Trần Minh Tông

TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Minh TÃÂ´ng (4 September 1300 – 10 March 1357), real name TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡nh (Ã©ÂÂ³Ã¥Â¥Â£), was the fifth emperor of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty who ruled ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât from 1314 to 1329. After ceding the throne to his son TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n HiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n TÃÂ´ng, Minh TÃÂ´ng held the title of Retired Emperor () for 29 years. As the last emperor in the prosperous period of TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty, Minh TÃÂ´ng was known for his successful reign of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât with the assistance of many talented mandarins. Minh TÃÂ´ng was also the longest-reigning retired emperor in history of Vietnam when he acted as a regent and co-ruled with HiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n TÃÂ´ng and DÃ¡Â»Â¥ TÃÂ´ng. His death marked a significant turning point in the history of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Dynasty, as the country began to decline and soon fell into troubled times.

Childhood

Minh TÃÂ´ng was born in 1300 as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡nh, the only surviving son of emperor TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Anh TÃÂ´ng and imperial consort Huy TÃÂ°, who was the daughter of general TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n BÃÂ¬nh TrÃ¡Â»Âng. According to ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât sÃ¡Â»Â kÃÂ½ toÃÂ n thÃÂ°, the precise birthday of Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡nh was 21 August in the lunar calendar, only one day after the death of TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n HÃÂ°ng ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o who was the most important minister in the early TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty and the main commander of second and third wars of resistance by ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât against Mongol Empire, which made him one of the most famous heroes of Vietnam. The other sons of Anh TÃÂ´ng all died at a young age so the Emperor had his relative and important figure of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n clan, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt DuÃ¡ÂºÂt, raise TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡nh in the hope that he would survive and began a key figure in the family. Indeed, Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡nh was well looked after due to the wholehearted devotion of TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt DuÃ¡ÂºÂt.

In 1312, during the campaign against Champa personally commanded by Anh TÃÂ´ng, the 12-year-old prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡nh was temporarily entrusted to the throne with assistance from TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt DuÃ¡ÂºÂt and TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc TÃÂº. Two years after, Anh TÃÂ´ng officially ceded his throne to TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡nh, who ruled as Emperor TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Minh TÃÂ´ng, but continued to hold the title Retired Emperor ().

As emperor

According to history scholars, Minh TÃÂ´ng was a ruler of good intent but had no long-term vision of nation building. Despite that shortcoming, the Emperor still successfully governed ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât with the assistance of many capable mandarins like PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¡m NgÃÂ© LÃÂ£o, ÃÂoÃÂ n NhÃ¡Â»Â¯ HÃÂ i, MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡c ÃÂÃÂ©nh Chi and Chu VÃÂn An. His biggest mistake, as often cited in historical records, was the death of TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc ChÃ¡ÂºÂ©n, the Emperor's father-in-law and a prominent general.

In contrast to his father, Minh TÃÂ´ng had many sons. The first, prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n VÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£ng, was born not by Queen LÃÂª ThÃÂ¡nh but the Emperor's second consort Anh TÃÂ°. That led to a struggle between two parties in royal court, one that supported prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n VÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£ng for the position of Minh TÃÂ´ng's successor, while the other suggested that the position of crown prince must be reserved for the Queen's son. As a consequence, leader of the former, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃ¡ÂºÂ¯c Chung, who was the mandarin responsible for the escape of Princess HuyÃ¡Â»Ân TrÃÂ¢n from Champa, launched a defamation campaign against TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc ChÃ¡ÂºÂ©n who was not only the Queen's father but also a prominent general with many victories in battle. Believing the information provided by TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃ¡ÂºÂ¯c Chung, Minh TÃÂ´ng ordered the imprisonment of his father-in-law, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc ChÃ¡ÂºÂ©n, who was deprived of food and ultimately died in 1328.

Continuing the foreign policy created by Anh TÃÂ´ng, Minh TÃÂ´ng kept friendly relations with Yuan dynasty while reinforcing the southern border to deal with the increasing hostility from the kingdom of Champa. In 1318, the ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât army led by TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc ChÃ¡ÂºÂ©n and PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¡m NgÃÂ© LÃÂ£o won a campaign in Champa in which many Champa soldiers were killed. King Che Nang had to flee to Java, but a TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n marquis named LÃÂ½ TÃ¡ÂºÂ¥t KiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n also died in action. However, in 1326, Che Anan relieved Champa of its vassalage to Annam.

In 1329, Minh TÃÂ´ng decided to pass the throne to prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n VÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£ng, now emperor HiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n TÃÂ´ng, and took the position of Retired Emperor (). During his reign, Minh TÃÂ´ng had two era names, which were ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i KhÃÂ¡nh ( , great jubilee, 1314Ã¢ÂÂ1323) and Khai ThÃÂ¡i ( , prosperous bloom, 1324Ã¢ÂÂ1329).

As retired emperor

The new emperor HiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n TÃÂ´ng was only a ten-year-old boy, so Minh TÃÂ´ng still kept real power behind the scenes in the royal court. In the period of HiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n TÃÂ´ng's reign, ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât's army was defeated several times in skirmishes with Laos and Champa because of the lack of capable generals after the deaths of many capable officials like PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¡m NgÃÂ© LÃÂ£o in 1320, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc ChÃ¡ÂºÂ©n in 1328 and TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt DuÃ¡ÂºÂt in 1330. In the operation against Laos in 1335, Minh TÃÂ´ng personally commanded the military but the ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât army continued to lose, while an important mandarin, ÃÂoÃÂ n NhÃ¡Â»Â¯ HÃÂ i, was drowned in battle. Otherwise, there were increasing numbers of incompetent or corrupt officials in the royal court of Minh TÃÂ´ng and HiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n TÃÂ´ng and they became a significant factor in the growing instability of the later phase of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty.

HiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n TÃÂ´ng died in 1341 leaving no heir. Minh TÃÂ´ng therefore passed the throne to his tenth son, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n HÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o, now DÃ¡Â»Â¥ TÃÂ´ng. For the next sixteen years, the Retired Emperor continued to wield real power over TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Dynasty while the Emperor reigned only nominally. Minh TÃÂ´ng died in 1357, and he was posthumously named as ChÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng nghiÃÂªu vÃÂn triÃ¡ÂºÂ¿t hoÃÂ ng ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¿ (Ã§Â«Â Ã¥Â Â¯Ã¦ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ²Ã§ÂÂÃ¥Â¸Â). The death of Minh TÃÂ´ng also marked the end of a prosperous and stable era of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât under the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Dynasty, and the country began to decline as the royal court and TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n clan soon fell into chaos.

Family

Minh TÃÂ´ng had including one empress, one other wife and one concubine:
Imperial consort Anh TÃÂ°
Imperial concubine LÃÂª ThÃ¡Â»Â
Minh TÃÂ´ng had eleven sons and two daughtersÃ¯Â¼Âtwo sons died young:
TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n VÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£ng (1319–1341), who eventually became emperor TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n HiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n TÃÂ´ng
Prince Cung ÃÂÃ¡Â»Ânh TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n PhÃ¡Â»Â§ (1321–1394), who eventually became emperor TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NghÃ¡Â»Â TÃÂ´ng
Prince Cung MÃ¡ÂºÂ«n TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NguyÃÂªn HÃÂº (?–1347)
Prince Cung GiÃ¡ÂºÂ£n TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NguyÃÂªn ThÃ¡ÂºÂ¡ch (?–1350)
Prince Cung TÃÂºc TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NguyÃÂªn DÃ¡Â»Â¥c (?–1364)
Prince Cung TÃÂn TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThiÃÂªn TrÃ¡ÂºÂ¡ch (?–1379)
TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n HÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o (1336–1369), who eventually became emperor TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n DÃ¡Â»Â¥ TÃÂ´ng
Prince Cung TuyÃÂªn TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KÃÂnh (1337–1377), who eventually became emperor TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n DuÃ¡Â»Â TÃÂ´ng
ThiÃÂªn Ninh Princess TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NgÃ¡Â»Âc Tha (BÃ¡ÂºÂ¡ch Tha)
Huy Ninh Princess (?–1370), wife of HÃ¡Â»Â QuÃÂ½ Ly

References

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