August 30, 2022 • 25 mins
Two sisters raised an army in 1st century Vietnam against Chinese colonialists. Over the next two thousand years, their story would change and twist. Support Noble Blood:
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio
and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankie. Listener discretion advised.
There's a fifteenth century poem from Vietnam that reads, all
(00:23):
the male heroes bowed their heads in submission, only the
two sisters proudly stood up to avenge the country. Another
poem from the seventeenth century echoes a similar sentiment. The
Han Emperor was extremely furious this insignificant speck of a
zoo chi, And it was not even a man, but
(00:46):
a mere girl who wielded the skill of a hero.
These poems are recounting, albeit a little pompously, the story
of Hai Bouchung or the Chung Sisters, once queen of
an independent Vietnam. The meaning of the phrase zao chi
in the second poem is in reference to Chinese occupied Vietnam,
(01:08):
where in the year thirty nine, the two sisters raised
an army of eighty thousand troops and led a revolt
against Chinese rule. The actual historical story of the Trunk
Sisters is fascinating, but it's even more interesting to understand
the role that their story has played in the larger
(01:31):
culture and how it's evolved over time, if you hadn't
realized the year thirty nine was a long time ago,
long enough for a narrative to take on all different
shapes and sizes, as was the case with Boudica the
Iceni Queen, another ancient revolutionary that I've talked about on
this show. Being an iconic figure from the very distant
(01:54):
past means your story is by and large malleable. It's
a vailable to be what the country needs it to
be at any given moment. The Chung Sisters have seen
spikes of popularity in different moments in Vietnamese history, but
each time there is a spike, it's through a newfound
(02:15):
cultural lens. Whether the Sisters are portrayed as nationalists, comrades,
or feminist icons, there are some details in their story
that always remain the same. The story of the Chung
Sisters is that of two sisters wielding the skills of heroes,
proudly standing up to avenge their country. I'm Danis Schwartz,
(02:40):
and this is noble blood. Though information on the chungs
is relatively sparse and very across sources, there are some
(03:02):
things that remain consistent. We don't know exactly when the
sisters were born, but we do know that Chung Chu
was older than Chung Ni. We do know that they
were born under Han dynasty rule of what is now Vietnam,
a period known as Baktua. The Chungs hailed from Nam
viet which comprised the north part of modern Vietnam as
(03:24):
well as parts of southern China. They came from an
aristocratic family. Their father was a lach lord and Mailing
which is modern day Mailand District Hanoi. The Lack where
a group of multi lingual tribal people in ancient northern Vietnam.
Because of that status, it's believed that the sisters received
(03:45):
some form of martial arts education. Their role also meant
that they saw first hand the cruelty and disrespect their
people were subject to at the hands of Chinese colonization.
An interesting note about the lach it thought the status
of luck lord's was passed through the family line of
one's mother, and, in contrast with Chinese society, wealth was
(04:09):
inherited from the mother's side of the family as well.
For years, there has been debate among historians as to
whether or not ancient Vietnam was a matrilineal society and
luck practices seemed to point toward confirmation back to the sisters,
though in all tellings, the story of revolution actually begins
(04:30):
with a love story. When a neighboring lord came to
visit me Ling, he brought with him his son, a
prince named Teesack. Teesock and Tung Trot fell in love,
and they were soon married. When Teasock became lord of
the Chudien, he faced off against Soo Ting, the Chinese
governor known for his cruelty, who carried out the policy
(04:52):
of forced assimilation. According to the Book of the Later Han,
Teesock was quote of a fierce temperament, and he took
a stand, And it was his wife, Chung Chak quote
of a brave and fearless disposition end quote, who quote
stirred her husband to action and became the central figure
(05:13):
in mobilizing the Loach lords against the Chinese end quote.
What happened next differs across sources, Vietnamese sources, and therefore
the more widely disseminated ones generally tell the story like this.
Teasock was made an example of and executed. Upon his death,
(05:34):
an enraged Chung Cha took charge of their cause and
was joined by her sister in building an army. Chinese
sources tell the story a little differently. In their version,
Teasock was not killed and he was alive and followed
his wife's leadership as she and her sister took command
of the army. While it may not seem like the
(05:57):
most important detail in the larger story of the rebellion,
the status of Tisak says a lot about the perspective
of the storyteller. Modern sources will argue that there's no
evidence Tisak was killed. Vietnamese tellings are influenced by a
Confucian patriarchal bias. The thinking is, surely Chung Chow couldn't
(06:20):
have led a revolution and assumed the position of queen
while her husband was still alive. On the other hand,
Chinese sources at the time likely had an investment in
making Vietnamese men look weak. It's frustrating to accept the
truth that the truth will never be known, but we
(06:40):
can be confident in our knowledge that Chung Chaw undisputedly
led the rebellion. In thirty nine, Chat and her sister
raised an army of eighty thousand troops, whom they led
to the capital, writing on the backs of their war elephants,
the image we see in most artistic depictions of the
sisters through out history, and of course, why wouldn't we
(07:03):
sisters riding on the backs of elephants. It's amazing. Most
of their soldiers were in their twenties, and many of
them were women. There are even Vietnamese sources claiming that
in one province's army, thirty two of the sixty nine
generals were women. The book Women Warriors acknowledges that this
group perhaps even included the Chung's elderly mother, who legend
(07:26):
says trained the sisters in the arts of war. The
revolt was successful. They forced Suiting to flee, and within
a year held sixty five northern citadels at Malang, their hometown.
The Chung sisters joyfully proclaimed themselves queens of an independent
state extending from southern China to the present site of
(07:50):
hugh While they both held the title of queen, Chung
Cha was the one in charge, with Chung Ni being
known as more of her companion. One of their most
remembered policies was the abolishment of the Chinese governor's taxes
on the Vietnamese people. The Han had imposed monetary taxes
on the lack despite the lack cultural practice being closer
(08:13):
to a trade based community. There isn't much of a
record of the queen's other actions, but that may be
because their reign was short lived. For two years, the
sisters ruled the country and were able to successfully fend
off attacks from the Chinese. That changed, however, when in
forty two, the Emperor Guangwudi sent one of his best generals,
(08:37):
Mayun south to reconquer Vietnam. The Sisters once again raised
their army and fought back with everything they had, but
they were ultimately defeated in forty three in a battle
near modern day Hannoi. According to Chinese sources, thousands of
Vietnamese soldiers were captured and beheaded, and more than ten
(08:59):
thous and surrendered. Chung Cha and Chong Ni were not
among them. They refused to surrender willingly to their enemies.
Stories of the sisters deaths once again differ based on
where your sources from. It is generally agreed upon that
they did not surrender, but Chinese sources allege ma Yuan
(09:21):
captured and executed them and sent their heads to the
Han Court, Vietnamese sources claim that the sisters committed suicide
by drowning themselves in the Hot Gung River. Vietnamese sources
claim that the sisters committed suicide by drowning themselves in
the Hat Young River now known as the Die. As
(09:44):
was the case with the story of Chung Chunk's husband,
the logic behind the biases and cultural investments of these
different narratives is clear. From the Chinese, we see a decisive,
brutal victory reclaiming what was in their minds stolen from them,
even if it had been actually reclaimed by its rightful inheritors.
(10:07):
For the Vietnamese, the tragedy ends poetically with the sisters,
who gave everything they had to their homeland, choosing to
end their lives in its own water. While much of
the discussion of the Chung sister centers around the idea
of them, it's also worth thinking about the role that
their physical bodies in these two alternate endings take. When
(10:30):
they drown in the head Young, they are dying in
their own country, returning their bodies to its soil. When
they're executed by the Chinese, their heads are taken back
to the Han court to be put on display as
a show of domination. That's the tricky thing with icons
from any point in history, even their bodies are absorbed
(10:52):
into the narratives, and it's impossible to know what the
truth is. So now let's talk about how the leg
to see of the Chung Sisters has evolved. Our first
recorded account of the Chung Sisters comes four centuries after
their rule, when the Chinese historian Fanie compiled the historical
(11:12):
records of the later Han, and it wasn't until twelve
seventy two that the Sisters entered Vietnamese records. When lev
On Who, the court historian of the Chong dynasty, wrote
them into the official dynastic histories. He cited their rule
as one of the earliest Viet kingdoms, prompting future historians
(11:33):
to do the same. He even referenced Chung Chunk as
a female king, and that title has persisted. As more
historians added to the record, the scope of the Chong
sisters legacy expanded. Another early archivist would tell us that
just three years after their final defeat, locals built a
(11:53):
temple to honor the sisters, where the locals would come
in times of need to ask the sisters for aid.
There's a story recognizing the spiritual role the Chongs played
during this time. During a great draft, the twelfth century
emperor Lion Thong ordered Buddhist masters to perform rituals to
pray for rain. The rain did come, and soon after
(12:17):
the emperor dreamed of two women riding steel horses and
pulling the rein behind them. A fourteenth century text of
the tale describes the women's appearance in the dream, quote
their faces were fair, and their brows like willows. Their
robes were green, and their trousers read. Their hats were red,
(12:39):
and they wore belts and quote. When the emperor asked
them who they were, they responded, we are the Chong sisters.
We have responded to your request and have made the rain.
When the emperor awoke, he ordered the restoration of their
temple and made offerings to honor their spirits, and he
(12:59):
gave them the title Divine Chase. Ladies. We don't have
time to unpack everything behind that title, but I do
think it's worth thinking about portraying the sister specifically as Chased.
In connection with the Vietnamese version of events, in which
Cheung Cha is a widow performing her rebellion in honor
(13:20):
of her late husband. The emphasis on their fair faces
and willowy browse is also part of a repeating theme.
Not only are the Trunk Sisters military prowesses celebrated throughout history,
but so is their supposed beauty. These descriptions elevate their
status to something mythological and distinctly feminine, which falls in
(13:43):
line with narrative surrounding iconic women across cultures. Athena is,
after all, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, but she's
known just as well for the countless depictions of her beauty.
People love to talk about Boudica's flaming red hair. Through
these texts on the Chung Sisters, we see a conflict
(14:03):
as to how to characterize them. They're often described in
terms typically reserved for men when it comes to their
wartime prowess, yet there's an emphasis on their appearance fitting
traditional feminine beauty standards and Chung trucks case a strong
devotion to her husband. It's a conflict that will evolve
(14:24):
over time but never quite resolve. They're usually made to
be everything at once, both fierce masculine kings but also beautiful, devoted,
chaste widows. The sisters gained their next boost in popularity
years later, when Vietnam was struggling against French colonialism in
(14:45):
the early twentieth century. Here we begin to see the
sisters show up more frequently in works of art and
theater as a means of protesting the French government. In
one famous drama written by the anti imperialist activist Bongboche,
Uh Cheong Cha is worried that she cannot lead the
army after her husband's death as a quote, mere woman,
(15:07):
and so she passes the responsibility to her nephew, who
also dies. Chung Ni advises her elder sister quote not
to behave just like ordinary women, but to rise to
the occasion only at the point that no men are left.
In the story, once the sisters capture the Chinese governor,
they read out a list of the crimes of the invaders.
(15:30):
As the historian Sarah Womack points out in her article
The Remakings of a Legend, the Chung story serves several
purposes at this time. One it advocates for its author's
belief in an armed resistance movement, and two, in explicitly
listing the evils of a foreign oppressor. WOMAC additionally argues
(15:52):
that for all of its progressive values, the play quote
opposes women's liberation even as it endorses Vietnam end quote.
In this telling, the addition of the nephew character, who
never appeared in any original records, serves to further distant
Chung Cho from her authority. She passes off the role
(16:12):
of leader until she is the last possible choice. The
play even goes so far as to make repeated jokes
at women's expense. The author seems to be implying that
the Chung's revolution has all of the bones for a
perfect allegory. It's just too bad that they happen to
be women. At the same time, the Chungs were beginning
(16:36):
to appear in feminist texts with a catch. You see,
the French were heavily monitoring the Vietnamese press, looking for
anything with nationalist sentiments. So Women's News, a liberal periodical
covering social, political, and economic news, had to get clever.
(16:56):
In their March six, nine thirty issue, the day that
traditionally commemorates the sister's death, the magazine tells the story
of the chungs in a way that the French would
read as more feminist leaning than nationalist. Chung Chra's husband
is killed, but there's an emphasis on her taking up
arms out of the love of her people and her
(17:18):
deceased husband, rather than out of anger or as a
last resolve. There's no added nephew here either. There is
mention of the women generals we read about in earlier texts,
and an emphasis on how the people revered Chung Chra
as their queen. This version of the story returned to
the sisters their active role, which the play had stripped
(17:40):
them of their skilled warriors and respected queens. And because
this magazine story is so focused on, let's say, their
girl power, the nationalist subtext could make it through French censorship.
As you might have guessed, the next big boom in
Chung popularity was in the mid twentieth century, when the
(18:04):
state was divided into North and South Vietnam on both
sides of the seventeenth Parallel. The iconography of the sisters
appeared on posters, monuments, and all kinds of artwork. We
also have photos from around this time of the Habang
Tung Parade in Saigan, where women rode down the street
on the backs of elephants. To honor the sister's legacy.
(18:27):
A statue was even commissioned by Madame Knew, the de
facto First Lady of South Vietnam, who likened herself to them.
Citizens could also post their mail with a stamp that
featured an artistic depiction of New standing alongside the sisters.
The First Lady had extensive political influence and power and
(18:49):
was unabashedly aggressive, remembered as the quote Dragon Lady for
her tendency towards violent word choice. As a political figure,
she established the Women's Solidarity Movement, a female paramilitary organization,
the purpose of which was to rally women to join
the fight against the Viet Cong. Knew herself was often
(19:12):
pictured flashing her handgun in public. Aligning herself with the
Chongs made sense, but instead of the Chinese, her targets
were the communist North and the French imperialists. Let's just
say it is dangerous territory to begin even throwing the
word feminist around anything to do with Madam Knew. Though
(19:33):
she famously pushed for the passing of morality laws, which
included banning abortion, contraceptives, divorce, even dance halls and beauty pageants.
In North Vietnam, the Chong story took on a different role,
as one could infer, Rather than aligning the Chongs with
anyone figure, their narrative became one of collective action, turning
(19:58):
the clock back just a few years to nineteen forty nine.
The historian Womax cites another work from a local journal.
This one was called The People's News and They're telling
of the story uniquely concentrates on the Chong's mother, Mantien,
setting the stories traditional heroes to the side. It was
(20:19):
she who led her daughters and son in law in
revolt against the Chinese, with quote comrades from across the land,
organizing proops of female soldiers to aid in their fight.
The mother led her troops and those of Taisak, while
Chong Ni assumed responsibility of forming people's organizations and local resistance.
(20:42):
Chong Cha, the typical main character, only enters the narrative
once her husband is murdered. This plot point takes on
a completely unique role in this version of the story.
Tisak started out following the command of his mother in law,
but quote fault heard in his dedication to armed rebellion
(21:02):
and tried to work within the Chinese system for reform
end quote. Almost immediately he was betrayed and killed by
his quote imperial masters. In the end, mother and sisters
are portrayed as martyrs. The quote Flowers of Independence teasacks death,
(21:22):
instead of being a tragic stand against Chinese oppressors, was
the natural result of collaborating with the enemy. It's a
message Womack assesses to any wavering moderates who might have
been reading the paper. In contrast to the first play
(21:43):
about the sisters that I mentioned, we see a greater
unity between the Vietnamese independence movements and women's movements in
later versions of the stories. The introduction of the Chung's
mother into the narrative reflects a theme in Northern propaganda
that emphasized the importance of the role of the Vietnamese mother.
(22:04):
But despite the emphasis on the Chung's families military capabilities
and that telling, women in the Northern military were often
only considered capable of handling support duties, and they faced
restrictions on engaging in direct combat. After all, women are
the flowers of independence. What connects all of these cultural interpretations.
(22:28):
We hear that history is written by the victors. But
that's not always necessarily true, because when the lines between
history and legend are blurred, history is perhaps written over
and over again. At the risk of quoting Hamilton's there
is something to be said for who tells your story?
(22:48):
With just a few concrete historical elements to their narrative,
the Chung Sisters can be anything and everything to whoever
needs them. That's the story of the Chung Sisters and
(23:12):
their legend in Vietnam. But keep listening after a brief
sponsor break to hear a little bit more about how
they're interpreted in the present day. The Chung Sisters haven't
(23:32):
just been staples in Vietnamese written word. Their iconography is
present in music as well. Just this year, a prominent
theater in Htm City staged a new version of Ting
Chong Mei Ling seven Kyloon, or reformed opera about the Sisters,
(23:53):
using young performers and incorporating modern techniques. The director's goal
was to interest more young people in the piece of history.
Kai Lung is a uniquely Vietnamese style of theater that
originated in the nineteen twenties, combining opera and spoken drama.
The drum. Sound of Mailing, as its title roughly translates,
(24:15):
is one of the art form's most iconic productions, staged
many times with many of Vietnam's top opera performers. One
of the play's most famous songs is a farewell from
Chung Chalk to Teasack before his execution. Even as she
says goodbye to her husband, her heart is still with
(24:35):
her country. The lyrics translate incredibly roughly to the sky
of our southern country is dark, the enemy so violent
throughout the country. I'm displeased with my personal happiness. Sacrifice
our blood and bones together with all people. Do not
forget the oath. If that's not operatic, I don't know
(24:58):
what is. Noble Blood is a production of I Heart
Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood
(25:19):
is hosted by me Danish Sports. Additional writing and researching
done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Miura Hayward, Courtney Sunder
and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by rema Il Kali,
with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Mankey,
Alex Williams and Matt Frederick For more podcasts from I
(25:41):
heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio
and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankie. Listener discretion advised.
There's a fifteenth century poem from Vietnam that reads, all
(00:23):
the male heroes bowed their heads in submission, only the
two sisters proudly stood up to avenge the country. Another
poem from the seventeenth century echoes a similar sentiment. The
Han Emperor was extremely furious this insignificant speck of a
zoo chi, And it was not even a man, but
(00:46):
a mere girl who wielded the skill of a hero.
These poems are recounting, albeit a little pompously, the story
of Hai Bouchung or the Chung Sisters, once queen of
an independent Vietnam. The meaning of the phrase zao chi
in the second poem is in reference to Chinese occupied Vietnam,
(01:08):
where in the year thirty nine, the two sisters raised
an army of eighty thousand troops and led a revolt
against Chinese rule. The actual historical story of the Trunk
Sisters is fascinating, but it's even more interesting to understand
the role that their story has played in the larger
(01:31):
culture and how it's evolved over time, if you hadn't
realized the year thirty nine was a long time ago,
long enough for a narrative to take on all different
shapes and sizes, as was the case with Boudica the
Iceni Queen, another ancient revolutionary that I've talked about on
this show. Being an iconic figure from the very distant
(01:54):
past means your story is by and large malleable. It's
a vailable to be what the country needs it to
be at any given moment. The Chung Sisters have seen
spikes of popularity in different moments in Vietnamese history, but
each time there is a spike, it's through a newfound
(02:15):
cultural lens. Whether the Sisters are portrayed as nationalists, comrades,
or feminist icons, there are some details in their story
that always remain the same. The story of the Chung
Sisters is that of two sisters wielding the skills of heroes,
proudly standing up to avenge their country. I'm Danis Schwartz,
(02:40):
and this is noble blood. Though information on the chungs
is relatively sparse and very across sources, there are some
(03:02):
things that remain consistent. We don't know exactly when the
sisters were born, but we do know that Chung Chu
was older than Chung Ni. We do know that they
were born under Han dynasty rule of what is now Vietnam,
a period known as Baktua. The Chungs hailed from Nam
viet which comprised the north part of modern Vietnam as
(03:24):
well as parts of southern China. They came from an
aristocratic family. Their father was a lach lord and Mailing
which is modern day Mailand District Hanoi. The Lack where
a group of multi lingual tribal people in ancient northern Vietnam.
Because of that status, it's believed that the sisters received
(03:45):
some form of martial arts education. Their role also meant
that they saw first hand the cruelty and disrespect their
people were subject to at the hands of Chinese colonization.
An interesting note about the lach it thought the status
of luck lord's was passed through the family line of
one's mother, and, in contrast with Chinese society, wealth was
(04:09):
inherited from the mother's side of the family as well.
For years, there has been debate among historians as to
whether or not ancient Vietnam was a matrilineal society and
luck practices seemed to point toward confirmation back to the sisters,
though in all tellings, the story of revolution actually begins
(04:30):
with a love story. When a neighboring lord came to
visit me Ling, he brought with him his son, a
prince named Teesack. Teesock and Tung Trot fell in love,
and they were soon married. When Teasock became lord of
the Chudien, he faced off against Soo Ting, the Chinese
governor known for his cruelty, who carried out the policy
(04:52):
of forced assimilation. According to the Book of the Later Han,
Teesock was quote of a fierce temperament, and he took
a stand, And it was his wife, Chung Chak quote
of a brave and fearless disposition end quote, who quote
stirred her husband to action and became the central figure
(05:13):
in mobilizing the Loach lords against the Chinese end quote.
What happened next differs across sources, Vietnamese sources, and therefore
the more widely disseminated ones generally tell the story like this.
Teasock was made an example of and executed. Upon his death,
(05:34):
an enraged Chung Cha took charge of their cause and
was joined by her sister in building an army. Chinese
sources tell the story a little differently. In their version,
Teasock was not killed and he was alive and followed
his wife's leadership as she and her sister took command
of the army. While it may not seem like the
(05:57):
most important detail in the larger story of the rebellion,
the status of Tisak says a lot about the perspective
of the storyteller. Modern sources will argue that there's no
evidence Tisak was killed. Vietnamese tellings are influenced by a
Confucian patriarchal bias. The thinking is, surely Chung Chow couldn't
(06:20):
have led a revolution and assumed the position of queen
while her husband was still alive. On the other hand,
Chinese sources at the time likely had an investment in
making Vietnamese men look weak. It's frustrating to accept the
truth that the truth will never be known, but we
(06:40):
can be confident in our knowledge that Chung Chaw undisputedly
led the rebellion. In thirty nine, Chat and her sister
raised an army of eighty thousand troops, whom they led
to the capital, writing on the backs of their war elephants,
the image we see in most artistic depictions of the
sisters through out history, and of course, why wouldn't we
(07:03):
sisters riding on the backs of elephants. It's amazing. Most
of their soldiers were in their twenties, and many of
them were women. There are even Vietnamese sources claiming that
in one province's army, thirty two of the sixty nine
generals were women. The book Women Warriors acknowledges that this
group perhaps even included the Chung's elderly mother, who legend
(07:26):
says trained the sisters in the arts of war. The
revolt was successful. They forced Suiting to flee, and within
a year held sixty five northern citadels at Malang, their hometown.
The Chung sisters joyfully proclaimed themselves queens of an independent
state extending from southern China to the present site of
(07:50):
hugh While they both held the title of queen, Chung
Cha was the one in charge, with Chung Ni being
known as more of her companion. One of their most
remembered policies was the abolishment of the Chinese governor's taxes
on the Vietnamese people. The Han had imposed monetary taxes
on the lack despite the lack cultural practice being closer
(08:13):
to a trade based community. There isn't much of a
record of the queen's other actions, but that may be
because their reign was short lived. For two years, the
sisters ruled the country and were able to successfully fend
off attacks from the Chinese. That changed, however, when in
forty two, the Emperor Guangwudi sent one of his best generals,
(08:37):
Mayun south to reconquer Vietnam. The Sisters once again raised
their army and fought back with everything they had, but
they were ultimately defeated in forty three in a battle
near modern day Hannoi. According to Chinese sources, thousands of
Vietnamese soldiers were captured and beheaded, and more than ten
(08:59):
thous and surrendered. Chung Cha and Chong Ni were not
among them. They refused to surrender willingly to their enemies.
Stories of the sisters deaths once again differ based on
where your sources from. It is generally agreed upon that
they did not surrender, but Chinese sources allege ma Yuan
(09:21):
captured and executed them and sent their heads to the
Han Court, Vietnamese sources claim that the sisters committed suicide
by drowning themselves in the Hot Gung River. Vietnamese sources
claim that the sisters committed suicide by drowning themselves in
the Hat Young River now known as the Die. As
(09:44):
was the case with the story of Chung Chunk's husband,
the logic behind the biases and cultural investments of these
different narratives is clear. From the Chinese, we see a decisive,
brutal victory reclaiming what was in their minds stolen from them,
even if it had been actually reclaimed by its rightful inheritors.
(10:07):
For the Vietnamese, the tragedy ends poetically with the sisters,
who gave everything they had to their homeland, choosing to
end their lives in its own water. While much of
the discussion of the Chung sister centers around the idea
of them, it's also worth thinking about the role that
their physical bodies in these two alternate endings take. When
(10:30):
they drown in the head Young, they are dying in
their own country, returning their bodies to its soil. When
they're executed by the Chinese, their heads are taken back
to the Han court to be put on display as
a show of domination. That's the tricky thing with icons
from any point in history, even their bodies are absorbed
(10:52):
into the narratives, and it's impossible to know what the
truth is. So now let's talk about how the leg
to see of the Chung Sisters has evolved. Our first
recorded account of the Chung Sisters comes four centuries after
their rule, when the Chinese historian Fanie compiled the historical
(11:12):
records of the later Han, and it wasn't until twelve
seventy two that the Sisters entered Vietnamese records. When lev
On Who, the court historian of the Chong dynasty, wrote
them into the official dynastic histories. He cited their rule
as one of the earliest Viet kingdoms, prompting future historians
(11:33):
to do the same. He even referenced Chung Chunk as
a female king, and that title has persisted. As more
historians added to the record, the scope of the Chong
sisters legacy expanded. Another early archivist would tell us that
just three years after their final defeat, locals built a
(11:53):
temple to honor the sisters, where the locals would come
in times of need to ask the sisters for aid.
There's a story recognizing the spiritual role the Chongs played
during this time. During a great draft, the twelfth century
emperor Lion Thong ordered Buddhist masters to perform rituals to
pray for rain. The rain did come, and soon after
(12:17):
the emperor dreamed of two women riding steel horses and
pulling the rein behind them. A fourteenth century text of
the tale describes the women's appearance in the dream, quote
their faces were fair, and their brows like willows. Their
robes were green, and their trousers read. Their hats were red,
(12:39):
and they wore belts and quote. When the emperor asked
them who they were, they responded, we are the Chong sisters.
We have responded to your request and have made the rain.
When the emperor awoke, he ordered the restoration of their
temple and made offerings to honor their spirits, and he
(12:59):
gave them the title Divine Chase. Ladies. We don't have
time to unpack everything behind that title, but I do
think it's worth thinking about portraying the sister specifically as Chased.
In connection with the Vietnamese version of events, in which
Cheung Cha is a widow performing her rebellion in honor
(13:20):
of her late husband. The emphasis on their fair faces
and willowy browse is also part of a repeating theme.
Not only are the Trunk Sisters military prowesses celebrated throughout history,
but so is their supposed beauty. These descriptions elevate their
status to something mythological and distinctly feminine, which falls in
(13:43):
line with narrative surrounding iconic women across cultures. Athena is,
after all, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, but she's
known just as well for the countless depictions of her beauty.
People love to talk about Boudica's flaming red hair. Through
these texts on the Chung Sisters, we see a conflict
(14:03):
as to how to characterize them. They're often described in
terms typically reserved for men when it comes to their
wartime prowess, yet there's an emphasis on their appearance fitting
traditional feminine beauty standards and Chung trucks case a strong
devotion to her husband. It's a conflict that will evolve
(14:24):
over time but never quite resolve. They're usually made to
be everything at once, both fierce masculine kings but also beautiful, devoted,
chaste widows. The sisters gained their next boost in popularity
years later, when Vietnam was struggling against French colonialism in
(14:45):
the early twentieth century. Here we begin to see the
sisters show up more frequently in works of art and
theater as a means of protesting the French government. In
one famous drama written by the anti imperialist activist Bongboche,
Uh Cheong Cha is worried that she cannot lead the
army after her husband's death as a quote, mere woman,
(15:07):
and so she passes the responsibility to her nephew, who
also dies. Chung Ni advises her elder sister quote not
to behave just like ordinary women, but to rise to
the occasion only at the point that no men are left.
In the story, once the sisters capture the Chinese governor,
they read out a list of the crimes of the invaders.
(15:30):
As the historian Sarah Womack points out in her article
The Remakings of a Legend, the Chung story serves several
purposes at this time. One it advocates for its author's
belief in an armed resistance movement, and two, in explicitly
listing the evils of a foreign oppressor. WOMAC additionally argues
(15:52):
that for all of its progressive values, the play quote
opposes women's liberation even as it endorses Vietnam end quote.
In this telling, the addition of the nephew character, who
never appeared in any original records, serves to further distant
Chung Cho from her authority. She passes off the role
(16:12):
of leader until she is the last possible choice. The
play even goes so far as to make repeated jokes
at women's expense. The author seems to be implying that
the Chung's revolution has all of the bones for a
perfect allegory. It's just too bad that they happen to
be women. At the same time, the Chungs were beginning
(16:36):
to appear in feminist texts with a catch. You see,
the French were heavily monitoring the Vietnamese press, looking for
anything with nationalist sentiments. So Women's News, a liberal periodical
covering social, political, and economic news, had to get clever.
(16:56):
In their March six, nine thirty issue, the day that
traditionally commemorates the sister's death, the magazine tells the story
of the chungs in a way that the French would
read as more feminist leaning than nationalist. Chung Chra's husband
is killed, but there's an emphasis on her taking up
arms out of the love of her people and her
(17:18):
deceased husband, rather than out of anger or as a
last resolve. There's no added nephew here either. There is
mention of the women generals we read about in earlier texts,
and an emphasis on how the people revered Chung Chra
as their queen. This version of the story returned to
the sisters their active role, which the play had stripped
(17:40):
them of their skilled warriors and respected queens. And because
this magazine story is so focused on, let's say, their
girl power, the nationalist subtext could make it through French censorship.
As you might have guessed, the next big boom in
Chung popularity was in the mid twentieth century, when the
(18:04):
state was divided into North and South Vietnam on both
sides of the seventeenth Parallel. The iconography of the sisters
appeared on posters, monuments, and all kinds of artwork. We
also have photos from around this time of the Habang
Tung Parade in Saigan, where women rode down the street
on the backs of elephants. To honor the sister's legacy.
(18:27):
A statue was even commissioned by Madame Knew, the de
facto First Lady of South Vietnam, who likened herself to them.
Citizens could also post their mail with a stamp that
featured an artistic depiction of New standing alongside the sisters.
The First Lady had extensive political influence and power and
(18:49):
was unabashedly aggressive, remembered as the quote Dragon Lady for
her tendency towards violent word choice. As a political figure,
she established the Women's Solidarity Movement, a female paramilitary organization,
the purpose of which was to rally women to join
the fight against the Viet Cong. Knew herself was often
(19:12):
pictured flashing her handgun in public. Aligning herself with the
Chongs made sense, but instead of the Chinese, her targets
were the communist North and the French imperialists. Let's just
say it is dangerous territory to begin even throwing the
word feminist around anything to do with Madam Knew. Though
(19:33):
she famously pushed for the passing of morality laws, which
included banning abortion, contraceptives, divorce, even dance halls and beauty pageants.
In North Vietnam, the Chong story took on a different role,
as one could infer, Rather than aligning the Chongs with
anyone figure, their narrative became one of collective action, turning
(19:58):
the clock back just a few years to nineteen forty nine.
The historian Womax cites another work from a local journal.
This one was called The People's News and They're telling
of the story uniquely concentrates on the Chong's mother, Mantien,
setting the stories traditional heroes to the side. It was
(20:19):
she who led her daughters and son in law in
revolt against the Chinese, with quote comrades from across the land,
organizing proops of female soldiers to aid in their fight.
The mother led her troops and those of Taisak, while
Chong Ni assumed responsibility of forming people's organizations and local resistance.
(20:42):
Chong Cha, the typical main character, only enters the narrative
once her husband is murdered. This plot point takes on
a completely unique role in this version of the story.
Tisak started out following the command of his mother in law,
but quote fault heard in his dedication to armed rebellion
(21:02):
and tried to work within the Chinese system for reform
end quote. Almost immediately he was betrayed and killed by
his quote imperial masters. In the end, mother and sisters
are portrayed as martyrs. The quote Flowers of Independence teasacks death,
(21:22):
instead of being a tragic stand against Chinese oppressors, was
the natural result of collaborating with the enemy. It's a
message Womack assesses to any wavering moderates who might have
been reading the paper. In contrast to the first play
(21:43):
about the sisters that I mentioned, we see a greater
unity between the Vietnamese independence movements and women's movements in
later versions of the stories. The introduction of the Chung's
mother into the narrative reflects a theme in Northern propaganda
that emphasized the importance of the role of the Vietnamese mother.
(22:04):
But despite the emphasis on the Chung's families military capabilities
and that telling, women in the Northern military were often
only considered capable of handling support duties, and they faced
restrictions on engaging in direct combat. After all, women are
the flowers of independence. What connects all of these cultural interpretations.
(22:28):
We hear that history is written by the victors. But
that's not always necessarily true, because when the lines between
history and legend are blurred, history is perhaps written over
and over again. At the risk of quoting Hamilton's there
is something to be said for who tells your story?
(22:48):
With just a few concrete historical elements to their narrative,
the Chung Sisters can be anything and everything to whoever
needs them. That's the story of the Chung Sisters and
(23:12):
their legend in Vietnam. But keep listening after a brief
sponsor break to hear a little bit more about how
they're interpreted in the present day. The Chung Sisters haven't
(23:32):
just been staples in Vietnamese written word. Their iconography is
present in music as well. Just this year, a prominent
theater in Htm City staged a new version of Ting
Chong Mei Ling seven Kyloon, or reformed opera about the Sisters,
(23:53):
using young performers and incorporating modern techniques. The director's goal
was to interest more young people in the piece of history.
Kai Lung is a uniquely Vietnamese style of theater that
originated in the nineteen twenties, combining opera and spoken drama.
The drum. Sound of Mailing, as its title roughly translates,
(24:15):
is one of the art form's most iconic productions, staged
many times with many of Vietnam's top opera performers. One
of the play's most famous songs is a farewell from
Chung Chalk to Teasack before his execution. Even as she
says goodbye to her husband, her heart is still with
(24:35):
her country. The lyrics translate incredibly roughly to the sky
of our southern country is dark, the enemy so violent
throughout the country. I'm displeased with my personal happiness. Sacrifice
our blood and bones together with all people. Do not
forget the oath. If that's not operatic, I don't know
(24:58):
what is. Noble Blood is a production of I Heart
Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood
(25:19):
is hosted by me Danish Sports. Additional writing and researching
done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Miura Hayward, Courtney Sunder
and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by rema Il Kali,
with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Mankey,
Alex Williams and Matt Frederick For more podcasts from I
(25:41):
heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Host
Dana Schwartz
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