Forget Bruce Lee and Ip Man – Mulan and 4 more female Chinese martial arts masters who could fight with fists of fury
Yuenü allegedly beat 3,000 other swordsmen at a contest during the Zhou kingdom, Mulan has a form of tai chi named after her, and Wu Mei created a kung fu fighting style based on animal movements and adapted for human limbs
When it comes to Chinese martial arts, everyone’s heard of Ip Man and Bruce Lee, but what about their female counterparts? While a little less spotlight may be thrown on them, several female martial arts masters have emerged over the years that can stand blow-for-blow alongside their male counterparts.
From swordsmanship to tai chi and animal-style kung fu, meet these five incredible women who mastered martial arts as completely as anyone.
Yuenü
Known as the best swordsman – or shall we say, swordsperson of her time – Yuenü allegedly beat 3,000 other swordsmen during a seven-day contest organised by the king of China’s Zhou kingdom during the “spring and autumn” periods (770BC-AD221). Her approach to fighting was Taoist in nature – avoiding confrontation to maintain the element of surprise.
She is quoted as saying, “When fencing, though highly alert, the appearance is as calm as a fair lady’s. But when in action, a vicious tiger emerges”. Her win showed that martial arts isn’t only about brute strength, and that the mind, spirit and skill play vital roles. Yuenü’s sword methods and philosophies are studied to this day and passed down among martial artists, making them well over a thousand years old. She is also a popular subject in stories, theatre and film.
Princess Minglian
The daughter of the Chinese Emperor Liang Wudi, Princess Minglian was known for her exceptional skills in qi gong, martial arts and herbal medicine. She lived during the Southern dynasties (AD420-589) and became interested in the Dharma, which led her to follow the Buddhist monk and first Chan patriarch, Bodhidharma, to the Shaolin Monastery, where she became the only female of his four closed-door disciples. Eventually, she was given a nunnery (Minglian Monastery) by her father where she could practise as a Buddhist nun without any men around.
Minglian Monastery was renamed Yongtai Monastery, which has evolved into the Yongtai Monastery Female Wushu School, the only all-female Shaolin wushu school in China. With only female students and coaches, the centre has been formally approved and established by the Physical Culture and Sports Commission and the Educational Commission of China.
Mulan