Trưng Sisters

Trưng Sisters
Statue of the Trưng Sisters inside Trưng Vương Emergency Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	Hai Bà Trưng
Hán-Nôm	𠄩婆徵
Literal meaning	Two ladies Trưng

History of Vietnam
2879–258 BC Hồng Bàng dynasty 2879–1913 BC • Early Hồng Bàng 1912–1055 BC • Mid-Hồng Bàng 1054–258 BC • Late Hồng Bàng 257–179 BC Thục dynasty 207–111 BC Triệu dynasty 111 BC–40 AD 1st Chinese domination 40–43 Trưng Sisters 43–544 2nd Chinese domination 544–602 Early Lý dynasty 602–938 3rd Chinese domination 939–967 Ngô dynasty 968–980 Đinh dynasty 980–1009 Early Lê dynasty 1009–1225 Later Lý dynasty 1225–1400 Trần dynasty 1400–1407 Hồ dynasty 1407–1427 4th Chinese domination 1428–1788 Later Lê dynasty 1527–1592 • Mạc dynasty 1545–1787 • Trịnh lords 1558–1777 • Nguyễn lords 1778–1802 Tây Sơn dynasty 1802–1945 Nguyễn dynasty 1858–1945 • French imperialism from 1945 Republic
Further subjects Champa dynasties (192–1832) Historical capitals Prehistoric and ancient cultures List of monarchs Country's names Economic history Military history

The Trưng sisters (c. 12 – c.43 AD) were Vietnamese military leaders who ruled for three years after rebelling in 40 AD against the first Chinese domination of Vietnam. They are regarded as national heroines of Vietnam. Their names were Trưng Trắc (徵側) and Trưng Nhị (徵貳).

The sisters were born in Jiaozhi, a commandery of the Han dynasty (and in modern Northern Vietnam). The dates of their births are unknown, but Trưng Trắc was older than Trưng Nhị. The exact dates of their deaths are also unknown but both died around 43 AD after a battle against an army led by Ma Yuan.

Historical background

The former Qin commander Zhao Tuo (Vietnamese: Triệu Đà) conquered Âu Lạc, renamed the country Nanyue (Nam Việt) and established the Triệu dynasty.^[1] Emperor Wu of Han dispatched soldiers against Nanyue and the kingdom was annexed in 111 BC during the ensuing Han–Nanyue War. Nine commanderies were established to administer the region,^[2] three of which are located in modern-day Vietnam. Revolts against the Han began in 40 AD led by the Trưngs.^[3]

Sources

The primary historical source for the sisters is the 5th century Book of the Later Han compiled by historian Fan Ye, which covers the history of the Han Dynasty from 6 to 189AD. The secondary source, but primary popular source, is the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (Complete Annals of Dai Viet) compiled by Ngô Sĩ Liên under the order of the Emperor Lê Thánh Tông and finished in 1479.

Book of the Later Han, 5th century

The Chinese traditional historical accounts on the Trưng sisters are remarkably brief. They are found in two different chapters of the Book of the Later Han, the history for the Eastern Han Dynasty, against which the Trưng sisters had carried out their uprising.

Chapter eighty six of the Book of the Later Han, entitled Biographies of the Southern and the Southwestern Barbarians,^{[Note 1]} has this short description:

Chapter twenty four, the biographies of Ma and some of his notable male descendants, had a parallel description that also added that Ma was able to impress the locals by creating irrigation networks to help the people and also by simplifying and clarifying the Han laws, and was able to get the people to follow Han's laws.

The traditional Chinese account therefore does not indicate abuse of the Vietnamese population by the Chinese officials. It implicitly disavows the traditional Vietnamese accounts of massive cruelty and of the Chinese official killing Trưng Trắc's husband. There is no indication in the Chinese account that the Trưng sisters committed suicide, or that other followers followed example and did so. Indeed, Ma, known in Chinese history for his strict military discipline, is not believed by the Chinese to have carried out cruel or unusual tactics. That account is in contrast to the Vietnamese.

Excerpts from Complete Annals of Đại Việt, 1479

Trưng Sisters, national heroines of Viet Nam are honored with a parade of elephants and floats in Saigon, 1961

The third book of Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (Complete Annals of Dai Viet),^[4] published in editions between 1272 and 1697, has the following to say about the Trưng Sisters:

Procession of elephants in the Trưng Sisters's Parade in Saigon, 1957

Lê Văn Hưu (one of the historians editing the annals) wrote:

Traditional Vietnamese account

The Trưng sisters were born in a rural Vietnamese village, into a military family. Their father was a prefect of Mê Linh, therefore the sisters grew up in a house well-versed in the martial arts. They also witnessed the cruel treatment of the Viets by their Chinese overlords. The Trưng sisters spent much time studying the art of warfare, as well as learning fighting skills. When a neighbouring prefect came to visit Mê Linh, he brought with him his son, Thi Sách. Thi Sách met and fell in love with Trưng Trắc during the visit, and they were soon married.

A statue of the Trưng Sisters in Ho Chi Minh City

Rebellion

With Chinese rule growing extremely exacting, and the policy of forcible cultural assimilation into the Chinese mold during the Southward expansion of the Han dynasty, Thi Sách made a stand against the Chinese. The Chinese responded by executing Thi Sách as a warning to all those who contemplated rebellion. His death spurred his wife to take up his cause and the flames of insurrection spread.

In 40 AD, Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị, after successfully repelling a small Chinese unit from their village, assembled a large army consisting mostly of women.^[5] Within months, they had taken many (about 65) citadels from the Chinese, and had liberated Nanyue.^[6] They became queens regnant of Nanyue and managed to resist subsequent Han attacks on the country for over three years.

Defeat

Their reign was short lived, however, as the Chinese gathered a huge expeditionary army under the veteran general Ma Yuan to suppress the rebellion. The Trưng sisters were defeated in battle in 43 AD. Different accounts regarding the fate of the sisters are recorded in Vietnamese and Chinese sources. The Đại Việt sử lược reports that the sisters were killed by Ma Yuan. According to the Trần Thế Pháp and Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, the sisters died during the fighting after they were deserted by their fellow rebels.^[7] The Book of the Later Han states that they were executed by Ma Yuan, who sent their decapitated heads back to the Han capital.^[8] There are also legendary accounts claiming that the sisters fell sick, vanished in the sky, or took their own lives by jumping into a river and drowning.^[7]

According to legend, Phùng Thị Chính, a pregnant captain of a group of soldiers who were to protect the center of Nanyue, gave birth on the front line. With her baby in one arm, and a sword in the other, she continued to fight the battle. She committed suicide along with the Trưng sisters and also took her newborn baby's life.

According to another account, the army led by the Trưng sisters was defeated when the Chinese troops decided to fight naked, causing the mostly female army to disperse in embarrassment.^[9]

Cultural significance

Nationalism

The Trưng Sisters are highly revered in Vietnam, as they led the first resistance movement against the occupying Chinese after 247 years of domination. Many temples are dedicated to them, and a yearly holiday, occurring in February, to commemorate their deaths is observed by many Vietnamese. A central district in Hanoi called the Hai Bà Trưng District is named after them. In addition, numerous large streets in major cities^[10] and many schools are named after them.

The stories of the Trưng Sisters and of another famous woman warrior, Lady Triệu, are cited by some historians as hints that Vietnamese society before sinicization was a matriarchal one, where there are no obstacles for women in assuming leadership roles.

Even though the Trưng Sisters' revolt against the Chinese was almost 2000 years ago, its legacy in Vietnam remains.^[11] The two sisters are considered to be a national symbol in Vietnam. They represent Vietnam's independence. They are often depicted as two women riding two giant war elephants. Many a times, they are seen leading their followers into battle against the Chinese. The Trưng sisters were more than two sisters that gave their life up for their country, they are powerful symbols of Vietnamese resistance and freedom.

Temples

Temples to the Trưng Sisters or "Hai Bà Trưng Temples" are found from as early as the end of the Third Chinese domination of Vietnam.^[12] The best known Hai Bà Trưng Temple is in Hanoi near Hoàn Kiếm Lake.^[13][14] Other Hai Bà Trưng temples are found in Mê Linh District (Vĩnh Phúc Province), Phúc Thọ District (Hà Tây Province) and Hoàng Hoa Thám Street, Bình Thạnh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Notes

References

1. ↑ Holcombe, Charles (2001). The Genesis of East Asia: 221 B.C. - A.D. 907. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 149–150. ISBN 978-0-8248-2465-5. 
2. ↑ Yu, Yingshi (1986). Denis Twitchett; Michael Loewe, eds. Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. University of Cambridge Press. p. 453. ISBN 978-0-5212-4327-8. 
3. ↑ Gernet, Jacques (1996). A History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge University Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-521-49781-7. 
4. ↑ "Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư - Kỷ Thuộc Hán" (in Vietnamese). Institute of Social Studies Vietnam. 1993. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 
5. ↑ Hue-Tam Ho Tai The Country of Memory: Remaking the Past in Late Sociaist Vietnam 2001- Page 74 "Unlike the decorous Trung Sisters of popular culture, whose female soldiers are said to have fled at the sight of naked Chinese males"
6. ↑ Nola Cooke, Tana Li, James Anderson The Tongking Gulf Through History 2011- Page 8 "When the Trưng sisters rose against the Han administration in 40 C.E., the sound of bronze drums must have reechoed throughout the gulf, as the peoples of sixty-five citadels, from as far south as modern central Vietnam and as far north as ..."
7. 1 2 Taylor, Keith Weller (1983). The Birth of Vietnam. University of California Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-520-07417-0. 
8. ↑ Yu, Yingshi (1986). Denis Twitchett; Michael Loewe, eds. Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. University of Cambridge Press. p. 454. ISBN 978-0-5212-4327-8. 
9. ↑ Hue-Tam Ho Tai The Country of Memory: Remaking the Past in Late Sociaist Vietnam 2001- Page 74 "Unlike the decorous Trung Sisters of popular culture, whose female soldiers are said to have fled at the sight of naked Chinese males"
10. ↑ Vietnam Country Map. Periplus Travel Maps. 2002–03. ISBN 0-7946-0070-0.  Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. ↑ Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David: Vietnam Past and Present: The North (History and culture of Hanoi and Tonkin). Chiang Mai. Cognoscenti Books, 2012. ASIN: B006DCCM9Q.
12. ↑ The Birth of Vietnam - Page 336 Keith Weller Taylor - 1991 "The Trung sisters' posthumous cult was popular in the independence period. It is recorded that, during a drought, King Ly Anh-tong (1138-75) went to the Trung sisters' ancestral temple and ordered Buddhist priests to pray for rain." ..."Today, their temple is at An-hat in Phuc-loc. The temple hall is majestic and well cared for."
13. ↑ Lonely Planet Vietnam 10 - Page 97 Nick Ray, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, Iain Stewart - 2009 this temple (Map pp88-9; Ptho Lao) was founded in 1142. A statue shows the two Trưng sisters (who lived in the 1st century AD) kneeling with their arms raised in the air, as if they are addressing a crowd..
14. ↑ Philip Taylor Modernity and Re-Enchantment: Religion in Post-Revolutionary Vietnam Page 163 2007 -"Stories associating violent death with powerful female deities such as the Trưng Sisters and Lady Liễu Hạnh are also known ... A description of the altar display at the Two Trưng Sisters' northern temple prompted Tạ Chí Đại Trường to suggest ..

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trưng Sisters.

• Trưng sisters Tuyet A. Tran & Chu V. Nguyen