Seriously, someone should start a channel just talking about Chinese warrior women and there would be years of solid content.
@fraderiktan15052 жыл бұрын
I wonder could you talk a bit about the origin of the women island from journey to the west I mean there gotta be something inspired wu Cheng en when he wrote this novel or maybe you could talk about the general of the yang family (杨家将)to me this story remind me of the three kingdoms video you made. I've always love your video you introduce me to some characteristics I've never heard of now I gain more knowledge from you so thanks for all your videos
@Alex-pj8nz2 жыл бұрын
Because they are so rare that it’s story worthy ?
@CoolHistoryBros2 жыл бұрын
I covered this in the Xuan Zang episode. The women's island first appeared in the "Great Tang Records on the Western Regions", the historical account of his journey (not to be mistaken with the novel). He heard about the story in north western India, closer to Persia. So it is likely that he was told about the Greek legend of the islands of the Amazon.
@daedalus52532 жыл бұрын
JH4E at least already makes videos about Japanese female leaders
@kennywong42392 жыл бұрын
@@CoolHistoryBros There is a 女国 in Tibet as recorded in history books during the Northern and Southern dynasties period way before Xuan Zang. The country was eventually conquered by the Tibetan kingdom around 6 or 7 century AD. I think it is more plausible that Wu Cheng En based the women nation on this obscure matriarchal country, as it is probably along the way of the journey.
@demeterruinedmylife31992 жыл бұрын
Notice Qin Liangyu was mentioned on the list *Smiles* There're various warrior women throughout Chinese history, but she is the only one that got recorded as a general in her own right, instead of being part of the exemplary women section of history books.
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, Qin Liang Yu was basically Dragonball styled Fusion of Wu Zetian and Mulan, then going Super Saiyan. Considering she was leading an army to fight off Manchus, not only gunpowder already became available outside China, meaning chances is she likely fought against enemies with gunpowder weapons *and* military tactics have become more mature plus it isn't just Ming (Hans) who respected her, even the Manchus respected her capabilities.
@Weskalia2 жыл бұрын
My favorite Lancer.
@tommykaung58822 жыл бұрын
I saw Aztec Onee-san on profile. And I am satisfied with your Qin Liangyu comment.
@wenren70672 жыл бұрын
Yeap, by far the most impressive female general in Chinese history. She literally held out in her fiefdom after the Manchus conquered the rest of mainland China, still flying the banner of Ming Dynasty, and there was nothing the Machus could do about it. The army she trained and led to countless battles also proved to be one of the most capable military forces at the time.
@スノーハッピー2 жыл бұрын
Qin Liangyu was a certified badass Well there were other female generals (i.e. commanders of armies and not smaller sized units) in Ancient China that wouldn't have been formally recorded as "generals". Like Fuhao was a queen and in leading her army she functioned as a general, even if she didn't have the "general" title. Or Lady Sin was effectively a general as well, but as she was not part of the Tang military, she probably wouldn't have been recorded with a "general" title either.
@HighPriestFuneral2 жыл бұрын
Always glad to see some appreciation for Xun Guan, she was the great-granddaughter of the famous Later Han strategist, Xun Yu who at 13 managed to break out of a siege that no one else was willing to try and get to her father's allies who she rallied together to defeat the rebels attacking her father. In the ensuing battle she fought as equals with the highly esteemed generals that had come to the rescue and helped destroy the rebels.
@condorX22 жыл бұрын
Nice back story. If I'm going to be a warlord, I would start an exam to find good strategists by giving a test of breaking a Siege
@barbthegreat5862 жыл бұрын
The oldest description of military ambush in Chinese history is of Fu Hao's successful ambush of her enemies. In her tomb, there; s also the oldest archery ring ever found.
@6principlesforcartography612 жыл бұрын
Also there was Empress Mao, wife of Fu Deng and Empress of Former Qin (one of 16 Kingdoms), who was known for a brave commander fought along with her husband.
@catanada91112 жыл бұрын
"Was Mulan unremarkable?" Yes, it very much was- oh wait we're talking about the character not the films
@orangeyellow96952 жыл бұрын
The burn on Disney!
@jivvyjack77232 жыл бұрын
"...why people in the west are so attached to Mulan?" That's because the west are fixated on fairy tales, not real history. Mulan is a legend because, well, literally, it's just a legend. There isn't even much comprehensive description of Mulan (just a poem) compared to the historical records about the other female warriors.. The real Mulan would never had recognized herself in the Disney productions.
@yuchow56522 жыл бұрын
@@jivvyjack7723 She was not even a Chinese. The poem was based on a legend which happened in a country not ruled by Hans. Her name is not typical in Chinese. Her "Emperor" was actually a "Khan".
@andro78622 жыл бұрын
@@yuchow5652 The rulling class was Tuoba, but the common people (like Mulan) were Chinese.
@yuchow56522 жыл бұрын
@@andro7862 When you look at the story, there is a lot of things not typical for a farmer family. She knew how to ride a horse. They had a horse. Their family had long military history, like they had been trained professional soldiers for generations. Not every Xianbei was a ruler and not every Chinese was a servant. She had a family name very rarely seen in any Chinese at the time. It means "flower", and at the time I don't even remember a guy or girl had the same family name in Chinese History. (Other than Hua Rong? But he is a fictional character) In short she had a non-typical farmer family and they had non-typical obligation to the Khan like they are knights serving their king, and her name surely didn't look like a Chinese name. But it won't stop Chinese now claiming she is one of their own. They always do that kind of things. In general they looked down on foreigners in ancient times. They assumed they were the only civilized culture in the world.
@JinFX2 жыл бұрын
Disney picked up on Mulan the same way there was Flower Drum Song before it. It was a common story among the multigeneration Chinese Americans who finally broke into mainstream by going to University of California in large numbers, and later becoming teachers,, historians, and filmmakers in their own right. Of course Chinese American films were never given big budgets or broad releases, but all of the foundations are there for the eventual Mulans and Kung Fu Pandas. Maybe the most famous one is Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow. It is a Chinese American version of A Better Tomorrow and also based on true events.
@erraticonteuse2 жыл бұрын
We're also incredibly lucky we did get the animated Disney Mulan, because Disney's first idea for their cartoon set in China was _a Chinese girl falling in love with a British imperialist_ … yeah. YEAH. Fortunately the screenwriter they hired to develop the idea yeeted that straight into the dumpster fire it came from and was like "You know how all of your Western princess movies are based on actual established Western folklore? Well, by sheer coincidence, China has their own established folklore." We dodged a major cringe bullet there.
@MobiusPrime20282 жыл бұрын
Foot binding was a senseless and evil practice that brought nothing but pain and suffering to those unfortunate enough to endure it.
@johnrockwell58342 жыл бұрын
People can say what they will about Christianity. But they cannot deny that missionaries helped to end that practice. As well the taking of life of female babies. Saving them if they can.
@cindythecandy96612 жыл бұрын
@@johnrockwell5834 I don’t know how this relates to the comment you replied to but I agree that food binding is oppressive but foot binding is a beauty standard similar to tight lacing corsets so people at the time period when this was common it was not perceived the same way people do now
@corndog27802 жыл бұрын
@@johnrockwell5834 the Bible has Female Prophets. it has feminist ideas before feminism😂
@jivvyjack77232 жыл бұрын
Foot binding as a lifestyle practice was only recent in the long Chinese history. It was primarily the upper class and nobles who first practised it because it is a sign of wealth and privilege and would enhance the prospect of the daughters marrying up. The lower classes who had to labor (ie. majority of population) did not practise it. And as with any other lifestyle symbols, everyone tried to reach for it (think - people wanting to own branded goods even when they can't afford it). It was certainly not a control measure forced on women to keep them at home, as was popularly propounded by some western media. People are now so quick to condemn it as evil. It was no more evil than some cultures stretching their necks to giraffe-like proportions, piercing and stretching their lips & ear lobes to plate-size holes, compressing their ribcages to achieve wasp-like waists, scarring their faces and skin with patterns to look beautiful, painting their skins with lead- laced concoctions to look pale. Some of the above are still being practised today. The only purpose was to look beautiful and improve their chances of marrying well. Just accept it as old beliefs and do not judge.
@tasty81862 жыл бұрын
@@jivvyjack7723 being convinced to mutilate yourself in order to improve chances of marriage is evil as fuck. Don't make excuses.
@スノーハッピー2 жыл бұрын
My personal favourites are probably Shen Yunying and Qin Liangyu, both from the Ming Dynasty. They're completely opposites of each other in their stories. Qin Liangyu is probably the one people remember more, as she was a very powerful and well-loved general with a lot written about her. Qin Liangyu grew up in a distinguished military family and pretty much joined the military as soon as she was old enough to. She is most famous for defending Ming against the invading Manchurians (which would become the Qing Dynasty) and rebel groups who tried to establish their own dynasties during the chaos. Even after most of Ming fell, she held out in Sichuan and accepted refugees, where people actually prospered under her rule (basically she had become defacto governor as the lines of government had largely collapsed). The last emperor of Ming sang praises of her and gave her the title of a marquis. She kept fighting until her death at 75 years old from natural causes. On the other hand you have Shen Yunying who - while having a father in the army - had a gentle disposition and wasn't particularly interested in military stuff. But history forced her hand at the age of 14 when her father's unit was trapped and then wiped out by rebels. She - apparently out of sheer grief and/or familial duty - took 30 soldiers, penetrated enemy lines to retrieve her father's body, routed the enemies by tricking them into thinking she had a much larger force, and then reported vital intel to the military. For her actions she was appointed as what is roughly equivalent to a colonel. Not much is publicly available about what she did in the military afterwards, but she continued to serve in the Ming army for some years. After her husband died in combat (and 2 years before Qin Liangyu died), she retired to teach history and calligraphy. Unfortunately she died at a relatively young age of 38. While Qin Liangyu was someone who had set her eyes on greatness since she was a young girl, Shen Yuying represents a common person who never wanted to be a hero, but stepped up because life called her to. Both are great embodiments of their human spirit.
@alexsolosm2 жыл бұрын
I can't believe you actually missed out on Yang's clan heroines. They literally are a family of women warriors/commanders.
@lkzhang8202 жыл бұрын
It is worth to mention that most of them are fictional,however we Chinese do have some accounts of real history female combatants.
@teitlang37552 жыл бұрын
He just said, it's needs a whole solid year to mention all of them, cannot mention all of them in this short video.
@xhoques Жыл бұрын
I think because they are all fictional
@Wolfedge752 жыл бұрын
I think the "Disney Factor" plays a huge part in Mulan's popularity in the west. But then again, that's just my hunch.
@darthvenator24872 жыл бұрын
I hate Disney. They not only ruined star wars but they are also ruined the history of China.
@hrs.ai20182 жыл бұрын
Perhaps these days Disney no longer as briliant as generation before. They are getting lazy
@darthvenator24872 жыл бұрын
@@hrs.ai2018 we need more chinese films. A comedy about Liu Bang would be great!
@lerneanlion2 жыл бұрын
So the solutions to Mulan are either making her a cultivator, which is quite unlikely, or keeping her relatively simple as she supposed to be since she is supposed to inspire the role of what every woman in the world can do and can achieve something as great as men.
@digitaljanus2 жыл бұрын
I think it works for Mulan's (original) time period because like 80-90% of tactics in ancient warfare is just holding formation without breaking and running longer than the other side. It's more about courage and camaraderie than skill necessarily.
@linshitaolst49362 жыл бұрын
Mulan's story met the needs of the rulers at that time and encouraged all the people, regardless of gender, class and age, to support the emperor's expedition
@MetaKnight9642 жыл бұрын
Men and women will never be the same.
@whitelilly7592 жыл бұрын
@@MetaKnight964 You're right men and women will never be the same. But we both deserve the same rights. We just have different strengths and weaknesses, body and mind. There are people who can still be like the other, if they work hard enough.
@sigilfredogaleano65682 жыл бұрын
@@whitelilly759 I agree with you and those strengh compliments the other weaknesses. And as such we should understand that and celebrate it. Men and women two pieces that fit perfectly well.
@sinoroman2 жыл бұрын
another female commander was Gao Guiying. she was second most important in the group, so when the leader died, she was in-charge of everything. even though her end wasn't happy, i think there should be a movie about her
@danceonwind2 жыл бұрын
you meant " mu guiying"?
@Vostadues2 жыл бұрын
Okie... I think you missed some bits about Mulan... 1. She is of "Warrior Family", because her father's name were listed on all 12 mobilization call, that means her family is of "warrior/soldier" class, and she get legal access to armor as well, that also make her family stand out compare to "farming/production" class. 2. Mulan end up as a mid-ranking commanding officer at least, in the ballad the line when it comes to promotion of Mulan at the end of the war, it stated "木蘭不用尚書郎", which means "Mulan wishes not for the position of imperial secretary". This is a secretary position that helps the Emperor dealing with documentation and other office works, so one have to be able to read, write, knowing how to deal with imperial rules to be able to take this job. Therefor this can not be a position be granted to an normal soldier, and one with such capability will at least be a mid-ranking commanding officers, for those are required skills for them to deal with their duty.
@kweassa62042 жыл бұрын
The grand traditions continue to this day, in the "himekishi" archetypes in Japanese media! (of course **ahem** in what kind of genre they usuaully pop up.. is another matter entirely)
@fiendish94742 жыл бұрын
😏
@alirezaasgharzadeh49232 жыл бұрын
During the Qing Dynasty, the custom of closing the foot became very widespread, not much before
@chiangchengkooi97912 жыл бұрын
Mu Guiying is fiction but she is the one of the most famous female warrior in China. Disney would not pick he because she captured the man she duel with to become her husband.
@qjtvaddict2 жыл бұрын
Ohh no conquest scenario flipped
@fraderiktan15052 жыл бұрын
You forgot mu gui ying
@TimmacTR2 жыл бұрын
Joan of Arc required no magic to prevail, just faith and power of will
@Remitonov2 жыл бұрын
English: "God wouldn't side with the French against us! She must be a witch!"
@gab_gallard2 жыл бұрын
That's perhaps the historical Joan. The mythical Joan on the other hand comes from a supernatural perspective. Her relationship with the divine is integral to her narrative.
@TimmacTR2 жыл бұрын
@@gab_gallard Yes, but not because she was a super-woman, instead, because, perhaps even more because she was a 16 year old tiny woman, she had the courage and bravery to do so, which is why the whole story is so amazing, and so inspiring In a way, the more superpowers you have, the less lessons there are to learn, the less inspiring the story is, the less beautiful the whole thing is
@vegamoonlight2 ай бұрын
@@TimmacTRShe was reincarnated when her kind was needed the most in Europe. But I wouldn't be surprised if her past incarnation was a Chinese woman general. Her latest soul incarnation who was also famous was Madame Helena Blavatsky.
@delphidelion2 жыл бұрын
Straight up just used the Disney Mulan picture in the beginning, lol. Awesome.
@woolfel2 жыл бұрын
Interesting video. Growing up I watched a lot of HK costume dramas and one of them was about the General Yang's wife She Saihua. I don't know if it is historically accurate, but I always felt that women were taught martial. From legend of the condor hereos to Chor Lau-heung, all of the wuxia series had badass women. As a result, I assumed mulan was taught martial arts by her father, since he served in the military. It feels natural to me and practical for self defense. Having studied karate with both my son and daughter, you don't just learn to fight in 3 months and definitely not with weapons. In the US, karate and TKD students don't start learning weapons until the teacher feels they have enough skill to handle weapons safely. Some TKD schools will start kids with padded nunchuk, but no school in the US would teach kids swords, spears or anything with blades. Even though the history on mulan is murky, I assume she had some martial art training. As a father, the thought of sending my child to war without some martial art training is terrifying. Given the turbulent nature of those times, I would have trained my kids in some kind of self defense.
@vb34822 жыл бұрын
Love how different your videos are and the voice of narration 😃
@thecrusaderhistorian98202 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the cool videos!
@ErikHare2 жыл бұрын
Empress Sun! I was impressed with her treatment as the commander at the Battle of Beijing in the Epic 大明风华
@remington22162 жыл бұрын
I've always *always* wondered exactly that, why patriarchal society is so fascinated by female warriors while at the same time actively discouraging them, meanwhile other egalitarian ones like the Khitans don't have this kind of fascinations (that I know of) and I still don't have a satisfactory answer 🤷 Edit : I meant the Khitans not the Jurchen
@ErikHare2 жыл бұрын
Indeed. There is a tremendous amount more to be said about this. History is written by The Victors is the best very lame answer that I can give you at this point. But we should not use that as an excuse any longer.
@CoolHistoryBros2 жыл бұрын
I really don't think there is a correlation between patriarchal society and fascination with female warriors, because virtually all society around the world have been patriarchal through history. The Jurchens aren't any less patriarchal.
@remington22162 жыл бұрын
@@CoolHistoryBros The Khitan people allowed their women to divorce and remarry again, they don't practice foot-binding and they taught them to hunt, fight, and manage property. They also allowed them to hold position in the government and the military. Sorry I confused them with the Jurchens. They're both conquerors from Manchuria and exist in the same time, but the Jurchens overthrew the Khitan Liao dynasty and founded the Jin dynasty. The Khitans were para Mongolic while the Jurchens were Tungusic.
@jivvyjack77232 жыл бұрын
@@remington2216 The same also happened at various times under various dynasties under the Han. Divorce was allowed. There were females officials. Women had rights. If females had absolutely no rights, they would not even be recognized and recorded into history. My take is that women wielded real power either directly or indirectly even within the Chinese patriarchal culture. This was recognised and accepted. Ability triumphed over gender. Or it would be simply be impossible for all these women warriors to mobilize and lead huge armies. It was not a single anomaly. The recognition and acceptance was just to a more or lesser extent over the centuries. Just think, all throughout history, other than the heavens, who is the son supposed to revere most? The parents, and of the 2, the mother more. Even the emperor had to acknowledge filial piety.
@elmohead2 жыл бұрын
@@remington2216 foot binding was considered beautiful and women actually pride themselves of having small feet.
@blackcatpack2 жыл бұрын
You could find female warriors in every culture in the history (also tons of great females). Though you will have to discover them (for an example, I remember there was a female pharaoh was been erased literally in Egyptian history) . Most of Chinese female the great were mostly remembered by the folk fine arts (poem, song lyrics, drama, and novel) instead of official record. And some of them has been revisioned by modern researchers( like Emperor Wu Zetian was been considered as an great emperor with some cruel habits today instead of a tyrant in the old official record ). And the Chinese Communist party spend huge cost to propaganda those heroic woman during their feminist movement is also a part of reason why there was so many female warriors. It is not about how many heroic females out there it is just how many of them can be remembered and recorded.
@blackcatpack2 жыл бұрын
So in the communist’s opinion the history is a writing with inevitably writer’s opinion instead of the fact happened in the past, but the historian should do their best to find out what happened in the past. I hope the education I received in China will help you in a different point of view.
@zhongjiang70832 жыл бұрын
I would say there is an argument to be made that Chinese history generally seems to have more of a penchant to female warriors vs. some other equivalent cultures and empires that were going contemporaneously. You will scantly find any Roman female warriors outside of gladiatrices, imports from Greek cultures, or those fighting against Rome, even if you count in Byzantine history, for example.
@marissa32482 жыл бұрын
this is brilliant! as an ABC and a woman i love to learn about stories like this. both the narration and graphics are great!
@unholydanger2 жыл бұрын
You left out Zheng Yi (Pirate Commander), Lin SiNiang (Warrior), She SaiHua (Commander) Other Fictional:Zhu Rong (Warrior), Sun ErNiang (Martial Artist), Qiu QiongYing (Commander/Warrior), Lv SiNiang(Assassin), Yang PaiFeng (Warrior), Mu GuiYing (Commander), Fan LiHua (Warrior Commander)
@missmatchablossom6 ай бұрын
Finally!! Someone talking about Liang hongyu! She truly mad a comeback as an true underdog
@lwagner17232 жыл бұрын
I think they picked Mulan because her name is easy to say and sounds nice to the western language speaker.
@sinoroman2 жыл бұрын
did you cover the origins and history of foot-binding? i saw a video that said foot-binding's origin is unclear and it was mainly in china (china proper). popular with the han people because the manchu qing did try to ban the practice but decided not to
@CoolHistoryBros2 жыл бұрын
There are a few different origin stories, some sources says that it only started sometime during the Song dynasty and got popular later. So it's a relatively late practice.
@gmansard6412 жыл бұрын
The Manchu women were barred from binding. And there was a Han-descended people toward the south, the Hakka, whose women did not bind their feet. This is where the Taiping Rebellion started (1850), and women fought in the Taiping forces. They put serious pressure on the Qing and sent it on its way to a final decline.
@gmansard6412 жыл бұрын
@@CoolHistoryBros Yes, I have heard Song, perhaps late Tang at the earliest.
@demeterruinedmylife31992 жыл бұрын
The origin is earlier, but it firmly exists by Northern Song dynasty, since Su Shi wrote a Ci critizing it, (菩薩蠻·詠足, it's hard to translate the poem, but basically it states that small legs were considered as beautiful because people with them can dance beautifully, but foot binding makes women can hardly even walk, what kind of beauty is that if you have to lift up her legs by yourself to have a look.)
@elmohead2 жыл бұрын
@@demeterruinedmylife3199 Another theory is that the foot binding is so that kidnapping girls is harder because the girls can't even walk, let alone run properly.
@CNX6252 жыл бұрын
Wait, is the thumbnail picture from the old ROTK games? Love the artwork.
@陈陳-t5c2 жыл бұрын
Mulan is not uncommon. During the 1931-1945 war against Japan, the Chinese army also found some female soldiers disguised as men during the war. There is also a 15-year-old girl who avenged her father, because the army did not want female soldiers to follow the army for hundreds of kilometers, so the army agreed to join her. After following the troops to fight, 80% of them made military exploits. During the Korean War, because she was sitting and lying in the snow for a long time, it was difficult for her to change her underwear when she dressed as a male soldier, and she suffered from serious gynecological diseases. Finally, she confessed to her superiors, but she could only have her uterus removed under the influence of long-term pain. After the war she was transferred to the rear to work.
@shogun2heroicvictories152 жыл бұрын
Also the Yang family's mother and wives. It all really depends on how the story is passed on and depicted.
@holeeshi99592 жыл бұрын
I guess because Mulan is a pseudo-fictional figure who can be rewritten in many different ways, so her story gets popular enough to spread to the west. Also. Historically, China does have a lot of nomadic tribes in which warrior women/gender equality are much more of a norm, so that partially explains why warrior women occur more during nomadic rule and when "Han influenced by nomads" who are stationed on the frontiers who fights against these nomads historically. As for literature, it is to usually make the point "all the men already died fighting for this cause"
@htoodoh57702 жыл бұрын
Normadic people were not egalitarian
@tao.of.history8366 Жыл бұрын
Would love to have a detailed video for each of the women mentioned!
@SuperClivec2 жыл бұрын
Interesting cut at 3:29, with Adam Cheng the lovable/hate-able poster boy of the genre. Who was the actress playing the woman warrior there?
@zhubajie69402 жыл бұрын
Listed in the Chinese Wikipedia alone were 10 Mulan films and 4 TV Shows made in Chinese before Disney's 1998 Mulan (two in 1939 alone). I think the Chinese are far more fascinated with her than America.
@elmohead2 жыл бұрын
Nah, 10 films and 4 shows is not that big of a number of you think about it. 小龙女 has more than that lol.
@spacepope692 жыл бұрын
I always wondered why there were so many women in Chinese martial arts movies.
@johnlloyddy70162 жыл бұрын
I think the reason why most westerners are surprised by this is because of their misconception of the ancient Chinese martial arts. When most westerners hear the word martial arts, they immediately tend to think of empty hand fighting and kicking or grappling, due to the movies they grew up watching. But remember, in the olden times, people fought wars with melee weapons and most martial arts then were weapon based. As a matter of fact, many of the empty hand arts in China today originated from weapons forms but were modified to adjust to the modern peace time era when weapons like swords and spears became obsolete and fighting empty handed was favored. A weapon whether a sword, a spear or a knife was the great equalizer, just like how a gun in the hands of a woman today can put her on equal standing with a man. A woman only needed good skills with a weapon and speed to be able to defeat a man. Strength is usually taken out of the equation when weapons are involved. With the constant wars and invasions during ancient times, it was inevitable that many women would be forced to defend their homes by taking up arms and thereby make a name in history. And with how vast the Chinese Empire was back then, you have a large population of women to choose from who became famous warriors.
@deacudaniel16352 жыл бұрын
Some say Mulan was from Xianbei ethincity, which belonged to a nomadic culture and like in many other nomadic cultures, women were allowed to fight in the battlefield with men side by side, so Mulan was not special even for being a warrior.She was just one of the many nomadic female warriors.
@htoodoh57702 жыл бұрын
How true is your statement?
@gab_gallard2 жыл бұрын
Cool History Bros also made a video exploring the same theory. I also know from Chinese friends that is pretty much a well accepted and known fact in China that Mulan comes from a non Han minority kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppTZZXyPf5V1fMk
@vladimirprostran18962 жыл бұрын
Great video! Is there a book on the female martial arts warriors in ancient China?
@d.e.seymour67922 жыл бұрын
2:08 Finally, Shui hu zhuan
@sigilfredogaleano65682 жыл бұрын
I think all cultures has women that don't shy away from taking challenges like defending their tribes or country. During the war of the triple alliance against Paraguay it is said that the entire population of women fought against the enemy.
@CARL_0932 жыл бұрын
do not forget the dynasty series bro
@teovu55572 жыл бұрын
Mulan is awesome. She's either a han Chinese person under Mongolic rule(northern wei) or she's xianbei(proto mongols) who were the ruling class and military of northern wei.
@tonbopro2 жыл бұрын
good start,bro
@nidohime6233 Жыл бұрын
A reason why it seems warrior women are non-existent in Western stories until recently is because there was tendency to erase any mention of women participating in any martial matter because they thought it was "unfeminine" for a woman fighting. From the time Christianity started to spread on the continent, and the overall "cleaning" of folktales during the Victorian period, female characters with a proactive character in a narrative became scarce and relay more and more the passive, not conflicting damsel in distress, the famous Disney princess archetype who can sing at best, which is subjected to this day as "bad female models" when in reality they just remove the ones who really did things. This was something that happend at least since Ancient Greece where for example Aphrodite used to be a Middle East goddess of both love and war, but for the greeks the combination of those themes seemed too odd for them so they just kept the love part. You could argued that both Artemis and Athena where also warrior women too, but there might a bit of double standards here since both are virgin goddesses, and maybe because they never got laid they where considered "masculine" for never be sumissive towards a man. Just a maybe, but it shows how for some reason the idea of a feminine woman also being a fighter was an alien concept for them. Even to this day people still gaslight about the presence of women in military and political history, just look how when they announced a Call of Duty game years many morons said it was too "unrealistic" to have many female soldiers in WW2 even there where many who did went to war back then. (Even more egregious how they can accept zombies but not a woman with a gun, uh). That doesn't mean warrior women wheren't a thing in Europe, apart of the mentioned goddesses there where other women like Boudicca, Atalanta, Scáthach, and many others. Funny enough Jeanne of Arc wasn't much of a warrior herself, it was said she was a standard bearer, but that's how many legends start by exagerating the details of a real event, yet still able to inspire many generations after.
@CourtneySchwartz2 жыл бұрын
Could start a whole new channel about them, eh? YES, PLEASE. 👏
@Raida2 жыл бұрын
I find it interesting that while both Japan and China have historically seen a number of warrior in their respective pasts, the role women play now in their respective cultures is very different. As you noted, the patriarchal nature of both societies means that women really weren't the equal of in their ancient pasts, but there was a more utilitarian bent to the view of women in those societies that did not explicitly deny them the right to take up arms for the nation. I'd say that in Japan's case at least, the influence of Westernization and the degree to which it made Japan play a dangerous game of catch up pushed it to its current state where it is a heavily patriarchal society which would much rather see women in the house than at work. On the other side of the straits, the Communist party might just have been what prevented such a mindset from becoming too strongly established there. This really is only my speculation though and I'd say it's just another example of how the way cultures interact leads to them evolving in idiosyncratic ways.
@elmohead2 жыл бұрын
Wrong. Not sure about Japanese culture, but Chinese culture have always acknowledged the fact that men and women are different, but equal in value. Yin and Yang. One cannot exist without the other. Etc.
@grey32472 ай бұрын
I have so many questions from those foot binding photos and God, I don't think I want then answered
@yancysiu2 жыл бұрын
梁紅玉及秦良玉也是宋代及明代的女將。
@mrpotatochu66112 жыл бұрын
Awesome!
@ajdynon2 жыл бұрын
Interesting video! Though I should note that there are more warrior women in European history/mythology/literature than one might initially think, it will just take a bit of digging to find them (two good starting points are "The Encyclopedia of Amazons" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson and "Women Warriors: An Unexpected History" by Pamela D. Toler, although the latter deals strictly with historical examples)
@ajdynon2 жыл бұрын
I should add, depictions can change over time- for example, in one of the early Robin Hood ballads, Maid Marian beats Robin Hood in a sword fight. But the popular perception of her has been shaped by Victorian literature and early Hollywood, where she was depicted as a damsel in distress. On the other hand, a lot of more recent works make her a fighter again.
@elmohead2 жыл бұрын
Not women generals though. Women who can fight, yes.
@Mongan012 жыл бұрын
@@elmohead Lombardian princess Sikeigaita, Artemisia of Caria, Boudica, Jeanne de Clisson, Tamar the Great of Georgia, Bergljot Hakonsdatter, Tilda of Canossa, "Shield of the Pope", Foelke Kampana, Joanne of Flanders, Cynane the sister of Alexander the Great, and Pirate Queens Teuta of Illyria, Grace O´Malley, and a few others disagree with you.
@phanvanhoa2 жыл бұрын
Emperess is also common in old Russia
@IKEMENOsakaman2 жыл бұрын
Wow! Chinese woman strong! Good!
@mrheng90s2 жыл бұрын
Because mulan is a famous cartoon from disney. Thank you for acknowledging us about other women warriors.
@sunfireThu2 жыл бұрын
Asia has a whole has always had a history of strong women (as it actually mentally strong, not the "I am strong, independent woman who don't need no man" kind). For all the talk about her being a brilliant female monarch, Queen Elizabeth I *did not* once led a battle. Even when you look at the Spanish Armada, it was Sir Francis Drake who did most of the fighting. She came in after the fact to.......*give a victory speech*. That's it. So my point is, we as Asians do not need to buy into the Western feminist ideology.
@sniperdubey2 жыл бұрын
Neither do the westerners. Feminism has done a great disservice to the many strong women of the past by painting them as weak and insipid politically. You still see it to this day, anytime a woman does something great outside of being a feminist it is lambasted or ignored. It's a toxic misandrist ideology that lost its way and should have disbanded after they won equal rights for women.
@cammythach72142 жыл бұрын
Cool and pretty beautiful cute loving awesome in Chinese warrior women girl solid content
@golonawailus43122 жыл бұрын
Dowager Borjijin (the golden family of Mongol) from Qing dynasty
@Bladavia2 жыл бұрын
I just realised that her name is spelled 花木兰 and it means Magnolia tree
@426mak2 жыл бұрын
You did it. Cool
@wabisabi68752 жыл бұрын
As a western newbie to eastern ways, I wonder if anyone has compiled a compendium of good (highly rated--without all the flying) kung fu and martial arts films from China, Japan, and Korea. Is this something you could do, CJ?
@CoolHistoryBros2 жыл бұрын
It will take some time. But sounds like a swell idea.
@wabisabi68752 жыл бұрын
@@CoolHistoryBros Thanks! I'll keep an eye open for that. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy your other works. Such a massive volume of material to cover in such a long east asian history. I really appreciate your work.
@ElBandito2 жыл бұрын
Northern nomadic women who fought in history: That's cute.
@self-parternerd86612 жыл бұрын
- I think that Mulan is very popular, as you said, because it is easy to expand and fit different political ideologies. - Therefore it was popularized as manyruling dinasties could manipulate the play to fit their own narrative. - I'm not saying that it is inherently political, just that it was sometimes spun that way and that kept it around (instead of being burned)... IMO.
@dannyskr-68892 жыл бұрын
Excuse me, but during the han dynasty, you forgot another well known warrior woman, who was the wife of an official of the Wei faction, Zhao ang. Her name was Wang Yi, she was well known in history and one of the very few warrior women, who fought against Ma chao.
@426mak2 жыл бұрын
So they were basically the Chinese equivalent to the Amazons.
@tommykaung58822 жыл бұрын
Some many female warriors worthy to be recorded in Throne of Heroes.We only have Qin Liangyu.
@davidvang6512 жыл бұрын
Can you make a video of chiyou
@gmansard6412 жыл бұрын
Vietnam has a few examples of women warriors --- usually fighting the Chinese!
@palpaladin315 Жыл бұрын
Theres never a good reason why women feel forced to fight. Especially in the ancient world where society felt the weight of responsibility. Most women fought to survive and be able to have children in a world they were accustomed to. - No woman, that isn't crazy; can reconcile being able to have children, with killing someones elses, easily. - unless, its existential. Its a true expression of matriarchy.
@banggoman73712 жыл бұрын
Huang Rong and Xiao Longnu..
@williamhowland99772 жыл бұрын
A big Best of the Worst shoutout to Cynthia Rothrock
@kylinki72 жыл бұрын
Qiu Jin, super badass
@commandodante13 Жыл бұрын
the part disney live action ruin Ballad of Mulan i am agree....
@alexv33572 жыл бұрын
Old Asian women are powerful beyond reckoning
@stuartlumi62102 жыл бұрын
yea but Disney did a terible job making the Mulan film, culture, image, cloth, hair style, armor, color, building...... hold on, when you made everything wrong, that means you must have known the right answers and do it wrong intentionally! HOLD ON AGAIN! Pity for disney, they got one thing right, she is a girl.
@wuthichaiauomsin62372 жыл бұрын
what about wurong .
@Nahmee2 жыл бұрын
Mu Guiying 😊❤️
@Srulio2 жыл бұрын
When Disney exprobriates a classic you know a disaster is going to happen. American literature lovers live in fear that Disney will reimage Moby Dick.
@paige959512 жыл бұрын
Hypothetically, there're actually all of these ladies back in the old day. I guess. They all are the kind of woman who's independent, super-smart and possessed some kind of high level of martial art. There was one woman in ancient China who wanna help her husband in the battlefield so she followed him to the military base everytime he gotta join the army. As it turnout, She pissed him off because he gotta send someone to protected her in the battlefield because she didn't admit to herself her martial art was not that good. It's a basic level or something. Everything ended up at her being at the military base with physician or the one who cooked. Lol She might be jealous all of these women you mentioned in this video. Anyway her husband prefered to have her in military base than not having her there. It's just my speculation. There must have been this kind of woman in ancient china. Lol Love this video by the way.
@bradford22112 жыл бұрын
1:52 Do it~ and I will subscribe.
@banggoman73712 жыл бұрын
Diao Chan..
@avrinrose54572 жыл бұрын
Can You Talk About Kaitou Joker?
@Nytellem2 жыл бұрын
Leave it up to women and they’ll say they never get their respect and recognition. Lol
@Mr.VietSon2 жыл бұрын
None of them can compare to the Trung Sisters & lady Trieu of Vietnam 😏
@FledgedPhoenix2 жыл бұрын
Does Wang Yi count?
@ludicrousfunone57052 жыл бұрын
Love this channel!! in Britain we have Boudicca! The wife of a murdered Chieftain who ultimately lost against the Romans. However her and Queen Elizabeth the 1st and Queen Victoria are heralded as strong women even though they never picked up a weapon. Oh and in Ancient Greece myth there was the Amazon tribe. But this is fascinating!!! Would you possibly do a more in depth look maybe a series about this?
@sigilfredogaleano65682 жыл бұрын
Queen Elizabeth and Victoria.....strong women? You're just kidding right?
@ludicrousfunone57052 жыл бұрын
@@sigilfredogaleano6568 for the times. Obviously they pail in comparison to women of strength now!!! We have collective knowledge that improves how we live now compared to then
@thomaswood70302 жыл бұрын
I.like.to.see.chinese.sword.men.may.be.a.top.ten
@vermouthstone94462 жыл бұрын
How many xianv have you seen in official history? China has nearly 4,000 years of credible written history, and the number of female generals in official history is still single-digit or even no more than five. This is not too much, but an absolute minority. lay fuhao is not only the wife of the king of Shang, she has her own country and territory, and this territory is not given to her by the king of Shang, but inherited, obviously her marriage with the king of Shang is a political marriage, but it is very Fortunately, they have a good relationship. The Zhou Dynasty established a male clan society, and the status of women declined. After the Zhou Dynasty, Chinese women appeared in history with only surnames, not even names. There is no record of the legendary Hua Mulan in the official history, and the reason why the folk customs of the Northern Dynasties are sturdy and open is the influence of the large number of ethnic minorities in the north. Princess Pingyang was the only woman in Chinese history who was buried with military etiquette. Liang Hongyu used to be a military prostitute and was fortunate enough to marry General Han. Instead of commanding the army, she boosted morale as the general's wife. Qin Liangyu is the wife of a Tusi lord of the Tujia tribe in Sichuan. After her husband died, she took over the title. Female Tusi lords are not uncommon in Chinese history, but they are all ethnic minorities, and lay qin is the only one in Chinese history who A woman whose military merit was conferred the title of nobility.
@JSRLPadre2 жыл бұрын
This is my first time actually seeing the effect of foot binding, and it made me sick. It was a barbarous practice. It's so very good that it's a dead tradition. I think Imma waste my holiday watching Angela Mao, Sibelle Hu, Bridget Lin and a few others doing cool girl stuff.
@星夜无眠2 жыл бұрын
According to archaeological excavations, women in the Ming dynasty also had their feet bound but there were no serious deformities, not all women had their feet bound because they had to work.
@rogerfaint4992 жыл бұрын
Less than 0.001% actually had their foot bound and that's much lesser than people taking drugs in the west.
@Samuel-wm1xr Жыл бұрын
it was a relatively late practice that only became common from 1650s to 1900 among rich people who didnt need to work
@banggoman73712 жыл бұрын
Wu Zetian..
@iwatchDVDsonXbox3602 жыл бұрын
Independent episodes are cool, but i miss times when you covered stories in multiple episodes.
@operator98582 жыл бұрын
dang fictional characters mostly here too? hollywoods historical narrative has such a difficult time finding traction. and ya i think i would have watched the mulans film if they were of the original variety and would have thoroughly enjoyed it, but being disney it seemed like they were more trying to push an agenda so i skipped entirely. shame.
@WildBillCox132 жыл бұрын
Just an ordinary girl . . . with your basic set of superpowers. Probably had a hit off that potion Egg Shen gave Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China. See things no one else can see. Do things no one else can do . . . I hear the hangover from that stuff is fierce.
@WildBillCox132 жыл бұрын
A free ride. The opposite of cultivation, in other words.
@WildBillCox132 жыл бұрын
Probably the origin of the "the better the medicine is, the worst it tastes" meme in traditional medicine. Keeps people from the forbidden delights of pre-enlightenment super powers.
@tablestirne98792 жыл бұрын
VERY SIMPLE ANSWER - BECAUSE CHINESE ARE TAUGHT WE ARE ALL HAN WHETHER THROUGHOUT 3000-5000 yrs of HISTORY INTERMARRING WITH HUE AND COASTAL PEOPLES OR MARRYING INTO THE NOMADIC TRIBES OF NORTH ASIA, IF A FAMILY’S MALE FIGHTERS ARE DOWN AND INJURED THEN THE WOMEN HAVE TO STEP UP AND FIGHT TO PROTECT THE FAMILY!!! END OF DISCUSSION AND THIS WAS TAUGHT BY MY GREAT GRANDMA AND MANY OTHER CHINESE FAMILIES I TALK TO AGREE.
@alirezaasgharzadeh49232 жыл бұрын
VG
@ongsengfook3 ай бұрын
Non all ancient Chinese women bound their feet. Hakka ladies didn't and don't do this. Other farming communities also.
@CAP1984622 жыл бұрын
So, that settles the who, but where was the why? Was ancient China just that egalitarian, were Chinese women into that sort of thing, were they written as female for storytelling reasons, or was it a version of the “battle babe,” trope? Zheng jiang?
@nellyfabulous2 жыл бұрын
Just humans being humans. The stories are always a mixed bag. Not all generations did the same things. Not all Dynasties the same, not all regional cultures within were the same. At most an over arching knowledge or belief system but not always held strongly by all. I’m sure history in other parts of the world are diverse and non-homogeneous too. Everything exists, from the most disgusting criminals to the most selfless saints… Everyone was always human and capable of the full spectrum of whatever we can imagine within our own culture. Hope that helps.
@brendanmurphy87272 жыл бұрын
The ballad of Mulan is early Chinese literature making Mulan a figure of Chinese literature, however the original setting for Mulan is the Northern Wei empire, which makes Mulan a Mongolian character and not Chinese at all. Mulan not being Chinese allowed the author to have her behave in ways that would not be allowed for Chinese women of his era.
@MCorpReview2 жыл бұрын
Like 👍 all good Hollywood shows, sex appeal is vital for commercial success.