Wu Zetian

About Wu Zetian

Wu Zetian (624–705) was a pivotal figure in Chinese history, rising from concubine to become the only officially recognized female emperor of China, founding the Second Zhou Dynasty. Her reign, which interrupted the Tang Dynasty, was characterized by effective governance, expansion of the empire's borders, and significant institutional reforms, including meritocratic examinations that elevated officials based on talent rather than solely aristocratic birth. MIT’s Pantheon project ranks her influence at #960 globally, reflecting her singular achievement as a ruling empress Regnant in a deeply patriarchal system, and her contributions to Chinese culture and statecraft.

For a figure of such undeniable historical consequence, her contemporary internet attention appears modest. In 2025, Wu Zetian accrued approximately 608K annualized Wikipedia views. When compared to David Ben-Gurion, another politician ranked closely at #986 importance, Wu Zetian’s attention is comparable (Ben-Gurion received 965K views), suggesting a relative parity with contemporaries of similar historical weight online. However, she receives significantly fewer views than Babur (#976 importance, 1.1M views), highlighting a gap even among figures clustered near her importance rank.

Despite the relatively stable annual traffic, there is a slight deceleration in immediate interest; her 2025 momentum showed a minor dip of -4% between Q1 and Q3, suggesting that while her importance is recognized, it is not currently surging on the modern web.