Shangguan Wan'er (664 – 21 July 710)[2] was a Chinese politician, poet, and imperial consort of the Wu Zhou and Tang dynasties. Described as a "female prime minister,"[3] Shangguan rose from modest origins as a palace servant to become secretary and leading advisor to Empress Wu Zetian of Zhou. Under Empress Wu, Shangguan exercised responsibility for drafting imperial edicts and earned approbation for her writing style. She retained her influence as consort to Wu's son and successor, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, holding the imperial consort rank of Zhaorong (昭容). Shangguan was also highly esteemed for her talent as a poet.[4] In 710, after Emperor Zhongzong's death, Shangguan was killed during a palace coup that ended the regency of Empress Dowager Wei.
^Volume 209 of the Zizhi Tongjian recorded that Shangguan was killed on the gengzi day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Jingyun era of Tang Ruizong's reign; this date corresponds to 21 July 710 on the Gregorian calendar.
^Historical sources indicate that Shangguan Wan'er was an infant when her grandfather Shangguan Yi and father Shangguan Tingzhi were killed in the winter of 664, implying, but not establishing with certainty, that she was born in 664. See Old Book of Tang, vol. 51 "舊唐書 列傳 卷一至十". Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-10-11. and New Book of Tang, vol. 76."唐書 列傳 第一至十". Archived from the original on 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
^"Far more influential in her day than any of these [ Xue Tao, Yu Xuanji, Li Ye], though barely two dozen of her poems are now preserved, was the elegant Shangguan Wan'er (ca. 664–710), granddaughter of the executed courtier and poet Shangguan Yi (?-665) who had paid the ultimate price for opposing empress Wu Zhao's (625–705) usurpation of imperial privileges." Kroll, Paul W. "The Life and Writings of Xu Hui (627–650), Worthy Consort, at the Early Tang Court" in Asia Major, Third Series, Vol. 22, No. 2 (2009), p. 35.
