Wu Zetian: China’s Most Famous Murder - Chinese History - Part 2 - Extra History

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👑 Unravel the riveting saga of Lady Wu. From the allure of the palace and a romance with the Prince Regent, she plummeted to the depths of a Buddhist convent, shorn of her hair and her imperial dreams shattered but the new Emperor, Gaozong, sets the stage for a reunion. Sparking court whispers and igniting a harem war.👑
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Miss an episode in our Wu Zetian Series?
Part 1 - • Wu Zetian: Hated by Go...
Part 2 - • Wu Zetian: China’s Mos...
Part 3 - • Wu Zetian: Bloody Ghos...
Part 4 - • Wu Zetian: Finally Emp...
Part 5 - • Wu Zetian: Boy-Toys an...
Series Wrap-up & Recommended Reading / Lies Episode - • Empress Wu Zetian - LI...
Thanks for the high-quality conversations & for following our community guidelines here: bit.ly/ECFansRNice
Artist: Ali R Thome I Writer: Robert Rath I Showrunner & Narrator: Matthew Krol I Video Editor: Devon House Creative I Audio Editor: Clean Waves I ♪ Music by Demetori: bit.ly/1EQA5N7 I ♪ "Across the Pacific" by Tiffany Roman
#ExtraHistory #WuZetian #History

[@extrahistory]

Get a free bag of fresh coffee delivered directly to your door with any Trade subscription at www.drinktrade.com/extracredits ! Thanks for Watching!

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Always look forward to your videos guys 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤

[@also_arles]

It's only part two and the plot already thickens... I NEED THE DRAMA!!

[@dragonspirit1945]

Marko Polo's journey

[@ahmadganteng7435]

Great work as always @extrahistory team

[@SuperWindsage]

yeah I get why people hated her.

[@Oxtocoatl13]

A lot of history makes more sense when you consider that a lot of the main actors were 20 year olds with lead poisoning who drank a gallon of wine a day and had been subjected to deeply traumatizing violence since early childhood.

[@bensoncheung2801]

43rd thumb

[@Ghostlynscrptn]

💯

[@ErikHare]

In China stories like this run for about 70 episodes. They go through everything. All the side issues. It's always epic.

[@goodboyhuney]

Chanel?

[@mongtkb]

true, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms run for like 100 episodes - an hour per episode

[@daniel_sannguyen]

There’s another called Empresses in the Palace, 75 ish episodes, 45 minutes apiece (set in Qing dynasty 1722). Also, legend of Mi Yue goes for 86 episodes, set in Warring States period

[@Phlegethon]

There is one

[@MCorpReview]

EH summarize 3 kingdoms into 3 episodes yeah!!

[@Raidmasterprod]

“Now those witches can get drunk to their bones.” Straight up Azula material right there.

[@Joannes808]

Well, that mental image is never going to leave my head for the rest of the series and beyond. Thanks. o/

[@bthsr7113]

@@Joannes808 Let's be real, that is totally something she could and would have done if she remained in power long enough.

[@nelleneulmer5385]

Not really her style in my opinion. I tried to write what I thought she would do but it got deleted.

[@Kai-ye8cr]

I want to say this in the story I’m writing for history nerds like myself

[@kingalfred2014]

"Wu Zetian didn't really have her rivals' hands and feet cut off before drowning them in wine." "That's good." "She probably just had them assassinated." "That's bad."

[@twahatashfia6075]

Can I go now?

[@exhallianeveah9505]

well..what do the americans do to their enemies..hahahaha

[@Otterfrosti]

@@exhallianeveah9505 they used to brand thieves with the letter t on their palms so no one would ever talk to them again.

[@DocMadfox]

I love how the stories the ancient Chinese scholars wrote to make her seem the most horrible caricature they could just made her sound cooler to modern audience.

[@marcc1830]

Not to mention the script writers in China. Aside from the series about Wu or set in her reign, they could take ideas from her story or stories about her. I mean literally the gift that keeps on giving.

[@shadiafifi54]

Ancient Chinese Scholars: "She is a dishonorable, evil monster!" Modern audiences: "Oooh! Next Game of Thrones! And this one looks like it _won't_ have a crappy ending!"

[@lizycole8999]

backfire 10/10

[@cristalido3640]

It also speaks about how morally broken we are lol

[@sheepketchup9059]

​@@cristalido3640 "morally broken" bro can't be serious 🤣

[@tylermyszkewicz5789]

"Empires are lubricated in blood" is one of the most metal things I've heard anywhere, let alone on this channel.

[@jakobtarrasericsson4295]

Metal, but very much true. You don’t build empires by being Nice about it. Hell, Empires are sustained by it. Once weakness settle in, there will be people ready to exploit it.

[@andrewhawkins6754]

Blood is full of iron xD

[@sheepketchup9059]

​@@jakobtarrasericsson4295 don't twist the idea, this is why empires are bad

[@jakobtarrasericsson4295]

@@sheepketchup9059 I never said that I find Empires anything positive, only that you don't build one by being nice in politics and warfare about it.

[@KonstantinValentix]

Please make more pre-modern Chinese History, its so underappriciateded.

[@WaterShowsProd]

You might like the Cool History Bros channel, which specialises in Chinese as well as other East and Southeast Asian history.

[@em5522]

​@@WaterShowsProdthnx for the rec

[@Notsosmartguy453]

I wish there was a sequel to this series about Xuanzong and the Anlushan Rebellion

[@TheMinepath]

YES! The An Lushan Rebellion is such an interesting and important part of Chinese and Asian history

[@robertjarman3703]

User icon checks out.

[@Notsosmartguy453]

If all the stars align, we might even get the late tang and the huang chao rebellion.

[@RedWizrobe]

I remember when the poll for this series went live on Patreon, and I was disappointed to see that my pick of Hildegard von Bingen didn't win (especially since I was the one who suggested it as an option). But man, two episodes in, and I've never been so glad to see my suggestion passed over.

[@ageh4chou]

That being said, I hope your suggestion gets picked eventually; I would love a series on Hildegard von Bingen, or even just on women authors of the Middle Ages-- Heloise, Christine de Pizan, trobairitiz and other musicians, I could go on 😍 So much good history, so little time!

[@MariaVosa]

Hildegard is an excellent suggestion and hopefully they'll get to her - but Empress Wu is quite frankly God-tier

[@theoutlook55]

Props

[@TheDianMan]

Yea, but dont let that distract you from the fact that mr.krabs sold spongebobs soul for 62 cents.

[@stuff4035]

What

[@getstickbuggedlolnotamaple7973]

​@@stuff4035you couldn't understand

[@daswordofgork9823]

I thought it was a penny?

[@eduardothephoenix205]

What episode was that

[@darzhanacf8983]

During a episode in season 3 Mr crabs sold SpongeBob's Soul for 62 cents

[@Zxenoldy]

Chinese history is so interesting ngl. Also You guys should make a video about the taiping rebellion Prob one of the weirdest events in history

[@dylanrodrigues]

The Lions Led By Donkeys and History on Fire podcasts both have really good series on the Taiping Rebellion

[@ILoveMisty1985]

I was gonna suggest that once I get my topic suggestion if I ever get a chance to do so on Patreon. The Hong Hsiu-chuan story was really wild.

[@GeneralLuigiTBC]

I think it was a Patreon candidate at one point, though I forget what it lost to.

[@lontongstroong]

Could we take a moment and appreciate how insanely cute the drawing of female characters is? Just look at the round face and especially the design of the eye. I hope EH would make plushies out of these characters.

[@LRaide]

I totally love "being exiled deep into the palace" feels so much like Kevin McCallister "being exiled into the attic" in Home Alone

[@william97able2]

no, most "exiled concubines" were essentially imprisoned for life, died in solitude.

[@LRaide]

@@william97able2 ye, figured it out in part 3. Why was it called "exile" instead of "imprisonment"?

[@flashnimi]

Imprisonment implies you might be freed one day@@LRaide

[@mistformsquirrel]

Wu doing fingerguns at the camera sent me lol >< Gods I love you all's work.

[@PakBallandSami]

when you go from being a low ranking concubine to the emperor to being the first recognized female emperor of china: 🗿

[@Ziorac]

Why does this history sounds like Chinese soap opera written hundreds of years ago and now historians believe it really happened?

[@Ace-990]

Think they mentioned last episode that the official history recorded wasn’t written to show every detail that happened but to teach lessons to the rulers who come next. 8:25 they spot a more obvious change but other parts it’s probably too hard to tell

[@nomisunrider6472]

Royalty and nobility as a system is basically using family drama to run an entire government. Add in the obvious misogynistic bias of historians and yeah, perfect soap material.

[@wilsonchan9768]

Where else do you think those soap opera writers got the ideas from?

[@Daemonworks]

@@Ace-990 I formally studied Chinese history for a while, and, in a nut shell, it was wild. The contents of the history, definitely, but what was really wild was the scholarship itself. It was a /huge/ topic, as Chinese scholarship has a very long and complex history full of all sorts of different incentives, complications, shifting rivalries and the like. Scholarship was both incredibly prestigious and could provide access to real power within the government. There were times where your position on some random scholarly point that you had no idea was even a bone of contention somewhere else could get your and your entire family killed. True of history writing throughout the world, but it goes from "thing to be aware of" to "thing to never, ever let yourself forget" here.

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

Mark Twain said it himself, "Reality is stranger than fiction"...

[@oldasyouromens]

Wu's nickname was 美娘 (méi niang), or essentially "beautiful lady". "Fair flatterer" is a very flowery translation of that nickname.

[@awesomehpt8938]

Make a special spin off episode of this series about the older brothers!

[@Lionstar16]

Wu knew how to play the game of thrones - you win or you lose, there is no middle ground

[@rml2765]

If you want even more in depth information on Tang Taizong’s court and Wu Zeitan’s rise to power I highkey recommend Xiran Jay Zhao’s videos on it, they also have a sci-do fantasy book based on Wu Zeitan

[@RiverDoesTheThing]

Iron Widow is such a cool retelling of Wu Zhao's story

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

I watched the Chinese Empress in the Palace series, and while not about this period and with fictional characters, it has pretty similar storylines. Maybe these court schemings went on for a thousand years in China, and Wu was most successful.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

As long as there have been emperors and kings there have been court schemings. I doubt there was ever a time or place when there wasn't any. But, China seems to have more than most other nations.

[@ohnowendigos8804]

Loooooove that series; the palace schemes are so intense & the actors and costumes are fantastic

[@elizabethlancaster5058]

What if - and hear me out - you guys made a ton more Imperial China history videos?

[@robstewartstewart98]

Thinking about this story and something I read in George RR Martin’s the World of Ice and Fire made me think of something…..by and large, in both European and Chinese history, is it more dangerous for an aristocrat to come to court to “play the game?” Or to stay far away from court (while being loyal of course)?

[@lancerguy3667]

In both cases, nobles who stuck to their own lands were regarded as a potential danger to the central powers, since they remained where their own support base was strongest, and could always be at risk of raising their banners or behaving dishonestly, however loyal they were at the moment. In that regard, calling lords to the court was a means of controlling them: forcing them into a position where their sovereign lords had direct power over them. As to being the called lord in question... well, it depends on what you want out of life. Staying where your castles and armies and cities are is definitely the safer and more secure option... but also one with little potential for ever gathering more influence-- if you're out of sight, you're also out of mind to most. Jockying for favor at the royal court opened the chance to expand your powerbase... but carried a far greater risk of having a dagger shoved into your back.

[@marcc1830]

Funny you said that, wait till you hear who succeed Wu😜

[@voidvector]

If you stay away from court, you still need to develop your own power base outside-of-court (e.g. military leadership, alliances), otherwise, your power will get eroded when the next shakeup happens.

[@fromfareast3070]

in the Chinese case the empire always try to keep those kings and duchies in the court. When lot of kings and duchies are on their own land, it usually means the the battle royal is not far behind.

[@Oxtocoatl13]

Being at court is definitely more dangerous. To use a European example, in medieval France powerful nobles ran their estates like small kingdoms and the strongest ones, (the dukes of Normandy, Toulouse, Burgundy) fought each other or the king on roughly equal terms. Louis XIV famously eroded these power bases by inviting the nobles to court, and building an elaborate court system where ambitious nobles would jockey for his favor at Versailles instead of building fortresses and raising armies. Centralization always comes at expense of local power. As for how physically dangerous is it, most real courts weren't as murderous as the one described here, and GRRM deliberately wrote his courts to be murderous Viper's nests. Most power struggles were bloodless affairs, where the loser simply "lost favor" and retired back to their estates.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

This series Is AMAZING guys! Can't wait For more! Love you all! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@rdreher7380]

Something I know from watching Xiran Jay Zhao, who btw also has talked about Wu Zetian, is that "witch" is not really concept in Chinese culture. I think you should dig deeper into that source you were quoting and how it was translated. Maybe touch on this in Lies.

[@Finnv893]

They were accused of practising witchcraft, which made them witches, the word is itself broad and needs not be used with specificity.

[@bootime265]

Gotta love it when Extra History drops a new video

[@leastnationalistMaten]

i love ur vids, they are so well made, and come out at very rapid times! Keep it up, this is the stuff i watch when im bored or sad.

[@decimuseden4096]

Please a series about the Three Kingdoms Era

[@lokhimtam7933]

Do oversimplified!

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

You guys are the Best! Love your content 😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤

[@TheEmbodimentOfSorrow]

Been waiting for the Part 2 of an interesting Chinese story❤

[@WarriorZ676]

Honestly, I would love to hear about Gaozong's brothers, after finishing Wu Zetian's story, that is.

[@philtkaswahl2124]

Hamlet: "To a nunnery, go, and quickly too." Wu Zetian: "Nah, bro."

[@mikeg2306]

Maybe this could be followed up by a series on Pharoh Hatshepsut of Egypt, a very similar story.

[@Kaitybardot]

This is one of the best series along with all other episodes

[@firenter]

5:13 The rug spy is cracking me up something fierce, great job artists!

[@eliseocera3307]

The episode is so short 😢 I’m waiting for the next episode extra history

[@Neis999]

Spill all the tea!

[@Goat-tz6gs]

Awesome video :D

[@mecahhannah]

Awesome as always thanks

[@channelmisfits]

god, I love Chinese history, it's like watching a college drama

[@hannahstading5687]

Then make another series spilling some tea, Matt!!!!!

[@lycorisradiata9617]

nice episode. can't wait extra history make about qin shi huang and unification war.

[@jasepoag8930]

Managing a system of wives, consorts, and concubines frankly sounds like more trouble than it's worth. lol

[@ecurewitz]

Court intrigue is quite the hassle

[@tylerpetersen6226]

They didn't even mention the eunuchs faction Chinese court politics was insanely catty.

[@wytfish4855]

@@tylerpetersen6226 when almost every hong kong TV drama back in their heyday features the eunuchs as the stabbiest of stabby faction, you know they're REALLY saucy lol

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

​@@wytfish4855Not surprising. A lot of Eunuchs become power shadow emperors in history...

[@HaloInverse]

That's Imperial Confucianism for you. Everything was bureaucracy. They had so much bureaucracy that they invented new branches of bureaucracy just to manage the existing bureaucracy.

[@enxman7697]

Your videos are always amazing, but the scene with the spy under the rug broke me xD

[@dreamsofparis5535]

I just love your Extra History videos on these clever and famous queens or empresses. Have you considered making a video series on Queen Victoria or Lili'uokalani, the last queen of Hawaii?

[@angelvalerio9746]

Can you guys make a series about Maxamilian I of Mexico

[@somethingsneverdie2211]

8:59 Bro that’s literally the BEST New Years resolution I have ever heard. … sign me up!

[@kittycathomestuck]

3:52 i would actually love to see this story explained in more detail! maybe after this series, you guys could explain it please?

[@abcdef27669]

"Extra History Empire is lubricated on Coffee!" - Matt. "I can relate". - Empire of Brazil.

[@lontongstroong]

*Bruno da Silva approves*

[@AaronDonez-hb4xx]

Wu seems like one of the most intelligent people to exist. Almost flawless and merciless strategies through and through.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Im pretty sure she inspired that one Chinese lady who became Queen of the Pirates.

[@le_marc]

That was Zheng Yi Sao - the true prirate queen of South China Sea

[@Dexterdud]

Give us the Xuanzong cut!!

[@VikingChief01]

Is there still unique music at the end of each video? For the Little Ice Age series I noticed they reused some older tunes, but I can't tell for this one.

[@prestonh.2771]

Okay but... I would enjoy a lifetimes worth of tea presented this way lol

[@HeatherRider]

5:11 "Hehehe, I am da sneaky under de rug!" >:3 😂🤣

[@miqueiasbarbosa1658]

It really is very interesting to be able to learn history and this is a very good channel. I hope that God can comfort and accompany each one always regardless of where they are or what happens, for some time I have gone through difficult times but I can say with certainty that God has plans beautiful and great for everyone and everything works together for your good

[@PixelPower0615]

3:29 Where can we learn more about the 2 older brothers and everything that happened???

[@bookgirlove7052]

I am so happy that we have gossip from 1000 years ago and it's exactly this wild.

[@2.5productions]

this was a crazy time

[@jessicaabbott9180]

I do want to hear about the side plot with the emperors brothers. Could that be included in another video

[@Tin4ht]

Maybe you guys should considered making Di renjie's EPs. Heard that he's some kind of Holms of tang dynasty in this Wu's period and his participation i her reign.

[@EddieMillerStudios]

Oh cool, they brought back the credits music from the Sun Yat-Sen episodes;

[@remimk]

The History of China Podcast for all of you who are curious about palace intrigue. this is the Tang Dynasty. The best Dynasty. but starting with the Sui Dynasty is good too (cuz its pretty short)

[@V0927-qz5os]

can we please do more on Chinese history, there is just so much to talk about and I feel like it's not talked enough about in the west.

[@charlesdeleo4608]

Imagining the Emperor of China and his concubines as college students honestly was pretty funny.

[@soulking4915]

thank gosh

[@khoihn]

Side note, after killing Wang and Xiao, empress Wu supposedly banned people from owning cats in the Imperial Palace and even Chang'an because before her death, consort Xiao cursed Wu "You monstrous Wu! May I be reincarnated as a cat and you as a mouse so I can rip your throat apart for eternity!". Also, after killing Wang and Xiao, Wu often had nightmares where she saw them, blood spilling from the holes where their limbs used to be and hair scattered and unkempt. Guess that these two don't need to curse her with magic, 'cause they ARE the curses

[@FoxxingWillow]

empress WANG had me dying xd

[@Jogabsha]

Please do a series on Henry Fairfield Osborn

[@everettkey6978]

Thanks for making history videos! One thing to point out: I think traditional Hanfu is supposed to cross left over right, forming a "y" shape on the chest.

[@latvialol810]

please make the 3 rd now please

[@FakeBlocks]

Please do the Greek war of independence of 1821 against the ottoman empire next I've been asking for this since the first episodes of the sengoku Jidai!

[@abhigyanshreyas2895]

You guys should really make a series of the 27 years war of the marathas. I promise you it will be entertaining and worth your time

[@jeremy1860]

Okay, is there anywhere on Earth that actually managed to have a history devoid of court intrigue or subterfuge? 😅

[@judtt]

It's a human thing

[@stevencooper4422]

Court intrigue is basically family politics extended to a social circle.

[@GiviTolstykh]

You should do a video on Ivan the Great / Ivan III

[@jeffjames_elheff]

This is so awesome that you are doing this! (FYI, it’s pronounced “Wahng”. Not “Wayng”!)

[@JR-tl2ym]

So you're saying Emperor Taizong killed two of his brothers in a sword fight after they tried to kill him, then two of his sons tried to overthrow him? This is the most Game of Thrones story ever. 😂

[@shadowprincess3724]

Gaozong got the throne because he was the only one Taizong trusted to not immediately kill the other two upon taking the throne. Taizong REALLY didn’t want history repeating itself. He set a terrible precedent 😅

[@robinikan1]

they really have too much tea to spill🤣🤣

[@mistaidgaf9166]

3:50 Yeah I think you better talk about the other sons right after this, you hit a dark part there

[@shadowprincess3724]

The fact that it was so stressful and heartbreaking for Taizong, a man who’d fought wars and slaughtered his own family without mercy, tried to kill himself rather depose either of his sons is enough for it to warrant its own video.

[@user-ne1zc8mv3q]

We need a spinoff episode about the emperor’s brothers!

[@Creekbed_art]

Yo can we get that side story on the brothers too? Premodern history of China is really fascinating and also that story seems really cool

[@ABirdInTheTrees]

"Now those witches can get drunk to their *bones*" is such a metal quote even if she didn't say it I'm using that.

[@cheetah1599]

Zoey we see you taking the high road and not spilling the tea 😂❤

[@yurikoval-bw8wg]

Extra History, I would really like to see some videos about Sobibor escape. Its the biggest concentration camp escape during WW2 after all.

[@WildBillCox13]

So-she was putting on heirs?

[@stevencooper4422]

🥁🥁 bang

[@kagekaiser9270]

Look guys, there hasn't been a complete full series about the Three Kingdoms Era for a reason.

[@user-tl5gj9dw4x]

5:22 *SUIIIII*!!!

[@ashiwiniavadhoot4794]

Do a video on a tragedy of Julius Caesar

[@Zorajit]

Me shouting into the void: Just Be POLY What’s wrong with the monos 😂😂😂

[@sabrinavladimira2079]

What's a "love triange"?

[@TravisSwan]

Novice monks & nuns don't cut their hair right away until they are ordained. That is why Wu still has her hair on her head. Disgraced consorts of the emperor will be banished to a location in the Forbidden City known as the Cold Palace.

[@bowl-of-petunias5671]

Whoa this is giving me Dune Messiah vibes with the empress and concubine plots.

[@QwerasQwertasd]

The cute poem made my forget that she is a literal serial killer

[@KTP12275]

where is part 3 brooooo!

[@A-G-A-G]

No one's gonna mention the typo in the thumbnail?

[@extrahistory]

Fixed!

[@jamesalfredstrong8106]

Could you do a video about the king of Latin pop Mr. Julio Iglesias a documentary so to speak I feel like we have all heard of him and know who he is but don't exactly know much about him 😊

[@postapocalypticnewsradio]

PANR has tuned in.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Fun fact: Chinese dynasties normally do not kill the previous dynasties. After any usurpation war, they are frankly "demoted" to lesser titles. Notably, the Ming dynasty family is still alive today. On another note, the family of Confucius still exists.

[@dumbdeep3036]

To be fair, Confucius never came from a ruling dynasty

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

Not really surprised. There is still an industry in PRChina centered around making print geneologies...

[@lauraackermann7133]

Simply not true

[@stephenbaker9645]

That's a big lie. Both families died out over a thousand years or so ago. In Ancient China, they made sure of that by killing the entire family.😢