12. China’s Warrior Queen
Fu Hao (died circa 1200 BC) was one of the Shang emperor’s numerous wives, but she was not just a wife but a mother. She was also a formidable general who led armies into battle, as well as a priestess and politician. Indeed, she was so remarkable that she became the leading figure in China during her lifetime. She arrived in court as one of Emperor Wu Ding’s 64 wives – marriage being a means by which the Shang emperors cemented the allegiance of neighboring tribes. Fu Hao stood out, however, having exhibited remarkable intelligence, as well as military aptitude. She soon became the emperor’s favorite wife, and his most trusted confidant. She also commanded Shang armies – leading a force of 13,000 men, which was huge for that era, and the largest ever assembled under any one Shang general.
With that force, Fu Hao successfully expanded and pacified the Shang borders, defeating and subduing restive tribes, and bringing them into the Chinese fold. One of her earliest victories came against an obstinate tribe that had troubled the Shang for generations. Fu Hao decisively defeated them, and ended their menace once and for all. She led numerous other military campaigns to consolidate Shang rule, and is credited with successfully carrying off the earliest large-scale ambush in Chinese history. She predeceased her husband, who built her a lavish tomb that was discovered, intact, by archaeologists in the 1970s. It contained a treasure trove of jade and bronze, and a wide variety of weaponry, including great battle axes, which were apparently her favorite battlefield instruments.