Anthology of Ancient Heroines

Who was she?

With the relatively recent discovery of oracle bones, we know quite a bit about Fu Hao’s life.

So what are oracle bones? Royalty would pose a question to the ancestors and deities during a divination ceremony. A high priestess, such as Fu Hao, or the king would inscribe the question on a tortoise shell. Then the bone would be baked in a fire until it cracked. The high priestess would interpret the cracks as a way to answer the question. Three thousand years later, 19th century farmers would find many of these bones buried together and the people referred to them as dragon’s bones. They were thought to have healing powers. So much so, that people would grind them into powder and consume them as a remedy for malaria. It wasn’t until around the Boxer Rebellion in 1899 when a famous scholar, Wang Yirang, had been prescribed dragon’s bone and recognized the inscriptions on the bones. Suffice to say, many questions posed by royalty of the Shang Dynasty to their ancestors and deities were unfortunately later consumed and lost forever. To date, Around 5000 unique characters have been discovered on the bones that still remain, but only one third have been deciphered. These bones offer a rare glimpse into the day to day tasks, concerns, and beliefs of royalty at the time of the Shang Dynasty.

Thankfully, 200 oracle bones specifically connected to Fu Hao’s life were discovered in her tomb in 1976. Archeologists were able to determine that she was a general, a queen consort, and a priestess; a woman certainly wore many hats. The oracle bones that have been deciphered give us insight into Fu Hao’s thoughts on warfare, giving birth and suffering illness, and even her impressions of the afterlife. What is absolutely amazing about this woman and her life is all of the roles she played.

What did she accomplish?

As a teenager, she led and won a decisive battle against the Tu-Fang who had fought against the Shang for generations. She also campaigned against the Yi, Qiang and Ba, neighboring lands, where she led the earliest recorded large-scale ambush in Chinese history. She was responsible for 13,000 soldiers and important generals Zhi and Hou Gao. At that time in history, she was the most powerful Shang general. According to oracle bones, at least six hundred other women also participated in the military during this era.

Her origin story is a bit of a mystery with the limited research material available, but it would appear that she was able to take advantage of her position in the semi-matriarchal slave society she found herself in. At this point in history, the emperor Wu Ding extended the Shang empire’s realm of power through the cultivation of loyal collaborators. Many local tribes pledged allegiance to him. As a sign of good faith, King Wu Ding married one woman from each such tribe, and Fu Hao was one of 64 of his wives and one of 3 of his consorts. It has been stated that Fu Hao was as hard as bronze and as soft as jade because she was comfortable in both armour and gown.

It is unclear at what point in her life she officially became a high priestess, but needless to day, King Wu Ding trusted her with this very high honor where she was given the right to interpret the cracks in oracle bones during divination ceremonies. Her life was cut short though. She died shortly after giving birth to her son. King Wu Ding was so distraught that he broke protocol and buried her in a tomb on her land across the river from the main royal cemetery. That is precisely why her tomb wasn’t discovered until 1976. In this unique tomb were 755 jade objects, 564 bone objects, 468 bronze objects, 63 stone objects, 5 ivory objects, 11 pottery objects, 6900 pieces of cowry shell that were used as currency, 16 human sacrifices, and 6 dogs, all an unquestionable show of her high status.

So around 1040 BCE, there existed a woman who was a general, priestess, and queen. She accomplished a lot in the 33 years she existed and thanks to oracle bones, we can show you the receipts. It is truly exciting to have proof that women like this existed millennia ago. May it be a constant reminder that anything is possible, regardless of gender.

Special Thanks:

https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/world-cultures/oracle-bones/

https://www.chinafetching.com/fu-hao

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3145544f7a454464776c6d636a4e6e62684a4856/share_p.html

https://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/archae/2fuhmain.htm

https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/fu-hao/fu-hao-queen-general-and-priestess/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu_Hao

Why am I doing this?

I am starting an anthology to remember women that time has forgotten because their stories are noteworthy and it is to our detriment that we do not talk about them anymore. These women are a strong reminder of what is possible simply because they are real people who have already accomplished the unthinkable. If you liked this, stay tuned for more stories about ancient heroines.