THE LAND OF THE MISFIT QUEENS

Who was Fu Hao, and Why was she buried with over one hundred weapons?

(Image credit: Mu Jun/AP)

Buckle up because I am taking you back to the Chinese Bronze Age. The Bronze age began around 2000 BCE with developments in weapons, communication, and infrastructure. This allowed people to mass-produce many objects that changed history for the next thousands of years. Let’s visit the woman known for being the earliest female general and an overall powerful leader.

From the End

Before discussing what Fu Hao did during her life, it is important to analyze how she was buried after she died. In 1976, Fu Hao’s tomb was discovered in Anyang, Henan Province in China. The Chinese buried their military leader with many weapons and jewels to show her status and reverence. The exact numbers are found below:

• 468 bronze objects including 130 weapons, 23 bells, 27 knives, 4 mirrors, and 4 tigers or tiger heads
• 755 jade objects
• 63 stone objects
• 5 ivory objects
• 564 bone objects, including nearly 500 bone hairpins and over 20 bone arrowheads
• 11 pottery objects
• 6,900 pieces of cowry shell