Trung Nhi

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Trưng Nhị

PoliticsMilitaryAntiquityAntiquity — Vietnam under the Han Empire (China)

Younger sister of Trưng Trắc, she co-led the great Vietnamese revolt against Han Chinese domination in 40 CE. A formidable warrior, she played a key role in the temporary liberation of the country before their defeat by Chinese forces in 43 CE.

Key Facts

In 40 CE, she rose up alongside her sister Trưng Trắc against the Chinese governor Tô Định
The revolt liberated more than 65 Vietnamese cities and territories
The two sisters established a short-lived independent kingdom
In 43 CE, the Chinese general Ma Yuan crushed the revolt
According to tradition, the Trưng sisters drowned themselves in the Hát River rather than be captured

Works & Achievements

Liberation of the commanderies of Giao Chỉ, Cửu Chân, Nhật Nam, and Hợp Phố (40 CE)

In just a few weeks of military campaigning, Trưng Nhị and her sister liberated more than sixty-five strongholds and all of the Han commanderies in northern Vietnam, marking the first great victorious revolt in Vietnamese history against foreign domination.

Co-rule of the liberated kingdom (40–43) (40-43)

For three years, Trưng Nhị took part in governing the liberated territory alongside her sister, the queen. This period represents the first experience of an independent Vietnamese state since the Han conquest of 111 BCE.

Military resistance against Mã Viện's reconquest (42-43)

Faced with the Han punitive expedition led by General Mã Viện, Trưng Nhị played a key role in organizing the defense of the territory, holding back the enemy advance until the final defeat at Cẩm Khê in 43 CE.

Founding a model of national resistance (après 43)

Through their sacrifice, the Trưng sisters became the founding symbol of Vietnamese resistance to foreign rule. Their memory was invoked by every subsequent independence movement, right through to the wars of the 20th century.

Anecdotes

Trưng Nhị and her elder sister Trưng Trắc belonged to the nobility of the Lạc Việt, a warrior aristocracy that had governed the territories of the Red River Delta long before the Chinese conquest. According to Vietnamese chronicles, they trained themselves in the use of arms — a common practice among women of the Lạc Việt elite — which deeply astonished Han administrators.

In 40 CE, Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị launched their uprising from the district of Mê Linh. Within weeks, sixty-five fortresses fell into their hands. Chinese sources, such as the Hậu Hán Thư (Book of the Later Han), acknowledge the lightning speed of this reconquest, which caught the entire imperial administration in the Giao Chỉ region completely off guard.

Among the commanders who joined the Trưng sisters were, according to Vietnamese tradition, several women generals, including Phùng Thị Chính, who is said to have fought while pregnant. Whether legendary or historically attested, this detail speaks to the distinctive role of women in Lạc Việt society — one that stood in sharp contrast to the Confucian vision imposed by the Han.

Han general Mã Viện (Ma Yuan) was tasked in 42 CE with reconquering the territory. A seasoned military commander, he led an army of more than twenty thousand soldiers. Despite fierce resistance, the Trưng sisters' forces were defeated in 43 CE at the Battle of Cẩm Khê. According to the most widely held tradition in Vietnam, the two sisters threw themselves into the Hát Giang river rather than surrender.

Mã Viện erected bronze pillars marking the southern boundary of the Han empire, inscribed with the ominous warning: 'If this pillar falls, China shall perish.' According to medieval Vietnamese chronicles, local inhabitants gradually covered these pillars with stones and earth to ward off the curse — a symbolic act of resistance that endured through the centuries.

Primary Sources

Hậu Hán Thư (Book of the Later Han) (5th century (compiled by Fan Ye, based on 1st-century sources))

The wife of Thi Sách, Trưng Trắc, and her sister Trưng Nhị rose up and attacked the prefecture of Giao Chỉ. Prefect Tô Định fled. The prefectures of Giao Chỉ, Cửu Chân, Nhật Nam, and Hợp Phố submitted to them, and they thus seized more than sixty-five fortified cities.

Thủy Kinh Chú (Commentary on the Water Classic) (6th century (Li Daoyuan, based on 1st–2nd-century sources))

The two Trưng sisters seized the commanderies and proclaimed themselves queens. Emperor Guangwu sent General Mã Viện to subdue them. Their armies were defeated and both women perished in the waters.

Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư (Complete Annals of Đại Việt) (1479 (compiled by Ngô Sĩ Liên))

Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị, from the district of Mê Linh, daughters of a Lạc lord. In the first year of Kiến Vũ, they raised troops to avenge [Trưng Trắc's husband] and drive out the invaders. They reigned for two years before being defeated by Mã Viện.

Việt Điện U Linh (Anthology of the Illustrious Spirits of the Viet Realm) (14th century (Lý Tế Xuyên))

The two Lady Trưngs, having rallied the people and liberated the commanderies, were venerated after their deaths as protective spirits. The people of Mê Linh built a temple in their honor and offered sacrifices, invoking their power against calamities.

Key Places

Mê Linh (northern Vietnam)

Hometown of the Trưng sisters and seat of their Lạc tướng family's domain. The revolt was launched from Mê Linh in 40 CE, and it was here that Trưng Trắc established her capital after liberation. Today a district in Vĩnh Phúc province, the site is home to a commemorative temple.

Hát River (confluence with the Red River)

The traditional site of the two sisters' deaths in 43 CE. According to the most widespread legend, Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị drowned in this river rather than surrender to the armies of Ma Yuan. The site of Hát Môn, in Hà Tây province, keeps this memory alive.

Lạng Bạc (lake or plain, northern Vietnam)

Site of the first major pitched battle between the Trưng sisters' forces and Ma Yuan's army in 42–43 CE. The defeat at Lạng Bạc marked the beginning of the Lạc Việt resistance's retreat in the face of the Han reconquest.

Đồng Nhân Temple (Hanoi)

A temple dedicated to the Trưng sisters in Hanoi's historic quarter, and one of the oldest places of worship in their honor. It remains to this day the center of official commemorations in Vietnam during the national festival of the Two Trưng Ladies.

Giao Chỉ (Han commandery, northern Vietnam)

The name given by the Han to the main commandery of northern Vietnam, covering roughly the Red River Delta. This was the heart of the territory administered by Su Ding, whose administration the Trưng sisters drove out during their revolt.