Wu Zetian

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Wu Zetian
Biographical information
Born	17 February 624 Great Tang
Died	16 December 705 (age 81) Luoyang, Great Tang
Species	Human
Political information
Affiliations	Tang dynasty Zhou dynasty

Wu Zhao (武曌), commonly known as Wu Zetian (武則天; 624 – 705) was the first and only Empress Regnant of China. After becoming empress consort to Emperor Gaozong of Tang in 655, she acted as the real power behind the throne for decades. Upon Emperor Gaozong's death in 684, she continued to wield paramount authority, first deposing her son Li Xian and replacing him with his younger brother Li Dan barely one month into Li Xian's reign as Emperor Zhongzong. In 690, she removed Li Dan as well and declared herself empress regnant, simultaneously proclaiming the new Zhou dynasty. After fifteen years of draconian rule, she was herself overthrown in a coup d'état in 705, and the Tang dynasty was restored, whereupon she died some months later.

Biography

Golden Turtles

In the ninth month of Tianshou (天授) year 1, the first year of her reign, she changed the pouches of fish talismans used to authenticate officials' identity with that of tortoise pouches. When she was ousted in 705, the first year of the Shenlong (神龍) era, her son Emperor Zhongzong reverted the tortoise pouches to fish pouches. The turtle pouch system lingered on for another five years before being dismantled completely. Nonetheless, the tortoise pouches' significance as an icon of elite status not only persisted, it was disseminated throughout wider society. This became evident in the Tang neologism "golden turtle son-in-law", but its legacy ran far deeper. Fifty years after Wu Zetian's death, "golden turtle pouch" had become the code name for the conspiratorial officials at court who were affiliated with the Order of the Ancients.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Dynasty (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: The Imperial Jade Seal – Chang'an Wang