Throughout history, Vietnamese women have been instrumental in resisting foreign domination. The most well-known of these heroines are the Trung sisters, who led the first national uprising against their Chinese conquerors in 40 AD. Their courageous spirit has served as an inspiration to the people of Vietnam for nearly two thousand years and their legacy remains firmly embedded in the culture and national identity of the country to this day.
Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị, known as the Trung sisters, were born sometime around the year 12 AD to a powerful lord in Giao Chỉ province in what is now Northern Vietnam.
Their actual birthdates are unknown, although Trắc was the older of the sisters. During the era in which the sisters were born, all of Vietnam was under the control of the Chinese Han Dynasty.
While Chinese women at the time had few privileges and were taught to be subservient, Vietnamese women inherited many rights through their mothers’ lineages. The Trung sisters grew up in a household where they studied the art of warfare, learned fighting skills, and were well-versed in martial arts. Trưng Trắc eventually fell in love with and married a man named Thi Sách.
The Trung Sisters. Credit: DeeDraws/DeviantArt
The Vietnamese did not actively oppose the Chinese until around 39 AD, when they began to feel oppressed by the Chinese.
Thi Sách made a stand against the Chinese to oppose increasing taxes. To regain control over the Vietnamese, and to punish Thi Sách for his rebellion, a Chinese commander murdered him and raped Trưng Trắc. The Chinese believed this would incite fear among the Vietnamese, and push them back into submission, but instead, it led to a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese.
The Chinese would have expected a new widow to go into isolation to grieve the loss of her husband. However, Trưng Trắc’s devastation led her and her sister down a revolutionary path to avenge Thi Sách’s death and to oppose the Han Dynasty’s oppressive rule.
The Trung Sisters riding into battle on their elephants. Image source.
The Trung sister rallied supporters – many of whom were women – to fight against the Chinese. Their army was composed of approximately 80,000 men and women, with 36 female generals, including their mother.
The Trung sisters rode into battle upon the backs of elephants, and within a few months their forces overtook more than 65 citadels from Chinese control. The Trung sisters became queens of their new Vietnamese kingdom.
As the rulers, they abolished the Chinese tax, and tried to restore a kingdom that followed traditional Vietnamese values. For more than three years, the Chinese fought to retake control of Vietnam, but the Trung sisters’ forces fought them off and retained control until 43 AD.
Eventually, attacks from the powerful Han forces became too great for the Trung sisters’ forces and they knew defeat was inevitable. Rather than accept defeat, the sisters followed an ancient Vietnamese tradition of committing suicide to retain their honor, rather than be slain or captured by the enemy. Some accounts claim the sisters drowned themselves in a river, while others say they simply vanished into the clouds, as the Chinese regained control.
Some legends say the Trung Sisters committed suicide by plunging into a river. Image source.
To this day, the Trung sisters are revered as heroes in Vietnam, who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their people. Temples are dedicated in their honor, including the Hai Bà Trưng Temple in Hanoi near Hoàn Kiếm Lake, and temples found at Mê Linh District (Vĩnh Phúc Province), Phúc Thọ District (Hà Tây) and Hoàng Hoa Thám Street, Bình Thạnh District, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Statues have been erected in their honor. The country of Vietnam celebrates them in a yearly day of remembrance, which occurs in February of each year. Additionally, their names live on throughout many areas of Vietnam as many streets and school are named after the sisters. They are remembered for their leadership, fighting skills, and courage, as well as their dedication to the preservation of the Vietnamese culture.
Featured image: The Trung Sisters. Image source.
Sources:
- The Trung Sisters | Heroes of Vietnam – Asian History. Available from: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/vietnam/p/The-Trung-Sisters-Heroes-of-Vietnam.htm
- The Trung Sisters – Women in World History. Available from: http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine10.html
- Trung Trac and Trung Nhi – University of Richmond. Available from: https://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~ebolt/history398/TrungSisters.html
- The Trung Sisters – Distinguished Women of Past and Present. Available from: http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/trung.html
- The Trung Sisters – Wikipedia. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C6%B0ng_Sisters
- The Trung Sisters – Encyclopedia Britannica. Available from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/607295/Trung-Sisters\
By M R Reese
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