Vietnamese History Pt. 3: Trá»ng Thuá»· - Má» ChĂąu
Entry #6, 5/4/2026, History / Mythology (debatable)
Iâm tired and I have 7 assignments due Wednesday.
However their story makes me unwell.
Welcome to Trong Thuy - Mi Chau, I regret nothing, prepare tissues maybe?
Imagine An Duong Vuongâs rule. He had won over the Hung Kingâs kingdom with his (magical?) crossbow (No Lien Chau) that can shoot 100 arrows at once, made by his general Cao Lo.
However, one of the neighboring countryâs generals, Trieu Da (Zhao Tuo) wanted to invade Au Lac (Vietnam).
(This WILL be a reoccurring theme. Donât even think about ONE dynasty where we werenât bothered in some form by ~le neighboring country~)
He sent his son named Trong Thuy (Zhong Shi) over to find out what the crossbow was made of. He arranged for Zhong Shi and Mi Chau, An Duong Vuongâs daughter, to marry each other.
According to books, since this was but an arranged marriage, there MIGHT (iâm coping) be a chance that they actually loved each other.
Zhong Shi found the secret of the bow through Mi Chauâs words and told his father. Then, Trieu Daâs army came to invade Au Lac. An Duong Vuongâs carried his daughter on horseback to escape. Mi Chau, heartbroken, lays down a path of goose feathers for Zhong Shi to find her.
An Duong Vuong, finding this out,
AND THEN HIMSELF BY JUMPING INTO THE OCEAN.
Zhong Shi sees Mi Chauâs corpse floating on the water, cries, carries her back to bury her properly.
Then, he comes to the well where she used to brush her hair, JUMPS INTO IT AND DIES.
Trieu Da wins the war, rules the country and names the country Nam Viet, starting a 1000-year period of Northern rule.
Now what are my thoughts on this?
In modern times, this story is often seen as a cautionary tale about how letting down your guard to foreign countries may lead to the loss of yours, and Mi Chau is often seen as someone who made us lose our country. (misogyny COUGH COUGH)
However, I see her more as someone stuck in the web of a political ploy / conspiracy. I think her and Zhong Shi really did love each other, but was doomed by the threads of fate and the fires of circumstance.
I love them. Iâm gonna cry.
Also we canât say anything âbout Viet history without NGO SI LIEN!!!! My bitchy babygirl of all time. He said the history part of everything (Trieu Da making Nam Viet) is possibly true, while the feather-laying part is possibly false? eh? The crossbow, according to him, is possibly an exaggeration, but either way, crossbows were still superior back then. Yeah. I love him AND hate him. The historian ever.