Vietnam, for much of its history a prosperous kingdom just beyond the southern edge of Chinese powers, always had to struggle for its independence – first from various Chinese dynasties, then later from France. In the third century BC, a warlord from the fallen Qin Dynasty captured the Vietnamese capital and created the state of Nanyue (Nam Việt), declaring himself the equal of the Han Emperor. This rankled the Han Dynasty, and they in turn seized Nanyue and incorporated the rebellious province into their empire. But this was an unquiet occupation. It exploded when the husband of Trưng Trắc, the daughter of a regional general, was killed for opposing Han efforts to assimilate and integrate the [as the Han saw them] “barbarian” Vietnamese. Trưng Trắc and her sister rose up and toppled Han rule in the region, as Lê Văn Hưu puts it, “as easily as turning over their hands”.

Their rule was only to last three years, though, after which the Han sent a massive retaliatory force to take back the region. They did so, and the Trưng sisters were, depending on the story, either killed, committed suicide, or vanished into the sky. But they outlived the occupation, in another sense. They, along with Bà [Lady] Triệu, are revered as heroes in Vietnam, with temples, a city district, and even a public holiday named after them.