Comparative Essay – Empress Wu Zetian of China and Pharaoh Hatshepsut of Egypt

Comparative Essay – Empress Wu Zetian of China and Pharaoh Hatshepsut of Egypt – Sample Paper 1

The two leaders who have been chosen for analysis and comparison in this paper are the Empress Wu Zetian of China and the Pharaoh Hatshepsut of Egypt. Even though it has been a Chinese belief that having a woman rule is completely unnatural, a woman known as Wu Zetian did rule in the Tang dynasty between 690 and 705 AD (Rothschild, 2005). In the Chinese history, Wu Zetian is the only female who once ruled as an emperor. Pharaoh Hatshepsut ruled Egypt between 1478 and 1458 BC. While different Pharaohs have ruled Egypt for thousands of years, the Pharaoh Hatshepsut deserves a special recognition as a great ruler of the country (Wilson, 2006). During their reigns as rulers, Wu Zetian and Pharaoh Hatshepsut brought about numerous changes in China and Egypt respectively which are still of great relevance in modern history.

Wu Zetian ascended to power at a time when women were given relative freedom, a time when women were no longer required to lead submissive lives. This is the time when women in China were given an opportunity to contribute in areas related to politics and culture. It is because of the freedom of women in society that Wu Zetian was able to go to school and participate in politics which facilitated her recruitment to the court of Emperor (Rothschild, 2005). On the contrary, Pharaoh Hatshepsut ascended to power in a time when women were expected to remain submissive and play kitchen roles. For instance, between 1478 and 1458 BC, Egyptian women were greatly valued in marriage due to their ability to bake bread and cake. Pharaoh Hatshepsut still managed to maintain power despite the fact that women were not viewed as rulers in Egypt.

Wu was a transformational leader witnessed in her achievements, but was also ruthless in the manner in which she tried to achieve power. For instance, Wu’s ruthless method of ruling is evident when she killed her relatives to take advantage of her position. Pharaoh Hatshepsut did not use ruthless method of ruling but she was a transformational leader like Wu, demonstrated in her numerous achievements when was the ruler of Egypt. Hatshepsut was also a very authoritative ruler who was able to maintain power for more than 20 years (Wilson, 2006).

As transformational leaders, both Wu and Hatshepsut built new projects as a way of giving their countries a completely new image. For instance, Zetian laid great emphasis on development of agricultural projects. She worked very hard to ensure successful construction of irrigation schemes in China. Additionally, Wu evaluated local officials in terms of their abilities to cultivate land and struggled to ensure that the Chinese citizens benefited from the agricultural projects. Wu’s resourcefulness was demonstrated by her ability to implement new ideas in agriculture. For example she assisted peasant farmers to increase their produce which benefited the entire Chinese population (Rothschild, 2005). Similarly, Hatshepsut pushed for the development of agricultural projects in the ancient Egypt, both in the Lower and Upper parts of the county. Various irrigations schemes in ancient Egypt were constructed following Hatshepsut’s efforts. From these projects, Egyptian farmers could easily water their crops which ensured a constant supply of farm produce in the country (Wilson, 2006).

Both Wu and Hatshepsut appointed powerful people to help them accomplish various tasks during their reigns. For example, both leaders were eager to draw into their governments only talented and competent people. Wu even initiated the practice of interviewing candidates for personality characteristics before allowing them to work in her government. Wu even initiated the practice of interviewing candidates for personality characteristics before allowing them to work in her government. However, when compared with Wu, Hatshepsut’s reign was more prosperous than that of Wu. For example, Hatshepsut re-established trade relations in Egypt which helped to bring great wealth to Egypt (Wilson, 2006).

Wu and Hatshepsut ruled in two separate cultures, that of ancient China and ancient Egypt respectively. The Chinese and Egyptian cultures have got some similarities and differences. For instance, the two cultures were similar in the sense that, their economies were based on agriculture. This explains why both Wu and Hatshepsut encouraged the development of agricultural projects during their reigns. In addition, both Chinese and Egyptian cultures had inherited systems of rule where Emperors and Pharaohs were viewed as absolute rulers. This is evidenced in the existence of Emperor Wu Zetian of China and the Pharaoh Hatshepsut of Egypt. The main area of difference in the Chinese and Egyptian cultures is on their religions. For example, the ancient Egyptian religion was centered on the divinity of its rulers while the ancient Chinese practiced ancestor worship (Ministry of Culture, P. R. China, 2003).

The leadership qualities of Wu and Hatshepsut are of great significance in the world of modern business, especially for those organizations that are headed by female leaders. An example of a female leader who can employ effective leadership qualities possessed by both Wu and Hatshepsut is Ellen Kullman of DuPont. Specifically, Kullman should struggle to appoint talented people to serve in various positions in the organization. In addition, she should focus on building projects that will promote organizational growth. Kullman must also respect the rights of employees at all times.

Wu Zetian Vs Pharaoh Hatshepsut – Comparing Ancient Female Rulers – Sample Paper 2

Hatchepsut was an Egyptian name that meant foremost Noble Ladies. He was the fifth pharaoh between 1508 and 1458 BC of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. She formally came to the throne of Egypt in 1478BC and ruled in cooperation with Thutmose III who had rose to the throne as a child one year prior. Hatshepsut was the person in command wife of Thutmose II, Thutmose III’s father. She is by and large looked upon by Egyptologists as one of the chief victorious pharaohs, being in power longer than any other woman of a native Egyptian family. On the other hand, Wu Zetian was a Chinese supreme ruler who ruled formally under the name of her self- declared “Zhou dynasty” between 690 and 705. She was the merely female ruler of China in more than four millennia. She had preceding majestic positions, though, under both Emperor Gaozong and his father Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty of China. Wu was a concubine of Sovereign Taizong. After his death she wedded his descendant and ninth son, Monarch Gaozong, formally becoming Gaozong’s empress”, “wife”, or “first consort in 655, even if having substantial political supremacy aforementioned to this. After Gaozong’s incapacitating stroke in 690, Wu Zetian ruled as effectual monarch until 705. She is the only documentated woman to rule China in her personal right.

Wu Zetian’s era of political and military headship comprises the key development of the Chinese kingdom, expanding it far further than its prior territorial confines, profound into Central Asia, and the achievement of the take-over of the upper Korean Peninsula. While on the Hatshepsut era she re-established worldwide trading connections lost for the duration of a foreign activity and brought enormous wealth to Egypt.

In China, besides the more straight end results of her move violently to expand and uphold ultimate power, Wu’s leadership resulted in significant consequences on the subject of social class in Chinese culture and in relation to circumstances hold up for Taoism, Buddhism, edification, and writing (Paludan, 1998).. Wu Zetian also had a colossal impact leading the statuary at the Qianling Mausoleum of the Longmen Grottoes and the “Wordless Stele”, on top of the building of some most important constructions and bronze castings that do not continue to exist. Hatshepsut on the other side recognized the trade system that had been disturbed at some point in the Hyksos profession of Egypt all through the Second Intermediate Period, thus building the riches of the eighteenth dynasty. She kept an eye on the groundings and financial support for an undertaking to the Land of Punt. However, this trading mission to Punt was approximately for the period of Hatshepsut’s ninth year of sovereignty. It position out in her name with five ships, each one measuring 70 feet long bearing quite a lot of sails and obliging 210 men that incorporated sailors and 30 rowers (Will, 1992). Many trade products were bought in Punt, remarkably mryrrh and frankincense.

Despite these imperative features of Wu Zetian time in power, mutually with the propositions of contemporary erudition as to the long-term consequences of some of her improvements in supremacy, much of the consideration to Wu Zetian has been to her femininity, as the jarring superlative self-governing of a incorporated Chinese kingdom, holding for the duration of part of her life the designation of Huangdi in the midst of the line of male monarchs. However, Hatshepsut’s time in power was much longer and more affluent. She was triumphant in fighting early in her sovereignty, but usually is well thought-out to be a pharaoh who established in office a long peaceful period. She made to rule for about 20 years. One of the mainly well-known things that she did was construction of the Hatshepsut’s temple.

Despite her callousness to achieve power and having a lot of noblemen and noblewomen murdered or sent away in the course, Wu Zetian consummate numerous things when she was in authority. She predisposed the spread of Buddhism in China and ultimately made it the administrator religion; putting back Taoism. She was also triumphant in subordinating high taxes and mounting agricultural invention. The Empress passed away in 705 AD at the age of 80. On the other hand, Hatshepsut rose to power through inheritance not with lack of sympathy and loses of lives of individuals. Hatshepsut continued to rule by herself in anticipation of her own death in 1458 BC.

From this comparison it is clear that Hatshepsut and Wu Zetian ruled in different culture though they had a similarity. The Hatshepsut ruled on Christian based culture as illustrated on her main achievement of building the Hatshepsut temple. On the other hand, the Wu Zetian ruled on a mixed religion since it is illustrated by introduction and spread of Buddhism during her reign in power. Additionally from the way Wu Zetian raised to the top, it is clear that she ruled a community that is corrupt compared to that of Hatshepsut which was through inheritance and it was fare. However, the two leaders ruled when the leadership was not obtain through election and people had no say about the selection of their own leader.

Leadership has been illustrated as a procedure of social control in which an individual can join the aid and hold up of others in the achievement of an ordinary task. Women who rose in monarchies to the top dealt frequently with narrow influential, so they may possibly establish themselves and get on with ruling. The broader mystery is that for women, although not for men, there is an exchange in individuality linked with top headship. A woman can be supposed as knowledgeable or as pleasant, but not mutually.

In the modern world, it is also clear that women are more capable in developing their country or organization if they are in leadership. Women are capable to link with the lost relationship with others as they are patient and not willing to use force in convincing other than negotiations. However, this can be illustrated by the way the Hatshepsut was able to link the lost trade with other lost foreigners during the war. Additionally, women are also known to rule with a lot of peace.

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