There were many emperors in ancient China, but the female emperor was the only one in Wu Zetian. She is the only orthodox female emperor in Chinese history, and she can be said to be a legend if she can ascend to the throne step by step.
In the history of the Song Dynasty, there is also a woman who has experienced legends, and even the shadow of Wu Zetian can be seen on her body, which is Empress Liu during the Northern Song Dynasty.
Empress Liu's real name was Liu E, and he was the empress of Zhao Heng of The Song Dynasty, and Liu E's family was a magnate in the chaotic world. His grandfather served as a great general of the Right Guard in the Later Jin and Later Han Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and his father also served as a state assassin (equivalent to a provincial governor) when the Northern Song Dynasty was just founded. Later, Liu E's father died in battle, her mother died of illness, and the Liu family's family situation slowly declined, and Liu E changed from a big miss to an orphan girl.
In order to make a living, Liu E began to sell songs on the street and became a singer, but this did not maintain much livelihood. She thought of trying her luck in the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Fenjing, and with the bustle of Fenjing, she might be able to live a solid life. After coming to Beijing, she met the nobleman of her life, Zhao Heng. At that time, Zhao Heng was still just a prince, and when he saw Liu E, he was attracted to her and immediately wanted to take her back to the palace.
At that time, society paid attention to a door-to-door pair, and as a prince, it was unimaginable at that time to marry a singer who sold songs. Zhao Heng's father had already found a family affair for him according to political purposes, and Zhao Heng liked Liu E, but he could only hide Liu E in another house outside the palace.
In 997, after the death of Emperor Taizong of Song and the succession of Zhao Heng to the throne, the first thing he did was to take Liu E to the palace amid the opposition of the courtiers. Entering the imperial palace, Liu E's status can be said to be rising, and Song Zhenzong even wanted to make her empress after the death of the previous empress, until later the ministers strongly opposed it.
Liu E was very favored, but she was never pregnant. Later, Liu E came up with a method of "borrowing the belly to give birth to a child", and after obtaining the consent of Emperor Zhenzong, a boy was born through The maid Li Shi, who was the later Song Renzong Zhao Zhen.
Although the child was not born to Liu E, she raised Zhao Zhen as her own son throughout her life. After having a son, Song Zhenzong naturally made Liu E empress, although the opposition of the courtiers was still fierce, but at this time Liu E already had the political capital of a son.
In 1022, Emperor Zhenzong of Song died, and Liu E became empress dowager of the Song Dynasty, and Emperor Renzong of Song succeeded to the throne. At this time, Zhao Zhen was only 13 years old, and could only rely on Liu E to assist him in ruling, and the long-term acting government made Liu E have a desire for power. He wanted to replace Song Renzong with a second Wu Zetian.
Liu E is a very capable and ambitious woman, but she is also a soft-hearted and nostalgic person. Falling in love with Song Zhenzong and knowing her has long made her lose her ruthless personality, even if it is not her own flesh and blood, years of feelings have also made Liu E not to do anything to Zhao Zhen.
In the end, Liu E still gave power to Song Renzong, and her life can be described as ups and downs, although she did not control power, but at least harvested a true love. She and Lü Hou of the Western Han Dynasty and Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty are called the three strong women of ancient China, and the evaluation of her by posterity is also mixed, but as a person living in ancient society, this is enough.