女皇帝武则天

　　武则天(公元624～705年)是中国历史上杰出的女皇帝和政治家。

　　武则天从小聪明果断，通文史，长得又漂亮，14岁那年被唐太宗召进皇宫，成为才人。太宗死后，武则天被送进寺院做尼姑。太宗的儿子高宗当太子时就看中了武则天，他当上皇帝两年后，就把武则天从尼姑庵(an)里接了出来。后来又废掉皇后，立武则天为皇后。

　　武则天当上皇后以后，帮高宗处理朝廷事务，并趁(chen)机除掉了一些反对她的大臣。唐高宗身体不好，他看武则天十分能干，有时就把朝政大事交给她去处理，武则天的权力因此越来越大。当时高宗与武则天被称为“二圣”，就是两个皇帝的意思。

　　公元683年，高宗死后，武则天就以太后的名义管理朝政。公元690年，武则天改国号为周，正式做了皇帝。此后，武则天继续推行唐太宗发展生产的政策，还破格提拔许多有才能的人。唐朝的政治经济在武则天时又得到发展。当然，她统治时期重用武氏家族、大建寺院、过分崇佛等，也给老百姓增加了负担。武则天去世前在大臣的逼迫下将皇位传给了儿子，又恢复了唐朝的统治。

　　Wu Zetian, China's First Female Monarch

　　Wu Zetian (624-705 AD) was an outstanding stateswoman in Chinese history.

　　At the age of 14, she was taken into the imperial palace by Emperor Taizong as a concubine. After Emperor Taizong died, she was sent to a temple, and became a nun. Emperor Gaozong, son of Emperor Taizong, was fond of Wu Zetian when he was crown prince, and two years after he succeeded to the throne he had Wu Zetian brought back to the imperial palace. Then he demoted his consort, and made Wu Zetian the empress.

　　Wu Zetian soon became involved in affairs of state and palace intrigue, including getting rid of officials who opposed her. Gaozong, not being in good health, often let her handle his duties for him. At that time, Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian were called the "Two Saints" by the people, which meant they had two emperors.

　　When Emperor Gaozong died in 683, Wu Zetian administered the country as the Empress Dowager. In 690, Wu Zetian changed the name of the dynasty to Zhou, and became empress herself. She carried on the policy of developing production initiated by Emperor Taizong. She also promoted many talented people in defiance of protocol, especially members of her own clan. She was a devout Buddhist, and spent money lavishly on the construction of temples. Eventually, Wu Zetian was forced by her senior ministers to hand over power to her son, and the country returned to the control of the Tang Dynasty.