Yet historians remind us that though this campaign was indeed ruthless, it was by no means extraordinary in Chinese imperial history, where emperors killed without pity relatives who stood in their way.
「然而這麼形容武則天，可能並不公平。」雷家驥教授指出：「排除異己的誅殺行動，在專制政治的體系下，是正常的，唐太宗就是個好榜樣，玄武門之變後，他誅殺了親兄弟太子建成、齊王元吉全族男系血親，以絕後患，但後世仍然承認他是模範皇帝。」