LADY FU HAO
By: Maggie, Aurelia, Lia and Kaia
Lady Fu Hao had a very important role in Chinese history and womens’ rights. She was loved by the people of her dynasty and of other dynasties. Some of the most important facts about her fall under the topics of: Emperor Wu Ding (her husband), womens’ rights and girl power, her tomb and the artifacts found in it and how we know about her. Lady Fu Hao was a very interesting woman in Chinese history.
Lady Fu Hao was the empress of the Shang Dynasty for a short period of time and the best time in the Shang Dynasty because this was the time when the Shang was the most powerful, (From 1250-1192 B.C.E.). She was one of sixty wives of Emperor Wu Ding, and more loved by him than some of his other wives. She was a mother and had many kids with Emperor Wu Ding. When she died, Emperor Wu Ding built a temple over her tomb to keep her safe in the afterlife. Overall she and Wu Ding were very happy together and had a good relationship which helped them rule over the Shang Dynasty.
Lady Fu Hao was a very influential woman in womens’ right and womens’ history in general. She had a lot of jobs that men would usually do, for example; she led many military campaigns against Qiang (the rivals of the Shang) and it involved around thirteen thousand troops. She led and hosted many sacrifices and was a politician. Since she participated in manly jobs she was loved and admired by everyone!
Lady Fu Hao had a very large tomb; it was 5 meters long, 3.5 meters wide, 1.3 meters tall and 5.6 meters at the entrance. She was buried with 2,000 artifacts including: bronze, jade, bones, semi-precious stones, bells, statues, hair pins, mirrors, knives, human skeletons, bone arrow heads, ivory and cowry shells (which was the currency at this time), the human skeletons were buried with Lady Fu Hao to serve her in the afterlife and there were around sixteen people that were in there with her.
We know about Lady Fu Hao so much because her tomb was discovered in 1979. It was very preserved so it was very difficult to find her and her tomb, plus none of the artifacts in it were rotten (which is a good thing). Some of her artifacts in her tomb had her name written on them so that is how they knew it was her tomb and that is how we even know who she is. Also we know about her because of oracle bones which are bones that have cracks that can tell the future.
In conclusion, Lady Fu Hao was an amazing influence on womens’ rights and Chinese history, including the jobs that women and men had in Chinese culture. Everyone in her dynasty loved her for her bravery and kindness to others. Even though she lived over three millennia ago she is still remembered as a woman that changed history.
