Empowering Female Protagonists in Chinese Historical and Wuxia Dramas

	Chaecutie: Hello and welcome to our article! I was really happy to write this with Ari. From my perspective, a strong woman is fearless of abandonment and betrayal. She stands up for herself but is willing to help those that need it. I hope you all are going to like our list. Happy reading!
	Ari: Hi Hi! A strong woman to me means being resilient in nature and having the confidence to do what others might not. I’m excited to share our list of favorites and I hope the list resonates with your own thoughts on strong women! ♡

Spoiler Warning: Skip any drama’s section for which you do not want spoilers!

The Long Ballad

Li Chang Ge is identifiably strong as she strategizes to avenge her slaughtered family. As we follow her journey, I found Chang Ge to be strong against adversity even as she finds a powerful confidant, the general Ashile Sun.

Chang Ge becomes Ashile’s strategist, is acknowledged as a teacher and takes on a disciple, maintains loyalty, and swears to protect her friends even as she believes they have betrayed her all while overcoming the biggest hardship that she’s ever had to face.

As you watch the drama, you’ll notice that she relies a lot on herself and begins to learn that she can still be strong even as she lets her walls down. The reasons above make Chang Ge one of the strongest characters I’ve watched in a drama.

Wonderland of Love

Cui Lin is brave, sassy, intelligent, and she is one of those characters that doesn’t take problems from anyone. I view her as strong because she, much like Li Chang Ge, is able to stand on her own two feet and fight side by side with her lover and family when they need her.

Though she faces opposition towards her relationship, a behind the scenes villain, and an obsessed childhood friend turned foe, she’s easily independent and can face problems with clarity without a second thought to the consequences.

Ancient Love Poetry

Shang Gu has to face one of the biggest trials to her existence: The Tribulation of Chaos. Although it means sacrificing herself, she agrees as long as it’s for the peace of the three realms.

Through her reincarnation, we see her resilience as she’s still willing to live and die for the one she loves although many of her friends try to keep her away from the dangerous path in her second life.

However, in both of Shang Gu’s lives, I found her always willing to do what’s right for the greater good even when it was the tougher choice.

A Dream of Splendor

Zhao Pan’er has had to learn that as a woman, we will have it much tougher than men.

She isn’t of desirable status in the Song Dynasty but with her confidence, intelligence, and bravery, she always finds a way to protect her friends, stand up for herself, and does whatever she can to keep at her dream of becoming a businesswoman.

By the end of the drama, I found myself inspired by how strong Pan’er is even when so many losses were stacked against her.

Love Like The Galaxy

Cheng Shao Shang is a born leader. This is a drama where we are able to see much growth in our female lead. In parts 1 and 2, we see her take charge to take care of herself and those who cannot. She doesn’t have the strength or fighting skill that our male lead, Bu Yi, has but she has intelligence, bravery, and confidence to stand against enemies despite how dangerous it can get.

When Shao Shang placed her back against a cliff protecting Bu Yi (badly wounded mentally and physically) after enacting his revenge, we could see that she was willing to live and die for Bu Yi to the best of her ability.

This for certain deserves a spot on the list as one of the strongest women.

Novoland: Pearl Eclipse

Ye Haishi lost her father in her childhood because of a shark attack while looking for Naga pearls at sea. She became the only survivor of this tragedy when a Naga mermaid named Lang Huan saved her. We can consider her strong right in the beginning of the story after she killed the officials’ leader that threatened her village with only one move.

On the run from other officials, she meets Fang Zhu. He takes Ye Haishi into his care and asks her to pick whether she wants to live as a man or a woman. Ye Haishi picks to live as a man. She impressed me with her fearless nature. She was able to fight enemies alongside other soldiers and protect those who she treasured.

Story of Kunning Palace

Jiang Xue Ning, a character of the novel Story of Kunning Palace written by Jiang Ning in the drama, was the empress of Qian after marriage with Shen Jie. But because of a rebellion, she commited suicide and returned to the past.

Back in the past, with her memories from her previous life left, Jiang Xue Ning’s plan is to get away from power and have control over her own life. But this somehow doesn’t go that well as she finds herself joining the palace as a study mate of Princess Le Yang and becomes a student of the imperial master Xie Wei. Jiang Xue Ning then strategically saves the Yan family from the “Blood Crown Ceremony” crisis together with Xie Wei and after that, she’s involved in a plan to eliminate rebels.

A lot has happened to Jiang Xue Ning which made her a stronger version of herself. And I really liked her journey to the happier ending of the story.

Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace

Ulanara Ru Yi, originally known as Ula-Nara Qingying, is a childhood friend of the Fourth Prince Hongli and later chosen to be his consort. At the time Hongli becomes the Qianlong Emperor, Ruyi is not favored by most in the Imperial Harem and Imperial Family, but when she later gains the trust of Empress Dowager Chongqing, she’s given the name Ruyi.

Later in the story, Ruyi is blamed for being responsible for an heir’s death because of the jealousy of Noble Consort Hui which makes her spend some time in the Cold Palace. After getting out of there, she witness the Empress fall into water during winter and nearly drown. After that, the Empress curses the Emperor’s future empress on her deathbed.

We can consider Ruyi very, very strong as she overcomes many hardships in the Imperial Harem. Besides those, there’s also the investigation of Consort Ling’s crimes or tuberculosis. But sadly, our female lead later dies because of her illness.

Bloody Romance

Su Qi Xue was only 16 years old when her father sold her for some rice to a brothel where she experienced abuse. Being this unlucky at such young age, she then found herself saved by Chang An in an unfamiliar place.

Su Qi Xue goes through a lot to become an assasin and changes her name to Wan Mei. She doesn’t fear any mission she’s given despite her bones being broken or her face getting disfigured. Her scar left her in pain mentally for a very long time as she cared about her beauty but she was able to overcome it.

Wan Mei is fearless and stubborn as she wants to rule the nation to save it from corruption. She also doesn’t fear pain and is willing to kill any enemy either of her own or someone else.

Love Between Fairy and Devil

Orchid was a Goddess of the Xilan Tribe thirty thousand years ago but because she hid in Arbiter Hall she became a low-level fairy. We can see our fairy is a bit clumsy and naive at first. I think her naive and innocent acting made me love her even more. She looked really weak next to the male lead, the Moon Supreme Dongfang Qing Cang, whom she revived by accident and formed a spell with after she just wanted to pass the the fairy examination.

Little Orchid treated everyone with kindness, even the Moon Supreme, and she understood his loneliness and responsibilities. She was brave to learn new spells and learned to be more fearless, which led her into her fate of killing herself to save Dongfang Qing Cang.

I enjoyed Orchid’s personal growth from a little naive girl to a strong Goddess.

_{Thanks for reading our article! We hope that you enjoyed reading & feel free to let us know your favorite strong female leads in the comment section below. ♡}

^{Acknowledgments}^{: Everything not taken from MDL is linked to its respective source.}

^{Edited by:}^devitto^{(1st editor)}

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dilraba dilmurat
wuxia
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chinese historical drama
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