Born: 1005 (circa), China
Died: 1055
Country most active: China
Also known as: 阿儂, A Nùng
Shamaness, matriarch and warrior A Nong was a prominent figure among the Zhuang and Nùng people in the 11th century. Brave and wise, she was known as Yah Woeng (Powerful Mother) and was the daughter, sister, wife and mother of various chieftains.
A Nong married Nong Quan-fu (Nùng Tồn Phúc) around 1020, producing several children, including her son Nong Zhigao, who was born in 1025.
The History of Song presents A Nong as a magic-using shamaness who performed ritual human sacrifice, though Confucian biases of the writers likely coloured this description. Not least of these is the Confucian expectations of women as subservient; such historians routinely downplayed or excluded powerful women, instead attributing their actions to fathers, husbands and sons.
A Nong may have influences her husband to kill his brother and claim the lands of the Cen Clan, leading to Nong Quan-fu founding the kingdom of Longevity (長生國) and calling himself Tu Dan Chao, the first king of Dali. When the Vietnamese emperor Lý Thái Tông’s army attacked in 1039, he captured and killed much of the family, though A Nong and her son Zhigao escaped.
A Nong advised her son when he assumed a leadership position; reportedly, “Zhigao often asked for and adopted her strategies when conquering cities and towns.” When he declared himself emperor, A Nong took the title Empress Dowager. Mother and son built relationships with Chinese traders, who were also a useful source of information. Although he won several battles against Song forces, A Nong and Zhigao were eventually captured and executed in 1055.