Welcome to Noeple Blood, a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from

Aaron Manky, listener discretion advised.

There's a 15th century poem from Vietnam that reads,

all the male heroes bowed their heads in submission, only the two sisters proudly stood up to avenge the country.

Another poem from the 17th century echoes a similar sentiment.

The Han Emperor was extremely furious, this insignificant speck of a Zhao Qi,

and it was not even a man but a mere girl who wielded the skill of a hero.

These poems are recounting, albeit a little pompously, the story of Hai Baosheng or the Chong sisters,

once queens of an independent Vietnam.

The meaning of the phrase Zhao Qi in the second poem is in reference to Chinese occupied Vietnam,

where, in the year 39, the two sisters raised an army of 80,000 troops and led a revolt against Chinese rule.

The actual historical story of the Chong sisters is fascinating,

but it's even more interesting to understand the role that their story has played in the larger culture

and how it evolved over time.

If you hadn't realized the year 39 was a long time ago,

long enough for a narrative to take on all different shapes and sizes.

As was the case with Buddhica, the Isenic Queen, another ancient revolutionary that I've talked about on this show,

being an iconic figure from the very distant past means your story is by and large malleable.

It's available to be what the country needs it to be at any given moment.

The Chong sisters have seen spikes of popularity in different moments in Vietnamese history,

but each time there is a spike, it's through a newfound cultural lens.

Whether the sisters are portrayed as nationalists, comrades or feminist icons,

...