The three OBEDIENCEs & the four virtues
The traditional role of women in Chinese society was dominated by “three obediences” and “four virtues”, according to the Handbook of World Families. The three obediences were the following: Obedience to father before marriage; obedience to the husband after marriage; and obedience to the son after the husband’s death. The four virtues were morality, proper speech, modest manner, and diligent work. So, can someone refuse to obey or decide not to be virtuous? Well, of course they can. There are always exceptions; and one of them was the Empress Wu Zetian.
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EMPRESS WU ZETIAN
In all the history of the Imperial China, from the first dynasty to the very last, Wu Zetian was the only woman to have claimed the title of an absolute ruler.
At age thirteen, Wu became a mistress to the middle-aged Emperor Taizong of Tang and, when Taizong died, Wu was sent to a nunnery. By the age of twenty eight she returned to court, possibly because she was having an affair with Taizong’s son, Gaozong. According to the rest of the story, ruthless Wu choked her own baby daughter to death and framed Gaozong’s wife, Empress Wang, for the gruesome crime. After this, Gaozong ordered that Wang should be tortured to death; Wu got away with the crime and slipped into the top spot. For a lot of people this would have been just enough, but it looks like this was just the beginning of Wu Zetians insane ambitions. Wu ruled over helpless Gaozong for quite a long time and, after his death, went about consolidating her position. Wu then poisoned her oldest son, exiled the other one, and governed as empress dowager. In her late 60s, she proclaimed herself Holy Mother-Providential Emperor, and ruled in the short-lived Zhou dynasty. |