21. The Powerful Female Warrior Who Pacified China’s Borders
Fu Hao led an army of 13,000 men, which was huge for that era, and the largest ever assembled under any one Shang general. One of her earliest victories came against an obstinate tribe that had troubled the Shang rulers for generations. The female warrior personally led her forces into battle, decisively defeated the turbulent tribe, and ended its menace once and for all. She led numerous other military campaigns to consolidate Shang rule, and successfully conducted the earliest large-scale ambush in Chinese history.
At the head of her forces, Fu Hao successfully expanded and pacified the Shang borders. She was given her own fiefdom on the Shang border, the better to guard against potential enemy encroachment. She predeceased her husband, who built her a lavish tomb. In the 1970s, archaeologists discovered Fu Hao’s tomb, intact, with a treasure trove of jade and bronze. It also included a wide variety of war artifacts, such as great battle axes, which were apparently her favorite weapon.
