Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Interview with Empress Wu

Q:  Wu Zhao I understand your relationship with your husband’s first wife was not very good.  In fact I understand that you killed your new born and blamed his first wife for the death.  Is this true? And if so WHY?

A: Yes I did this so that I could become Empress and make a difference in the Tang Dynasty and in my life.

Q: Wu I understand that you believe in Buddhism, how did you incorporate this into your rule in the Tang Dynasty?

A: Yes I was a very large believer in Buddhism throughout my rule.  I incorporated it in my rule a lot because I did believe that I could become the future Maitreya (or the future Buddha).  In fact I remember that in 673 I had a statue of the Maitreya carved.  Its expressions varied from the angle you looked at them from.

Q: Why did you choose the Phoenix as your symbol and what does it look like?  

A: I choose the phoenix as my symbol because it represents the yin, and is also associated with woman.  It is a historical bird and has many different fetchers like the head if the peasant, the peak of a parrot, the body of a duck, and the wings of a mythical bird called a roc the feathers of a peacock, and finally the legs of a crane. 

Q: Why were you so infatuated with the two brothers who paraded around her court in costumes?

A:  I am not sure in think it was the fact that I had to be serious my whole life and I knew I had grown into a very capable ruler but what I had done caught up with me and they were the way I masked the pain I had to go through knowing all that I had done to the other people. 

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