Over 2000 years of history, China had exactly one female emperor. Wu Zhao (also known as Wu Zetian) rose from fifth-ranked concubine (a glorified maid) to supreme ruler, effectively governing China for over fifty years. Her reign was one of the most peaceful and productive periods of the Tang Dynasty, so why does history remember her as a bloodthirsty, sexually depraved tyrant? Learn about this enigmatic, fascinating woman with our guest, Wu Zhao biographer and Professor of Chinese History, N. Harry Rothschild. 

Consultation and voiceovers for this episode provided by Dr. Xiao Jing Miao, Research Fellow at Oxford University.

Guest Dr. N. Harry Rothschild was a Professor of Chinese History at the University of North Florida and the author of The World of Wu Zhao, Wu Zhao: China’s Only Woman Emperor and Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers. Dr. Rothschild’s teaching career spanned nearly a quarter of a century, beginning as a K-12 substitute in the hills of western Maine after he graduated from Harvard University in 1992 with a B.A. in East Asian Language and Civilizations and cleverly decided to write a novel on bronzecasting and kingship in Shang China in his parents’ basement. From 1988 to 1990, he lived, studied Mandarin, and worked in Beijing. Dr. Rothschild died in Dec 2021.

Music featured in this episode provided by Cao Jianguo, Li Xiangting, Zhu Runfu, Tang Dai Li Yue Fu Yuan Zu, the Hubei Chime Bells Array, Charlie Huang, and the Shanxii Provincial Song and Dance Troupe.

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