Dương Vân Nga

DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng ThÃ¡Â»Â NgÃ¡Â»Âc VÃÂ¢n (Ã¦Â¥ÂÃ¦Â°ÂÃ§ÂÂÃ©ÂÂ², 952 Ã¢ÂÂ 1000) courtesy name VÃÂ¢n Nga (Ã©ÂÂ²Ã¥Â¨Â¥) was the only empress dowager of the ÃÂinh dynasty and afterwards empress of LÃÂª ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i HÃÂ nh, the first emperor of the Early LÃÂª dynasty. When her husband ÃÂinh TiÃÂªn HoÃÂ ng was assassinated in 979, DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga became the Empress Dowager of the ÃÂinh dynasty as her son ÃÂinh PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¿ ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¿ succeeded the throne. During the short-lived reign of ÃÂinh PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¿ ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¿, DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga and the general LÃÂª HoÃÂ n jointly held the regentship for the 6-year-old emperor, later it was DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga and general PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¡m CÃ¡Â»Â± LÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£ng who decided to cede the ÃÂinh dynasty's throne for LÃÂª HoÃÂ n in 980 so that ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i CÃ¡Â»Â ViÃ¡Â»Ât could stand the Song dynasty's invasion with a capable ruler. Subsequently, LÃÂª HoÃÂ n entitled DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga as his empress, hence she became the first woman in the history of Vietnam to be married to two emperors.

Biography

ÃÂinh dynasty

According to some sources, DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga was the daughter of a subordinate of the warlord DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng ÃÂÃÂ¬nh NghÃ¡Â»Â and came from the ÃÂi province (now Thanh HÃÂ³a, Vietnam), others claim that DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga was from the same town Hoa LÃÂ° as ÃÂinh TiÃÂªn HoÃÂ ng.

Being one of ÃÂinh TiÃÂªn HoÃÂ ng's wives, DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga gave birth to his youngest son ÃÂinh ToÃÂ n in 974. At the end of 979, as ÃÂinh TiÃÂªn HoÃÂ ng and his eldest prince ÃÂinh LiÃ¡Â»Ân were assassinated by ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â ThÃÂch, the 6-year-old prince ÃÂinh ToÃÂ n was made the successor of the throne of the ÃÂinh dynasty while his mother DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga became the Empress Dowager of the ÃÂinh dynasty and took charge of the regentship with the general LÃÂª HoÃÂ n who was promoted to the position of viceroy of the ÃÂinh dynasty.

Regency

The short-lived reign of ÃÂinh ToÃÂ n, now ÃÂinh PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¿ ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¿ was perturbed by the revolt of ÃÂinh ÃÂiÃ¡Â»Ân and NguyÃ¡Â»Ân BÃ¡ÂºÂ·c who had been important officials in the royal court of ÃÂinh TiÃÂªn HoÃÂ ng while the country also had to face with the intrusion led by NgÃÂ´ NhÃ¡ÂºÂt KhÃÂ¡nh, son-in-law of ÃÂinh TiÃÂªn HoÃÂ ng, with reinforcements from the kingdom of Champa in the southern border. The rebellion of ÃÂinh ÃÂiÃ¡Â»Ân and NguyÃ¡Â»Ân BÃ¡ÂºÂ·c was quickly put down by LÃÂª HoÃÂ n but in the north, the Song dynasty began an invasion of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i CÃ¡Â»Â ViÃ¡Â»Ât in profiting its chaotic situation after the death of ÃÂinh TiÃÂªn HoÃÂ ng, finally DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga and the general PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¡m CÃ¡Â»Â± LÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£ng with the agreement from the majority of officials in royal court, decided to elevate LÃÂª HoÃÂ n for the throne so that the country had an able ruler who could deal with grave troubles at that time, hence the Early LÃÂª dynasty was established and replaced the ÃÂinh dynasty.

The account of ÃÂinh PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¿ ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¿'s abdication for LÃÂª HoÃÂ n is slightly different in each historical record, for example in ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât sÃ¡Â»Â lÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£c, which is the oldest chronicles of history of Vietnam that remains, and ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât sÃ¡Â»Â kÃÂ½ toÃÂ n thÃÂ°, it was PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¡m CÃ¡Â»Â± LÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£ng who proposed the Empress Dowager to cede her son's throne to LÃÂª HoÃÂ n, On the other hand, in KhÃÂ¢m ÃÂÃ¡Â»Ânh ViÃ¡Â»Ât sÃ¡Â»Â thÃÂ´ng giÃÂ¡m cÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng mÃ¡Â»Â¥c, since DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga appeared to have affection for LÃÂª HoÃÂ n during their regency, NguyÃ¡Â»Ân BÃ¡ÂºÂ·c and ÃÂinh ÃÂiÃ¡Â»Ân decided to rise a revolt with the main purpose of overthrowing LÃÂª HoÃÂ n and protecting the child emperor, subsequently it was the Empress Dowager who had the principal role in the enthronement of LÃÂª HoÃÂ n when she entrusted the defence against the Song dynasty's invasion for LÃÂª HoÃÂ n and herself persuaded him to accept the proposition of PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¡m CÃ¡Â»Â± LÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£ng. TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n TrÃ¡Â»Âng Kim in his ViÃ¡Â»Ât Nam sÃ¡Â»Â lÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£c also agreed with KhÃÂ¢m ÃÂÃ¡Â»Ânh ViÃ¡Â»Ât sÃ¡Â»Â thÃÂ´ng giÃÂ¡m cÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng mÃ¡Â»Â¥c about the affair between DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga and LÃÂª HoÃÂ n during their regentship.

Early LÃÂª dynasty

After his coronation, LÃÂª HoÃÂ n succeeded in driving out the invasion of the Song dynasty in 981, afterwards he entitled the former empress dowager DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga as the new empress of the Early LÃÂª dynasty with the name Empress ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ThÃ¡ÂºÂ¯ng Minh (Vietnamese: ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ThÃ¡ÂºÂ¯ng Minh HoÃÂ ng hÃ¡ÂºÂu). With this second marriage, DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga became the first woman in the history of Vietnam to be married to two emperors. The marriage between LÃÂª HoÃÂ n and DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga was severely criticized by the Confucian historian NgÃÂ´ SÃÂ© LiÃÂªn who remarked that the fornication between the general and his emperor's wife and later their marriage seriously violated the Confucian moral codes and so became the seeds for the immorality of his son afterwards. Another dynastic historian, NgÃÂ´ ThÃÂ¬ SÃÂ©, even despised the new title Empress ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ThÃ¡ÂºÂ¯ng Minh (literally Bright Empress of Great Victory) of DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga which was identical with the title of her first husband Emperor ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ThÃ¡ÂºÂ¯ng Minh (ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ThÃ¡ÂºÂ¯ng Minh HoÃÂ ng ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¿) ÃÂinh TiÃÂªn HoÃÂ ng, in NgÃÂ´ ThÃÂ¬ SÃÂ©'s opinion, this naming was a "forever derision" ("ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â cÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âi nghÃÂ¬n thu") in the history of Vietnam.

DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga died in 1000 or the seventh year of the Ã¡Â»Â¨ng ThiÃÂªn era of LÃÂª ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i HÃÂ nh. She died in the same year as LÃÂª ThÃÂ¢u, the eldest son of LÃÂª HoÃÂ n.

Legacy

Today DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga, together with LÃÂª ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i HÃÂ nh and his sons LÃÂª Long ÃÂÃÂ©nh and LÃÂª Long ViÃ¡Â»Ât, is still worshipped in the Temple of LÃÂª ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i HÃÂ nh in Hoa LÃÂ° which is located next to the tomb of ÃÂinh TiÃÂªn HoÃÂ ng, her first husband. Since she witnessed a turbulent time and herself participated in various important events in history of Vietnam, the life of DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga becomes subject of several chÃÂ¨o, cÃ¡ÂºÂ£i lÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng plays and a novel named HoÃÂ ng hÃ¡ÂºÂu hai triÃ¡Â»Âu DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga (DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga, Empress of Two Dynasties). DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng VÃÂ¢n Nga and LÃÂª ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i HÃÂ nh's only known daughter, Princess LÃÂª ThÃ¡Â»Â PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¥t NgÃÂ¢n married LÃÂ½ CÃÂ´ng UÃ¡ÂºÂ©n, who became Emperor LÃÂ½ ThÃÂ¡i TÃ¡Â»Â. Their son was Emperor LÃÂ½ ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng.

References

Bibliography

External links

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