Case file · Folklore / legend
The 'Sage Mother' stone from the Luo River
In 688 a white stone 'found' in the Luo River near Luoyang bore the words 'A sage mother comes to rule; the imperial cause will prosper forever', paving Wu Zetian's way to the throne.
688 CE · 34.62, 112.45 · status: hoax
The account
Her nephew Wu Chengsi had the stone carved and presented by Tang Tongtai. Wu Zetian welcomed it with ceremony, took a new title, and two years later proclaimed her own Zhou dynasty, the only woman to rule China as emperor in her own right.
The sceptical view
The Tang histories themselves record that the omen was manufactured.