Download Tomb of Lady Fu Hao - Hewlett

Name: _____________________
Date: ________________
The Tomb of Lady Fu Hao
Lady Fu Hao was a very unusual heroine from Ancient Chinese history. Typically, the role of
a woman in ancient China was to take care of the home and family. Fu Hao was a wife and mother,
but was also a military leader, politician and healer. Archaeologists have found many artifacts that
explain her unique and essential role in ancient China.
Fu Hao's tomb was discovered in 1976 near Anyang. It is one of the best preserved tombs
from that era. Archaeologists easily identified it as the tomb of Fu Hao. Her name had been long
known from Shang period oracle texts and they found her name inscribed on the ritual bronzes on
the tomb.
Most of the information we have about Fu Hao comes from oracle bone inscriptions.
Many of the oracle bones show concerns for her well-being, for example childbirth and illness.
Inscriptions on the oracle bones also show that Fu Hao was involved in two aspects of royal life
that were normally not open to women. She participated in ritual ceremonies and military activities.
The Shang King exercised ultimate control over ritual matters. However, Fu Hao obviously
enjoyed the confidence of her husband as he repeatedly instructed her to conduct special rituals
and offer sacrifices.
She led numerous military campaigns against the neighboring Tu, Ba, Yi and Qiang tribes.
Evidence to prove these campaigns came from oracle bones. The inscription on the bone asks
whether Fu Hao should gather soldiers before an attack. On another it is reported that the king had
assembled soldiers for Fu Hao's campaign against the Tu tribe.
Over one hundred weapons were found in Fu Hao’s tomb. This is very unusual for a
woman's tomb, and shows her status as a military leader. In all there were around 2,000 items
buried with Fu Hao. Among these there are 468 bronze items, 750 jade items, 560 bone items and
over 110 items made of stone and semi-precious stone. Over six thousand cowrie shells were
buried with her also - these would have served as currency in the Shang period.
Questions
1. Who do archaeologists believe Fu Hao was?
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2. What evidence did archaeologists find that supports her role in Chinese society? Use at least
two specific details from the text.
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3. What type of person do you think Fu Hao was? Use a character trait and one specific detail
to support your answer.
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4. Why is it important to find artifacts such as the ones found in Fu Hao’s tomb?
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