Lady Triệu

Life and work

In 248, people of Jiaozhi and Jiuzhen districts rebelled against the Wu Chinese.^[2] According to Churchman, the oldest and most detailed record came from Liu Xinqi's chronicle Jiaozhou ji.^[3] Keith Taylor wrote in 1983 that Chinese records did not mention Lady Trieu, but she was described by 13th-century Vietnamese scholar Le Tac.^[2] Catherine Churchman indicates Taylor is mistaken about Chinese records not mentioning her.^[2]

A woman from Jiuzhen, referred to as Triệu Ẩu, initiated a revolt that attracted one hundred chieftains commanding fifty thousand households.^[2] After several months of conflict, Eastern Wu dispatched Lu Yin, who defeated the rebels and executed Lady Triệu.^[2] A famous statement attributed to her expresses a desire to ride storms, kill orcas, expel invaders, reclaim the country, and end serfdom, rather than become any man's concubine.^[1] The Jiaozhou Ji, a work from the Jin dynasty that was later compiled into the Taiping Yulan, contains the first known reference to Triệu Thị Trinh.^[4]

Vietnamese people continued to venerate her spirit following her death.^[5]

What the cited sources add

David G. Marr detailed that Trieu Thi Trinh was a 9-foot woman with 3-foot breasts and a voice like a temple bell.^[6] Marr recorded her words: "I only want to ride the wind and walk the waves, slay the big whales of the Eastern sea, clean up frontiers, and save the people from drowning"^[6] Marr recorded that she consumed many pecks of rice and could travel 500 leagues daily.^[6] According to Marr, after ongoing conflicts, she killed her sister-in-law and then assembled a small force in a forest.^[6]

Marr wrote that her brother chose to support her after listening to her declaration.^[7] Marr noted that during the Lê dynasty, scholars influenced by Neo-Confucianism attempted to align her traditions with that ideology.^[7]