Murder in the Empire

            Wu Zetian, a smart, favorable, beautiful and talented woman has recently been accused of murder. The victim? Her newborn daughter. Wu Zetians plan was to choke her daughter to death, then frame Empress Wang- her only competition for her desired role as empress. Wu ran to the Emperor one day, and started weeping.

            “My daughter is dead!” she cried. “I saw Empress Wang strangle her to death. It was a horrible sight!”

            The Emperor was disgusted with Empress Wang, and immediately dethroned her. Wu Zetian was then given title as empress, and her first decree was to kill Wang.

    

Opinion/Editorial

Being an emperor of a dynasty is tough. There are tough decisions, people to help, and betrayal to look out for. Sui Gongdi, the last emperor of the Sui dynasty was overthrown by his own cousin. The Sui dynasty was falling apart, but Li Yuan (Emperor Gaozu, Sui Gongdi's cousin) shouldn't have been the one to claim the throne. Sui Gongdi was murdered by his own General, and upon hearing this, Gaozu took the throne. To me, this is betraying blood-line, and shouldn't be tolerated. Honor is lost from the family and Gaozu should be shamed.
Just as Gaozu betrayed his cousin, Gaozu's son, Li Shimin, killed both of his brothers (in case they killed him when his plan to become king went to effect) and then forcefully deposed his father. In ancient China, betrayal within the family was common. People who murder or threaten family members for power should not be given any power, and deserve to be shamed for their actions. 
Later on in the Tang dynasty timeline, Wu Zetian killed 3 of her children for power. Two of her sons and one newborn daughter were all strangled so that Wu would be able to gain power. Wu framed the current empress, and she was blamed for Wu's murders. Family betrayal is the most disgraceful and the perpetrators deserve to be shamed.

Tang Dynasty Map

The Tang dynasty conquered about half of china. It ranged from Shanghai to Urumqi, and was about a third of China's former dynasty- the Yuan dynasty. The orange on the map is the Tang dynasty, and the white is the rest of present day China. The beige is other present day countries, and the blue is, of course, water. The capital of the Tang dynasty was Chang'an. Chang'an is one of the most important capitals of ancient China. It was the capital for the Han, Sui, and the Tang dynasty. Chang'an lasted for about 700 years. Built in 200 A.D., it was demolished in 904 A.D.

Empress Wu Admits to Murder!

Reporter- Hello Empress Wu. How are you? Would you like some coffee?

Empress Wu- Hello. I am fine. A cup of coffee sounds delicious. Cream, no sugar.

Reporter- I’ll be sure to get that for you. In the meantime, I have a couple questions to ask, if you don’t mind.

Empress Wu- I’d be glad to answer any of your questions.

Reporter- Well, I’d like to start off with how you gained your fame and your role of empress. Your daughter helped little, didn’t she?

Empress Wu- Well, as a child I was very well educated. I was beautiful and smart. Emperor Taizong chose me to be a cai ren.

Reporter- What is a cai ren?

Empress Wu- A cai ren is a woman who lives with the emperor, but is not married to the emperor. She has the emperor's children.

Reporter- Oh I see. How did you get from being a cai ren to being an empress?


Empress Wu- Well, the Emperor seemed to take a liking to me, and I to him. I also wanted more power then a cai ren, so I decided to work my way up to be an empress. The Emperor already had a wife, which ruined my chances. I'm not one to give up easily, so I spent weeks conjuring a plan. Finally, I was forced to a decision. I could frame the Emperors wife. Around a year later, 3 nights after I gave birth to my daughter, I strangled her to death. The next morning, I ran to the Emperor, weeping.
I started to cry and weep to the Emperor, lying to him and telling him how his wife killed my child. The Emperor foolishly believed me, and he dethroned Empress Wang- who was his wife.

Reporter- Do you feel like you have made the right decision by killing your own daughter?


Empress Wu- Being an empress is hard, but it has its perks. Those perks are definitely worth the taking of a life, no matter who's life it is.

Reporter- I see. I also understand that you became the most powerful woman in ancient China. Care to elaborate?


Empress Wu- During my time as an empress, my husband became very sick. He passed on his power to me until he became well again. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. My husband died after a few years, and I kept my position as the empress of China.

Reporter- I'm very sorry about your husband. Unfortunately, that is all we have time for. Thank you for answering my questions.


Empress Wu- You're welcome, well have a goodnight.

Reporter- Goodnight.

The Flamethrower

During the Tang dynasty, there were many helpful inventions. Gunpowder, dances, and some instruments all were invented during the Tang dynasty. An invention that has been upgraded for years, and is still used in wars today to incinerate enemies was created in the Tang dynasty. The flamethrower was originally on four wheels, and required more then one person to use. The latest record of a flamethrower was in 844 B.C.E., and it has been modernized for over one thousand years, and is now able to be manned by one person, with a lot more firepower. Before the flamethrower, it was a lot harder to fight off large waves of enemies, but once the flamethrower was created, fighting off large waves of enemies has been much easier. The flamethrower was created by Tang soldiers, and over the years, other soldiers and engineers have improved it so that it is more dangerous to the victim and less dangerous to the user.

The Major Religions in the Tang Dynasty

Buddhism and Confucianism- two religions that had a major impact on the Tang Dynasty. Buddhism is the belief that people are their own god, and everyone lives to reach Zen and Nirvana, or complete peace and harmony. Confucianism is the belief that everyone must respect their elders, and be a role model to the youth. Basically, there are five basic relationships. Ruler and subject, husband and wife, older sibling and younger sibling, and elders and youth.

During the first few hundred years of the Tang dynasty,  people practiced Buddhism. Everyday life was peaceful, and there wasn't much crime. Everyone learned to love one another and respect others. Life was good for those who lived in the Tang dynasty. Buddhism was a great and peaceful way to run a dynasty.

Around 200 years after the Tang dynasty was established, Confucianism was introduced, and it became the main practice for people in the Tang dynasty. Things were still peaceful, but there was more respect between people. The dynasty was very powerful at this point, because everybody respected and looked up to the Emperor. Confucianism was an effective and powerful way to run a dynasty.

If another religion was introduced during the Tang dynasty, like Legalism, there would be chaos. Legalism is the belief that everyone is born evil, and people need to be taught how to act, and one way to teach people is harsh punishments for petty crimes. Obviously there are flaws in this belief, and people in the dynasty would be living in fear. Riots would break out, and all that is needed to overthrow an empire is a large riot. The belief of Legalism has holes in it. Therefore, Legalism would not be an effective way to run an empire.

Li Yuan Captures Chang'an

Li Yuan led his army into Chang'an and conquered it as the new capital for China. This brought more money and  trade into China, and ultimately grew the population and food production. Li Yuan was an excellent king and had an extremely strong army. Li Yuan was the reason that China gained so much power. Li Yuan conquered many cities and brought China a lot of land and wealth. More land leads to more people and farms, more people and farms leads to more trade and money for China. Li Yuan cleverly came up with a plan of how to ambush Chang'an, and all of his steps worked. Li yuan gave the Tang dynasty the push start that it needed, and he led China to its Golden age.

Bibliography

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