Key Facts
- Duration
- 690–705 AD (15 years)
- Founder
- Wu Zhao (Wu Zetian)
- Number of rulers
- 1 (Wu Zetian)
- End event
- Shenlong Coup, 705 AD
- Predecessor/successor
- Tang dynasty (both)
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
Wu Zhao, who had served as consort and empress dowager under Tang emperors Taizong and Gaozong, accumulated significant political power during the reign of her son Emperor Ruizong. In 690, she deposed him and proclaimed herself emperor, founding the Zhou dynasty. She claimed descent from the ancient Zhou dynasty to legitimize her rule, making her the only woman in Chinese history to assume the title of emperor in her own right.
Phase II: Zenith
During her fifteen-year reign, Wu Zetian maintained the administrative and territorial framework of the Tang dynasty largely intact, overseeing a functioning imperial bureaucracy. She expanded the imperial examination system to broaden the recruitment of officials beyond the aristocracy, and patronized Buddhism as a source of ideological legitimacy. The dynasty's short duration left limited distinct cultural or territorial achievements separate from those of the broader Tang era.
Phase III: Decline
By 705, Wu Zetian's health had declined sharply, and a group of officials and military commanders launched the Shenlong Coup. They forced her to abdicate in favor of her son, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, restoring the Tang dynasty. Wu Zetian died later that year. Historians generally classify the Wu Zhou as an interregnum within the Tang period rather than an independent dynastic succession.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory