[ tw: deaths (lots of it), murder, large age gaps.
note: while most of the info written below are recorded in history, i took creative liberty to add a few twists and spins of my own. ]

To be hated by both gods and men alike, Empress Wu knows it all too well.

They say she killed her own sister, butchered her own elder brothers, murdered the ruler, and poisoned her own mother.

History does not exactly lie, no, but it is not the full truth either. History is written by those who have a reason to, and those who do often end up loathing the empress depicted as a cruel usurper. What follows behind the name Wu Zetian is a path painted crimson that the asphalt underneath it can barely even be seen, riddled with thorns as they prickle anyone who dare approach the throne of glass in which the empress of heaven sits. But what history makes out to be a heartless monster used to be a human with a beating, sympathizing heart. What history makes out to be a ruthless empress is a woman forced to rule the way men do — with an iron fist, steel will and sharp wits.

And yet the world looks at her with more hostility for being a woman.

History does not look at who she truly is. It only sees what the rest of the world sees; what the people want to see. A woman on a seat of power, playing a patriarchal game the way men have done so for so many years becomes a symbol of fear and cruelty. To the world, she is a snake as fearsome as a wolf.

But like all villains, she too used to be an innocent little girl.

Born to Wu Shihuo and Lady Yue as Wu Zhao, she was encouraged by her father to learn skills that were traditionally exclusively taught to men. She learned how to read, write and develop intellectual skills, and also to play music, write poetry and speak well in public. Truly, one can say that she was born to lead.

Her first connection to the emperor was when she was but a mere fourteen year old. Growing up to be very beautiful, as said by those who saw her — empress or not — she was chosen by the emperor to become one of his concubines. It was Taizong that had called her Mei-Niang, attributed to her beauty. Initially left to handle royal laundry, Wu Zhao was determined. She did not want to remain right where she was, and instead dared to speak to the Emperor alone. Surprised and impressed by her intellect and wit in conversation, she was taken out of laundry and was then made a secretary. This was her official introduction to Chinese politics, and she demonstrated skills enough to impress even the Emperor, eventually becoming the man’s favorite.

With her beauty and intellect, she attracted the attention of men at the court — most especially the young ones — and one of those men was the son of the emperor she belonged to, Prince Li Zhi, who would later on become the emperor at his father’s death. It was a risk, one that Wu Zhao was aware of, and yet after dancing with flames, the two of them began to have an affair. It was not meant to be a romantic fruition — Wu Zhao belonged to the Emperor, and Li Zhi had a wife. But Li Zhi was in love with Wu Zhao, enough to forget that he had a wife to hold and embrace every night and instead found warmth with Wu Zhao in his bed.

When Emperor Taizong died, Wu and the other concubines had to shave their heads and were fated to become nuns at the Ganya Temple, a common practice after the death of an emperor. As the emperor’s concubines could not be passed on to others, but instead were to end their time at court and start a new life of chastity. However, Li Zhi’s love for Wu Zhao surpassed even that of traditions, as when he became emperor and had taken the name Gaozong, he immediately sent for Wu, bringing her back to her court and giving her the title of the first of his concubines, despite already having others and having a wife.

With her sudden rise to power, Gaozong’s wife, Lady Wang, and his former first concubine, Xiao Shufei, naturally grew jealous of the attention that Gaozong gave Wu. It was this mutual jealousy that had binded the two women together, and it was because of this jealousy that caused them to try and strip Wu of her power. The plan was simple: make the Emperor hate the first concubine, Wu, by pulling underhanded methods. But soon — unexpectedly and perhaps unfortunately — love bloomed between two women who were meant to loathe one another. Love bloomed in a place where it should not have, and it was almost enough to soothe the flames of Wu’s desire for power. Almost.

Wu soon found out about what Lady Wang and Lady Xiao had planned for her. She found it out the moment her daughter died soon after her birth. Historians would claim that she had killed her own daughter, claiming that she did it for the sake of getting Lady Wang out of the way. But it was truly Lady Wang who had killed her daughter, born out of jealousy that Wu had given birth to two sons in a row despite Gaozong already choosing his successor. Wu knew that it was Wang — who else could it be?

Out of pure rage, Wu made sure that Lady Wang would never survive her wrath. Accusing both Lady Wang and her mother of practicing witchcraft, she also implicated Lady Xiao — her love, her rose, her moon. It was her anger that had cost her her love. Gaozong divorced Lady Wang, barred her mother from the palace, and exiled Lady Xiao. Lady Wang’s uncle, the chosen successor, was removed from his post.

Wu then rose to the position of the first wife of Gaozong and empress of China. Her sons then would rule the country after the death of her husband.

She would play the role of the shy, respectable emperor’s wife well in public, smiling perfectly in the eyes of the masses, but she was in control. It was betrayal that had hardened her heart even more, and anger sharpened her claws. She carefully eliminated any potential enemies from the court, and to remain in power she had to kill Lady Wang and Lady Xiao. Love be damned, she was not going to lose her position anytime soon.

She was not going to be betrayed ever again.

People would soon claim that even the gods disliked the fact that a woman sat in a position made for men. After an earthquake following her rise to power, a mountain seemed to have risen as well — these were bad omens, or so they’d say. But Wu Zhao was intelligent and charismatic, and said that she was favored, the mountain being a good omen that reflected the Buddhist mountain of paradise, Sumeru. Anyone who said otherwise was exiled.

By 660 CE, Wu was effectively the emperor of China. No, she did not hold the title — but she was no doubt the power behind the office, taking care of imperial business even when she was pregnant with her daughter in Taiping. She had gone against the patriarchal traditions of her country, and continued doing so by bringing a group of women to Mount Tai to conduct rituals, all of which were traditionally only performed by men.

She was raised by her father to believe that she was on equal footing with men, and as such saw no reason why women could not carry out the same practices and hold the same positions as men could. She did not ask any man’s permission — she carried out what she thought was best with complete and utter confidence in everything she did. By then, Gaozong had caught a disease that affected his eyes, and needed to have reports read to him.

But Wu had the power. She would read, and yet would do things in her own way. She believed she knew her country best, and she would act on what she thought was the best way to. She knew what she was doing. She knew how to lead a country, and for it to work, she needed to stay in power — and how else was she supposed to stay in power other than to eliminate those who posed a threat to her throne?

Soon, Gaozong took the title Tian Huang (Emperor of Heaven) and Wu changed her own to Tian Hou (Empress of Heaven). They were then hailed as divine monarchs until Gaozong’s death. After his death, she placed her first son on the throne. But Zhongzhong, the first son, would not cooperate with Wu, and his wife, Lady Wei, had assumed too much power. She had her son charged with treason and banished along with his wife. Zhongzhong was then replaced by Ruizong, Wu’s second son. Now, she didn’t even try hiding behind the curtain — she put Ruizong in house arrest, and led China like that.

Her desire to lead China the way she wanted it to be had caused her to forgo her familial bonds, eventually beginning to see her own sons and daughters as political ties. There was only one thing Wu wanted: she wanted to make China the greatest and wealthiest in the world.

So when Ruizong turned into a disappointment for her, she forced him to abdicate the throne.

She proclaimed herself Emperor of Zetian, ruler of China, the first and only woman to sit on the Dragon Throne and reign in her own name and by her own authority. She would no longer hide behind a man’s back. She was no longer Wu Zhao — she was now Wu Zetian, the Celestial. She made it clear that China now had a new ruler, and a new order had arrived.

It would shake China, she vowed. The earth would tremble beneath her feet, and men would kneel before her.

And shake it, she did.

Women’s status rose significantly during her reign. She fired nobles, reformed the government structure and employed commoners at court. She made sure her people and soldiers were fed. She made sure the world knew what China was, and who she was. She made sure that the people felt assured that she would always be there to lead them, to ensure that they were safe and fed and heard. Her reform was based on the people’s suggestions. She improved the public education system, ordered farming manuals to be written and distributed, reformed the department of agriculture and the system of taxation. She had made sure that the people in positions under her reign were capable and intelligent.

Ah, yes. Some would say that China had reached its golden reign under Empress Wu’s reign.

But she was not immortal.

She grew old, became more paranoid over time, and spent more time with her young lovers than ruling China. Her paranoia became the decline of her reign, and it was because of this that her court officials decided to have the Zhang brothers be murdered. Already feeling her power slipping from her fingertips, she was forcibly abdicated, giving the throne back to her exiled son, Zhongzhong and his wife, Wei.

Her last moments were quiet… and lonely. There was no one by her side as she took her last breath. She had come to wonder if she had lived her life wrong; if she should never had given so much of herself to the country that refused to acknowledge her. What path had she left behind? What foundation had she laid for those that would come after her? She had done so, so much for the country… and yet in the end, she had nothing.

Even after death, she had nothing but a reputation that labelled her evil without question, for the world chose to look at her as the cruel usurper, a conniving temptress rather than for all the things she had done for China.

poetry — novels — myths & legends (she does enjoy reading them from time to time) — music — art — nightsky — stars — solitude — quietness & peace — stability — fashion — jewelry — tea — flowers.

betrayals — prejudice — disorganization — being looked down upon for being a woman — unnecessary noise — her personal space being violated (she will most likely glare at you if you do) — disconnected bourgeoisie — losing control — being told what to do and/or micromanaged.

playing instruments (guzheng, pipa & guqin) — gazing at the nightsky (since she doesn't always sleep peacefully) — reading novels — writing poetry — staying with nature (during times she doesn't want to be seen nor found).

acrophobia (she likens height to how high up she used to be at the hierarchy — they say, "the higher you rise, the harder you fall.") — being left behind — being forgotten.

the reason why she wants a second chance is because she wants to be forgiven (by herself or by others, she doesn't know just yet) for killing love in the name of power. she has stopped at nothing to get herself to the top — now she wants to know what it's like to be human.

they call her the most evil of all queens in history. but what wu zetian is, is a woman hardened by her experiences within the palace. she is confident, assertive and intelligent beyond her years — but she is also a woman with a heart that beats for the people she once served. she is cruel and ruthless, yes, but only for her to be able to achieve what she wanted to achieve. she would stop at nothing to get what she wants — whether that be a better china or to protect her people.

but she is not without a heart: she feels guilty for the people she has killed, and her body burns with all the sins she has committed in her entire life time. behind the title of tian hou, she is a human with temperamental tendencies; who is playful and laughs at silly things. she is quick witted, and yet her sorrows and regrets show in her eyes — she cannot hide it.

•.*★ before you approach me。

important。 Try to have something in mind and read my profile before actually talking to me about roleplaying. I am open to brainstorming, but please do not come to me completely empty-handed. Reading my profile is important.

•.*★ writing and plotting style。

writing style。 3rd pov only. My length ranges from a single paragraph to a whole novella, depending on how high my muse is for the thread. I do get carried away often times, but it doesn't have to be mirrored.

plotting style。 I prefer plotting over winging, even if it's just a small backbone of what we're supposed to be doing. This is why you should read my profile first and come to me with an idea in mind. I often do the same.

Starters are based on who seems to make the most sense to start. If it makes more sense for my character to start, then I will write the starter, and vice versa.

•.*★ activity and reply speed。

important。 I rarely ever poke people, and do not like being poked. 10 days. Please only poke me after 10 days. I usually know who I'm writing with, and if I haven't replied to you yet, that means either of the two things: a. I don't have enough muse for it yet, and; b. I'm busy. Often times, it's a mixture of both. Please don't use my replying to other threads faster than yours against me. It's a simple matter of which of the threads I have more muse with.

I'm usually fast with my replies, sometimes with regardless of the length. But again, it depends on the muse. We can always drop/pick up our thread(s), but make sure you communicate with me. Also know that I might be active in the chat infrequently or a lot. I'm not a very consistent person when it comes to this.

•.*★ location preferences。 I definitely prefer the rooms to keep the rp active! If it's not possible to get a room for it, then walls we go! My PMs are only for OOC business. Please don't post on my walls unless I allow you to.