Ancient Chinese Culture

Shangguan Wan’er was one of the most famous female in ancient China. She was the granddaughter of Shangguan Yi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty and the premier to Emperor Gaozong of Tang. She was also a writer, poet, and female politician of the Tang Dynasty, as well as an imperial concubine of Emperor Zhongzong.

She became the personal secretary of Wu Zetian, the first and the only female monarch in Chinese history, when she was 14. Later, she became the de facto Premier of the female monarch. For several decades, the destiny of the Tang Empire was in the hands of the two extraordinary women.

However, failed in the politics struggle, in 710 AD., she was killed by Li Longji, a grandson of Wu Zetian, in a palace coup. Her colorful life came to a tragic end at the age of 46.

Nevertheless, no one would deny her talents and after her death, Li ordered her poems to be compiled into a 20-volume anthology after her death.

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