Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God

Jonathan Clements has managed to take the story of the controversial Empress Wu and make it extremely entertaining, while still maintaining historical accuracy. He keeps the narrative going at a quick pace, but provides enough details to keep the reader from becoming lost or confused.Empress Wu is a really difficult historical figure. She is neither a good guy or a bad guy. She is a woman who did some amazing things, and some really terrible things. So many biographies of Wu have an agenda, either to make her look like a martyr or a villain, and the truth is far more complicated than that.Clements provides both what is known about Empress Wu, and various opinions and constructs of her made by those who came later. He shows how the image of Empress Wu is often twisted to meet the needs of political fads, and that all of these perspectives should be taken with a grain of salt.Even if you know nothing about Chinese history, you will find this book a fascinating and lively read.

So many purported biographies of Empress Wu's life portray her as either an innocent woman who was later slandered in the official histories for the crime of being a woman who dared to rule (a crime against Confucianism) or an evil monster who really did commit all the murders and various crimes attributed to her. This book admits that she was an ambitious woman who may have commited SOME of the crimes but also that some of them were probably fabricated later and gives solid historical reasons for saying so. It also delves into her motivations and manages to question whether blind ambition and pure evil was not the only motivation she had, something I have not come across before. This book reveals that the ancient Chinese court was often cutthroat, kill or be killed. This book is a much more nuanced view of Empress Wu, her lifetime, her motivations, and admits that in some places the whole truth can never be known. It also includes photographs of actual geographical sites in China and some Chinese artifacts. I intend to read more books by Jonathan Clements, as he seems to be a thoughtful and objective author.

Enjoyable and easy to read biography, about an engrossing figure in Chinese history. While the author takes a more sympathetic view of Wu than most, he is transparent about his stance and offers balanced sources to draw his conclusions. He also does so in a way that doesn’t interrupt the flow of reading, and has a humorous, light-hearted writing style that made for an enjoyable read.

This book was well researched and written so well that I ordered 3 more books by the same author.

I like the book’s objectivity that is rarely found in tv shows and novels I read about WU. The author had diligently researched before presenting comments from both haters and admirers of WU. Despite convoluted history among 100+ people mentioned in the book spanning over 80+ years, I didn’t find the plot dry nor confusions. Actually, the narrative was nothing short of engrossing.

A truly informative and well balanced book. The author manages to make a fascinating case both for and against Wu, in many interesting ways. He takes pains to express the many pressures acting on Wu and why so many of her actions could be either good or bad, depending on perspective.Also, surprisingly funny in places!

Great insight, great story.

Not that much is known about Wu. This book is engaging and moves at a good pace. It has lots of documentation and reveals if information is disputed. I learned a lot of interesting facts about China.

Very detailed; the author resists the urge to embellish the facts that do exist. A genuinely interesting subject.

Over the years I have been, at various times both engaged & disengaged with China, but in the main, the periods of the mid mid 1800's and the whole 20th C. Born in 1949 I was particularly drawn to Mao & then read much about his "successors", human rights and modern history. There was some dalliance with mid medieval political goings on.Having recently discovering The Lady of Marcia, reference was made in reading a number of biographies, to a certain Empress Wu ( I hasten to add not in any way to compare, but related to historical women who ruled countries/kingdoms etc) Apart from some pretty light research, this book by Jonathan Clements was recommended.This rating speaks for itself, and whilst I will probably go no further in reading about Wu specifically Clements more than satisfied my curiosity. I loved his writing style, his objectivity and ability to communicate a complex historical figure, countless personages (most of whom I couldn't begin to pronounce) and story for that I highly recommend this book, and certainly this author. Mr Clements thank you.

Well this was a great find. Wu makes Henry VIII look like Mother Theresa in comparison. This is a well told account of Wu's route to power, eventually becoming Empress of China in her own right. In spite of being a ruthless manipulative politician there is much about this woman to admire. She comes over as a bold feminist ahead of her time. She must have been a very clever woman with a strong personality to achieve what she did in seventh century China.I really enjoyed reading this book. There are a multiplicity of interesting characters introduced during the story and as a novice at Chinese history each twist to the tale was a real surprise. It's great to have 'new' real historical events to find out about. It has spurred me on to find out more about the Chinese. They have stories just as fascinating as those in the European history I am most familiar with. Its a whole new world to explore.Thank you Jonathan Clements for a great read!

I bought this book to try and learn more about Empress Wu. Although there was some interesting history and discussion over family, particular events that she made a reality (the graphic removal of two female rivals in the ‘court’), in truth I did find the author to waffle a lot throughout the book. I wanted more. I wanted to learn about why she is up there with famous tyrannical or feminist leaders (as this seems to be the views of many who comment upon her reign in the modern world).Its an average book. I am not fan of the writing style. Cover feels cheap. Images could have been in colour. I will be looking for recommendations of other books to learn about Empress Wu. Feel very little the wiser on her subject.

I think this book captured Wu as a person. A real person who isn't Mother Theresa neither the Devil but something in between. It shows how admirable and strong she was, I for one wish to be more like her. Not the cruel, scheming and murderous Empress side of her but the passionate, forward-thinking and strong woman who came from nothing, made her way in a mans world all on her own and became basically the most powerful person in the world. A true rags to riches tale, with death, love, sex, passion, conspiracy, murder, war, religion.. This book has it all. Definetly worth every penny, even for someone who might not care for such a niche genre. It's definetly one of those books you'll be tempted to read in one sitting, I found it hard to put it down.I can't shake the feeling that the people who think she was evil from head to toe only say so because she was a woman. The male emperors did what she did, worse things even, and nobody even questions their actions. But none of that in this book, it shows the good and the bad based on the sources available. Excellent. 5 stars, well deserved.