Heroines in history

Women's integrity and loyalty are respected.

According to Thiều Chửu's Sino-Vietnamese dictionary (Culture and Information Publishing House, Hanoi ), a "heroine" is a "strong-willed woman who dies for her chastity, refusing to be humiliated." In Đào Duy Anh's Sino-Vietnamese dictionary, a "heroine" is defined as "a woman who remains chaste and refuses to compromise her principles." This concept was also very common in China; feudal society called women who refused to remarry or be humiliated and committed suicide "heroines." According to Dr. Phạm Văn Hưng, a literary scholar and cultural researcher at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, "the patriarchal social model is a widespread phenomenon, so women dying to protect their chastity demonstrates submission to male power or loyalty."

In Vietnamese historical records, the name My Ê, a "heroine," was recorded as early as 1044. During the Later Lê Dynasty, praising and honoring virtuous and loyal women became more widespread and less reserved than before. In the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (Complete History of Đại Việt), volume 2, Ngô Sĩ Liên states: “In March 1437, the Lê Dynasty erected a plaque praising the heroic woman Lê Thị… whose name was Liễn, from Phúc Lâm village, Quốc Oai Trung district, the wife of Túc vệ Lương Thiên Tích of the Hồ Dynasty, beautiful, widowed early, childless, devoted to her husband's family, and performed rituals for her husband until his death.”

Following this, the Later Le Dynasty's events in honoring and educating the people about the image of beautiful and virtuous women included: praising the virtuous wife of Nguyen Van Dieu in 1456; issuing the Great Proclamation of Enlightenment to the whole country in 1461; bestowing titles upon the virtuous woman Nguyen Thi Bo in Dai Huu Le commune, Thanh Tri district in 1463; urging the reform of folk customs in 1465; and "sending envoys to districts throughout the country to praise virtuous and loyal people" in 1498.

The legal system also contained strict regulations regarding marriage. In 1499, the Le Dynasty issued the "Huan Detachment" consisting of 24 articles, some of which concerned matters of men, women, and marriage. Also in that year, in August, King Le Hien Tong issued a decree requiring everyone from princes to commoners "not to marry women from Champa, so as to preserve the customs" (according to the Dai Viet History Chronicle).

The photograph

The photograph "Saigon Girl" by photographer John Thomson is one of the first photographs taken in Vietnam, around 1867-1868.

During this turbulent period of political upheaval in the Later Le Dynasty, followed by Quang Trung's march north, many touching stories of virtuous women emerged. Phan Thi Thuan (from Can Loc, Ha Tinh province) was the third wife of General Ngo Canh Hoan, who died alongside her husband on the Thuy Ai River in 1786. Her life was intertwined with the turbulent period at the end of the Le-Trinh era. Her example of self-sacrifice for her husband was honored by the Nguyen Dynasty through the stele "The Memorial to Phan Thi Thuan, the Virtuous Wife of the Le Dynasty," becoming a cultural and historical heritage.

The Đại Nam Liệt Truyện (Biographies of Great Vietnamese Figures) tells the story of Phan Thị Trang, from La Sơn district, Nghệ An province. At the age of 17, her parents arranged her marriage, but before the wedding, her husband drowned. Upon hearing the news, she asked her parents for permission to return home to mourn. During the funeral, she wore a coarse linen garment for three years, going barefoot even to the market. After the mourning period ended, a man proposed marriage, but her mother-in-law advised her to remarry. She refused, instead adopting her husband's nephew as her successor. After her mother-in-law's death, she observed the funeral rites according to tradition, maintaining her chastity for 37 years, earning widespread praise. In the 8th year of Minh Mạng's reign, a plaque at her gate read, "Chastity worthy of emulation."

Or consider the story of Truong Thi Van from Nam Dinh. At the age of 20, she married Vu Chieu, gave birth to a son, and after three years, her husband died. A powerful local tyrant, attracted by Van's beauty, tried to force her into marriage. She swore not to remarry, and slashed her face with a knife, preventing the tyrant from taking her. King Minh Mang praised her for her beauty...

The Nguyen Dynasty honors female martyrs.

Dr. Pham Van Hung further explained that, during the Nguyen dynasty, the system of figures related to chastity (virgins, chaste women, heroic women) was generally referred to as "chaste women," and it seems that only the titles "chaste woman who committed suicide" and "virgin" were specifically defined in the Regulations on Rewarding Citizens, Officials, Righteous Husbands, Chaste Women, Virgins, Filial Sons, Obedient Grandchildren, etc., revised in 1866.

"A virtuous woman who commits suicide after her husband's death (regardless of whether she has children or not) to preserve her chastity, with sufficient testimony from her husband's family and local officials, and after thorough investigation by the local authorities, is rewarded with a plaque and a separate house."

"A virgin," an unmarried girl who resolutely maintains her chastity, refusing to be defiled by a violent man, bearing injuries as proof, regardless of whether she dies or not, will be rewarded with a plaque and a private house built for her by the state.

During the reign of Minh Mạng, the Nguyễn dynasty paid close attention to honoring women. Many female heroes were praised for their courageous and virtuous conduct. The Nguyễn dynasty entrusted the Ministry of Rites with rewarding those who lived long lives and were loyal and virtuous.

A photograph of a wealthy young woman wearing a large conical hat (a Ba Tam hat), from Northern Vietnam, 1915. (Original color photograph by Léon Busy)

During the reign of Emperor Tự Đức, in 1848, the Đại Nam thực lục (Chronicles of Đại Nam) mentioned that the court began setting age limits for women who remained chaste: “Only women under 25 years old who were widowed early and maintained their chastity may be included in the list submitted; those over 26 years old are not eligible to be included in the list, to establish a precedent.” In 1856, the court further tightened regulations, stating clearly, “From now on, only widows aged 55 and above may submit a petition.” Later, there was also a ranking system of “excellent, average, and below average” for those renowned for their chastity. In 1891, the Dai Nam Dong Van Nhat Bao newspaper was founded. King Thanh Thai had stories of filial children, virtuous grandchildren, loyal husbands, chaste wives, famous scholars, and righteous heroes printed in the newspaper. In the Dai Nam Thuc Luc, from the event of praising Nguyen Thi Kim (1804) to the end of the Dai Nam Thuc Luc - Chinh Bien De That Ky (1925), within 120 years, the Nguyen dynasty praised 310 chaste wives and heroic women. The most prominent were during the reigns of King Minh Mang and King Tu Duc.

The Nguyen Dynasty knew how to honor female heroes to affirm the moral values of their era. While Pham Dinh Ho lamented the moral decline of the late Le Dynasty in his "Vu Trung Tuy But," under Emperor Tu Duc, the emperor composed a poem honoring Nguyen Thi Kim (Luong Tai, Bac Ninh), the first female hero of the Nguyen Dynasty, to counterbalance the Qing Dynasty: "One day she committed suicide by starvation/Her name will be recorded in history for a thousand years/Great indeed is the imperial enterprise and the foundation of morality/How can the Qing Dynasty's power compare?" (Poetry and Prose of Tu Duc - Thuan Hoa Publishing House).

In his "Imperial Compilation of Vietnamese History," Emperor Tự Đức wrote five poems about heroic women, including poems about My Ê, Châu Thị, Phan Thị Thuấn, and two poems specifically about Nguyễn Thị Kim. Nguyễn Thị Kim committed suicide by poisoning herself, but Tự Đức wrote that she "abstained from eating." He wanted to create a beautiful image of a heroic woman, affirming the superiority of the Nguyễn dynasty's culture and customs compared to the Qing dynasty.

Later, through interaction with Western culture, the Nguyen dynasty adopted a more flexible view of chastity and the preservation of virtue, such as granting "land to encourage chastity." The court also clearly defined the duties of the Welfare Office and the Welfare House to care for the lives of officials, widows, orphans, and single people, ensuring they "do not have to wander aimlessly" or "do not lose their support." During the Westernization movement, many folklore researchers such as Phan Ke Binh and Phan Khoi argued that praising chastity was a harsh custom no longer relevant. But that's another matter, to be discussed later.

"Gương Liệt Nữ" (Mirror of Heroic Women) was composed by musician Lam Phương in 1997 but was never released. In 2017, Lam Phương entrusted Ben Thanh Audio Video with 10 new works, including "Gương Liệt Nữ". The song was licensed for public performance by the Department of Performing Arts in 2018.

"The Mirror of Heroic Women" is like an ancient story told through music, imbued with a classical feel. The first part of the song is a lyrical, profound melody, telling the story of Lady Tô Thị, "whose body turned to stone, still longed for her husband's return." The second part of the work, with its heroic melody, praises the example of the Two Trung Sisters, "whose rosy cheeks were no less beautiful than their husbands' talents, besides taking care of the household, they fought alongside their husbands on long journeys, defending every inch of our village's land..."

The music video "Gương liệt nữ" (Mirror of the Heroine) has been released on platforms such as YouTube and Spotify, performed by singer Duyên Quỳnh, the winner of the 2019 Love Storyteller competition. She is currently a singer at the Ho Chi Minh City Symphony Orchestra and Opera House.

Tuan Ngoc

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/liet-nu-trong-lich-su-post550331.html