Trung Nhi

On a morning in the land of Mê Linh, a small girl ran out into the yard, her little steps hurrying to keep up with her sister. She was Trưng Nhị, the younger sister who stood beside Trưng Trắc. She grew into a quick and spirited young woman, and she became one of the first two women heroes of the country.

The two sisters were the daughters of a Lạc tướng of the Mê Linh region. A Lạc tướng was the head of a region in ancient times, trusted and respected by the villagers. So the two sisters grew up among fields, mulberry groves and village lanes, used to hearing neighbors greet them every day.

Here is a scene to warm the heart, though not one for the history books. The sisters practice riding horses on an open field. They learn to stand steady on an elephant's back, and they laugh when a foot nearly slips. The old histories do not record those practice sessions. The scene only shows how close the two sisters were.

What is certain is that Trưng Nhị was always at her sister's side. They were more than sisters by blood. They were companions with one purpose. When a task was hard, the two talked it over. When a road was long, the two walked it together.

In those days the country was under the rule of the Eastern Han. The Eastern Han was the dynasty then ruling China, and an official named Tô Định led its rule here. The villagers carried many hardships. Whenever Trưng Nhị saw her sister fall silent with pity for the people, she came and sat beside her. Together they hoped that the land of Mê Linh would be peaceful and happy again.

Then, in the second month of the year 40, Trưng Trắc and her younger sister launched an uprising. A flag was raised at Mê Linh. The older sister stepped to the front, and the younger stayed close beside her. When Trưng Trắc called on people in many regions to rise together, Trưng Nhị added her voice to her sister's call, with one heart and one mind.

Many people answered the call of the two sisters. They came from all around to give their strength, and the younger sister stayed at her sister's side in the great crowd. The uprising was a resounding success. The National Museum of History says it freed 65 towns. These were lands from one village to the next, spreading out to the far horizon.

From then on, people called the two sisters by a name of affection and respect, Hai Bà Trưng, the Trưng Sisters. In folk paintings and in stories told by the fire, people often see the two riding elephants into battle, side by side. That is how Vietnamese people have long expressed their admiration. The old histories do not describe each of those battle scenes.

The later road of the two sisters had its days of storm and its long stretches. But whether the sky was bright or dark, the younger sister kept walking beside her sister. What stands out most is the devotion of the two sisters to the people, to the country and to each other.

Today, in gratitude, people have built temples to honor the two sisters. In Mê Linh, Hanoi, stands the Hai Bà Trưng Temple, where both sisters are honored. The Prime Minister ranked it a Special National Monument in 2013.

In every festival season, people return to the temple and light a stick of incense. The smoke rises. Grown-ups tell their children and grandchildren the story of the two sisters of Mê Linh.

And in the warm lamplight of the temple, two statues stand side by side, the older sister and the younger, never apart. The small, brave younger sister is still beside her sister, just as on that long-ago morning when her quick little steps ran out to the yard to keep up.