← Explore on the interactive map

Shangguan Wan'er

Type Figure Region China Time 664–710 Also known as Shangguan Zhaorong

Shangguan Wan'er (c. 664 – July 21, 710), Tang poet and politician, later Zhaorong of Zhongzong;…

Timeline

  1. 664–675Chang'an · ShaanxiHer grandfather Shangguan Yi and father Shangguan Tingzhi were executed in winter of the first year of L inde (January 3, 665 CE); Wan'er, still an infant, and her mother Lady Zheng were reduced to servitude in the Ye Court. From childhood she mastered poetry and classics, laying the foundation for her later summons by Wu Zetian.
  2. 676–705Luoyang · HenanAt about fourteen, her on-the-spot composition won Wu Zetian's admiration; thereafter she drafted edicts and reviewed memorials, especially holding authority over imperial commands after the Wansui Tongtian era. Once sentenced to death for offending the empress, Wu Zetian, valuing her talent, had her tattooed but spared.
  3. 705–710Chang'an · ShaanxiAfter the Shenlong Coup she became Jieyu to Zhongzong, promoted to Zhaorong in 708, advising the establishment of the Xiuwen Academy and poetry gatherings. After Zhongzong's sudden death in June 710, she and Princess Taiping drafted the edict naming Prince Wen Chongmao successor with Empress Wei as regent and Prince Xiang participating in government. In the Tanglong Coup she presented the draft seeking pardon; Li Longji refused and had her beheaded before his banner.

Sources