In the proud history of Vietnam, women had played an important role. In any era, there are also talented, brave, resilient women who uphold the national spirit and tradition. Learning their stories is also how we review the heroic history of the nation and Vietnamese ladies.
Here are the stories telling about famous Vietnam women in history. The information in this article is selected and translated and photos come from Portal of Vietnam Women’s Union.
1. The first female leader in Vietnam
It was Trung Trac and Trung Nhi (14-43), strong women who dared to stand up and raise the flag of rebellion against the Han Dynasty.
The two ladies are known as the leaders who rebelled against the colonial government of the Eastern Han, founded a country with its capital at Me Linh, and proclaimed themselves the female emperor.
The book: “Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu” (Dai Viet Historical records) considered Trung Trac a king in history, with the name “Trung Nu Vuong” – Truong Female Emperor.
2. The first Vietnamese female communist soldier
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh Khai (1910-1941) was the first female communist soldier in Vietnam, who glorified the revolutionary tradition of Vietnamese women.
- In 1927, she joined the Tan Viet Revolutionary Party.
- In 1929, she left her family to join revolutionary activities in China.
- In 1935, she entered the Oriental University in the former Soviet Union.
- In 1937, she returned home to work.
After the failure of the Cochinchina Uprising, she was captured by the French in 1940 and sentenced to death by the French colonialists, and executed by firing squad at Giong T-junction, Hoc Mon (South Vietnam) in 1941.
3. The youngest heroine of the people’s armed forces
Ms. Vo Thi Sau (1933 – 1952) was the youngest female guerrilla in Vietnam, who repeatedly carried out assassination attempts against French officers and fellow traitors. effectively with the French colonial government in South Vietnam.
Due to being pointed out, that she was captured by the French army and executed by a French military court when she was less than 18 years old. She was like a typical Heroine Hero in the Resistance War against the French and was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the People’s Armed Forces in 1993 (police branch).
4. The only female general of Vietnam in the 20th century
It was Major General Nguyen Thi Dinh, also known affectionately as “Ba Dinh”. She really deserves the golden words that Uncle Ho gave the female Vietnamese “Heroine, indomitable, loyal, courageous”.
And President Ho Chi Minh once said: “The vice-deputy commander for the liberation of the South is Ms. Nguyen Thi Dinh. For the whole world, only our country has such a military position. It is glorious for the South, for the Vietnamese people.”
5. The only female king in the history of the Vietnamese nation to date
As the first and only female emperor in the history of Vietnam’s feudal dynasties, Ly Chieu Hoang (Chieu Thanh) was on the throne for just over a year, so history books only mention her with brief lines when writing about her.
According to Dai Viet historical records, Ly Chieu Hoang was born in the year of the Tiger (1218), the daughter of King Ly Hue Tong and Queen Tran Thi Dung. When she was born, the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225) was in decline. Chieu Hoang was only 7 years old at that time and was ordained as an empress, called Chieu Thanh.
After many events, she was demoted as a princess. From the time she was born until she left the world, with many events, she became a person with the strangest fate in Vietnam’s feudal history.
She got 7 times in different titles: Princess of the Ly Dynasty, Crown Prince of Ly Dynasty, Queen Empress of Ly Dynasty, Queen of Tran Dynasty, Princess of Tran Dynasty, Nun (Tran Dynasty), and Wife of Tran Dynasty General.
6. The only woman participating in the negotiations and signing of the Paris Agreement in 1972
That is Nguyen Thi Binh – former Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam- who was known to be one of the key figures in the Paris Conference. The Paris Conference on Vietnam (1968-1973) is considered one of the longest negotiations in world history.
At that time, Ms. Binh was the head of the delegation of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam to the Four-Party Conference on Peace for Vietnam in Paris in the period 1968-1973.
The Paris Agreement recorded the great victories of the resistance war against the US, marking a turning point in the resistance war against the US and saving the country of the Vietnamese people.
She was also the first female Foreign Minister of Vietnam and the first Vietnamese woman to hold the position of Vice President.
7. The first female editor (now called the editor-in-chief) in Vietnam
That’s Ms. Suong Nguyet Anh, real name is Nguyen Xuan Khue (there is a document that says Nguyen Ngoc Khue), nickname Nam Hanh; when she was a girl, she took the name Nguyet Anh.
She was born on February 1, 1864, in An Binh Dong village, now An Duc commune, Ba Tri district, Ben Tre province, Vietnam. She is the fifth daughter of patriotic poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu.
On February 1, 1918, the newspaper “Common Women” – the first newspaper in Vietnam was published in the first press and Ms. Suong Nguyet Anh officially became the first female editor in the history of Vietnamese journalism.
“Common Women” newspaper focused on teaching women, women’s virtue and criticized the strict laws against women at that time, and at the same time strongly advocated for the equality of men and women.
Ms. Suong Nguyet Anh not only played a great role in awakening and encouraging female readers in the new era, but also diversified, enriched, and perfected the fledgling journalism of Vietnam, at the same time creating a good premise for a series of women’s newspapers that later appeared such as “Women of Tan Van”, “Women of the Times”.
8. Who is the ancestor of Chu Dau pottery?
The ancestor of Chu Dau Pottery is Mrs. Bui Thi Hy, from Nam Sach district, Hai Duong province, Vietnam. Famous since the 15th century when she brought Chu Dau Ceramic to shine around the world, Ms. Bui Thi Hy was also the first talented businesswoman in Vietnam.
Chu Dau pottery under the talented hands of Mrs. Bui Thi Hy has its own characteristics of the village and also Vietnamese characteristics, which are expressed in enamel colors and motifs imbued with Vietnamese cultural identity. Each product contains many meanings and wishes of the artist for a happy and successful life.
9. Who is the first female math professor in Vietnam?
It is Prof. Hoang Xuan Sinh in the field of Algebra, who was born in 1933 in Hanoi. Ms. Hoang Xuan Sinh is both a female doctor and the first female professor of mathematics in Vietnam. She was also the first foreign woman to come to Paris to successfully defend her national doctoral thesis in mathematics.
In addition to teaching Algebra at the University of Pedagogy and compiling university curricula and high school mathematics textbooks, Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh used to be the head of the algebra department and then the head of the Mathematics – Informatics department at the university of Hanoi Pedagogical University.
She was one of the founders of Thang Long University, the first private university in Vietnam (1988).