Royals › Empress / Consort
Fu Hao
Consort of the Shang king Wu Ding who, according to oracle-bone records, led armies against the Tufang and Qiang and presided over sacrifices, and whose intact tomb was opened at Anyang in 1976
Mural of the event “Lady Fu Hao's Campaigns”, which this person took part in.
In the course of Shang expansion, the Qiangfang and Tufang tribes in the north and northwest continuously harassed the frontier and the situation became dire. The court needed a wise and brave commander to march out and decisively stabilize the northwestern defense.
Also known as Hou Muxin · Bi Xin
Fu Hao was one of the consorts of the Shang king Wu Ding, known from oracle-bone inscriptions found at Yinxu near Anyang; her temple name was Xin, and later inscriptions call her Mother Xin. The inscriptions record her leading campaigns against the Tufang, Bafang, Yi and Qiang, one of them mustering three thousand of her own troops and ten thousand others for a war on the Qiang. She also conducted sacrifices on the king's orders and held lands of her own. Wu Ding repeatedly divined about her childbirths, illnesses and fortunes. In 1976 archaeologists excavated her tomb at Xiaotun in Anyang, the only Shang royal tomb at Yinxu found unlooted; it held more than nineteen hundred bronzes, jades and other objects, many of the bronzes inscribed with her name.
Life and times
- UnknownBorn
Shangconsort of the Shang king Wu Ding - 1300 BCEApex of Shang Bronze Metallurgy
Took partThe late-Shang Houmuwu Ding is a monumental bronze ritual vessel made for royal sacrifice, demonstrating the scale and courtly function of Shang bronze production. - 1250 BCEWu Ding's Golden Age
Took partWu Ding promoted Fu Yue and led campaigns beyond Shang's borders, bringing Shang power and bronze culture to their zenith.- Wu Ding Reign and Fu Haoc. 1250 BCEDuring Wu Ding's revival, Queen Fu Hao led military campaigns and served as a ritual specialist; her unlooted tomb preserves an exceptional late-Shang royal assemblage.
- Wu Ding Reign and Fu Hao
- 1200 BCELady Fu Hao's Campaigns
Took partFu Hao led Shang armies against the Qiang and other rivals, leaving early evidence of a woman commanding major campaigns.- Tomb of Fu Hao Excavationc. 1200 BCEFu Hao was queen, commander, and ritual specialist; her owl zun embodies her place in late-Shang political and ceremonial life.
- Fu Hao Campaigning Against QiangfangQueen Fu Hao commanded thirteen thousand troops against Qiangfang, leading late Shang's largest military expedition.
- Tomb of Fu Hao Excavation
- UnknownDied
Family tree
- Direct kin
Fu HaoHusband (emperor)
Connections
- Shared events1
