"Chinese Women Soldiers:A History of 5,000 Years" Topic

"Xiaolin Li

Hundreds of wars and uprisings have occurred in China during its more than 5,000 years of history. A dozen major dynasties and a similar number of minor dynasties ended through military actions. One major difference between China and other cultures is that war has never been glorified in China with heroic warriors like Caesar or Napoleon. However, similar to other societies, war in China has been primarily a masculine activity. Only occasionally have Chinese women been recorded as participants.1 However, women actually appear in Chinese military history as early as Sun Tzu's time (496-453 B.C.), when King Wu's palace concubines were turned into soldiers as a demonstration of the effects of discipline (Military History of China Compilation Group 1986), since Chinese military thinkers believe that it is discipline and training that make good soldiers…"

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Three Ming Dynasty mural tombs found

"Archaeologists have discovered brick chamber tombs decorated with rich murals dating to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in the city of Changzhi, Shanxi Province, northern China. Three tombs believed to be family tombs from the early Ming Dynasty were found. Two of the them are intact. The roof of the third, a rectangular brick tomb with a vaulted ceiling, has collapsed, damaging the walls and contents, but the remains of a mural are still visible…"

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