Trần Thái Tông

TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng (17 July 1218 Ã¢ÂÂ 5 May 1277), personal name TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n CÃ¡ÂºÂ£nh or TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt CÃ¡ÂºÂ£nh, temple name ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng, was the first emperor of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty, reigning over ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât for 33 years (1226Ã¢ÂÂ58), after which he lived as retired emperor for 19 years. He reigned during the first Mongol invasion of Vietnam before eventually abdicating in favor of his son TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n HoÃ¡ÂºÂ£ng (TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng) in 1258.

He is also known for his Buddhist scholarship, which is still influential on Vietnamese Buddhism today, especially his KhÃÂ³a HÃÂ° LÃ¡Â»Â¥c (Ã¨ÂªÂ²Ã¨ÂÂÃ©ÂÂÃ¢ÂÂ, Instructions on Emptiness).

Life

Early life

The ancestors of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n clan originated from the province of Fujian before they migrated under TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n KÃÂnh (Ã©ÂÂ³Ã¤ÂºÂ¬, ChÃÂ©n JÃÂ«ng) to ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât. According to a Chinese writer, Zhou Mi (1232Ã¢ÂÂ1298), TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt CÃ¡ÂºÂ£nh's real name was Hsieh Sheng-ch'ing, "a man from Qinglo district in Fujian".

TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n CÃ¡ÂºÂ£nh ( ) was born in 1218 in modern-day Nam ÃÂÃ¡Â»Ânh province during the last years of the LÃÂ½. TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â§ ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â, his uncle, prepared the way for his marriage to Empress LÃÂ½ ChiÃÂªu HoÃÂ ng, the last empress of the House of LÃÂ½, who later abdicated to make him the founder of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty in 1226.

His progress to the throne in particular and the replacement of the TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n dynasty over the LÃÂ½ dynasty in general were mostly thanks to the efforts of TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â§ ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n CÃ¡ÂºÂ£nh's uncle. At that time, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â§ ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â was the front commander of capital of the LÃÂ½ house. TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n CÃ¡ÂºÂ£nh's father, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â«a, was also an official under the LÃÂ½ dynasty, like TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â§ ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â. He had been "NÃ¡Â»Âi thÃ¡Â»Â phÃÂ¡n thÃ¡Â»Â§", one of the most important officials in the LÃÂ½ dynasty.

Reign

During his reign TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng used three era names: KiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n Trung (1225Ã¢ÂÂ1232), ThiÃÂªn Ã¡Â»Â¨ng ChÃÂnh BÃÂ¬nh (1232Ã¢ÂÂ1250) and NguyÃÂªn Phong (1251Ã¢ÂÂ1258).

In the autumn of 1257, Mongol general Uriyangkhadai addressed three letters to TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng demanding passage through to southern China in order to attack the Song dynasty. After the three successive envoys were imprisoned in the capital Thang Long (modern-day Hanoi) of Dai Viet, Uriyangkhadai invaded Dai Viet.

A battle was fought in which the Vietnamese used war elephants: the emperor even led his army from atop an elephant. Aju ordered his troops to fire arrows at the elephants' feet. The animals turned in panic and caused disorder in the ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ViÃ¡Â»Ât army, which was routed. The Vietnamese senior leaders were able to escape on pre-prepared boats while part of their army was destroyed at No Nguyen (modern Viet Tri on the Hong River). The remainder of the royal army again suffered a major defeat in a fierce battle at the Phu Lo bridge the day after. This led the Tran leadership to evacuate the capital.

The Vietnamese annals report that the evacuation was "in an orderly manner;" however this is viewed as an embellishment because the Vietnamese must have retreated in disarray to leave their weapons behind in the capital. While Chinese source material incorrectly stated that Uriyangkhadai withdrew from Vietnam due to poor climate, Uriyangkhadai left Thang Long after nine days to invade the Song dynasty. After the Mongol departure, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng agreed to send tribute every 3 years to the court of the Mongol Empire.

Learned in both Confucianism and Buddhism, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng authored several profound works on Mahayana Buddhism, the most famous of which is KhÃÂ³a HÃÂ° LÃ¡Â»Â¥c (Ã¨ÂªÂ²Ã¨ÂÂÃ©ÂÂÃ¢ÂÂ, Instructions on Emptiness), a collection of sermons and essays on Buddhism. A prodigious writer, he left behind a substantial number of works, of which only a small number survive.

In 1258 TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng abdicated the throne in favor of his son, crown prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n HoÃ¡ÂºÂ£ng.

During his reign, a boy student was given money in exchange for becoming a eunuch by the emperor in 1254 since many men castrated themselves to become eunuchs during the Tran and Ly dynasties.

Family

There is nothing that gives reference to exactly how many children he had, but it is known that he had children by the name of TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n TrÃ¡Â»Ânh (died prematurely), TÃÂ©nh QuÃ¡Â»Âc VÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc Khang, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n HoÃ¡ÂºÂ£ng, ChiÃÂªu Minh VÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Quang KhÃ¡ÂºÂ£i, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt VÃÂ©nh, ChiÃÂªu QuÃ¡Â»Âc VÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ÃÂch TÃ¡ÂºÂ¯c, ChiÃÂªu VÃÂn VÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt DuÃ¡ÂºÂt, ChiÃÂªu ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o VÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Quang XÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âng, princesses ThiÃÂªn ThÃÂ nh (wife of HÃÂ°ng ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o VÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc TuÃ¡ÂºÂ¥n), ThiÃ¡Â»Âu DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng, ThuÃ¡Â»Âµ BÃ¡ÂºÂ£o, An TÃÂ°.

Father: TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃ¡Â»Â
Mother: Lady LÃÂª thÃ¡Â»Â
Brother(s) and sister(s):

Older brother: King of YÃÂªn Sinh
Older sister: Princess ThÃ¡Â»Â¥y BÃÂ, adoptive mother of Great King of HÃÂ°ng ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o
Younger brother: King of KhÃÂ¢m ThiÃÂªn
Younger brother: King of HoÃÂ i ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â©c

Consort(s) and their Issue(s):

Empress Consort ChiÃÂªu ThÃÂ¡nh
Crown Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n TrÃ¡Â»Ânh
Empress Consort ThuÃ¡ÂºÂn ThiÃÂªn
Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n QuÃ¡Â»Âc Khang, later King of TÃÂ©nh QuÃ¡Â»Âc
Crown Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n HoÃ¡ÂºÂ£ng, later Emperor TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡nh TÃÂ´ng
Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Quang KhÃ¡ÂºÂ£i, later Great King of ChiÃÂªu Minh

Other Issues:

Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt VÃÂ©nh, King of BÃÂ¬nh NguyÃÂªn
Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Duy, King of VÃÂ© Uy
Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n Quang XÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âng, King of ChiÃÂªu ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o
Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ÃÂch TÃ¡ÂºÂ¯c, King of ChiÃÂªu QuÃ¡Â»Âc
Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n NhÃ¡ÂºÂt DuÃ¡ÂºÂt, King of ChiÃÂªu VÃÂn
Prince TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n UÃ¡ÂºÂ¥t, King of Minh HiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿n
Princess ThiÃÂªn ThÃÂ nh, later Queen NguyÃÂªn TÃ¡Â»Â« of Great King of HÃÂ°ng ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o
Princess ThiÃ¡Â»Âu DÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng
Princess ThÃ¡Â»Â¥y BÃ¡ÂºÂ£o, later wife of General TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n BÃÂ¬nh TrÃ¡Â»Âng
Princess An TÃÂ°, later wife of Prince Toghan of Yuan dynasty. Prince Toghan was the ninth son of Kublai Khan.

Relation with TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n LiÃ¡Â»Âu

TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n LiÃ¡Â»Âu was TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng's elder brother. In 1237, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng and Empress ChiÃÂªu ThÃÂ nh still did not have any son to maintain the continuation of his dynasty, due to TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n TrÃ¡Â»Ânh's premature death.

At that time, Princess ThuÃ¡ÂºÂn ThiÃÂªn, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n LiÃ¡Â»Âu's wife, had been pregnant with QuÃ¡Â»Âc Khang for 3 months. TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â§ ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â and his wife princess ThiÃÂªn CÃ¡Â»Â±c advised the emperor to arrogate the pregnancy to himself to maintain the continuity of the dynasty. Taking their advice, the emperor gave injunction to appoint princess ThuÃ¡ÂºÂn ThiÃÂªn the status of empress, and demote ChiÃÂªu HoÃÂ ng to princess. In response, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n LiÃ¡Â»Âu took his army to Cai River to rebel.

This incident embarrassed TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng and he left the capital for YÃÂªn TÃ¡Â»Â Mountain. Only after taking advice from the Buddhist priest ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡o ViÃÂªn and TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â§ ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â, did he return to the capital. Two weeks later, TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n LiÃ¡Â»Âu surrendered. TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â§ ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â intended to behead him, but TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃÂ¡i TÃÂ´ng intervened by covering him with his body, so that TrÃ¡ÂºÂ§n ThÃ¡Â»Â§ ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â could not do anything. Afterwards, he gave him his territory, consisting of YÃÂªn PhÃ¡Â»Â¥, YÃÂªn DÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Â¡ng, YÃÂªn Sinh, YÃÂªn HÃÂ°ng, and YÃÂªn Bang.

Due to the name of his territory, LiÃ¡Â»Âu was also called "YÃÂªn Sinh VÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng."

Notes

References

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