2. Wu Zetian Was Hell on Her Kids
Ancient China’s Confucian worldview held that women were unfit to rule. Wu Zetian (624 – 705) paid no attention to that bit of Confucianism: she ran China unofficially as an empress consort, then empress dowager, and finally, as an official empress. A strong, wily, and ruthless woman, the tale of her rise to power, and how she held on to it, could have taught Machiavelli some new tricks. Considering that she killed one of her own children, deposed another, and usurped the power of a third, even Machiavelli might have thought Wu Zetian had crossed a line or two.
She was born into a wealthy family and had an open-minded father who saw to it that she received a good education, encouraging her to read and develop her mind. That was unusual for her day and age, but fortunately for Wu, her father was not too hung up on convention. As a result, she grew up well-versed in literature, music, history, politics, and governmental affairs. She was also drop-dead gorgeous, and at age 14, she was taken into Emperor Taizong’s harem as a concubine.