Trần Nhân Tông

TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng (7 December 1258–16 December 1308), personal name TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃÂ¢m, temple name NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng, was the third emperor of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty, reigning over ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât from 1278 to 1293. After ceding the throne to his son TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Anh TÃÂ´ng, NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng held the title Emperor Emeritus () from 1294 to his death in 1308. During the second and third Mongol invasions of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât, the Emperor NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng and his father the Emperor Emeritus ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng were credited with the decisive victory against the Yuan dynasty and would thenceforth establish a long period of peace and prosperity over the country.

After retiring from ruling the nation, he practiced Buddhism as a monk and founded the TrÃÂºc LÃÂ¢m school of Vietnamese Buddhism.

Background

TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng was born on 7 December 1258 as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃÂ¢m, the first son of Emperor TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng, who had ceded the throne by TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng for only eight months, and Empress ThiÃÂªn CÃ¡ÂºÂ£m TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â ThiÃ¡Â»Âu. It was said that the newborn TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃÂ¢m was so becoming in appearance that his grandfather ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng and father ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng named him as Kim TiÃÂªn ÃÂÃ¡Â»Âng tÃ¡Â»Â (Pupil of the Heavenly Kim TiÃÂªn).

Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃÂ¢m was entitled as Crown Prince of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty in December 1274, he had a younger brother, Prince TÃÂ¡ ThiÃÂªn (also known as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â©c ViÃ¡Â»Âp) who was born in 1265 and an elder sister, Princess ThiÃÂªn ThÃ¡Â»Â¥y, who would die on the same day as her brother NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng. Always concerned with the education of his son, in 1274, ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng appointed the prominent mandarin and general LÃÂª PhÃ¡Â»Â¥ TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n in the position of the crown prince's professor with two famous scholars NguyÃ¡Â»Ân SÃÂ© CÃ¡Â»Â and NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ThÃÂ¡nh HuÃ¡ÂºÂ¥n as assistants. The Emperor himself also composed poems and a literary work named Di hÃ¡ÂºÂu lÃ¡Â»Â¥c to educate prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃÂ¢m.

On 8 November 1278, ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng decided to cede the throne to the Crown Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃÂ¢m, now TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng, and held the title Emperor Emeritus. After the coronation, NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng changed the era name to ThiÃ¡Â»Âu BÃ¡ÂºÂ£o ( , 1278–1285), during his reign, the emperor had one more era name which was TrÃÂ¹ng HÃÂ°ng ( , 1285–1293). Although passing the throne to his son, ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng continued to co-rule the country with NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng from 1279 to his death in 1290.

Reign

Mongol invasions

In 1279, the Yuan dynasty won a decisive victory over the Song dynasty in Battle of Yamen which marked the end of the Song dynasty and the total control of Kublai Khan over China. As a result, Kublai Khan began his conquest over the southern regions such as ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât and Champa. Being aware of the situation, ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng and NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng began to prepare the country for the war while trying to keep a flexible policy with the Yuan dynasty. Prince ChiÃÂªu VÃÂn (also known as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt DuÃ¡ÂºÂt) was appointed to pacify the revolt led by TrÃ¡Â»Ânh GiÃÂ¡c MÃ¡ÂºÂt in ÃÂÃÂ Giang. He tried by diplomacy to keep the country stable before the war. With his knowledge of a minority people's language and culture, he successfully accomplished his task in 1278, so now the country was free to deal with the threat from the North.

In October 1282, the Retired Emperor ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng and the Emperor NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng gathered all members of the royal family, and officials in the royal court in BÃÂ¬nh Than to discuss the unavoidable war. Two prominent generals of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât's army were called TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃÂ¡nh DÃÂ°, former commander of the army but was deprived of all titles and TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc TuÃ¡ÂºÂ¥n, who would later be called Prince HÃÂ°ng ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o. In 1283 QuÃ¡Â»Âc TuÃ¡ÂºÂ¥n was appointed as commander-in-chief (QuÃ¡Â»Âc cÃÂ´ng tiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿t chÃ¡ÂºÂ¿) of the army while the Retired Emperor and the Emperor began to hold military exercises with their generals and troops.

In December 1284, the second Yuan's invasion of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât commenced under the command of Kublai Khan's prince Toghan. ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât was attacked in two directions, Toghan himself conducted the infantry and invaded from the north while the Yuan navy (under general Sogetu) advanced from the southern border through Champa's territory. In the beginning of the war, ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng and NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng had to call for retreat when Prince ChiÃÂªu Minh (also known as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Quang KhÃ¡ÂºÂ£i) who commanded troops, were trying to stop Sogetu's fleet in NghÃ¡Â»Â An Province.

During this time, several high-ranking officials and members of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty defected to the Yuan, this included ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng's own brother, Prince ChiÃÂªu QuÃ¡Â»Âc (also known as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ÃÂch TÃ¡ÂºÂ¯c) and TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KiÃ¡Â»Ân who was son of Prince TÃÂ©nh QuÃ¡Â»Âc (also known as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc Khang).

For the safety of ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng and NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng's retreat, Princess An TÃÂ° was offered as a gift and diversion for prince Toghan while Marquis BÃ¡ÂºÂ£o NghÃÂ©a (also known as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n BÃÂ¬nh TrÃ¡Â»Âng) was captured and later killed in the Battle of ÃÂÃÂ MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡c while defending the two emperors. In the southern border, Quang KhÃ¡ÂºÂ£i had to retreat under pressure from Sogetu's navy and the defection of the governor of NghÃ¡Â»Â An.

The critical situation began to change with the dynasty's victory in the Battle of HÃÂ m TÃ¡Â»Â in April 1285 where troops commanded by TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt DuÃ¡ÂºÂt, Prince ChiÃÂªu ThÃÂ nh, QuÃ¡Â»Âc ToÃ¡ÂºÂ£n and NguyÃ¡Â»Ân KhoÃÂ¡i were finally able to defeat Sogetu's fleet. On 10 May 1285, Quang KhÃ¡ÂºÂ£i fought in the decisive Battle of ChÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng where Sogetu's navy was almost destroyed and the war turned in the favour of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty. Ten days after Sogetu was killed, NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng and ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng returned to the capital ThÃÂng Long on 6 June 1285.

In March 1287, the Yuan dynasty launched their third invasion of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât. Unlike the second attack, this time QuÃ¡Â»Âc TuÃ¡ÂºÂ¥n affirmed with the Emperor that ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât's army could easily break the Yuan's military campaign. This invasion ended after only one year due to a disastrous defeat of the Yuan navy in the Battle of BÃ¡ÂºÂ¡ch ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ±ng on 8 March 1288. Besides QuÃ¡Â»Âc TuÃ¡ÂºÂ¥n, other notable generals of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty during this time were Prince NhÃÂ¢n HuÃ¡Â»Â (also known as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KhÃÂ¡nh DÃÂ°) who destroyed the logistics convoy of the Yuan navy in the Battle of VÃÂ¢n ÃÂÃ¡Â»Ân. Another was general PhÃ¡ÂºÂ¡m NgÃÂ© LÃÂ£o who took charge of ambushing prince Toghan's retreating troops.

After the war

In rewarding generals and mandarins after the victory, ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng and NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng cautioned them of the northern border. As to the defectors during the war, the Emperor issued an order in which the family name of every defected member of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n clan was changed to Mai, for example TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KiÃ¡Â»Ân was renamed as Mai KiÃ¡Â»Ân. The only defected prince of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n clan, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ÃÂch TÃ¡ÂºÂ¯c, was exempted from this order but he was called in historical accounts of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty by the name "Ã¡ÂºÂ¢ TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n" ("the woman named TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n") meaning that TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ÃÂch TÃ¡ÂºÂ¯c would be known as a "coward as a woman".

The Retired Emperor ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng died on 25 May 1290 at the age of 50. As the sole ruler of ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât, NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng ordered to relax the taxing policy, relieving the poor and postponing the military campaign against Ai Lao so that the country could recover after two fierce wars, several famines and natural disasters.

On 3 February 1292, NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng entitled his first son TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThuyÃÂªn as Crown Prince of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty and passed the throne to him on 3 March 1293.

NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng would then spend more time in seeking spiritual awakening. In 1295, he was ordained as Buddhist monk. In 1299, he came to the mountain of YÃÂªn TÃ¡Â»Â in modern-day QuÃ¡ÂºÂ£ng Ninh, where he vowed to follow the ten ascetic practices as a Buddha's student. He also established a monastery, teaching about Buddhist principles and receiving a substantial amount of disciples. He was thought to have founded TrÃÂºc LÃÂ¢m, the only indigenous ThiÃ¡Â»Ân Buddhist sect in Vietnam. In addition, he travelled across the nation to teach ThiÃ¡Â»Ân practices to monks and encourage his subjects to follow the Ten Good Acts theory (DaÃÂakuÃÂalakarmÃÂÃ¡Â¹Âi).

In 1301, he visited Champa, and lived for nine months at Jaya Sinhavarman III's court.

In 1306, he gave his daughter, Princess Huyen Tran, in marriage to the Champa king Jaya Simhavarman III, in return for two Cham provinces.

Family

TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng married Princess KhÃÂ¢m TÃ¡Â»Â«, later Empress Consort KhÃÂ¢m TÃ¡Â»Â« BÃ¡ÂºÂ£o ThÃÂ¡nh, the eldest daughter of Grand Prince HÃÂ°ng ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc TuÃ¡ÂºÂ¥n, in December 1274 when he was entitled as crown prince. TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng had his first son, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThuyÃÂªn, on 17 September 1276, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThuyÃÂªn eventually became NhÃÂ¢n TÃÂ´ng's successor as TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Anh TÃÂ´ng.

Father: TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng
Mother: Empress NguyÃÂªn ThÃÂ¡nh ThiÃÂªn CÃ¡ÂºÂ£m TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â ThiÃ¡Â»Âu of TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n LiÃ¡Â»Âu clan
Consort(s) and their respectively issues:

Princess TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â Trinh of TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n LiÃ¡Â»Âu clan, daughter of Grand Prince HÃÂ°ng ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o. Later Empress Consort KhÃÂ¢m TÃ¡Â»Â« BÃ¡ÂºÂ£o ThÃÂ¡nh
Crown Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThuyÃÂªn, later Emperor TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Anh TÃÂ´ng

Empress TuyÃÂªn TÃ¡Â»Â« of TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n LiÃ¡Â»Âu clan, younger sister of Empress Consort KhÃÂ¢m TÃ¡Â»Â« BÃ¡ÂºÂ£o ThÃÂ¡nh
Prince Tran Quoc Chan
Royal Consort Dang Thi Loan

Other Issues:

Princess ThÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â£ng TrÃÂ¢n
Princess ThiÃÂªn TrÃÂ¢n
Princess HuyÃ¡Â»Ân TrÃÂ¢n

Legacy

Most cities in Vietnam have named major streets after him.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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