Wu Tse-tʻien and the politics of legitimation in Tʻang China

by R.W.L Guisso

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Jessica Zu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid research that raises interesting questions. The writing is so 70's. Only read the chapter on state ideology. Will certain revisit this book as needed in later research 'cause it provides top-notch references.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very thorough biography of Wu Zetian's fascinating, slow process of legitimizing herself to the heavily Confucian Tang court. I thought the chapters were well-organized and the "story" engaging, organized by theme but with a trackable chronological thread throughout that didn't "spoil" much while making its overarching arguments, but also I could see that if one picked a chapter at random/at interest, all the necessary context and background was provided without feeling repetitive. Having read beginning to end, some of the minor repetition (like in reiterating the logic behind certain fallouts or political decisions) was actually helpful.

On minor qualms:

I think Guisso argued his points well, but it feels like some of Wu Zetian's more horrific acts (the terror, ordering her granddaughter killed) were skimmed over with a grimace rather than tackled with analysis head-on like most of her other politically enigmatic acts that were more easily "spinnable" to argue in her favour. There was also a large untranslated passage of French, which... was that the norm in 70s Sinology research? Odd to expect readers to know French in addition to English and (likely) Chinese.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this and found it informative, well-organized, well-presented, and engagingly written.