This Buddha-like statue of the Vairochana Buddha (fig.), at the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang (fig.), was carved to resemble the Empress Wu Ze Tian, the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant (Huang Di). She ruled China between AD 690 and 705, and founded her own dynasty, known as the Second Zhou Dynasty. This statue, carved in 676 AD, was commissioned by the Empress herself.