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CHINESE WARRIOR QUEEN - FU HAO

By Wu QI

URBAN CANYONS LIMITED - as DISTR / PROD

True Story - Completed 2022

Over 3,500 years ago, the powerful Shang Dynasty emerged from the Central Chinese plains. Their armies were led by a fierce and brilliant general, her name was Fu Hao.

This drama-led documentary tells the dramatic story of a young Shang princess who rises to become the favourite queen, high prieste

Festivals
& Awards

China International Conference 2022
Official Selection
World Congress Science & Factual Producers 2022
Official Selection
Mannheim Arts & Film Festival 2023
Winner Best History Film
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    • Year of production
    • 2022
    • Genres
    • True Story, Epic, Historical
    • Countries
    • UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
    • Languages
    • ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, MANDARIN, ITALIAN, ARABIC
    • Budget
    • 0.3 - 0.6 M$
    • Duration
    • 52 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Wu QI
    • Writer(s)
    • Sebastian PEITER
    • Producer(s)
    • Sebastian PEITER (Urban Canyons), Vivian GUAN (Urban Canyons), Richard MELMAN (Urban Canyons), Tim EVANS (CBS Viacom), Bo ZHANG (Bilibili)
    • Synopsis
    • The Shang were one of the world’s most advanced Bronze Age civilisations. We can trace the origins of Chinese writing back to the Shang Dynasty. It’s the only ancient written language still in active use today. Based on the latest research and archaeological findings, we recreate the eventful life of Fu Hao. The story of China’s first female general is supported by cinematic style re-enactment, CGI, filming in original historic locations, and interviews with leading archaeologists and historians from China, Europe, and America.

      The well-preserved tomb of Fu Hao is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the Bronze Age.
      It was found at the UNESCO World Heritage site Yinxu. There was something very unusual about this famous queen. Along with exquisite jewellery and elaborate bronze pieces, a multitude of weapons were discovered. This was the grave of a great warrior. In the over 100,000 strong capital Dayishang, the Shang royals worshipped their ancestors by sacrificing large numbers of human captives and 1,000’s of animals.

      Over 50,000 Shang oracle bones and shell fragments were discovered in pits around the Shang palaces. The pieces were covered with detailed inscriptions about royal childbirth, harvests, and warfare - offering help and advice to the living from their deceased royal ancestors and Shang gods. The bone and shell inscriptions (above) record the story of Fu Hao, King Wuding, and the history of the Shang Dynasty, which can be traced back as the birthplace of Ancient Chinese civilisation.

      In around 1200 BCE, the daughter of a Shang Lord is sent to the capital for an arranged marriage to King Wuding. Princess Hao receives the title of ‘Fu Hao’, joining Fu Jing and Fu Gui as the third queen. The Kings consorts came from the most powerful clans of the Shang. After her wedding night, Fu Hao is taken away from the Kings chambers. Hao realises that she is just one of over 60 wives and queens. But Fu Hao is determined not to be one of the king’s faceless marriage trophies. She swiftly becomes one of his fiercest and most trusted generals of King Wuding. Over the years, Hao becomes the King’s favourite queen. When she dies aged just 33, Wuding grieves for his queen, priestess, and general so much that he insists on burying her not in the royal cemetery, but right next to his palace. Thanks to the discovery of her tomb in Anyang, the legacy of Fu Hao, the Shang Dynasty and the birth of Chinese civilisation lives on.

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