How a concubine became an empress, where did the ruthless female pirate and other women who made Chinese history come from?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Some of them are known as great and fearless commanders, others - as marauders and robbers, catching fear on everyone in the district, keeping in check not only cities, but also neighboring countries. Some of them even became the prototypes of the heroes of films and cartoons, telling about the difficult female fate of Chinese women who managed to prove to themselves and to the whole world that women are capable of much. They are able not only to enchant and conquer men's hearts, but also to conquer cities, leading troops into battle …

1. Empress Consort Wu Zetian

A controversial and extremely powerful female leader, Empress Consort Wu Zetian is known as the only female emperor of China to lead the country. While her accomplishments and exploits remain some of the most dramatic moments in Chinese history and a testament to the strength of bold female leadership, her reputation has at times been severely damaged by reports of violence. However, the historical veracity of some of the evidence of her behavior remains in question, since those who envied her power had a motive to discredit the empress. Initially, she was just a concubine of the powerful Emperor Taizong, who later married his son, who inherited his title after the death of his father.

Compared to the wolf or snake in Chinese historical sources, Wu held the Tang dynasty in a tight grip during the Great Instability. She has been the subject of controversy in Chinese literature and thought. Modern assumptions about her deeds were based on reasoning and thoughts that those who had reasons to dislike her exaggerated her bad deeds. On the other hand, statements in historical accounts of Wu's time suggest that she killed her own child in order to frame her rival. However, the truth about the great and such an unpredictable empress-consort still remains an intriguing and incomprehensible mystery, which is beyond the power of even historical researchers to unravel.

2. Ching Shi

Whenever we talk about pirates, most of us immediately think of Long John Silver or Jack Sparrow, but few people know that one of the most terrifying pirates in the world was a miniature Chinese woman named Ching Shi, who kept the whole peace. Born in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, Shi was originally a prostitute before becoming a pirate after she married a pirate man. After becoming a notorious pirate marauder, the enterprising woman commanded imposing pirate ships, equipping her ships to carry a large crew of more than fifty thousand people serving them. Having spawned a streak of fear in her daring raids in the South China Sea, she came into conflict with the British, Portuguese and Chinese inland fleets during the mid-Qing dynasty, which was unique as the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history. Unable to be defeated, the Chinese government offered Ching Shi an amnesty, despite her notoriety, on terms that were finally agreed and then accepted after lengthy negotiations.

3. Hua Mulan

A Chinese warrior can conjure up the image of a kung fu master, just as a Japanese fighter can conjure up thoughts of a samurai. However, it is worth noting that the Chinese woman of legendary fame (albeit the subject of debate about historical accuracy) is immortalized in a magnificent stone statue set among the statues of the heroes of Singapore's Chinese garden. And who exactly is this brave woman? The wealth of 5th century Chinese literature contains reverent tales of a brave woman named Hua Mulan (known as Mulan) who took her father's battle armor and went into battle in his place, fearing that he would die of age and limited fighting ability in the face of the inevitable. conflict.

It is said that Hua Mulan hid her feminine essence by leading men into battle and surviving. After the emperor offered a reward for revealing her identity after the victory, the mysterious woman of war simply asked to return home. Although her story is technically a legend, and her existence is not a story that has been proven or disproved to be true or not, her place in Chinese culture is strong as an image that is held in the minds of many Chinese people to this day. As a matter of fact, it was this brave and fearless woman who became the prototype of the legendary character in the cartoon "Mulan".

4. Princess Pingyang

She was born in AD 600. NS. and was raised by her peasant father Li Yuan. And it's no surprise that Princess Pingyang is one of the notable women from Chinese history, especially well known for working with her father to create the revolutionary Tang Dynasty and fighting fiercely to overthrow Yandi, the leader of the Sui Dynasty. Gathering an army of 70,000, known as the "Lady's Army," and gaining respect and loyalty through gifts to the poor, she only increased the popularity of her movement. Princess Pingyang's husband Chai Shao was the leader of the Sui Temple guard, but he joined forces with his wife to support the rebellion.

Princess Pingyang successfully fought against the forces of Sui, and as a result, her father became Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, a time of great wealth in Chinese history. And how did the princess get such widespread support? One approach was to treat the peasants fairly, gaining their support, and bribing local leaders with food and money, and then forcing them to fight if they refused, getting a chance to join her movement or face her anger. Unfortunately, Princess Pingyang died shortly after her victory at the age of only twenty-three.

5. Wang Zhenyi

Prominent female Chinese scholar Wang Zhenyi abandoned traditional gender roles to become highly educated and independent in historical China. An outstanding student at a relatively young age, Wang Zhenyi was born during the Qing Dynasty in 1768 and died tragically at the age of twenty-nine. But in such a short period of her life, she wrote impressive volumes of materials covering art, science and mathematics. Her intellectual wealth was collected after her death, including works in astronomy, geography, and medicine. Interestingly, her work has stood the test of time, remaining relevant when evaluated through the prism of modern science.

Other activities this brilliant polymath woman took up included martial arts, archery, and teaching. In fact, her accomplishments include a dramatic change in traditional gender roles during that time in historical China, where she taught to male students, imparting her research and discoveries. Interestingly, Wang Zhenyi was honored in modern times when a crater on the surface of Venus was named after her by the International Astronomical Union in 2004. It is also worth noting that her approach to research involved sampling Chinese and Western texts and extensive self-study, while she conveyed information very directly, often presenting the results in a poetic style.

Continuing the theme - who, once under siege, were able to resist the enemy and change the course of history.