Qianling, the tomb of the third Tang emperor, Li Zhi, and Empress Wu Zetian, is located on Liangshan Mountain, 6 kilometers north of Qianxian County seat and 80 kilometers from Xi'an. Here also stands the Qianling Mausoleum and Museum.
Located on the peak of lofty Liangshan Mountain, Qianling is the most typical and best preserved of all the eighteen Tang mausoleums.
Tang Emperor Li Zhi (628-683) was the ninth son of Emperor Tai Zong and Empress Zhangsun. With the help of his maternal uncle Zhangsun Wuji, he was made crown prince and ascended the throne upon Tai Zong's death. Though he was muddle-headed and weak-minded and accomplished little, the flourishing and stable state of early Tang was maintained during the first years of his reign, thanks to such veteran officials as Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang who actually usurped state power. However, once Wu Zetain moved into the palace, things began to change in the Tang regime power structure.
Wu Zetian (624-705), also named Wu Zhao, was from Wenshui, Shanxi Province and born in Guangyuan (then Lizhou), Sichuan. Her father, Wu Shiyue, was a successful wood merchant who was later appointed supervisor-in-chief of Lizhou Prefecture. As a concubine of Tai Zong, Wu Zetian cut her hair and became a Buddhist nun in Ganye Monastery upon his death in 649. In 654, she was taken out of the monastery and brought into the palace by Emperor Gao Zong, who bestowed on her great favor by making her his chief concubine. The next year the Emperor deposed Empress Wang and named Wu Zetian his empress, allowing her to participate in state affairs. He dismissed and ostracized Chu Shuiliang and in 659 forced Zhangsun Wuji to commit suicide. From then on, Li Zhi remained in poor health, "faint, heavy-headed and sightless" as the chronicles described him, and Wu Zetain attended to most court affairs.
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