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Brief: This article traces Wu Zetian’s rise from a former concubine to China’s only female emperor. It covers her political struggle against loyal ministers, her joint rule with Emperor Gaozong, the suppression of rebellions, and her founding of the Zhou Dynasty. It also notes her use of secret police and favorites, as well as…
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Chu Suiliang (596–658 CE) was a prominent statesman and calligrapher of the early Tang Dynasty, celebrated for his elegant, refined, and rhythmically fluid style of regular script (kaishu). His masterpiece, the Yanta Shengjiao Xu (Preface to the Sacred Teachings at the Wild Goose Pagoda), was inscribed on stone in 653 CE at the request…