The Trung Sisters and Vietnam's First Resistance

As events transpired, Trung Nhi turned out to be the better military leader and the story switches to focus upon her. In the face of considerable odds and with various supernatural interludes, Trung Nhi achieves a limited military success against the Chinese; limited of course because for the Hans this was merely a brief interlude in imperial plans, albeit one with hideous consequences for the family and friends of the governor who had acted over-ambitiously.

Each nation has its heroes of course and these are mostly put away until some terrible disaster comes to afflict the country; is there any reason why the Trung sisters should be any different?

The answer lies in the subsequent history of Vietnam and, especially, that of the twentieth century. Vietnam had for many years been feared by its neighbours for its apparently uncanny ability to provide large populations with more than sufficient food and opportunities and to expand to the territories of the Khmer in southern Cambodia. Fear and hatred of the Vietnamese in Thailand and Laos, for example, continues unabated.

When Vietnam embraced communism, in the face of opposition from seemingly most of the world and with very little support for its justified attempt to thrown off the colonial yoke, the symbolic value of the Trung sisters has become even more apparent.

John Walsh, Mahidol University

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