understanding agriculture and finding land that is more farmable.
Empress Wu died at the age 80. There are many arguments about her after she died- both positive and negative sides. Although she did many bad things, we should see it is a fact that no one is perfect. Obviously, her story is one of great importance to China’s long history.
Bibliography
- Biographies: Female Heroes of Asia China, 2004.
.
- “Culture and Art: A women of the Tang Dynasty” Chinavoc.com
- Reese Lyn 2003 “Gender difference in history women in China and Japan” Social education, NCSS, March 2003
- Mann Susan, 1990. Women’s and gender history in Global Perspective: East Asia, American historical Association, Washington, DC.
- Tang-Dynasty- Empress Wu Zetian (624-705), 2004, TravelChinaGuide.com, September 10, 2004.
.
Monologue
History is full of women who stepped outside of the box. The box is full of tradition and expectations of behavior of women. I am proud to say that I am one of these women. However, nobody ever knows the price I paid in the currency of loneliness and insult in order to be this type of woman. I know the words people use to describe me- cunning, power hungry and ruthless. To some I was an autocrat, ruthless in my desire to gain and keep power. To others I, as a women doing a “man’s job”, merely did what I had to do and acted no differently than most male emperors of our dynasty. Nobody ever knows that I was jailed for my beliefs. At the age of 14, I was called to serve the emperor and entered his palace as the fifth concubine. Life in the imperial court was not as it should have been. One would think that the concubines lived in the relative peace, because they had everything they wanted. However, this was definitely not the case. As I found, that to be able to survive in the palace, one must obtain power. All the things stuck in my mind at the time are power, power and power. In order to raise the title of empress, I even killed my daughter. The fact is, I made it. And after Emperor Taizong died, finally I became the Emperor at the age of 32. I am always thinking that, if I did not enter the palace, I might have a warm family already. I did not have to worry that how can I survive in the palace, I would never feel what is called loneliness, and I did not have to hide my emotions deep in my heart. But I stopped myself there. I fully understand that people can not think so much “if”, or you are not able to make up your mind to change your fate. Now I know I am wrong. I wasted my life pursuing earthly power and position. I never feel happy. But now it’s too late. I was not able to change anything. My life time is almost moving towards to the end. I just wish after I died, unmarked my gravestone. I desire those who studied me in the future generations decide upon my own legacy: a woman of strength and character or a cruel usurper in search of absolute power.
“Its a long long journey
till I know where I’m supposed to be
its a long long journey
and I don’t know if I can believe
when shadows fall and block my eyes
I’m lost and know that i must hide
its a long long journey
till I find my way home to you
sometimes it feels no one understands
I don’t even know why I do the things I do
when pride builds me up till I cant see my soul
will you break down these walls and pull me through
cause its a long long journey
till I find my way home to you. “
My reflection on this work
This “one woman show” project is not only challenging but also interesting. The reason I say challenging is that you have act out a woman’s life in your point of view. However, you have to make your audience fully aware this woman based on your acting, and you have to make everything real. I think it is interesting is because you can introduce the character by acting it out in a different way but still based on historical facts. The character suddenly stuck in mind is Empress Wu. She is the first and the only female emperor in Chinese history. To some she was an autocrat, ruthless in her desire to gain and keep power. To others she, as a woman doing a “man’s job,” merely did what she had to do and make great contributions to Tang Dynasty. Some speak highly on her while others do not like her at all. I will say that she has two sides in her character- positive and negative. In order to let the audience get a general picture about her, I have to show her both sides character in my performance. She is actually hero. She wasted her lifetime in pursuing earthly power and position, but she never feels happy. This reminds me about a fictional character called Hagar from the novel “The Stone Angel”. Hagar displays pride in her chrematistics. But it is negative pride. The pride made her afraid of self-expression. She always pretends to be a strong person and she will not allow people to cross the wall that she builds up around her. The same thing applies to Empress Wu. Her pride jailed her in her own believes. She never feels free to express her really emotions. She has to hide her emotions deep in her heart. The pride also prevent from seeing the truth of a situation and from achieving happiness in life. The pride caused her a tragic life.