Empress Wu: The First Chinese Female Figure in New York

East Asians are widely underrepresented in the states, and one of the aspects that can illustrate the issue is through the number of monuments related to Chinese culture. Through research on the public "NYC Parks site, there are only three monuments that are associated with Chinese figures, and among those three, none of them are about a female character. Therefore, I would like to propose a monument about one of the most controversial and powerful females and the first female Empress in Chinese history, Wu Zetian.

The outlooks of the monument would be intimidating. First, looking at the monument, the audience should be able to know that the figure is a powerful ruler. In order to highlight the contrast of the stereotypes between what people usually think of Asian, the size of the figure would be twice as large as an average human being to express the over-empowering characteristics of the figure. First of all, there would be a two-meter base beneath Empress Wu, which is made out of concrete that would be placed on the ground. The purpose of the base is to elevate the figure into a higher position in which the viewers would be observed with their heads looking up.

The figure would be made out of the most common material for monuments that are about historical figures, which are bronze. Starting from the top, Empress Wu would be wearing a heavy traditional garment on the head to represent sovereignty. Her eyes would be glaring at a far distance into the sky, showing how almighty she is. She would not be smiling, and instead, her facial expressions would be relatively serious and somewhat intimidating. Her arms would be opening up, almost as if there are thousands of ministers and civilians in front of her and bowing to her. She would be wearing traditional tang dynasty clothing that would have patterns of dragons that represent royalty on the robe. Empress Wu's feet would be standing in a confident, upright, and grounded position that demonstrates her authority. Moreover, the statue should be contrary to typical Asian stereotypes as much as possible. In other words, it should be a complete opposite and a surprising shock to people viewing it in awe, especially westerners who may not have a lot of information about Empress Wu.

To complete the project, I would invite different Chinese associations to become part of it and support the project in any way possible, such as inviting the New York Chinese Cultural Center and other local Chinese organizations in Chinatown. The public, on the other hand, would engage with the monument by experiencing a different representation of Chinese females, and maybe, the general mass can re-construct a disparate concept for Chinese females. To the viewers who may be foreign to Empress Wu and believe in the stereotypes of what a Chinese woman is like, I hope that they are willing to challenge those assumptions after viewing the statue. For Chinese, especially young females, I hope the figure can serve as an empowerment for them to understand that they do not have to be limited by traditional culture and bias conjectures. Moreover, if the monument is successfully created, it would be the first monument about a Chinese female, which itself has a lot of significance and importance. Asian communities are often underrepresented or misrepresented; therefore, having the first female statue would help the issue to some extent.

"Empowering," "courageous," and "curvaceous" are often not adjectives that come up to people's minds when they think of a Chinese female. However, constructing the Empress Wu monument would help to serve as an example that questions prejudice. Moreover, the monument can also serve as a model for victims to the stereotypes.