The Trưng Sisters Lead an Uprising Against Han Rule

In the spring of 40 AD, two daughters of a Lac aristocratic family organized a general uprising against Han administrative rule in northern Vietnam. Trưng Trắc and her younger sister Trưng Nhị were raised in Mê Linh, an administrative district located in the Red River Delta where their father served as a local Lac lord. The regional governor appointed by the Han dynasty, Su Ding, had gained a reputation for greed and harsh governing practices. After the governor moved against Trưng Trắc's husband, Thi Sách, the sisters mobilized regional nobility and local populations, initiating a swift armed challenge to imperial control.

The insurrection quickly expanded beyond the Red River Delta, drawing support from communities spanning from Hepu Commandery south to Rinan. Traditional accounts state that the insurgent force overran imperial settlements across some sixty-five towns and strongholds, forcing Su Ding to flee the territory. Following the collapse of the local Han administrative apparatus, Trưng Trắc was proclaimed queen regnant, establishing her center of authority at Mê Linh. While later Vietnamese chronicles such as the fifteenth-century Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư focus on Trưng Trắc as the primary ruler, other regional traditions variously describe Trưng Nhị as a co-ruler or secondary monarch.