Unlike the northern Han, where the farm work was masculine and the women only took care of the housework, the Hakka women also collaborated in the collection of tea, in the cultivation of rice and plowed with water buffaloes, they didn't followed the Confucian codes as strictly and their feet were not bound.
According to The Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Su Sanniang learned martial arts and swordplay from her family.
Persecuted by the authorities, Su Sanniang and her gang dedicated themselves to rob the rich to divide their wealth among the poor.
Su Sanniang and the two thousand men under her command joined the Taiping Rebellion, a devastating civil war.
[1] When the men's and women's forces were divided, Su Sanniang became the leader of the female battalions, alongside Qiu Ersao, who was one of the commanders of Red Turban Rebels.