Tomb of ancient female 'prime minister' uncovered

[mgc1961]

Archaeologists have discovered the tomb of a 7th-century female politician who was one of the most powerful women in China’s ancient history, local media said on Thursday.

Shangguan Wan’er — who lived from 664 to 710 in the Tang dynasty — was a trusted aide to China’s first empress Wu Zetian and is sometimes described as effectively her prime minister.

She married Wu’s son, while having relationships with both the ruler’s lover and her nephew.

As a sequence of murders, coups and affairs enveloped the dynasty, Shangguan Wan’er’s husband Li Xian briefly became emperor — only to be killed by his senior wife, who took power herself.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/12/archaeologists-uncover-tomb-of-ancient-female-prime-minister-to-chinas-first-empress-wu-zetian/