General of the Ming dynasty army, Shen Yunying (1624–1660) took the place of her father when he died in battle. She is known for her bravery and loyalty.
Educated in martial arts
Shen Yunying was born in China in 1624. The daughter of a general in the Ming dynasty army, Shen Zhixu, the child took an early interest in martial arts and military strategy. The education she enjoys allows her to read many books and educate herself on the subject. Growing up, Shen Yunying married a soldier from the Ming army.
China was then ruled by the Ming dynasty, in power since 1368. The young emperor Ming Tianqi, incompetent and unfit to govern, then occupied the throne. The Ming dynasty was experiencing great financial difficulties at the time, aggravated by the reign of this puppet emperor and by a wave of insurrections and revolts which responded to a rise in taxes.
General
Shen Yunying fights alongside her father and husband in southern China's Hunan Province, against a popular uprising led by a man named Zhang Xianzhong. In 1643, his father was killed when the rebel army attacked the city of Daozhou. Shen Yunying would then have entered the enemy camp to recover her father's body. She then takes command of the army and effectively defends the city, leading the troops to victory. In recognition of this feat of arms, she was given a command post and the title of youji jianjun .
Like Qin Liangyu, another Chinese general fighting at the same time on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Yunying displayed great strategic and military skills. Despite his efforts, in 1644 the insurgent armies of Li Zicheng and his wife Gao Guiying entered Beijing and brought down the Ming dynasty. Dejected by this defeat and by the death of her father and then of her husband shortly afterwards, Shen Yunying resigns from her position of command to take care of the funerals of her two loved ones.
The end of a career
Returning to her native region to escort the body of her father and her husband, Shen Yunying remained there until the end of her life and did not resume her military career. She is dedicated to the education of young girls, in particular through the teaching of martial arts. She died in 1660, at the age of 36.
Celebrated for her courage and loyalty, Shen Yunying appears in an 18 e play century, in several poems (notably by the revolutionary poetess Qiu Jin) and in an opera.