- "I only want to ride the wind and walk the waves, slay the big whales of the eastern sea, clean up frontiers, and save the people from drowning."
Triệu Thị Trinh (8 November 226 – 4 April 248), better known by the honorific Bà Triệu or Lady Triệu, was a Vietnamese warrior who led an uprising against the Eastern Wu occupation of Vietnam, and afterwards became a popular and highly celebrated folk hero in Vietnamese culture. She leads the Vietnamese in Civilization VI.
Bà Triệu uses her bonuses to unit speed and cheaper Thành districts for an effective defense as she acquires 
Culture – or as a base from which to launch a Domination Victory.
Intro[]
Bà Triệu, your people will remember you as a goddess. Stand against those who would try to rein in your storm, and raise your sword in defiance. Neither family nor foe will hold you back.
In-Game[]
Bà Triệu's unique agenda is Defender of the Homeland. She likes civilizations that have not declared war on Vietnam, and hates those that have, never forgiving their transgression, as her opinion decreases further each turn the war progresses, and this decreased opinion never decays.
Her leader ability is Drive Out The Aggressors. Her units gain +5 
Combat Strength when fighting on Rainforest, Marsh, or Woods tiles, and +1 
Movement when they begin their turn on them, both of which are doubled if these tiles are in Vietnamese territory.
Detailed Approach[]
Vietnam is a tough Civilization to conquer. Where other Civilizations' units get bogged down in tough terrain, Bà Triệu’s military units gain additional movement and defense while in Marshes, Woods, or Rainforest, giving her a clear advantage when fighting in such regions. Additionally, she can build Thành districts without the typical population requirements, providing an extra layer of defense to her homeland and providing additional Culture. While Ba Trieu’s specialty Districts – not including the Thành, which, unlike the Encampment is not a specialty District - are limited to Woods, Rainforest, or Marshes, her Builders can plant forests earlier, freeing new tiles for new Districts. Vietnam is a highly effective defensive Civilization, well-poised to seek military or cultural victories.
Lines[]
Bà Triệu is voiced by Ha Le Giang. She speaks modern Vietnamese with a northern (Hanoi) accent.
According to Andrew Alan Johnson, the writer of Civilization VI from Firaxis Games, with Bà Triệu's lines they "were going for that 'list of those who have slighted me' feel; a lot of these will be more present in the non-voiced bits. As far as references to Thang Long and Hanoi... yes, they're anachronistic. I love the name, though, of the 'Lake of the Returned Sword,' and love the grandeur of medieval Thang Long. Better than 'Yep, still up here on that mountain, plottin' your murder...' But a hardcore Vietnam history buff will see some anachronisms. Above all, I really didn't want to refer to any American War tropes, as fan service-y as they would feel."[1]
Voiced[]
| Codename | Quote (English translation) | Quote (Vietnamese) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda-based Approval | You have not been plotting my destruction, so I will not plot yours. (lit. "You have never plotted to destroy me, so I will not do that to you.") | Ngươi chưa từng có âm mưu tiêu diệt ta, nên ta cũng sẽ không làm vậy với ngươi. | In all of her lines, she uses the pronouns ta for herself and ngươi for the player, indicating she looks down on and is placing herself above the player in her views on social and power rankings. |
| Agenda-based Disapproval | Vietnam watches you. (lit. "Vietnam is keeping an eye on you.") | Việt Nam canh chừng ngươi. | |
| Attacked | I have waited for this day for a long time. Today begins the war that will end in your destruction. (lit. "I have waited for this day for a long time. The day the war begins will also be the day of your destruction.") | Ta đã chờ ngày này từ rất lâu. Ngày cuộc chiến bắt đầu cũng là ngày tàn của ngươi. | |
| Declares War | Now you are at war with Vietnam. Do you hear our trumpets? The thunder of our elephants? They are coming for you! (lit. "You are at war with the army of Vietnam. Do you hear the sounds of the rallying drums? Or perhaps the thunderous roars of the war elephants? Our army is rushing out to battle!") | Ngươi nghênh chiến với quân đội Việt Nam. Ngươi có nghe thấy tiếng trống giục quân? Tiếng sấm gầm vang của đàn voi thiện chiến chăng? Đoàn quân chúng ta đang ào ào ra trận! | |
| Defeated | Do you think you have defeated me? I will ascend to heaven, and become the immortal spirit of our resistance! (lit. "You thought you have defeated me? I will ascend to heaven to become the sacred spirit of the rivers and mountains, never to submit!") | Ngươi tưởng ngươi đã đánh bại được ta ư? Ta sẽ lên trời để trở thành hồn thiêng sông núi, không bao giờ khuất phục! | |
| Greeting | I am Lady Trieu, the general who wears the golden robe. Welcome to Vietnam. (lit. "I am Lady Trieu, the female general clad in a golden robe. I welcome you to Vietnam.") | Ta là Triệu Trinh Nương, nữ tướng quân mặc chiếc áo hoàng bào. Ta nghênh đón ngươi đã đến Việt Nam. | She refers to herself as "Triệu Trinh Nương": Triệu Trinh, as in Triệu Thị Trinh, is her alleged full name, although there was no historical record mentioning this name until the 20th century; and Nương (Sino-Vietnamese for 娘 niáng) means "Lady" or "Miss," an archaic honorific for a young woman. |
| Quote from Civilopedia | I only want to ride the wind and walk the waves, slay the big whales of the eastern sea, clean up frontiers, and save the people from drowning. (lit. "I only want to ride the strong wind, walk the fierce waves, slash the whales of the Eastern sea, reclaim the country, establish independence, remove the shackles of serfdom.") | Ta chỉ muốn cưỡi cơn gió mạnh, đạp luồng sóng dữ, chém cá kình ở biển Đông, lấy lại giang sơn, dựng nền độc lập, cởi ách nô lệ. | According to Viet Nam sử lược (A Brief History of Vietnam), a history book that was written in the early 20th century by Vietnamese historian Trần Trọng Kim, Bà Triệu said these words while on a mountain where she gathered a band of one thousand followers, in response to her brother who tried to dissuade her from rebelling.[2] However, the words said in Vietnamese don't exactly match the ones given in different Vietnamese sources.[3][4] |
Unvoiced[]
Delegation: Vietnam's delegation approaches, bearing bird's nest soup, abalone, deer's tendon, and water from the Hàm Long well.
Accepts Delegation from Player: Your delegation has seen the beauty of Vietnam, and the fierceness of its people.
Rejects Delegation from Player: You say they come in peace, but I cannot allow any foreign infiltrators.
Accepts Player's Declaration of Friendship: There! I have taken you off the revenge list.
Rejects Player's Declaration of Friendship: Vietnam stands alone. We do not need you.
Requests Declaration of Friendship: Let our people share each other's burdens, and the struggle will be easier.
Player Accepts Declaration of Friendship: Our spears unite against our foes!
Player Rejects Declaration of Friendship: You know what happens to my enemies, right?
Denounced by Player: You cannot content yourself with ruling your people, but you must interfere with mine as well? I shall tell the world of your crimes!
Denounces Player: Look here, you snake. One day there will be a great reckoning between our peoples, and justice will be served to you.
Invitation to Capital: Welcome to Vietnam! Come and have bird's nest soup in our capital.
Invitation to City: Let me tell you of the citadels of Hanoi, and the dawn mist that clings to the Lake of the Returned Sword.
Civilopedia entry[]
Vietnam has a long history of wars with those who would seek to conquer it. Some of the leaders of these fights are regarded as heroes, or even local divinities. One of the earliest of these was named Triệu.
In the early 200s AD, northern Vietnam was occupied by the Wu Kingdom – one of three Chinese kingdoms that were struggling for power across the continent. It would have been a tense situation – the Wu already on edge and nervous in their occupation of what they considered a “barbarian south,” and the Vietnamese constantly agitating for independence. The Chinese might well have remembered the experience of the Han Dynasty, and the uprising of the Trưng Sisters over a century before – the Vietnamese certainly did. And in this environment, in a province then called Cửu Chân, near present-day Hanoi, came a remarkable woman. Bà Triệu (“Lady Triệu,” also called Triệu Thị Trinh, though her original name is unknown) fought not only the occupying Chinese, but also to her own society’s expectations of her. She reportedly said, “I’d like to ride storms, kill the killer whales in the open sea, drive out the foreign aggressors, reconquer the country, undo the ties of serfdom, and never bend my back to be the concubine of whatever man.”
Her early life was fraught with loss, oppression, and abuse. She was orphaned, and raised by her brother and his wife, who was less than accepting of the extra mouth to feed. Life was difficult in Vietnam during that time, but Triệu decided to do something about it.
When Triệu turned nineteen, she left her abusive household and murdered her sister-in-law on the way out. She fled to a nearby mountain and began to prepare for war, day and night, for months on end. She was angry: about her past, about the oppression her people faced, about the way women were expected to live at the time, and she sought a way to end these injustices. Word began to spread about a mighty warrior on the mountaintop preparing a rebellion against the Chinese, and warriors flocked to Triệu. These rumors led her brother (who didn’t seem to mind that his wife was dead – perhaps this says something about Triệu’s sister-in-law…) up the mountain, where he begged her to give up her fight. Triệu wouldn’t be dissuaded, and she ultimately convinced her brother to join her and her thousand-warrior army.
In 248, Bà Triệu struck. She fought in over thirty battles, using guerilla tactics against an asymmetrically powerful occupying force – a theme that was to recur in Vietnamese history. The Chinese at first underestimated her because she was a woman, but as time went on, she became a near-mythic, terrifying figure. Rumor had it she was over nine feet tall and rode into battle on an elephant, crying out with a voice like a temple bell. She wore bright golden armor or, on other occasions, a golden robe (concealing, according to one account, yard-long breasts that she threw over her shoulders while riding) and carried a sword in each hand. Most frightening of all was her beauty and fiery temper. Her prowess on the field and uniform earned her the title “The Lady General Clad in Golden Robe.”
Lu Yin, the military general charged with putting down Triệu’s uprising, was getting tired of being humiliated by not only a young opponent, but also a female one. The Wu Dynasty escalated the conflict, pouring more and more troops into Vietnam, until eventually Triệu’s homegrown resistance could not keep up. Her armies dwindled, and after months of heavy fighting, she was ultimately defeated. However, rather than allowing herself to be taken by her enemy, she chose her own death and allegedly drowned herself in a river. She was only in her early twenties when she died.
Later Vietnamese emperors honored Bà Triệu not only as a national hero, but as a goddess.
Trivia[]
- Bà Triệu's leader ability is part of a famous quote attributed to her - "I'd like to ride storms, kill big whales in the open sea, drive out the aggressors, reconquer the country, undo the ties of serfdom, and never bend my back to be the concubine of whatever man." - while her agenda references her defense of Vietnam against Chinese invaders.
- Having passed away at 21, Bà Triệu is the leader with the shortest lifespan in Civilization VI and its expansions (at least among non-apocryphal leaders with known years of birth and death). The only leader with a shorter lifespan in the entire franchise is Joan d'Arc, the French leader in Civilization III, who died when she was 18-19 years old.
- The multi-pointed star inscribed inside a circle on her armguards and the birds on her belt represent the sun and the mythological lạc birds, the two signature patterns featured frequently in arts of the Dong Son bronze culture, especially on the surface of their eponymous bronze drums.
- Bà Triệu's diplomacy screen shows three stilt houses near a riverbank with some water lilies.
Gallery[]
.png "Bà Triệu Promo (Civ6).png (2.43 MB)")
.png "Bà Triệu loadscreen (Civ6).png (2.64 MB)")
Videos[]
Related achievements[]
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I will not bend my back
Win a regular game as Bà Triệu.
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