Empress Wu Zetian

In the great dynasties of China there are many tales of corruption, espionage, and intrigue, but perhaps no tale is more intriguing than the rise of China's first and only female Emperor, Wu Zetian (624-705) .
In the hierarchies of Imperial China, there are many who call themselves empress, and there are many who held sway over their weak-minded emperor husbands, but only Wu Zetian reached the pinnacle when at the age of 65 she usurped her son and became the undisputed Empress of Tang Dynasty China.
Empress Wu Zetian was the only female emperor in Chinese history, honored as the Holy and Divine Emperor of Wu Zhou. Her original name was Wu Mei Niang, and she changed her name to Wu Zhao after ascending the throne.
She entered the palace as a concubine of Emperor Taizong of Tang, but she had a close relationship with the future Emperor Gaozong, Li Chih. After Emperor Taizong's death, she entered the Gan Ye Temple and became a nun. The power struggle in the harem brought her back to the palace, where she successfully eliminated her rivals and was made Empress in 655. She participated in politics and was known as the "Two Saints" along with Emperor Gaozong. After Emperor Gaozong's death, she controlled the government. In 690, she ascended to the throne and proclaimed herself the Holy Emperor, changing Luoyang to the Divine Capital and the country's name to Zhou. This period is known as the Southern Zhou or Wu Zhou in history.
This book starts its plot from the time when Wu Zetian was constrained in Gan Ye Temple after the former Emperor (Taizong) was deceased and how the new Emperor (Gaozong) brought her to the court again. Later, she gradually realized her dream of becoming the most powerful woman in the palace through bloody struggles and bold strategies.
She had outstanding abilities in governing the country, but in the power struggle within the palace, she showed an extremely cruelty, being ruthless and killing innocent people. In order to clear obstacles and eliminate political enemies in the struggle for imperial power, she carried out bloody killings time and time again, not even sparing her own descendants.

Nangong Bo, whose real name was Ma Bin, was from Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. He had long been employed in the newspaper industry and was also capable of writing modern novels, but what set him apart and made him highly regarded in the literary world was his historical fiction.
In the 1950s, he published books such as The Ballad of Yuanyuan ,The Pavilion in the Wind , and The Peach Blossom Fan in Hong Kong. Later, he wrote dozens of books, including Wu Zetian（Empress Wu Zetian）and Yang Guifei（Noble Consort Yang）.