Wu (simplified Chinese: 吴语; traditional Chinese: 吳語; pinyin: Wú yǔ, Suzhou Wu:  [ŋ˨˦ ɲy˧˩]) is a grouping of linguistically similar and historically related varieties of spoken Chinese also known as a dialect family. Chinese varieties classified as Wu are primarily spoken in Zhejiang province, the municipality of Shanghai, and southern Jiangsu province.

Major Wu dialects include those of Shanghai, Suzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua, and Yongkang. Wu speakers such as Chiang Kai-shek, Lu Xun, and Cai Yuanpei occupy places of great significance in modern Chinese culture. Wu can also be found in the language of Shaoxing opera which is second in national popularity only to Peking Opera as well as in the performances of the nationally popular entertainer Zhou Libo. Wu is also spoken in a large number of diaspora communities, with significant centers of immigration originating from Qingtian and Wenzhou.

Suzhou has traditionally been the linguistic center of the Wu languages and was likely the first place a distinct variety of Chinese known as Wu developed. Suzhou Wu is widely considered to be the most linguistically representative of the family. It was mostly the basis of the Wu pidgin that developed in Shanghai leading to the formation of modern Shanghainese which as a center of economic power and possessing the largest population of Wu speakers has attracted the most attention. Because of the influence of Shanghainese, Wu is often inaccurately referred to in English as simply "Shanghainese" when introducing the dialect family to non-specialists. Wu is the more accurate terminology for the greater grouping that the Shanghai dialect is part of; other less precise terms include "Jiangnan speech" (江南話), "Jiangzhe (Jiangsu-Zhejiang) speech" (江浙話), and less commonly "Wuyue speech" (吳越語).

Nicky Wu (born October 31, 1970) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. Wu found fame in 1988, by joining the Taiwanese boy band, Little Tigers Team (小虎隊), performing alongside Alec Su and Julian Chen. Since then, his career has also expanded into film and television in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China.

In 1988, Wu was spotted by an entertainment agent, and after an audition he was chosen to be part of the Little Tigers Team and given the nickname of "Pilihu" (霹靂虎; Thunderbolt Tiger). The group quickly became successful throughout Asia but disbanded due to one member's compulsory military service requirement. Wu continued solo, and began singing and acting in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In five years, he released 13 Mandarin and Cantonese albums. As an actor, Wu won the 1993 Best New Artist award in Hong Kong, and the next year played the lead in the 1994 film The Lovers, his greatest commercial success. In February 1997, Wu went into the army to complete his military service. He returned to the entertainment industry in late 1998.

Vanness Wu (traditional Chinese: 吳建豪; simplified Chinese: 吴建豪; pinyin: Wú Jiànháo; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ngô Kiàn-hô) is a American-born Taiwanese actor, singer, director, producer based in Asia. He was born on August 7, 1978 in Santa Monica, California and worked as a telemarketer before moving to Taiwan. Wu is a strong Christian as stated on his Facebook page: "Christ's Servant first, Entertainer second."., and takes part in to the popular Christian movement called the Moral Revolution, which emphasizes the importance of sexual intercourse only within marriage; which Wu supports.

Wu worked in a telephone company in Los Angeles upon graduating from highschool. He then moved to Taiwan shortly afterwards "searching for more to life" (as stated on his facebook page). Wu starred as Mei Zuo (美作), one of the F4 members, in Taiwanese drama series Meteor Garden. At the conclusion of the series, they continued to perform together and released three studio albums as boy band F4. In 2002, Wu was the second F4 member, after Vic Chou, to release his debut solo album, Body Will Sing. The track, "我討厭我自己" (I Hate Myself) is listed at number 95 on Hit Fm Taiwan's Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart (Hit-Fm年度百首單曲) for 2002. The album was awarded one of the Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI.

Wu Man (Chinese: 吴蛮; pinyin: Wú Mán; born 1963 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang) is a Chinese pipa and ruan player and composer. She is an exponent of the Pudong School of pipa playing.

Wu received a Master's degree at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where her instructors included Lin Shicheng, Kuang Yuzhong, Chen Zemin, and Liu Dehai. She became the first recipient of a master's degree in pipa and won the first prize in the 1989 National Music Performance Competition.

Wu came to the United States in 1990 at the age of 25, ostensibly to study English. She lived in Boston, and began playing with an ensemble called Music from China. In 1992, she first played with the Kronos Quartet, the beginning of an ongoing relationship whose first full-length album was Tan Dun: Ghost Opera (1997), containing music written by Tan Dun for quartet and pipa.

Wu performs with Chinese traditional music groups but is also known for her interpretation of contemporary compositions, as well as her work in jazz and cross-cultural music. Many composers (including Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Lou Harrison, Tan Dun, Bright Sheng, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Gabriela Lena Frank, Bun-Ching Lam, Evan Ziporyn, and others) have composed new works for her.

Wu Zetian (simplified Chinese: 武则天; traditional Chinese: 武則天; pinyin: Wǔ Zétiān, Mandarin pronunciation: [ù tsɯ̯ʌ̌ tʰi̯ɛ́n]) (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao (武曌), often referred to as Tian Hou (天后) during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu (武后, Wǔ Hòu) in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant (Huangdi). As de facto ruler of China first through her husband and her sons from 665 to 690, not unprecedented in Chinese history, she then broke all precedents when she founded her own dynasty in 690, the Zhou (周) (interrupting the Tang Dynasty), and ruled personally under the name Sacred and Divine Empress Regnant (聖神皇帝) and variations thereof from 690 to 705. Her rise and reign has been criticized harshly by Confucian historians but has been viewed in a different light after the 1950s.

Wu was born in Lizhou (利州) (modern day Guangyuan City in Sichuan Province) in 624, the seventh year of Emperor Gaozu of Tang’s reign. In the same year, a total eclipse of the Sun was visible across China. Her father Wu Shihuo was engaged in the timber business and the family was relatively well off. During the final years of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan (李淵) (who would go on to become Emperor Gaozu of Tang), whilst holding appointments in both Hedong and Taiyuan, Li stayed in the Wu household many times and became close to the Wu family. After Li Yuan overthrew Emperor Yang, he was generous to the Wu family, providing them with money, grain, land and clothing. Once the Tang Dynasty became established, Wu Shihou held a succession of senior ministerial posts including governor of Yangzhou, Lizhou and Jingzhou (荊州) (modern day Jiangling County, Hubei Province).