Women warriors of China: Fu Hao

King Wuding, one of the most highly regarded kings of the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 – 1046 BCE) sought the allegiance of neighboring tribes by marrying a woman from each of them. It was through one such marriage that Fu Hao entered King Wuding's court, eventually becoming his consort and gaining fame as China’s first woman general.

Fu Hao headed an army of 13,000 soldiers, the largest number of troops during the King’s reign. She was kept busy by the many campaigns that Wuding fought against the people on the borders of the Shang kingdom.

She led the campaign against the Jiang tribes, taking many of them captives. She also led the battle against the Tu, Ba and Yi tribes, with Shang generals Zhi and Hou Gao fighting under her standard.

Wuding had such faith in her skills as a warrior that he gave her a fiefdom on the borders of his kingdom. She was to defend the borders and launch assaults against other tribes from her stronghold.

It's a pity that there isn't more information about her. What little is known of Fu Hao comes from references to her found inscribed on Shang oracle bones. In excavations near Anyang, in present day Henan province, archaeologists found caves containing Shang records. In one cave alone, there were 200 references to Fu Hao. From these records, we can glean how highly she was thought of by the society in which she lived. The oracle bones show concerns about her helath, her well-being, her illnesses, her childbirths.

Fu Hao's tomb was discovered in 1976. (Image: Wikipedia)As if being a military leader was not enough, she served as a high priestess and oracle caster as well. These are very unusual roles for a woman to play at that time because the King held complete sway over ritual matters. Sacrifices and rituals were the most important political activities of the time. There is evidence, though, in oracle bone inscriptions, that King Wuding often asked Fu Hao to conduct special rituals and offer sacrifices to the ancestors. This proved not only that Fu Hao was highly respected, but also that she obviously had the king's confidence.

When she died at around 1200 BCE, King Wuding built a tomb for her on the edge of the royal cemetery in the Shang capital of Yinxu. Bronze ritual inscriptions identified the tomb as belonging to Fu Hao., when it was unearthed by archaeologists in 1976. Her final resting place near Anyang is one of the most well-preserved tombs of the period. The tomb has been restored and opened to the public in 1999.

Because the tomb had not been looted, archaeologists were able to collect over 2,000 jade, bronze, pottery, bone, stone and ivory artifacts from the grave. There were also skeletons of six dogs and 16 human slaves found in the grave. Over a hundred weapons were also buried with her, including a bronze battle axe, a symbol of her military authority.
To say that Fu Hao was ahead of her time is an understatement. She participated in two activities that were normally not open to women – war and religious rituals – and led the way for others to follow.