15 Most Famous Chinese Women
*Originally published by Cyndi K on June 2022 and Updated by Vanessa R on May 2023
1. Empress Wu Zetian (624-705)
Wu Zhao, commonly known as Wu Zetian, alternatively Wu Hou, and during the later Tang dynasty as Tian Hou, was born on 17th February 624 and died on 16th December 705.
She was the ruler of China from 665 to 705. She ruled first as empress consort of the Tang dynasty, through her husband Emperor Gaozong and then as an empress dowager, through her sons Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, from 665 to 690.
She was the only legitimate female sovereign in the history of China. Under her 40-year reign, China grew larger, corruption in the court was reduced, its culture and economy were revitalized, and it was recognized as one of the greatest powers in the world.
Besides her career as a political leader, Wu Zetian also had an active family life. Wu was a mother of four sons, three of whom also carried the title of emperor, although one held that title only as a posthumous honor. One of her grandsons became the renowned Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
2. Ming Na Wen
Born on November 20th, 1963, Ming-Na Wen is an American actress and model. She was honoured as a Disney Legend in 2019 and is set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year.
Wen made her breakthrough in ‘The Joy Luck Club’ (1993) as June Woo. She also played ‘Dr. Jing-Mei “Deb” Chen’ in the medical drama series ‘ER’ (1995–2004).
She voiced Mulan in the animated film Mulan (1998) and its sequel, for which she won an Annie Award.
Wen is also well known for her critically acclaimed Disney roles such as ‘Melinda May / The Cavalry’ in the ABC superhero drama series ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ‘(2013–2020). She was named TV Line’s Performer of the Week for her work in the episode, “Melinda”.
3. Liu Yifei
Crystal Liu, born on August 25, 1987), better known by her stage name Liu Yifei is a Chinese-American actress, singer, and model.
She has appeared multiple times on Forbes‘ China Celebrity 100 list, and was named one of the new Four Dan actresses of China in 2009. She is widely known as “Fairy Sister” in China.
In 2020, Yifei became known to international audiences for starring in the disney film, ‘Mulan.’ The role earned her nominations for a Critics’ Choice Super Award, a Kids’ Choice Award and a Saturn Award.
4. Dilraba Dilmurat
Dilraba Dilmurat born on June 3rd, 1992 is known as Dilireba in Chinese. She is an actress, host, dancer and model of Uyghur ethnicity.
Dilraba is considered one of the most in-demand brand ambassadors in China due to numerous endorsement deals ranging from food and beverage, basic commodities, beauty and retail products, to mobile applications and technological products.
She also endorses several international brands like L’oreal and Mikimoto. In 2018, Dilraba ended her contract with Dolce & Gabbana after a racist ad incident in China.
In 2021, as an Uyghur from Xinjiang, Dilraba publicly voiced her support for cotton produced in Xinjiang after several international companies announced they will not purchase cotton from the region due to concerns of forced labor of Uyghurs.
Her actions were echoed by most other Chinese celebrities cutting ties with those brands.
In the same year, Dilraba was announced as Panerai‘s first ever female Global Brand Ambassador.
5. Empress Dowager Cixi (1835- 1908)
Empress Dowager Cixi was born on November 29th 1835 and passed on on November 15th, 1908. She was of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, a Chinese noblewoman, a concubine and later regent who effectively controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty for 47 years. That is, from 1861 until her death in 1908.
Selected as a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor in her adolescence, she gave birth to a son in 1856 and after the Xianfeng Emperor’s death in 1861, the young boy became the Tongzhi Emperor,. She thus assumed the role of co-empress dowager, alongside the Emperor’s widow, Empress Dowager Ci’an.
Cixi ousted a group of regents appointed by the late emperor and assumed the regency along with Ci’an, who later died under mysterious circumstances.
6. Chloe Zhao
Chloé Zhao, born as Zhao Ting on March 31st 1982, is a Chinese filmmaker, known primarily for her work on independent films.
Zhao’s debut feature film, ‘Songs My Brothers Taught Me’ (2015), premiered at Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and earned a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature.
Her second feature film, ‘The Rider’ (2017), was critically acclaimed and received nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and Best Director.
Zhao garnered international recognition with the western film Nomadland (2020), which won numerous accolades, including the ‘Golden Lion’ at the Venice Film Festival, the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Earning four Academy Award nominations for the film, Zhao won both Best Picture and Best Director, becoming the second woman in history to win the latter after Kathryn Bigelow in 2010, and the first woman of color to win the category.
7. Xi Mingze
Xi Mingze was born on 25th, June, 1992. She is nicknamed Xiao Muzi which means ‘Little Wood.’ She is the only child of Chinese paramount leader and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping and operatic-style traditional singer Peng Liyuan.
Xi keeps a low profile and not much of her personal information has been revealed to the public. From 2006 to 2008, she studied French at her high school, Hangzhou Foreign Language School.
Xi enrolled in Harvard University in the US in 2010, after a year of undergraduate study at Zhejiang University. She enrolled under a pseudonym, and maintained a low profile.
In 2014, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology, and has since returned to China. As of 2015, she is living in Beijing.
Following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Xi volunteered as a disaster relief worker for one week in Hanwang, Mianzhu.
In 2013, she made her first public appearance with her parents at the Liangjiahe village in Yan’an, Shaanxi, where they offered Lunar New Year greetings to the locals. She has been described as interested in reading and fashion.
8. Joan Chen
Joan Chen is a Chinese-American actress, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. She was born on 26th April, 1961.
In China she performed in the 1979 film ‘Little Flower ‘ and came to the attention of western audiences for her performance in the 1987 film ‘The Last Emperor.’
In October 2008, Chen made the cover of Trends Health magazine alongside actresses Ke Lan to promote the Chinese Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Prevention campaign.
9. Peng Liyuan
Born on November 20th 1962, Peng Liyuan is a Chinese soprano and contemporary folk singer and the spouse of Xi Jinping, the current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of the People’s Republic of China.
Peng gained popularity as a singer from her regular appearances on the annual CCTV New Year’s Gala, a widely viewed Chinese television program in that airs during the Chinese New Year.
She won honors in singing competitions nationwide. She sang the theme songs of several popular TV series, such as ‘The Water Margin’ (1998) and also starred in musical productions.
In 1986, she received the Plum Blossom Award, China’s highest theatrical award, for her lead role in ‘The White Haired Girl.’ Additionally, she was the president of then People’s Liberation Army Academy of Art between 2012 and 2017, and vice president of the All-China Youth Federation between 2005 and 2010.
In 2014, Peng was listed as the 57th Most Powerful Woman in the World by Forbes.
10. Jiang Qing (1914- 1991)
Jiang Qing (19 March 1914 – 14 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).
She was born on March 19th 1914 and died on 14th May, 1991. She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Communist Party and Paramount leader of China. She used the stage name ‘Lan Ping’ during her acting career (which ended in 1938),
She married her husband in a city called Yan’an in November 1938 and served as the inaugural “First Lady” of the People’s Republic of China. Jiang was best known for playing a major role in the Cultural Revolution and for forming the radical political alliance known as the “Gang of Four“.
Before Mao’s death, the Gang of Four controlled many of China’s political institutions, including the media and propaganda. However, Jiang, deriving most of her political legitimacy from Mao, often found herself at odds with other top leaders.
Mao’s death in 1976 dealt a significant blow to Jiang’s political fortunes. She was arrested in October 1976 by Hua Guofeng and his allies, and was subsequently condemned by party authorities.
Though she was initially sentenced to death, her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1983. After being released for medical treatment, Jiang died by suicide in May 1991.
11.Lin Siniang
A military family welcomed Lin Siniang into the world in the final years of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). When her father passed away, she was pushed into prostitution on the banks of the Qinhuai River where she had trained martial arts during her early years. As he saw her practising her martial arts on the bank of the river, feudal king Zhu Changshu fell in love with her.
They actually got married afterwards. The King instructed her to teach all the royal concubine’s self-defence techniques because she was so skilled in martial arts. A largely all-female army under Lin Siniang’s command was eventually established as a result of this.
12. Wang Zhenyi
During the Qing Dynasty, she was a well-known physicist and astronomer, but she fiercely resisted the aristocratic traditions of the period that banned women from pursuing, well, any interest at all. She struggled for the freedom to pursue her education, becoming knowledgeable in astronomy, mathematics, geography, and medicine!
She published a classic piece titled “Dispute on the Procession of the Equinoxes” in which she calculated the movement of the equinoxes as well as shown and showed how they move.
13. Hua Mulan
British Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
She lived throughout China’s Northern and Southern Dynasties as a warrior (420-589). She was mentioned in the Ballad of Mulan, where it was believed that she had disguised herself as a male to fill her ailing father’s position in the army.
Mulan is Mandarin for “magnolia,” and Hua is the term for flower. Hua Mulan is said to be an inspirational woman who gave the Chinese people courage and hope, yet it is unclear if she really existed.
14. Wang Xingjuan
The first Chinese Organization that was devoted to addressing issues faced by women in society was founded by Wang Xingjuan. After she retired in 1988 from her primary jobs as a journalist and editor, she made the decision to devote all of her time to advancing women’s rights.
She also set up the first helpline for women experiencing depression. As is often the case, women suffered the most as many of them were laid off and had no idea how to handle the situation. For many of them, this was a completely new circumstance following a time when everyone had a job and gave back to society.
In one of her interviews, Wang said that between 60 and 70 percent of the workers who were laid off around that time were women. They became aware of the fact that many women had nowhere to turn when they were victims of domestic abuse as a result of her work on the hotline, so they tried to address that issue and assisted many women.
15. Sanmao
Sanmao, who was from Chongqing, was popularly known for writing. She was also an author and translator who tragically committed suicide in 1991.
She was originally born Chen Mao Pian but later changed her name to the more recognisable nickname Sanmao. She has created comic books and autobiographical and travel novels. She attended the Chinese Culture University to study philosophy. She resided in Spain when she first started her nomadic existence and travelled much.
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