Lê Long Đĩnh

LÃÂª Long ÃÂÃÂ©nh (; , 15 November 98619 November 1009), also known as LÃÂª NgÃ¡Â»Âa TriÃ¡Â»Âu (), was the last emperor of the Early LÃÂª dynasty of the kingdom of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i CÃ¡Â»Â ViÃ¡Â»Ât, ruling from 1005 to 1009. After killing his predecessor and brother LÃÂª Long ViÃ¡Â»Ât, he took the throne and named his era CÃ¡ÂºÂ£nh ThÃ¡Â»Â¥y. His death at the age of 23 led to the fall of the Early LÃÂª dynasty, and power was seized by the LÃÂ½ dynasty. In some history books, he is portrayed as a self-indulgent and cruel emperor. However, a lot of temples were created where people still worship him, and recently, some historians have proved that some rumours about his ruling style were exaggerated, and possibly fabrications.

Background

LÃÂª Long ÃÂÃÂ©nh, who was also named LÃÂª ChÃÂ Trung (), was born on 15 November 986 by the Western calendar. He was the fifth son of Emperor LÃÂª HoÃÂ n, but historians do not note the background of his mother, only information regarding a concubine. He was the half-brother of the duke of Nam Phong (), LÃÂª Long ViÃ¡Â»Ât.

The Complete Annals of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât () recorded that in 992 he was granted the title Prince of Khai Minh (, ) and ruled over ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ±ng county (now HÃÂ°ng YÃÂªn province). In 1004 the crown prince and duke of Kinh ThiÃÂªn, LÃÂª Long KhÃÂ¢u, died; the emperor made LÃÂª Long ViÃ¡Â»Ât the crown prince of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i CÃ¡Â»Â ViÃ¡Â»Ât and LÃÂª Long ÃÂÃÂ©nh the duke of Khai Minh.

Struggle for the throne

In 1005, LÃÂª HoÃÂ n died in TrÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âng XuÃÂ¢n palace. Crown Prince LÃÂª Long ViÃ¡Â»Ât contested the crown with his three brothers: TÃÂch, KÃÂnh, and ÃÂÃÂ©nh. The four princes pitted their armies against each other, plunging the country into civil war. In October 1005, ViÃ¡Â»Ât defeated TÃÂch, forcing him to flee to Champa where he was subsequently killed by locals at the CÃÂ¡ La estuary. The victorious ViÃ¡Â»Ât was proclaimed emperor with the title ('Emperor Trung TÃÂ´ng').

Three days after his ascension, however, Trung TÃÂ´ng was murdered by assassins in LÃÂª Long ÃÂÃÂ©nh's employ. All of his supporters fled except for LÃÂ½ CÃÂ´ng UÃ¡ÂºÂ©n, who embraced the body of the emperor and wept. In the winter of 1005, LÃÂª Long ÃÂÃÂ©nh took the throne with the regnal name () and gave his mother the title ().

Reign

Foreign relations

After news of the death of Emperor LÃÂª HoÃÂ n in China, Song dynasty officials urged the Song emperor Taizong to dispatch forces to invade ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i CÃ¡Â»Â ViÃ¡Â»Ât. However, Taizong chose to respect the tributary status that ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i CÃ¡Â»Â ViÃ¡Â»Ât had towards the Song Empire, and he left the country alone. Some trading activities occurred between both nations.

Sponsorship of Buddhism and education

In spring 1007, LÃÂª Long ÃÂÃÂ©nh ordered his brother to gift a white pangolin (or white rhinoceros) as a gift to the Song dynasty in exchange for Buddhist sutras to be sent to Vietnam. In the Vietnamese Buddhist records of Zen Buddhist ThÃÂch MÃ¡ÂºÂt ThÃ¡Â»Â, in the 14th year of the Ã¡Â»Â¨ng ThiÃÂªn era (1008), LÃÂª Long ÃÂÃÂ©nh sent an envoy to Song to pay tribute and asked for nine classic texts and sutras to take back to Vietnam. The Song emperor approved the request and gave the requested works to the Vietnamese ambassador. The nine classics included I Ching, Classic of Poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, Spring and Autumn Annals, Classic of Filial Piety, Analects, and Mencius. These were the first classics of Chinese civilization to come to Vietnam.

Controversies

According to the Complete Annals of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât, LÃÂª Long ÃÂÃÂ©nh stands out as a brutal and sadistic ruler. His reign was considered as a "reign of terror" at that time.

The Abridged Chronicles of Viet recorded that the emperor was "bloodthirsty". Whenever someone was to be executed, he would order thatch grass to be wrapped around his body and set on fire, leaving him to burn to death. Or he would entertain by ordering the Song Chinese court jester LiÃÂªu ThÃ¡Â»Â§ TÃÂ¢m () to slowly mutilate victims using dull swords and axes so that they don't die quickly. When the victims cried out in agony, ThÃ¡Â»Â§ TÃÂ¢m would remark: "This one is not used to death". The emperor was said to have enjoyed this joke. Every time there was a court session, he ordered jesters and performers to sing and talk nonsense to cover up the words of whoever reporting.

After capturing prisoners of war, Long DÃÂ©nh purportedly ordered to escort them to the riverbank where they were put in cages. When the high tide rose, he would watch them drown slowly. The emperor is said to stab animals such as pigs or cows to death before allowing servants to bring them to the kitchen. At one night, he have cats killed and served to the guests. After eating, the emperor displayed the cats' heads, and all the princes vomited. Another time, the king would put a sugarcane stick on the head of the Supreme Monk QuÃÂ¡ch MÃÂ£o, then pretend to accidentally swinging his knife to make a cut on QuÃÂ¡ch MÃÂ£o's forehead and laugh it off.

Later life

According to historical records, he developed hemorrhoids and often held court while lying down, earning the popular name ( means 'lie' and means 'court'). He was not given a temple name because his successor ended the Early LÃÂª dynasty and started the LÃÂ½ dynasty.

He held the throne for four years, until 1009, when he died at the age of 23. His son SÃ¡ÂºÂ¡ was a child at the time, under the supervision of an official named ÃÂÃÂ o Cam MÃ¡Â»Âc (). When LÃÂ½ ThÃÂ¡i TÃ¡Â»Â became emperor of the LÃÂ½ dynasty, all the officials enthroned him without any debate, and the Early LÃÂª dynasty was abolished after only three emperors.