Wednesday, July 18, 2007

WHO'S WHO? continued..


Gia Long, nicknamed Nguyen Anh, founding emperor of the Nguyen dynasty. In 1778, when the Nguyen Capital of Gia Dinh (Saigon) was seized by the Tay Son Rebellion, he was the only surviving member of the Nguyen lords. In 1787, he signed a treaty with France to restore the Nguyen in power in return for the cession port of Tourane (Da Nang) and the island of Poulo Condore. The promised assistant from France did not materialize. In 1801, he subdued the Tay Son with helps from the training in modern military techniques and Bishop of Adran. The dynastic name Gia Long, taken from the names of the southern (Gia Dinh) and northern (Thang Long) capitals, symbolized the reunification. The new capital was place at Hue (Phu Xuan), near the central coast.


Le Van Duyet (1763-1832), regional official in South Viet Nam during 19th century. In 1799, he led Nguyen forces against the
Tay Son at Qui Nhon.
Gia Long appointed him regent of South Viet Nam including the authority to conduct foreign relations with Europe and other Southeast Asian nations. His attempt to prevent
Minh Mang's succession to the throne when Gia Long died, earned him the extreme wrath of the monarch. When he died in 1832, he was post-humously convicted and his grave desecrated, leading his adopted son, Le Van Khoi, to rebel. The revolt posed a serious threat to Minh Mang because advantage was taken of it by Siam sending its troops to Cochin-China. Minh Mang defeated Siamese troops and crushed the rebellion.


Pierre Pigneau de Be'haine, Bishop of Adran, the Catholic missionary who first evoked France's interest in Viet Nam. He befriended a pretender to the Vietnamese throne, Nguyen Anh, who founded the Nguyen dynasty. The Bishop of Adran saw an opportunity to expand the church's influence in the post

Tay Son era and negotiated a promise of military aid for Nguyen Anh from the French Government in exchange for territorial and commercial rights.


Prince Canh,
Gia Long's eldest son, who accompanied Pierre Pigneau de Be'haine to the court of Louis XVI at Versailles, where he caused a sensation. Canh was educated at a missionary school in Malacca and converted to Catholicism which made him the first Viet prince educated by Wester

Minh Mang, Nguyen's 2nd emperor, once prince Mien Tong, son of Gia Long, a gentle scholar who French propagandists of the time depicted as a cruel tyrant. The Catholic missions had sped up their evangelization of the people provoked Ming Mang's anti-Catholic policy which ordered the prosecution of Catholic missionaries and their Vietnamese converts. The anti-Catholic policy gave French a pretext to intervene in Viet Nam. The landing of a French party in the port of Tourane, in August 1858, heralded the beginning of the colonial occupation which was to last almost a century.

Minh Mang's Mausoleum in Virtual Reality


Phan Thanh Gian (1796-1867). In 1826, he earned a doctorate in the civil service examaminations and entered the imperial bureaucracy. He served as a deputy chief of a diplomatic mission to China, and later was named province chief in Quang Nam and Binh Dinh provinces. In 1862 he was appointed to negotiate a treaty with Napoleon III following the defeat by French forces at Ky Hoa. When the French violated the pact, Phan commited suicide after pledging his sons never to cooperate with France.

Thieu Tri, Nguyen's 3rd emperor, became more and more entrenched in his Confucian doctrine, the country experienced an era of stagnancy. The court mandarins were increasingly blinded to the development of the outside world and worse still, implemented a policy of isolation that forbade any contact with foreigners.

Thieu Tri's Mausoleum in Virtual Reality

Tu Duc, Nguyen's 4th emperor, whose crass persecution of Christians in his realm provided France with a pretext to pursue its colonial encroachment in the region. The execution of a Spanish bishop in 1857 led to the French capture of Saigon in 1859, and three years later Tu Duc was forced to cede part of Cochin China; by 1867 France had annexed all of it. Tu Duc's later attempt to play the French against intervention by China succeeded only in the French occupation of Tonkin in 1882, but he died shortly before the final reduction of his country to a French protectorate in 1883.

Tu Duc's Mausoleum in Virtual Reality


Ham Nghi, Nguyen's 8th emperor. After establishment of French Protectorate in 1884. Brother of Emperor Kien Phuc, who died after a brief reign in 1884, Ham Nghi rose to the throne at the age of twelve. In July 1845 he fled the capital of Hue with Regent Ton That Thuyet to launch the Can Vuong resistance movement against French occupation. Captured in November 1888, Ham Nghi was sent to live out his life in exile in Algeria, and died there in 1947.

Dong Khanh, Nguyen's 9th emperor, selected by the French to rule because of his docility.
Dong Khanh's Mausoleum in Virtual Reality

Thanh Thai, Nguyen's 10th emperor under the French Protectorate. A son of Emperor Duc Duc, who reigned for only 3 days. He resented French domination and was deposed on suspicion of conspiracy in 1907. Exiled to the island of Reunion, he was later returned to Viet Nam.

Duy Tan, Nguyen's 11th emperor
Emperor Duy Tan as a boy


Khai Dinh, Nguyen's 12th emperor
Portrait Khai Dinh's Mausoleum in Virtual Reality


Bao Dai, last emperor of the Nguyen dynasty of Viet Nam. He succeeded to the throne in 1926 and ruled under French and—during the last days of World War II—Japanese protection until forced out by the Viet Minh in 1945. He returned in 1949 to head the new state of Viet Nam, set up by France to rival the Communist government of Ho Chi Minh. After Viet Nam's partition in 1954, Bao Dai remained head of state in South Viet Nam until deposed by Premier Ngo Dinh Diem the following year. Thereafter he lived in exile. more?


Legend: = cac anh hung chong Phap

Truong Cong Dinh , (1820-1864). Military commander of Vietnamese forces resisting the French conquest of South Viet Nam in the early 1860s. Born in Quang Nam Province, he was the son of a career military officer, who was appointed commander of royal troops in Gia Dinh Province, near present-day Saigon. When the threat of French invasion loomed in the late 1850s, he helped organize military settlements (cong dien) and became deputy commander of militia forces in the region. After taking part in the Battle of Ky Hoa (February 1861), Truong Dinh withdrew his forces south of Saigon, where he launched a prolonged guerrilla resistance against French occupation. Ordered to desist by the imperial court after the Treaty of Saigon (June 1962), he refused and continued the struggle. Wounded in battle in August 1864, he committed suicide.


Ton That Thuyet , lanh tu phong trao Can Vuong. Anti-French resistance leader in 19th century Viet Nam. After the Treaty of Protectorate in 1884 established French control over the Vietnamese Empire, Ton That Thuyet, an influential court official, fled with the young Emperor Ham Nghi in the hope of launching a nationwide revolt against French rule. Seeking refuge in the mountains north of Hue, Ton That Thuyet and Ham Nghi issued an appeal entitled "Save the King" (Can Vuong) to the Vietnamese people for support.

Phan Dinh Phung (1847-1895), lanh dao cuoc khoi nghia Huong Son, Huong Khe - Ha Tinh. Cung voi Cao Thang chi huy cuoc khoi nghia chong quan Phap trong 10 nam, 1885-1895.

Anti-French resistance leader in late 19th-century Viet Nam. Raised in a scholar-official family from Ha Tinh Province, Phan Dinh Phung received a doctorate (tien si) in the civil service examinations given in 1877. He served in the Imperial Censorate (Do Sat Vien), where he was noted for his integrity and was briefly imprisoned in 1883 for refusing to sanction a successor to the deceased Emperor Tu Duc not designated by the emperor himself. When Emperor
Ham Nghi issued his famous "Can Vuong" (Save the King) appeal in July 1885, Phan Dinh Phung responded and launched a revolt in his native province of Ha Tinh. The movement quickly spread to neighboring provinces and lasted 10 years, despite numerous appeals to Phan Dinh Phung from colleagues who had chosen to collaborate with the French, and despite the desecration of his ancestral plot by the colonial regime. The movement was a nuisance to the French, but the rebels lacked weapons and central direction from the puppet court in Hue, and shortly after Phan Dinh Phung died of dysentery in December 1895 it collapsed.


Hoang Hoa Tham ( ? -1913), also known as De Tham, lanh dao cuoc khoi nghia nong dan Yen The (Ha Bac). Da ben bi to chuc chong Phap trong gan 30 nam (1885-1913). Pirate leader and patriot in French-ruled Viet Nam. Born in a poor peasant family in Hung Yen Province in the mid-19th century, De Tham was raised in Yen The, in the rugged mountains north of the Red River Delta, and as a young man joined the Black Flag bandit organization led by the pirate leader Luu Vinh Phuc. He became a bandit leader , stealing from the rich to help the poor. After vainly attempting to suppress his movement, the French made a truce with De Tham in 1893, but the latter began to cooperate with anticolonial elements and allegedly took part in a plot to poison the Hanoi military garrison planned by Phan Boi Chau. The French resumed their efforts to capture him, and he was assassinated by an agent of the French in 1913.

Phan Boi Chau (1867-1940), lanh tu phong trao Dong Du, 1904-1909.

Leading figure in the anti-colonial movement in early 20th-century Viet Nam. He earned a second class degree (Pho bang) in the metropolitan examinations in 1900. In 1903 he formed a revolutionary organization called the Restoration Society (Duy Tan Hoi) under the titular leadership of Prince Cuong De. Two years later he established his headquarters in Japan, where he wrote patriotic tracts designed to stir anti-French sentiments among the general population and encourage young Vietnamese to flee abroad and join his exile organization. In 1912 he transformed the Modernization Society into a new organization, the Vietnamese Restoration Society (Viet Nam Quang Phuc Hoi). Several attempted uprisings in Viet Nam failed. Phan Boi Chau himself was briefly imprisoned in China. On his release in 1917, he appeared temporarily discouraged at the prospects of victory, writing a pamphlet entitled "France-Vietnamese Harmony" (Phap-Viet De Hue) . In 1925 Phan Boi Chau was seized by French agents while passing through the International Settlement in Shanghai. Brought under guard to Hanoi, he was tried and convicted of treason. He spent the remainder of his life in house arrest in Hue and died in 1940.


Cuong De , Prince. Member of the Nguyen royal house who took an active role in anti-colonial activities in French-ruled Viet Nam. A descendent of Prince Canh, the first son of founding Emperor
Gia Long, Cuong De served as the titular leader of
Phan Boi Chau's Modernization Society (Duy Tan Hoi), established in 1903. Cuong De died in 1957.

Luong Van Can , sang lap Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc tai Ha Noi, 1907.
Phan Chu Trinh (1872-1926), mot trong nhung thu linh cua phong trao Duy Tan, 1906-1908.
Nguyen Thai Hoc (1908-1930), lanh tu Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang.



(from viettouch)

WHO'S WHO? continued...

WHO'S WHO? continued...
The Mac dynasty


Emperor


Reign Title

1527-1529

Mạc Ðăng Dung


Minh Ðức

1530-1540

Mạc Ðăng Doanh


Ðại Chính

1541-1546

Mạc Phúc Hải


Quảng Hòa

1546-1561

Mạc Phúc Nguyên


Vĩnh Ðịnh

1562-1592

Mạc Mậu Hợp


Thuần Phúc

1592-1592

Mạc Toàn


Vũ An

1592-1593

Mạc Kính Chỉ


Bảo Ðịnh

1593...

Mạc Kính Cung


Càn Thống

1596-1596

Mạc Kính Chơng



1598-1598

Mạc Kính Dụng


Thái Bình

1625-1638

Mạc Kính Khoan


Long Thái

1638-1678

Mạc Kính Hoàn


Thuận Ðức

1666-1666

Mạc Kính Võ



1692-1692

Mạc Kính Chư



Mac Dang Dung, shrewded and scheming adviser at the Royal Court, seized control and found the Mac dynasty.

The later Le dynasty
1533-1548
Lê Trang Tông

Lê Duy Ninh

Nguyên Hòa

1549-1556

Lê Trung Tông

Lê Huyên

Thuận Bình

1557-1573

Lê Anh Tông

Lê Duy Bang

Thiên Hựu

1573-1599

Lê Thế Tông

Lê Duy Ðàm

Gia Thái

1600-1619

Lê Kính Tông

Lê Duy Tân

Thuận Ðức

1619-1643

Lê Thần Tông

Lê Duy Kỳ

Vĩnh Tộ

1643-1649

Lê Chân Tông

Lê Duy Hựu

Phúc Thái

1649-1662

Lê Thần Tông

Lê Duy Kỳ (lần 2)

Vĩnh Tộ

1663-1671

Lê Huyền Tông

Lê Duy Vũ

Cảnh Trị

1672-1675

Lê Gia Tông

Lê Duy Hợi

Dương Ðức

1676-1705

Lê Huy Tông

Lê Duy Hợp

Vĩnh Trị

1705-1729

Lê Dụ Tông

Lê Duy Ðường

Vĩnh Thịnh

1729-1732

Lê Ðế

Lê Duy Phường

Vĩnh Khánh

1732-1735

Lê Thuần Tông

Lê Duy Tường

Long Ðức

1735-1740

Lê Ý Tông

Lê Duy Thìn

Vĩnh Hựu

1740-1786

Lê Hiển Tông

Lê Duy Diêu

Cảnh Hưng

1787-1788

Lê Mẫn Ðế

Lê Duy Kỳ

Chiêu Thống

The Tay Son brothers
1778-1793
Nguyễn Nhạc


Thái Ðức

1788-1792

Nguyễn Huệ

Nguyễn Quảng Bình

Quang Trung

1793-1802

Nguyễn Quang Toản


Cảnh Thịnh

The Tay Son brothers - Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Lu and Nguyen Hue - staged an uprising against the leading Le Lords.


Quang Trung (1752-1792) was born in Kien Thanh hamlet, Binh Thanh village, Binh Khe district (Binh Dinh province). In 1788, the Qing court decided to send an expeditionary corps to conquer the divided country. Nguyen Hue proclaimed himself Emperor Quang Trung in Phu Xuan and overran the Chinese troops in a whirlwind campaign. He pacified the Northern part of the country from the Chinese border to the Hai Van pass in the Center and devoted his energies to national rehabilitation, administrative reorganization and economic development. Significantly, Quang Trung replaced the Chinese Han with the popular

Nôm
as the official language. He died not long after 1792. October 25, 1788, upon arrival of Nghe An province on foot and by riverway, Quang Trung gave the troops a ten day break and enlisted additional recuitment. Upon reaching Tam Diep mountain on December 20, he ordered his men to celebrate the lunar New Year in advance , then departed the troops on December 30 and to held victory scheduled on January 7.
Phu Xuyen battle: Quang Trung torn off the Lee troops located in the Gian Thuy river area then caught the reconnaissance team of the Ts'ing troops, no one were escaped to notify their adjacent posts.
Ha Hoi battle: On midnight of January 3, 1789, Quang Trung approached and surrounded the enemy's post and appealed them to surrender through loudspeaker.
Ngoc Hoi battle: On the dawn of January 5, Quang Trung ordered to open up Ngoc Hoi post. The enemy fled in all directions.
Dong Da battle: While Quang Trung conducting violent fight with the enemy at Ngoc Hoi, admiral Long maneuvered his troops in the flank to assault Khuong Thuong post near Dong Dạ Ton Si Nghi left his seal and crossed the river to run up north. Noon that day, Quang Trung proudly advanced to Thang Long (Hanoi nowaday).


Ðồng commemorating Quang Trung Victory of Ngoc Hoi Battle, 1789: front - - back
Papernote commemorating Quang Trung Victory of Ngoc Hoi Battle: front - - back
Stamps commemorating Quang Trung

Loi du tuong si

The Nguyen dynasty
1802-1819
Nguyễn Thế Tổ

Nguyễn Phúc ánh

Gia Long

1820-1840

Nguyễn Thánh Tổ

Nguyễn Phúc Ðảm

Minh Mạng

1841-1847

Nguyễn Hiến Tổ

Nguyễn Miên Tông

Thiệu Trị

1848-1883

Nguyễn Dực Tông

Nguyễn Hồng Nhiệm

Tự Ðức

1883 (3d)

Nguyễn Dục Ðức

Nguyễn Ưng Chân

Dục Ðức

1883 (6m)

Nguyễn Hiệp Hoà

Nguyễn Hồng Dật

Hiệp Hoà

1883-1884

Nguyễn Giản Tông

Nguyễn Ưng Ðang

Kiến Phúc

1884-1885

Nguyễn Hàm Nghi

Nguyễn Ưng Lịch

Hàm Nghi

1886-1888

Nguyễn Cảnh Tông

Nguyễn Ưng Xụy

Ðồng Khánh

1889-1907

Nguyễn Thành Thái

Nguyễn Bửu Lân

Thành Thái

1907-1916

Nguyễn Duy Tân

Nguyễn Vĩnh San

Duy Tân

1916-1925

Nguyễn Hoằng Tông

Nguyễn Bửu Ðảo

Khải Ðịnh

1926-1945

Nguyễn Bảo Ðại

Nguyễn Vĩnh Thụy

Bảo Ðại


(from viettouch)

TRAN HUNG DAO (1213-1300)


In 1284, Kublai Khan leads a 500,000-man Chinese army into Viet Nam. Guerrillas organized by Tran Hung Dao virtually destroy the invasion force.

The First Mongol Defeat: (1257)
At the beginning of the 13th century, Genghis Khan, having unified Mongolia, started a war of conquest against China. In 1253, Kublai conquered the Dai Ly kingdom (now Yunnan province), thus reaching the Vietnamese frontier. The Mongols demanded passage through Viet Nam (was Dai Viet) in order to attack Sung from the south (1257), but the Tran refused. A Mongol army invaded Viet Nam, smashed its defences, and seized the capital Thang Long, which was burnt to the ground. The Tran king left the capital and abandoned its inhabitants. A Vietnamese counter-offensive drove the Mongols out of the capital. In retreat the enemy was attacked by local partisans from an ethnic minority group living in the Phu Tho region.

The Second Mongol Defeat: (1284-1285)
Once they had become the overlords of China, the Mongols grew more and more demanding towards Viet Nam. Despite concessions by the Tran, the Mongol court remained intransigent, dreaming of conquering both Viet Nam and Champa.

In 1284, Kublai started a powerful expedition against Viet Nam and Champa. Under the command of his son Toghan (Thoa't Hoan), 500,000 cavalrymen and infantrymen were to rush southward to push the frontiers of the Mongol empire to the southernmost part of the Indochina peninsula.

King Tran Nhan Tong was aware of the enemy's strategy. As early as 1282 he has assembled and consulted all the princes and dignitaries on the action to be taken; their unanimous response was to fight. Prince Quoc Toan, only 16 years old, recuited 1,000 men to go to the front. By 1283, all princes and dignitaries were ordered to put their troops under the command of Tran Hung Dao. A congress of village elders from all over the country was convened, and the following question put to them: "Should we be capitulated or fight?" A great cry rose from the assembly: "Fight!"

At the close of 1284, the Mongols crossed the frontier. The Vietnamese force, totalling a mere of 200,000 men, was unable to withstand the first onslaught. Tran Hung Dao ordered the evacuation of the capital and was asked by the king: "The enemy is so strong that a protracted war might bring terrible destruction down upon the people. Wouldn't it be better-to lay down our arm to save the population?" The general answered: "I understand Your Majesty's humane feelings perfectly, but what would become of our country ancestors' land, and of our forefather's temples? If you want to surrender, please have my head cut off first".

to be continued...

The Third Mongol Defeat: (1288)
to be continued...

The Third Battle at Bach-dang River (April 3, 1288)
(from viettouch)

NGO QUYEN (938-944)









In a protracted war which ended with the celebrated battle of Bach Dang. General Ngo Quyen vanquished the Chinese invaders and founded the first National Dynasty. Ngo Quyen transfered the capital to Co Loa, the capital of Au Lac Kingdom, thus affirming the continuity of the traditions of the Lac Viet people. Ngo Quyen spent 6 years of his reign fighting the continual revolts of the feudal lords. At his death in 967, the kingdom fell into chaos and became known as the land of "Thap Nhi Su Quan", the 12 feudal principlities constantly fighting each other.
The First Battle at Bach-dang River (938)
Liu Kung, the Southern Han ruler, jumped at the chance to intervene in Viet Nam again after the death of Dinh Nghe. He had been foiled by Duong Dinh Nghe in 931, but now that Dinh Nghe was dead, he thought the time was ripe for another try. He placed his own son, Liu Hung-ts'ao, in command of the expedition, naming him "Peaceful Sea Military Governor" and "King of Giao." He hastily assembled an army at Sea Gate, where he personally took charge of the reserve force. He ordered Hung-ts'ao to embark the army and sail to Giao.
According to Vietnamese tradition, at birth Ngo Quyen was bathed in a strange luminosity and three black moles were discovered on his back. These were taken as signs of his future greatness, and, in anticipation of this, he was named Quyen, meaning "authority and power." He is said to have grown into an unusually fine-looking and stalwart young man with eyes like lightning and a measured step like that of a tiger. He was noted for his wisdom, bravery, and physical strengths.

Quyen became a general of Duong Dinh Nghe. In 931, when Dinh Nghe defeated Southern Han, Quyen was thirty-three years old. Dinh Nghe gave him one of his daughters in marriage and placed him in charge of Ai Province. Ai was Dinh Nghe's birthplace and base of power. His giving command of this region to Quyen is an indication of Quyen's quality as a subordinate. When Dinh Nghe was killed by Kieu Cong Tien in the spring of 937, Quyen mobilized an army and marched north to avenge the death of his patron. Once this was accomplished, he unavoidably became the leader of the Vietnamese battle against the Chinese.


Coc (wooden poles) used at Bach Dang Battle


By the time Liu Hung-ts'ao arrived in Vietnamese waters with the Southern Han expedition, Ngo Quyen had already put Kieu Cong Tien to death and was prepared to meet the Chinese assault. Hung-ts'ao's plan was to ascend the Bach-dang River and to place his army in the heart of Giao before disembarking; the Bach-dang was the major riverine route into the Hong River plain from the north.

Quyen anticipated this plan and brought his army to the mouth of the river. He had his men plant a barrier of large poles in the bed of the river. The tops of the poles reached just below the water level at high tide and were sharpened and tipped with iron. When Hung-ts'ao appeared off the mouth of the river, Quyen sent out small, shallow-draft boats at high tide to provoke a fight and then retreat upriver, drawing the Chinese fleet after in pursuit. As the tide fell, the heavy Chinese warboats were all caught on the poles and lay helplessly trapped in the middle of the river. Quyen attacked vigorously. More than half the Chinese were drowned, including Hung-ts'ao. When news of the battle reached Sea Gate with the survivors, Liu Kung wept openly. He collected what remained of his army and returned to Canton. Southern Han never attacked the Vietnamese again.

References: Lich su Viet Nam & The Birth of Viet Nam

Den Tho Ngo Quyen, North Viet Nam



(from viettouch)

WHO'S WHO IN VIET NAM HISTORY?

The Ngo dynasty

Emperor
Reign Title
939-944 Ngô Vương
Ngô Quyền
944-950 Dương Bình Vương cướp ngôi Tam Kha
950-965 Ngô Nam Tấn Vương
Xương Văn
951-959 Ngô Thiên Sách Vương
Xương Ngập
In a protracted war which ended with the celebrated battle of Bach Dang. General Ngo Quyen vanquished the Chinese invaders and founded the first National dynasty. Ngo Quyen transfered the capital to Co Loa, the capital of Au Lac Kingdom, thus affirming the continuity of the traditions of the Lac Viet people. Ngo Quyen spent 6 years of his reign fighting the continual revolts of the feudal lords. At his death in 967, the kingdom fell into chaos and became known as the land of "Thap Nhi Su Quan", the 12 feudal principlities constantly fighting each other.
Ngo Quyen's Homepage
The Dinh dynasty
968-979 Ðinh Tiên Hoàng Bộ Lĩnh Thái Bình
980 Ðinh Phế Ðế Ðinh Toàn Thái Bình
The most powerful of the 12 feudal lords, Dinh Bo Linh rapidly ruled out the others. He reunified the country and took the imperial title of "Dinh Tien Hoang De" (The First August Emperor Dinh). He negotiated a non-aggression treaty in exchange for tributes payable to the Chinese every 3 years. This set the traditions with China which were to last for centuries. On the domestic front, Dinh Tien Hoang established a royal court and a hierarchy of civil and military servants. He instated a rigorous justice system and introduced the death penalty to serve as a deterrent to all who threatened the new order of the new kingdom. He organized a regular army divided into 10 Dao. Security and order were progressively re-established, inaugurating a new era of "Thai Binh" (peace). He was assasinated in 979 by a palace guard, who according to the Annals, saw "a star falling into his mouth" - a celestial omen heralding promotion. The heir to the throne was only 6 years old.
The earlier Le dynasty
980-1005 Lê Ðại Hành Lê Hoàn Thiên Phúc
1005 (3d) Lê Trung Tông
Long Việt
1006-1009 Lê Long Ðĩnh (Lê Ngọa Triều) Ứng Thiên
Le Hoan dethroned Dinh Bo Linh's heir and proclaimed himself King Le Dai Hanh. He retained the capital in Hoa Luu and succeeded in warding off several Chinese invasions. With peace assured on the northern border, he decided to pacify the South. In 982, Le Dai Hanh launched a military expedition against the Champa kingdom, entered Indrapura (present-day Quang Nam) and burnt the Champa citadel. The conquest of this nothern part of the Champa Kingdom brought about a marked Cham influence on Vietnamese culture, particular in the fields of music and dance. Le Dai Hanh devoted a great deal of energy to developing the road network in order to better administer the countrýs different regions. After 24 years of difficult rule, he died in 1005.
Genghis Khan, original name Temujin (1167?-1227), Mongol conqueror, whose nomad armies created a vast empire under his control, from China to Russia. He was born near Lake Baikal in Russia, the son of Yesukai, a Mongol chief and ruler of a large region between the Amur River and the Great Wall of China. At the age of 13, Temujin succeeded his father as tribal chief. His early reign was marked by successive revolts of his subject tribes and an intense struggle to retain his leadership, but the Mongol ruler soon demonstrated his military genius and conquered not only his intractable subjects but his hostile neighbors as well. By 1206 Temujin was master of almost all of Mongolia. In that year, a convocation of the subjugated tribes proclaimed him Genghis Khan (Chinese chêng-sze, "precious warrior"; Turkish khan, "lord"), leader of the united Mongol and Tatar tribes; the city of Karakorum was designated his capital. The khan then began his conquest of China. By 1208 he had established a foothold inside the Great Wall, and in 1213 he led his armies south and west into the area dominated by the Juchen Chin (or Kin) dynasty (1122-1234), not stopping until he reached the Shantung Peninsula. In 1215 his armies captured Yenking (now Beijing), the last Chin stronghold in northern China, and in 1218 the Korean Peninsula fell to the Mongols. In 1219, in retaliation for the murder of some Mongol traders, Genghis Khan turned his armies westward, invading Khoresm, a vast Turkish empire that included modern Iraq, Iran, and part of Western Turkestan. Looting and massacring, the Mongols swept through Turkestan and sacked the cities of Bukhoro and Samarqand. In what are now northern India and Pakistan, the invaders conquered the cities of Peshawar and Lahore and the surrounding countryside. In 1222 the Mongols marched into Russia and plundered the region between the Volga and Dnepr rivers and from the Persian Gulf almost to the Arctic Ocean. The greatness of the khan as a military leader was borne out not only by his conquests but by the excellent organization, discipline, and maneuverability of his armies. Moreover, the Mongol ruler was an admirable statesman; his empire was so well organized that, so it was claimed, travelers could go from one end of his domain to the other without fear or danger. At his death, on August 18, 1227, the Mongol Empire was divided among his three sons and gradually dissipated. Four of his grandsons, however, became great Mongol leaders in their own right. Genghis Khan's invasions were of great historical importance long after his death, for the Turks, who fled before him, were driven to their own invasion of Europe.
The Ly dynasty
1010-1028 Lý Thái Tổ Lý Công Uẩn Thuận Thiên
1028-1054 Lý Thái Tông Lý Phật Mã Thiên Thành
1054-1072 Lý Thánh Tông Lý Nhật Tôn Long Thụy
1072-1128 Lý Nhân Tông Lý Càn ÐỨc Thái Ninh
1128-1138 Lý Thần Tông Lý Dương Hoán Thiên Thuận
1138-1175 Lý Anh Tông Lý Thiên Tộ Thiệu Minh
1176-1210 Lý Cao Tông Lý Long Cán Trinh Phủ
1211-1224 Lý Huệ Tông Lý Sảm Kiến Gia
1224-1225 Lý Chiêu Hoàng Chiêu Thánh Thiên Chương
Ly Cong Uan was a disciple of a famous monk, Van Hanh, who helped him into power in the Hoa Luu Court. Assuming the name Ly Thai To, the new sovereign inaugurated his dynasty with a change of capital. According to the Annals, king Ly Thai To saw the apparition of an ascending dragon on the site of the future capital and decided to name it Thang Long (Ascending Dragon).
Ly Thanh Tong rechristened the country Dai Viet.
Ly Thai Tong, Ly Anh Tong, and Ly Cao Tong led the Buddhist sects of Thao Duong and founded some 150 monasteries in the region of Thang Long. The Ly dynasty consolidated the monarchy by setting up a centralized government and establishing a tax system, a judiciary system and a professional army. Important public works, including the building of dikes and canals, were undertaken inorder to develop argriculture and settle the population. Vietnamese art and culture thrived during the Ly dynasty.
The Tran dynasty
1225-1258 Trần Thái Tông Trần Cảnh Kiến Trung
1258-1278 Trần Thánh Tông Trần Hoàng Thiệu Long
1279-1293 Trần Nhân Tông Trần Khâm Thiệu Bảo
1293-1314 Trần Anh Tông Trần Thuyên Hưng Long
1314-1329 Trần Minh Tông Trần Mạnh Ðại Khánh
1329-1341 Trần Hiến Tông Trần Vượng Khai Hữu
1341-1369 Trần Dụ Tông Trần Hạo Thiệu Phong
1369-1370 Dương Nhật Lệ (cướp ngôi) Ðại Ðịnh
1370-1372 Trần Nghệ Tông Trần Phủ Thiệu Khánh
1373-1377 Trần Duệ Tông Trần Kính Long Khánh
1377-1388 Trần Phế Ðế Trần Hiện Xương Phù
1388-1398 Trần Thuận Tông Trần Ngung Quang Thái
1398-1400 Trần Thiếu Ðế Trần án Kiến Tân
Tran Hung Dao (1213-1300), Vietnamese general. In 1284, Kublai Khan leads a 500,000-man Chinese army into Viet Nam. Guerrillas organized by Tran Hung Dao virtually destroy the invasion force.
Tran Hung Dao's Homepage
Kublai Khan (1215-94), Mongol military leader, founder and first emperor (1279-94) of the Mongol Yüan dynasty in China, grandson of the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan and his best-known successor. Kublai Khan completed the conquest of China that was begun by his grandfather. From 1252 to 1259 he aided his brother Mangu Khan in the conquest of southern China, penetrating successfully as far as Tibet and Tonkin. Upon the death of Mangu in 1259 he became the khan, or ruler. Between 1260 and 1279 he succeeded in driving the Kin Tatars out of northern China and in subduing rebellious factions among the Mongols. In 1264 he founded his capital on the site now occupied by Beijing; it was called Khanbalik, which is romanized as Cambaluc or Cambalu. He relinquished all claims to the parts of the Mongol Empire outside China, consolidated his hold on China, and in 1279 established the Yüan dynasty as the successor to the Southern Sung dynasty. He undertook foreign wars in attempts to enforce tribute claims on neighboring states, conquering Burma and Korea. His military expeditions to Java and Japan, however, met with disaster. His name was known all over Asia and also in Europe. The court at Cambaluc attracted an international group of adventurous men, including the famous Venetian traveler Marco Polo. Kublai Khan did much to encourage the advancement of literature and the arts. He was a devout Buddhist and made Buddhism the state religion, but during his reign other religions were also tolerated.
Stern-faced portrait
Bronze seal as authority emblem of Mongol officers
Princess Huyen Tran, married to the King of Champa in 1307. The marriage extended the national territory southwards with the peaceful annexation of the Hue region and at the same time inaugurated the politics and diplomatic marriage.
The Ho dynasty
1400-1401 Hồ Quý Ly
Thánh Nguyên
1401-1407 Hồ Hán Thương
Thiệu Thành
Le Qui Ly, founded a dynasty under his ancestral name of Ho. Under Ho, the competitive examination system for administrators was modified to demand more practical knowledge of peasant life, mathematics, history, the Confucian classics and literature. Legal reforms were undertaken and a medical service established. In 1407, The Ming intervention provoked the fall of the Ho dynasty. During the short period of Chinese occupation that followed, the Vietnamese suffered the most inhuman exploitation.
The later Tran dynasty
1407-1409 Trần Giản Ðịnh Trần Ðế Ngỗi Hưng Khánh
1409-1414 Trần Quý Khoáng
Trùng Quang
The Le dynasty
1428-1433 Lê Thái Tổ Lê Lợi Thuận Thiên
1433-1442 Lê Thái Tông Lê Nguyên Long Thiệu Bình
1442-1459 Lê Nhân Tông Lê Bang Cơ Thái Hòa
1459 Lê Nghi Dân (cướp ngôi) Thiên Hưng
1460-1497 Lê Thánh Tông Lê Tư Thành Hồng ÐỨc
1498-1504 Lê Hiến Tông Lê Tang Cảnh Thống
1504 Lê Túc Tông Lê Thuần Thái Trinh
1505-1509 Lê Uy Mục Lê Tuấn Ðoan Khánh
1509-1516 Lê Tương Dực Lê Oanh Hồng Thuận
1516-1522 Lê Chiêu Tông Lê Ý Quang Thiệu
1522-1527 Lê Cung Hoàng Lê Xuân Thống Nguyên
Le Loi, Vietnamese emperor (1428-1433), established the kingdom of Dai Viet. He organized a resistance movement from his village and waged a guerrilla war against the China's Ming Empire. By employing a strategy of surprise attacks targeting his adversary's weakest points, Le Loi managed to further weaken the enemy and at the same time avoid combat with the superior Chinese forces. His enforcement of strict military discipline ensured that no pillaging was carried out by his troops in the regions under his control and this made him a very popular hero.
Nguyen Trai, poet and strategist, set down the Vietnamese strategy in an essay which subordinate military action to the political and moral struggle, it stated: "Better to conquer hearts than citadels". In 1426, Vietnamese finally routed the Chinese on a field at Tot Dong, west of Hanoị In an accord signed two years later, the Chinese recognized Viet Nam's independence, and apart from a last abortive attempt in 1788, China never again launched a full-scale assault against Viet Nam.
Le Thai Tong, Vietnamese emperor, son of Le Thai To. His sudden death was followed by a decade of confusion marked by intrigues and plots within the Royal Court.
Under his 36 year reign the country prospered as never before. Le Thanh Tong revised the fiscal system, encouraged argriculture and placed great emphasis on customs and moral principles. A writer himself, he founded the Tao Dan Academy and wrote the first volume of national history. He reorganized army won an easy victory over the Champa army in 1471. His farmer-soldiers excelled not only on the battlefields, but also in the fields where they established militarized argricultural communities wherever they went. In this way the national territory was gradually expanded southwards, until finally the Champa Kingdom was completely absorbed and assimilated in 1673.
Alexandre de Rhodes, the misionary who traveled through out Asia in the 17th century. An accomplished linguist, he improvised Portuguese into Quoc Ngu, still in use today, to transcribe the Vietnamese language in Roman letters instead of Chinese ideographs.
Opening page of Alexandre de Rhodes's Latin Annamese religious text
Stamps commemorating Ale

(from viettouch)