She was a sort of Chinese Cleopatra, an intelligent and successful woman slandered as a slut and whore, and remembered for her sexual escapades despite them being only a small part of her life.

As a young woman, she was taken to be compared with other young women, and was eventually added to the emperor’s harem. She quickly became a favorite, but knew she could be more, especially as the old man was dying.

She seduced the prince, joining his harem after the old emperor passed away and the prince got a promotion. She became such a brilliant and important advisor, he often asked his advisors if they had run their ideas by her before implementing them. In the later years of his life, she took over almost entirely.

When that emperor died, she took the throne herself without letting her son sit in it. She is, to this day, the ONLY woman to have ever ruled China outright as a monarch in her own right. Not as a regent, not as a manipulator, but as a woman who sat on the throne and was emperor herself.

But that’s not all. Rumor has it that she had a way of dealing with diplomats and dignitaries: before any discussion or negotiations could happen, she would force them to orally service her. That way they knew who was really in charge, and who had all the real power.

As emperor, she also did all the other emperor things, including having her own harem. Her favorites though were eunuchs, that is, men who had been castrated, a common position in the Chinese court.

Y’know, maybe the Chinese got it right all those centuries ago. Maybe we should go back to having leaders like Wu Zetian.