In the long span of human history to the twentieth century, almost all great leaders of empires and states were men, with few exceptions. One of them was Heavenly Empress Wu Zetian. She is the only female ruler in history to have replaced a powerful dynasty with her own in a major country and crowned herself emperor of China. This book is about how this daughter of a concubine, who began life in the palace as a lowly concubine of Emperor Taizong (see Heavenly Khan) at a very young age, overcame all obstacles in a man-dominated world and rose to the summit of power in medieval China.

PRAISE FOR THE PREVIOUS NOVELS OF VICTOR CUNRUI XIONG
HEAVENLY KHAN
“An engrossing fictionalized history that examines an ingenious and powerful Chinese ruler.”
—Kirkus Review

“[An] extraordinary and solidly entertaining story that reveals author Victor Cunrui Xiong to be an exceptional and impressive novelist of the first order.”
—Midwest Book Review

FROM PEASANT TO EMPEROR
“[It] should be a ‘must read’ not just for fiction readers interested in Chinese history, but for nonfiction bookworms who will find absorbing this portrait of how one man succeeds in changing the course of Chinese history and culture in ancient times.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Xiong does an impressive job of piecing together historical places, people, and events in this fictional, yet very realistic, story about Emperor Liu Bang.”
—San Francisco Book Review