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| | NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Empress Wu (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11) |
 | | Wu Zetian (武則天) (625 - December 16, 705), personal name Wu Zhao (武曌), was the only female emperor in the history of China, founding her own dynasty, the Zhou (周), and ruling under the name Emperor Shengshen (聖神皇帝) from 690 to 705. |
 | | On February 20, 705, now in her early 80s and ailing, Empress Wu was unable to thwart a coup, during which the Zhang brothers were executed. |
 | | Her father was Wu Shihuo (武士彠) (577-635), a member of a renowned aristocratic family of Shanxi, and an ally of Li Yuan, the founder of the Tang Dynasty, in his conquest of power (Li Yuan was himself from a renowned aristocratic family of Shanxi). |
| www.nationmaster.com /encyclopedia/Empress-Wu (5650 words) |
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