5 female heroes of Vietnamese history

(Baonghean.vn) - Although in ancient times, women's fate was full of ups and downs, history books still recorded many women who overcame "normal female feelings" to shoulder the great national affairs. On March 8, Nghe An Newspaper reviews the female heroes who left a deep mark in Vietnamese history.

1. Trung Trac, Trung Nhi

Trung Sisters Uprising.

Born as descendants of King Hung of Me Linh land, originally from a family of Lac generals, but their mother, Mrs. Man Thien, was also a mulberry farmer. From the family's profession of growing mulberry and raising silkworms, the two sisters were given the names Trung Chac and Trung Nhi (flat) by their mother, so we are familiar with calling them Trung Trac and Trung Nhi today.

Growing up in the midst of a troubled country, under the rule of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the two ladies were not content to stay confined to their boudoirs. They diligently practiced martial arts and swordsmanship, and became famous ladies admired and followed by people in the region.

The political alliance marriage between Thi Sach and Trung Trac was then carried out. But then, the husband of the eldest sister, Chu Dien (now Hung Yen), was killed by the governor To Dinh. "Anger at the greedy and cruel man, not forgetting her husband's revenge", the two sisters rose up in revolt.

The uprising of the Trung Sisters was quickly responded to by people everywhere, heroes from all over the region followed, becoming a special uprising when the majority of the leading generals were famous female generals, such as Le Chan, Thieu Hoa, Xuan Nuong...:

The uprising was successful in the year Canh Ty (40). However, the unification and peace were short-lived. After three years, the country enjoyed peace and stability, the people enjoyed their work, and the Eastern Han Dynasty sent Ma Vien to the South to suppress them. "That man (referring to Ma Vien - the narrator) fought with those two women at Lang Bac Lake (now West Lake next to Hanoi citadel); the two sisters lost and retreated together; when they reached Hat Mon commune, Phuc Loc district (now Phuc Tho, in Son Tay province), they were so angry that they jumped into the Hat Giang river and committed suicide", this incident happened in the year Nham Dan (42).

2. Heroine Trieu Thi Trinh

Lady Trieu uprising.

According to unofficial history, Lady Trieu was born on October 2, Binh Ngo year (226) in Quan Yen mountain (Nua mountain), Trieu Son district, Thanh Hoa province today. Folklore also tells that, from a young age, the girl named Trieu showed herself to be a decisive and upright person, always showing indignation at the scenes of brutal oppression and exploitation of our people by the Northern rulers.

That was also the reason why she had a great ambition to “do the will of heaven”, not confining herself to her boudoir but diligently practicing martial arts, archery, and horse riding as well as any other talented man. When someone mentioned the matter of husband and children, the young girl boldly expressed her wishes: “I just want to ride the strong wind, step on the fierce waves, kill the whales in the East Sea, drive out the Wu army, reclaim the country, and throw off the yoke of slavery. How can I bow down and be someone’s concubine?”

In the year of Mau Thin (248), Lady Trieu raised the flag of uprising. The uprising from Nua mountain spread throughout Cuu Chan district and then Giao Chi district. Wherever the uprising army fought, they won like cutting bamboo. The Ngo Dynasty was afraid and had to send 8,000 troops led by An Nam Hieu Uy, Giao Chau Governor Luc Dan (nephew of the famous general Luc Ton of the Eastern Ngo Dynasty) to suppress the uprising.

Faced with the overwhelming momentum of the insurgents and the young female general “wearing a short yellow dress, wearing curved-toe shoes, and fighting on the head of an elephant” (according to Giao Chi Chi), the Wu army became frightened and weak. The Wu invaders admired Lady Trieu and called her Nhuỵ Kiều Tướng Quân (the beautiful female general), then Lệ Hải Bà Vương (the beautiful sea queen).

3. Female Admiral Bui Thi Xuan

Admiral Bui Thi Xuan was brave even when facing death.

Bui Thi Xuan (? – 1802) was from Xuan Hao village, Phu Phong commune, Tuy Vien district, Quy Nhon prefecture, now Phu Xuan village, Binh Phu commune, Tay Son district, Binh Dinh province. She was a famous female general of the Tay Son period, wife of famous general Tran Quang Dieu, granddaughter of Grand Tutor Bui Dac Tuyen.

Although she was a woman, she not only possessed all the necessary elements of a feudal woman with the ethics of "three obediences, four virtues", but also the qualities of intelligence, courage, and bravery of a heroic man, making her one of the legendary female generals of the Tay Son period, even in ancient and modern Vietnamese history.

As a child, instead of making friends with needles, embroidery threads, and the melodious pipa, Miss Xuan went to… study martial arts with Master Ngo Manh in Thuan Truyen. Among the male and female students, Bui Thi Xuan's martial arts ability stood out, she understood everything she learned, and was especially good at the double swords, so her master appointed her as the head of the sect. According to legend, in addition to being good at martial arts, Bui Thi Xuan was also beautiful, skillful, knew the words of the sages, and wrote very beautifully.

Thanks to her martial arts skills, it is said that once she and Tran Quang Dieu killed a fierce tiger that attacked them. From that meeting, the two became husband and wife. With the same goal of helping the king and the country, the couple joined the Tay Son uprising. From here, her martial arts talent made Bui Thi Xuan a typical female general under the reign of King Quang Trung.

Together with her husband, General Tran Quang Dieu, and other generals, Bui Thi Xuan participated in the Tay Son peasant movement, contributing to defeating 290,000 Qing invaders in 1789 (Ky Dau) with King Quang Trung, then fought against Nguyen Anh. Talented in military arts, good at using troops, brave and courageous in battle, she contributed greatly to the establishment of the Tay Son dynasty, and was appointed Admiral by Quang Trung.

4. Female General Nguyen Thi Dinh

Female General Nguyen Thi Dinh.

Female General Nguyen Thi Dinh was born on March 15, 1920, the youngest of 10 siblings in a farming family in Luong Hoa commune, Giong Trom district, Ben Tre province. Growing up, the youngest daughter Dinh became a beautiful young woman, and her family wanted her to marry into a wealthy family. However, enlightened by the revolution at the age of 16, she decided to choose Mr. Bich - one of the comrades who worked with her brother.

After the revolution, Nguyen Thi Dinh was elected to the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee. From then on, she and other local leaders organized the resistance of the Ben Tre people. After the Geneva Agreement was signed in 1954, she decided to stay in the South to fight.

In early 1960, she was one of the leaders of the Ben Tre Uprising and directly commanded the first phase of the Uprising (January 17, 1960) with women as the core. The Uprising was successful, opening the way for the Uprising movement in the province and the entire South later on.

The name Nguyen Thi Dinh, which her comrades and people often called Ba Dinh, was closely associated with the uprising that resounded like a tidal wave, spreading throughout the South. Later, Uncle Ho called Nguyen Thi Dinh's army "the long-haired army".

In the following years, Ba Dinh was assigned new responsibilities. And she affirmed her talent in the role of female general. She commanded cultural, propaganda, and guerrilla units of agencies and organizations to participate in fighting the enemy, pushing the Johnson City sweep - the largest sweep of the US puppet regime in February 1967.

In 1965, President Ho Chi Minh said about Nguyen Thi Dinh: "In the whole world, only our country has such a female general. It is truly glorious for the South, for our whole nation."

This seemed to be a prophecy, when in 1974, Ba Dinh was officially promoted to the rank of Major General. And in the spring of 1975, among the five armies marching to liberate Saigon, there was female general Nguyen Thi Dinh in the role of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Liberation Army.

Peace

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