Lady Triệu - Vietnamese rebel heroineLady Triệu was born during the 3rd century, in the prefecture o
Lady Triệu - Vietnamese rebel heroineLady Triệu was born during the 3rd century, in the prefecture of Cửu Chân, in what is today Thanh Hoá. According to some tellings, she grew up with her brother, a local chieftain, and was skilled in martial arts. When told to marry, she reportedly said: “I want to ride the storm, thread the dangerous waves, win back the fatherland and destroy the yoke of slavery. I don’t want to bow down my head working as a simple housewife”. In 248, she led a rebellion against Chinese rule in Vietnam, like the Trưng sisters before her. Lady Triệu led the rebels in battle and marched them forward. It is said that the Eastern Wu soldiers were so frightened of her that they would often say: “It is easy to handle the spear to attack a tiger, but facing the Queen, how it is difficult to fight”. She fought the invaders for several months, but was nonetheless defeated and killed. Interestingly, the only knowledge of her story comes from Vietnamese sources, since the Chinese don’t mention her. This could be explained by the fact that the Chinese only recorded their successes in bribing local leaders. According to Keith Weller Taylor, they likely saw Lady Triệu’s rebellion as a demonstration of “stubborn barbarism” that was crushed and thus unworthy of interest. Later Vietnamese male writers also transformed her image, turning her into a bigger than life character. Legends remember Lady Triệu as a 9 feet tall woman, with a voice like a temple bell, who threw her breasts on her shoulders before going to battle riding on an elephant. This transformation possibly aimed at separating her from the real flesh and blood women that were deemed inferior in this patriarchal society.She is still remembered through folk songs, such as this one:Sleep, sleep tight my childSo that I can fetch water to wash the gilded saddle of the elephantClimb the hill if you want to seeGeneral Lady Trieu on her golden gilded seatA temple was built in her honor in her home province and a festival is held each year in her memory. Bibliography:Ha Doan, “Badass women of Vietnamese history: Ba Trieu”Hữu Ngọc, Viet Nam: Tradition and ChangeLockard Craig, Southeast Asia in World HistoryLockhart Bruce M., Duiker William J., The A to Z of VietnamWeller Taylor Keith, The Birth of Vietnam -- source link
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