151) Trưng Nhị
Vietnamese Rebel Leader who briefly created and controlled an autonomous state free from Chinese Oppression
Birth Date Unknown, she may have been born in Northern Vietnam
Died: 43 AD, Vietnam
Trắc, Nhị, and other members of the aristocracy succeeded, for a few years in any case, of creating a free Vietnamese State, and the sisters were declared co-queens of the state, the name of which is unknown today.
Nhị was the more aggressive fighter between her and her sister Trắc, who was more of a politician.
Once the Chinese had defeated them, it is said they decided to commit suicide by drowning rather than be taken captive.
Notes:
Sources differ on, well, most of the details. So, here are some of the other versions of the story.
In some tellings, Trưng Trắc took the throne independently.
In others, the sisters were killed in battle rather than commit suicide.
Some of the versions say they fought with other women, including Le Chan, whose family was murdered after she refused to marry a Chinese man, and Phung Thi Chinh, who gave birth on the field of battle, strapped her baby to her back, then leapt back into the fray.
Also Note, Nhị and her sister have separate Google Pages. Trắc’s has zero personal information. Nhị’s Google page lists her birth date as 14 AD. I have found zero sources to corroborate that date or even explain where it came from, so please do not use it unless you can find a source yourself.
Badges Earned:
Rejected Princess
Located in my Personal Library:
Rejected Princesses by Jason Porath
The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser
Uppity Women Speak Their Minds by Vicki León
National Geographic History Magazine Article "The Trung Sisters" by Nhung Tuyet Tran (July/August 2021 Edition)
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trung-Sisters
https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/trung-trac-and-trung-nhi