WONDER WOMEN

General Fu Hao (ca. 1200 BCE)

Fu Hao, who fought to defend the Shang dynasty in Bronze Age China, is the earliest woman warrior whose name and history we know. She was a royal consort of the emperor Wu Ding and a successful military commander who directed her own troops, served as the ancient version of a task force commander, and took part in virtually every important military campaign of Wu Ding’s reign. She led Shang armies against four waves of invaders: the Tu Fang from the north, the armed horseman of the Qiang Fang in the northwest, the Yi Fang in the southeast and southwest, and, in joint command with Wu Ding, the Ba Fung in the southeast.

Fu Hao was not the only woman who fought in ancient China: At least a hundred other women were active in the Shang military campaigns.

Trung Trac and Trung Nhi (14–43 CE)

In 39 CE the Trung sisters, the daughters of a chieftain in the Son Tay region of Vietnam, led a revolt against the Chinese Empire, which had ruled their country for 150 years. The sisters