- The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The result of the move request was: not moved. Those opposing the move argued WP:COMMONNAME supported the current location. (closed by non-admin page mover) TarnishedPathtalk 05:30, 25 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
Wu Zetian → Empress Wu Zhao of Zhou – The current title of the page ‘Wu Zetian’ was given to this figure when she was removed from power in 716. The name ‘Wu Zetian’ was not used during her rule and its promulgation was part of a campaign to diminish her rule after she was deposed. Although common practice is to refer to the emperor with their temple name, in this figure’s specific case, the name ‘Wu Zetian’ was forced upon this figure after she was deposed and does not serve the typical functions of a temple name. In this imperial edict, translated by N.H. Rothschild in his book, Wu Zhao: China’s Only Woman Emperor, page 8, this figure named herself as Zhao and was referred to as such during her rule.
“One must have a name so that their personal record can be truthfully and accurately made known. This respectfully conforms to the will of Heaven and the practices of men. Thus, when I issue an order that the Hundred Spirits be treated with reverence, when I offer praise to the Lord on High, when I extend New Year’s blessings to the three deceased sovereigns of the House of Tang, when I receive ambassadors from the myriad nations in court—it is fitting that, in discharging these duties of state, I follow the canonical practice of rectifying names and take a name. Thus, I shall take Zhao as my name.”(Chinese Original: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%85%A8%E5%94%90%E6%96%87/%E5%8D%B70096#%E6%94%B9%E5%85%83%E8%BC%89%E5%88%9D%E8%B5%A6%E6%96%87 )
By naming herself Wu Zhao, this figure created a character based on the historical and cultural trends of the time, containing homages to Buddhism - a new religion to China at that time - and Daoism. By referring to this figure as ‘Wu Zetian’, vital historical information is lost to readers.
There exists historical precedence (Di Xin) in changing the title of a figure’s page because of the derogatory circumstances behind the previous title. In addition, contemporary scholarship on this figure has begun shifting to using the name Wu Zhao on the basis of the reasoning provided above. Below are some examples of such:
- Rothschild, Norman Harry. "Wu Zhao's remarkable aviary." Southeast Review of Asian Studies 27. 2005. 71-89.
- Doran, Rebecca. Transgressive Typologies: Construction of Gender and Power in Early Tang China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2016. Pg. <>. ISBN 9780674970588
- Stephen R. Bokenkamp. A Medieval Feminist Critique of the Chinese World Order: The Case of Wu Zhao (r. 690–705). 1998. Religion, Volume 28, Issue 4. Pg. 390, Note 1. ISSN 0048-721X. https://doi.org/10.1006/reli.1998.0147
- Barrett, T.H. Breaking the Reputation of Female Rule in China: Daoism and the Rewriting of the History of the Reign of Wu Zhao (624-705). 2019. NAN NÜ, 21(2), Pg. 183-193. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685268-00212P01
- Marlowe, Britt. Empress Wu Zhao, son of Heaven: Uses of religious patronage and propaganda to secure support and quell dissension during the Tang dynasty. University of Colorado at Boulder, 2008.
- Lee, Yuen Ting. "Wu Zhao." Education About ASIA 20.2. 2015.
It is for these above reasons why I believe that the title should be changed to ‘Empress Wu Zhao of Zhou’.
The name ‘Wu Zetian’ is still commonly used; however, it breaks with other standards the Wikipedia uses for emperors. Although I continue to hold that ‘Emperor Wu Zhao of Zhou’ is the most historically accurate and in line with current scholarship, I believe the title ‘Empress Wu of Zhou’ can be a fair compromise in line with the pages of other Chinese emperors. In addition, this figure’s page could use the name ‘Wu Zhao’ / ‘Zhao’ instead of ‘Wu’ when referring to this figure, especially during their time as Emperor. This would also match how names are used for similar pages on Wikipedia. Frutescens (talk) 15:20, 17 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
- @Frutescens Oppose, "of Zhou" causes confusion with the Zhou Dynasty, a millennium earlier to the short and obscure Wu Zhou. Neutral on a renaming to "Empress Wu Zhao of Wu Zhou". However, while the current title breaks with the naming convention of other Chinese emperors. Wu Zetian herself represents a major break with Chinese imperial tradition so I personally favour keeping it as it is. Peace!ChiruKondo (talk) 22:52, 21 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
- What would be your thoughts on the title 'Emperor Wu Zetian of Tang' that at least recognizes her as an Emperor then? Historically, she did claim huangdi. Frutescens (talk) 23:31, 21 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
Frutescens (talk) 15:20, 17 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
- Paging my Support for this. At present, the name of this article does not follow any of the other historical emperors (e.g. Emperor Gaozong of Tang); usually it's Emperor Temple Name of Dynasty. Wu Zhao is unique in that she was deposed and her dynasty ended before she could receive a temple name, so we cannot apply that to her. The posthumous name of Zetian was a name she didn't really choose for herself; it was imposed by her son when the Restoration of Tang occurred. According to 資治通鑑, she wanted to be remembered as 則天大聖皇后 (after her son said 則天大聖皇帝) though this was made in her name, and may not have been her herself, and this got progressively contracted over time until it began saying "Wu then Heaven" as the current page is named. Given she exclusively used 武曌 until she was deposed, and academic consensus seems to lean towards using Wu Zhao, it seems like this would be the most apt name; Empress Wu Zhao of Zhou, or if the posthumous name is to be used (like Shang rulers), Empress Ze Tian of Zhou (which the lzh wiki does 則天皇后), or Empress Ze Tian, Great Sage of Zhou if we're to translate the full title. I am personally leaning towards Empress Wu Zhao of Zhou given this is the only name she credibly used for herself. Here are her words from 全唐文 卷96 in the interests of a balanced discussion:
- 朕又聞之，人必有名者，所以吐情自紀，尊事天人。是故以甲以乙，成湯為子孫之制；有類有象，申繻明德義之由。朕今懷柔百神，對揚上帝，三靈眷祐，萬國來庭，宜膺正名之典，式敷行政之方。朕宜以曌為名。
- https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%85%A8%E5%94%90%E6%96%87/%E5%8D%B70096#%E6%94%B9%E5%85%83%E8%BC%89%E5%88%9D%E8%B5%A6%E6%96%87
- Hope to see this page's name be rectified! Shira the Mogul (talk) 15:39, 17 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
- Support per nom.--Ortizesp (talk) 16:08, 17 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
- Oppose. Recognizability is more important than a consistency that most readers can't appreciate or righting great wrongs. Srnec (talk) 21:35, 18 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
- Oppose per WP:COMMONNAME, as the proposed title is extremely rare in English-language sources. I have only ever heard her called "Wu Zetian". Google Scholar finds 5420 results for "Wu Zetian" and zero (!) for "Empress Wu Zhao of Zhou". On Ngrams, "Empress Wu Zhao of Zhou" doesn't show up. Even with a Google Books search, I found no results for the proposed title. —Mx. Granger (talk · contribs) 03:51, 21 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
- Hi, I would like to say that you do bring up a good point re: recognizability; however, I would say that these search results do not close the door on titles that both match Wikipedia’s standards and are used in English language sources.
- Google Scholar produces English-language results for ‘Empress Wu of Tang’ (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=%22empress+wu+of+tang%22&btnG=) and ‘Emperor Wu Zhao’ (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=%22emperor+wu+zhao%22&btnG=). In addition, if recognizability is the main concern, the title ‘Emperor Wu Zetian of Tang’ can also be an option. Frutescens (talk) 23:02, 21 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
- Those results are still dwarfed by the number of results for "Wu Zetian", which is by far the most common name used for this person in English-language sources. —Mx. Granger (talk · contribs) 00:54, 23 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
- Oppose per WP:COMMONNAME, which is part of Wikipedia WP:policy that in most cases has precedence over WP:guidelines, which the argument for consistent Chinese emperor names ultimately falls under (Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Chinese)#Emperors).
- Oppose as Wu Zetian is her WP:COMMONNAME
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 21 August 2025 and 19 December 2025. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Amara Dane (article contribs).