Wu Zetian

Many of the greatest and most famous rulers of Britian have been women -- Boudicca, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria of England,
and Queen Margaret and Queen Mary of Scotland.
Margaret Thatcher is also one of the most famous Prime Ministers. There is no taboo against a woman becoming monarch or empress
of a nation in Europe.
I think women have a much higher social status in the West than
in China. The taboo against powerful female rulers in China is probably caused by the Confucian philosophy, which emphasises
the importance of the family structure.
Society as a whole is regarded as an extension of the family unit.