Edit: THE BUTT BOOK SOLD FOR $3850 LMAOOOO PAP SMEARS FOR EVERYONE If you wanna check out my cursed book auction...it is here: www.ebay.ca/itm/384673546348

The number of warrior queens I've read about that basically went into battle fully pregnant or had labor in battle is crazy. What's crazy is they often go into labor , hide their kid, and go right back into battle. It makes me feel like I'm underachieving.

You talked about a warrior queen, but how about a pirate queen? Zheng Yi Sao episode maybe? Woman managed to get thousands of unruly pirates to obey her decrees, pimp slapped two empires (the Chinese but also the Portuguese who they asked for aid in stopping her), and did so in such spectacular fashion that they both let her retire to open a profitable gambling house that she ran with great success until her death at a very old age.

There’s something so sad about following the life and death of Fu Hao through the worried questions her husband asked. It’s so intimate and personal, like reading his diary

Can we talk about what a dedicated husband her man was? Like damn. He literally did everything he could to take care of her even after death.

It's really sweet that 武丁 cared so much for 妇好. One can only imagine the anxiousness and loneliness he felt after she passed.

in Shang dynasty it's not "emperor's concubines", it's "emperor's Ministers of Affairs"

A brilliant tactician, a warrior, a priestess, an earnest lover, and (if that one theory is correct) a slave personally freed by the emperor due to her intellect; what an incredible woman. It makes me wonder how many other incredible people have been lost or deliberately erased from history. Thank you for sharing her story!

It's so frustrating that oracle bones were only decoded as historical sources in 20th century and up to that time treated as medicine to be ground and eaten. How much precious information about the Shang has been literally pissed away over the years!

The Shang idea of employing your wives/concubines as state ministers makes perfect sense. The whole point of a royal class in an aristocratic monarchy is that you get to identify potential leaders early and have all the resources needed to offer them the best possible education and experience in state affairs before they become formally appointed. If I'm going to all the trouble of having political marriages or concubinages, I would want this collection of education and experience from across my entire sphere of influence to be put to good use. At the very least they ought to be good ambassadors and advisors, since they have the inside perspective on their homeland. Stuffing them into a room until it's time to generate heirs seems absurdly wasteful.

This is why it always annoys me when people say things like “we can’t have women doing things in this piece of media cause it’s set in the historical past and it wouldn’t be realistic”. Bull! Women were doing all kinds of cool stuff but they keep getting erased from history! Great vid as always!

I love the fact he married Fu Hao to not one, but three of his own ancestors in death. Perhaps he felt they could keep up in a chariot race with her. Very well done on turning the weird thirst energy of the internet into something meaningful. 👏👏👏👏

Around 11:00 to 11:20, the way the oracle bones described the fretting and eventual mourning of a man gone for 3000 years.. Man It's stuff like that that makes me so very, sad for them, yet happy that we can still learn their stories Humans have always been humans

"I know I talk about Wu Zetian a lot..." It's almost like you wrote a book about her or something.

The whole "woman being mistaken for a man thing" has happened on occasion - Queen Tamar of Georgia was mistaken for a man. Usually, a queen was referred to as "wife of king", which obviously didn't apply to her, and so she got the same title as the male rulers. When these old texts were translated, people automatically assumed that Tamar had been a man.

For one of your shortest videos, what a rollercoaster of emotions I had - thrilled to learn about Fu Hao's life, sad to hear how her husband fretted over her death, laughing over butt books, and admiration for charity auction of said butt books!

Oracle bones have got to be the coolest primary source I've ever heard of. How incredibly personal, and what a puzzle trying to piece them together into something coherent.

It almost seems like Fu Hao and Wu Ding were what started the book troupe of commoner x royalty couples I consume on a regular basis. This was so interesting to watch! The more than likely romance between Fu Hao and Wu Ding seems almost picture perfect. And the fact that Fu Hao how so much power is amazing! Thank you for sharing!

I remember her from my history class in the first semester of college but the information about her in our main textbook was barely existing, our professor did tell us extra stuff out of the book but she was definitely treated as the less important figure and finding anything about her in spanish or even english (at least with the resources we had) on out own was almost impossible so this video is really a dream come true.

This was really nice, their isn't a lot of ancient history featuring Royalty/nobility actually being in love. At least to me it sounded like the Emperor was head over heels for her.

You should totally do a video on Shulu Ping she was both a skilled warrior and political navigator. She's pretty epic since she commanded her own armies and upon her husbands death seized power for herself ruling as an Empress. She even cut off her own hand at one point to prove a point (traditionally Khitan wives had to sacrifice themselves upon their husbands death so she cut off her hand and threw it in the tomb as a sacrafice). Though my favorite moment of her's was upon her husbands death asking the retainers if they missed him and if they answered yes she would kill them telling them to send a message to him in the after life (mainly because they where more loyal to a dead guy then her). She also single handily changed expectations for widows in Khitan society

Please make more of these videos about amazing, forgotten women. Best part was learning "Shang dynasty: jade, oracle bones & ritualistic human sacrifices" Also: butt book copy passed $400.

God their relationship is actually kinda cute, like it seems like he really cared

Ok but they really were a power couple, they clearly cared a lot for the other and both slayed 💅

China's history always amazes me on how thrilling things actually are. I mean, let's say the crazy theory about Fu Yue and Fu Hao being the same person is true. The Crown Prince, who lived amoung the people, met a slave and was so amazed by her that he actually did an entire show after becoming king just to make her an important person in his court. He then proceeded to marry her and being madly in love with his war goddess even after her passing. If it was a c-drama I would say it's just too fantastic, yet there they are. Man, I love these stories.

Damn I even felt real bad for Wu Ding, they made a solid kingdom together and he really loved her yet she died quite young, what a fierce and admirable woman Fu Has was, also the oracles bones are such an unique and interesting historical source.

Fu Hao sounds so cool! She did so much! Its so sad that her achievements were forgotten

I wrote a college dissertation on Fu Hao and while we don't have a ton of information on her she's absolutely fascinating. The fact her tomb remained un-plundered during various periods of strife in China just seems like the stuff of legends.

We stan a wifeguy king and his badass tall warrior queen😭 That was so sweet of him to care so much about her.

I like your content on strong female historical figures. I like your sponsoring sections (especially the environmental friendly products) and they're funny. I like that you include uncertainty and sources in what you're saying. I like that you make easy to follow Chinese history content. :)

Honestly, the Fu Hao-Fu Yue thing makes a lot of sense to me. Even in modern times, with all of our methods of communication and record-keeping, you can still see plenty of cases where information is misinterpreted or misrepresented, and as a result misinformation easily spreads. Looking back hundreds or thousands of years ago, they wouldn't even have the plethora of fact-checking methods that we do in modern times, so it's not hard to imagine that - when passing things down primarily through oral tradition rather than writing - it would be far easier for the facts to get switched around over the years. Look at something like Norse mythology. It's very likely that we'll *never* know the actual stories from Norse myth as they were told by their own culture. Most of the sources we have for those legends come from Christian authors who were trying to bridge the gap between their religions/cultures, and as a result pretty much everything we have is almost inevitably going to have some influences from the Christian cultures of the time. Then even further down the line, you have sources weaving even heavier Christian tones into descriptions of the stories, such as treating Loki more and more like a devil stand-in than he was in older iterations. And while some of it may have been intentional, a lot of it likely comes down more to how those stories are interpreted through the eyes a different culture just instinctively connecting dots between similar concepts, and doing so with their own preconceived notions. It's just one of the flaws that tends to come with oral traditions that aren't accompanied by written ones: It can basically turn into a centuries-long round of the telephone game that includes thousands of players across numerous different cultures.

I love Xiran's reaction to the fact that people want those throne books so much 🤣

My great aunt has been in remission of cervical cancer for decades now and is a huge advocate for HPV vaccination, so this issue is definitely something personal for me. Make sure you get all of your doses when you get your vaccine!

"You ever hear about 武则天"????.... from your very own fantastic 2 part series on her! What a badass!

Fu Hao sounds like a real badass. And though it's sad, it's still sweet that her husband cared and worried so much about her safety and well-being. I hope they are at peace in the afterlife. Also the thing with the books at the end made me chuckle. Sometimes fans be like that. Good on you for turning it into a chance to raise money for charity though ^~^

It would be amazing if you talk about 红妆时代, the era after Wu Zetian died, when Princess Taiping, Princess Anle, Empress Wei, and Shangguan Wan'er took political powers! It was such an interesting and amazing time for women!

I'd be super interested in seeing you discuss Zheng Yi Sao. A female pirate who from the limited research I did, seems to have been one of if not the best pirates at that time

I know you blew up because of your critique of the Mulan movie but I am so happy to watch other content like this. Historical figures and history are so interesting to me and growing up in the West you so rarely ever delve deeply into the history of China, Japan, and much of Southeast Asia. Thank you for putting in the time, effort, and research to bring us all a little more knowledge❤️

Fascinating as always. Also, eagerly awaiting the Iron Widow sequel.

As the Grand Archpriest of the Church of the Algorithm, I comment you to engage with this video.

oh... wu ding's concerns about fu hao are just??? so sweet???? its sad too, but the fact that he was asking about her that much is just really endearing. it's easy to see how much he cared about fu hao.

PLEASE everyone who needs one, take time to get a pap. I kept putting it off and waited too long and I ended up needing 2 surgeries last year to remove precancerous cells. This was completely preventable, even if you cannot afford it/don't have insurance (my excuse for waiting) there are free resources in every state to get a pap and breast screening. Please, please please if you are overdue or just at the age to start, go online and get yourself an appointment set up through your primary or at your local public health. I was very lucky to have caught it before it spread any further or became cancer, unfortunately that is not always the case. Please don't wait!

Shit, there is something... so sad about the questions on those bones. That poor man must have cared for her a great deal. Just imagine him just returning to the fire, day after day, asking those questions, realizing slowly his wife is passing away and there is nothing to be done.

The part about Wu Ding living among commoners and then having to come up with theatrics to hire his advisor against the cultural norms of the time is super interesting. I feel like royal figures from these times are often thought of as being de facto accepting of the social order they lived in, so its cool to see that assumption challenged. Makes him seem a lot more "real".

YES! My favorite historical warrior! She has such a commanding presence and I adore her style and cultural designs. The ancient Shang dynasty art style carved on the bronze artifacts is by far my favorite design pattern and style of Chinese history. Something about it is so primal and beautiful and reflects on the kind of person and society Fu Hao came from. I learned so much from you about her and I am so grateful for the education and entertainment you provide.

In social studies in 6th grade we listened to a video that was about Ancient China/Huang He river valley, and the chorus was literally: Lady Fu Hao! Wife of the Shang king, His name was Wu Ding, Look at her tomb, She ruled her own town! (I forget the next few lines but then it went) Read these cracked lines! To make decisions, Its writing mentions Lady Fu Hao! My teacher then informed us that we would not be learning anything about Fu Hao which left me kind of disappointed as the video had gotten me curious

Your channel is helping me learn more about China and my history. I grew up with a family that suppressed my Chinese blood and refused to let me learn about it, so learning from you and others is both freeing and comforting. I feel closer to myself because of you. Thank you.

I visited her tomb after i learnt about her many years ago. The experience was very touching. The tomb and artefacts may look 'humble' comparing to later periods, but knowing about her time, it was definitely a top class tomb. It's a reminder and living evidence to us that here was a time in China men were not afraid of powerful women but admired and cherished their accomplishment.

I'm so so grateful for your presence on the internet/in literature. Iron Widow was such a wonderful book and I always get a boost of serotonin whenever I see you upload. Thank you for sharing your art, and thank you for your labor in educating all of us!

Awww... I feel so bad for Wu Ding since he really loved his queen.

Wu Ding and Fu Hao a true power couple

This is going on my "underrated warriors list" with those amazing warriors in history who are forgotten

Hearing his words as Fu Hao was dying is heartbreaking, he was so incredibly worried and it seemed so intimate and personal.

I got your book for Christmas and read it all in one sitting. I absolutely loved it and am really looking forward to reading whatever you publish next!

Honestly their story is couple goals

Wow a video about Fu Hao, she's underrated and should be talked about more :D (also great video love them!)

Before today, I've never thought that I would laugh so hard at something as cringe-worthy as people on the internet trying to buy books that have been sat on by a specific person 😂 Seriously, Xiran. Your KZfaq channel is one of the best I know, not only because of little things like this, but also because your way of teaching Chinese History is a huge inspiration to me, a History undergraduate: you critique your sources with levels of rigor that seem comparable to those that my professors would use, but manage to make the information stick to my ADHD/autistic brain more efficiently than they usually can. One day, I hope to teach my students as well as you do! Greetings from Brazil 🤗

the stuff about how much her husband cared for her made me emotional, thats so sweet :c

When Xiran says y'all need Jesus... ROFL. I showed your videos on Wu Zetian last night to my girlfriend, and she not only was super engaged, but your delivery of various reactions is so perfect it had us laughing hard. So glad tearing the live-action horror show that was theoretically Mulan into pieces turned into an opportunity to learn more about Chinese history and culture in a super fun way with a super fun person!

The last section about the book throne and the auction had me dying 😂 And as always, your videos are dope, I'm learning so much stuff thanks to you !

LMFAO the fact that people REALLY want that book you sat on really is amazing

I would love to time travel and see that power couple in action.

"Y'all need Jesus" Also, I love that you're turning "the cursed thirsty energy" into something good and donating to a charity

Honestly? I appreciate this marriage. They liked each other!

The dedication of her husband is so cute and admirable, even being loyal after shes gone.

When I was a teen a book came out called Lady of Ch'iao Kuo by Laurence Yep which is based on a person who lived in southern China with the Hsien in the 6th century A.D. Her brother T'ing was a bad ruler so he was replaced with her.

Honestly this whole channel makes me so happy and sometimes i just put it on background despite knowing already all of the stuff Your voice is super nice And it's interesting learning more about Chinese history! Hi from Italy!

His love for her ESP through the end of her life is really getting me

I hope this is the inspiration for one of your future books because wow what a legacy Fu Hao have lived. I can't stop crying at how much her husband loved her. He married her ghost to ghost emperors so that they can protect her in the afterlife because he couldn't. *sobs* Amazing video as ever. Thank you.

I recently discovered your channel and I am so thankful I did! I've done tons of studies into folklore and history but mainly 9th century Nordic, Slavic and British Isles I know nothing about Chinese history and folklore and its a new study for me and your videos have incredible in starting me out on it. This one in particular stuck a cord with me because of all the archeology and contemporary sources, it makes my nerdy heart sing. Especially since in my own area of study, because 'vikings' have become a pop culture thing recently there has been some rather desperate straw-clutching trying to prove that 'shieldmaidens' and other warrior women existed in the way they're portrayed in media, and after watching your video why be so desperate to prove that when theirs already a bad ass like Fu Hao to study?

this was SO COOL!! It's incredible the amount of information that can be cleaned when you find artifacts like this. But seriously this is so cool! I love learning about the unknown prominent women in ancient history

I learned about Fu Hao in a university class last year. It made me really wish we had more details about her life beyond her fantastic military exploits.

Many years ago: -Chinese warrior queen passes away- The people: we must sacrifice ourselves to honor her and all she has done in battle! Today: -Author sits on book- The people: Yo can I get the one she sat on! I would die for that copy! . . . Clearly our standards and expectations in society have taken a fall lol

That sponsor transition was seamless. Well done.

Aww! What a great video!! I bought your book a couple weeks ago and haven’t had much time to read it. But it makes me smile that both I have one of your prized works and to support you in some small way. Keep making awesome content and books! ^^

just discovered your channel and I'm obsessed. fascinating stuff with so much research done in the process AND intellectual responsibility (like stating uncertainty in evidence) during the delivery. thanks for all the work you do!!

Okay, but I have a very important question: Why is he asking if her teeth are okay? Am I missing something culturally? Did she have a gum disease that turned toxic and killed her? Did she just have a tooth ache? I mean, either way, what a doting husband.

I'm crying he cared for her so much, what a beautiful and tragic love

It’s honestly so sweet that the reason we have so much knowlege of Fu Hao is because her husband loved and respected her so much.

Hey!! I found your book in my local library today!! Upon seeing it I gasped so excitedly that I was accidentally the loudest thing in the library and one of the desk workers and a few patrons turned to look at me (oops) but I have been excited to read it ever since you talked about your book on the channel!! I'm going to start it tomorrow after work!! I've only read the summary of it and I'm already loving it!!!

You’re an actual treasure. Thank you so much for the great educational videos and for your generosity!

Yet more awesome history! love hearing about these historical figures I never would have known about through my own searching. And I'm not surprised at the sat upon book... not at all... Sigh! Yay for charity though!

"Is Fu Hao really dead?" Aww, that about broke my heart. :'(

Came to this video after finishing your videos on Wu Zetian's rise to power. I have to say that I didn't know that Chinese history can be so interesting. Oh the drama of it all! Love it! I am so hooked on your storytelling.

Yaaaas teach me history about amazing strong women!!! 🙌 the content on this channel is fascinating, and Xiran is such an engaging, clever teacher (not to mention the best dressed). Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! I feel like I learn a helluva lot more here than I ever learned in school hahaha!

I just finished reading Iron Widow and I'm very excited for the next book in the series. Great job! (Rip my emotions)

I am so happy with the direction this channel has been going in! My favorite Chinese history teacher 💕 thank you!

Always a hit. Thank you for creating this video.

Your videos are always a delight but this was an exceptional ad read segue, incredible work, you're amazing

It was so heart warming how he cared about her so much and they seemed to be true partners in life ❤️ while she got to do amazing things and be so badass…agh my heart i need a movie!

Hey! Recently had your videos recommended to me by my sister because she knows I love Journey to the West and figured I would like to learn more about ancient China. I love being able to hear the pronunciation of names now and I love the way you tell the stories! Also the thing at the end with the books was so funny and honestly a mood. Love your videos and keep up the good work!!

I always learn so much from your videos! Thank you for making Chinese history so entertaining and accessible.

Yesssss, finally something about Fu Hao! I immediately liked!

“Yas queen slay” suddenly gained new meaning

Amazing work as always, love your content!!

I'm so obsessed with your channel and Chinese history now

You are so amazing! I'm halfway through Iron Widow, I'm so excited to finish! I was wondering if you could do a video about Zheng Yi, I have been fascinated with her, but the information about her that I have found has be limited.

夫仔 (Puchai) was probably a gender neutral term that meant child of strength, 妇好 indicates the title bearer is a woman. in Old Sinitic, 夫、妇 was variously pronounced as 'bu, pou, bhu, bhou". 夫 is related to Japanese daijioubu 大丈夫 (How are you?/How is your health?) and took on male gender only later on. Note also the similarity of the pronunciation and meaning of 夫 and 武 （bhu) so 妇好 and 夫仔 (King of Wu: 夫差) both mean descendant of warriors or something like that.

I really love how educative your channel is. You always suprise me. With fun little facts i never knew before. 😄😁

I love these kinds of episodes! Such great info.