3: Tipping the Scales: The Rise and Fall of Empress-ship in Tang

The reign of Wu Zetian which spanned for over two decades made way for prominent female politicians such as Empress Wei and Princess Taiping in the Tang court. In contrast to the abundant literature which examine these powerful women from the perspective of female rulership and the process of legitimation, I chose to focus on the antithetical phenomenon which transpires a few decades later—starting from mid-Tang, the Tang imperial family does not seat a living empress for over 150 years (although some consorts were posthumously given the title if their sons became emperors). I analyze three intertwining aspects of this phenomenon: the reactive antagonism of the previous empress-ship, the rise of eunuch power, and the lower status of the consort-kin groups. Emperors, having experienced the extraordinary power of female rulership, made the calculated decision to abstain from installing empresses. This reconfiguration of the court, alongside the selection of consorts from lower status families, was quintessential to the rule of emperors as they struggled to contain maternal power. However, in this pursuit for uncontested power, emperors unintentionally tipped the scales and failed to check the rising power of eunuchs. In this exploration into the “nonexistence” of empresses, I not only probe the aftereffects of the rule of Wu Zetian but also delve into the strategies and consequences of rulership which ultimately led to the demise of Tang.