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Physical Culture3, no. 5: 198–199.Women in the Martial Arts: China
Chinese women have practiced martial arts from early times. The most sig-
nificant reflection of this fact is the story of the Maiden of Yue, a legendary
swordswoman who is said to have trained the troops of Gou Jian, king of
the state of Yue, and whose story contains one of the earliest records of ba-
sic martial arts principles. It is even possible that this story of a swords-
woman is meant to symbolize the fact that brute strength, which was de-
picted as a common trait of martial artists in ancient times, was not
necessarily most important to defeating an opponent.
Even China’s military examination system, which comprised basic
martial arts skills and understanding of the military classics, was established
under the reign of a woman, Empress Wu Zetian, in A.D. 702. As fate would
have it, the Chinese Empire also met its demise under Empress Ci Xi not
long after she encouraged the disastrous antiforeign Boxer uprising of 1900.
During the Eastern or Later Han dynasty (A.D. 25–225), the threat
from Qiang tribes to the area now comprising Shanxi province was so great
Women in the Martial Arts: China 689