Shattering Gender Norms with Lady Sun & Her Army of Swordswomen

In a time when girls’ names often weren’t even written down, Lady Sun shattered gender norms in China.

Zhao Wei portraying Lady Sun in the 2008 film Red Cliff, where she was depicted leading an ambush unit. While we don’t know if she historically fought in the battle, we do know that Lady Sun and her all-female guards were very handy with swords, fracturing the Han expectations of women.

Around 190 CE China, it was common for girls’ personal names to be unrecorded by history. Instead, all we have left is to know them by their family names. One such woman born in this era…