Le Nhan Tong
Encyclopedia
Lê Nhân Tông was king of Vietnam
from 1453 till his murder in a coup. He was a grandson of the hero-king Le Loi. During nearly all of his short reign, the real power behind the throne was his mother, Nguyen Thi Anh
.
, his heir was an infant son named Bang Co, mothered by Anh. He was the second son of his father but the elder son (Nghi Dân) had been officially passed over due to his mother's low social status.
The government was actually under the control of Trinh Kha
. Trịnh Khả was a long-time aide, friend, and counselor of Lê Lợi. By 1442, he was the first among the surviving top aides of Lê Lợi, the others had been killed or were second rank. Despite the dangers of having an infant on the throne, the government seems to have run well with no serious problems. The mother of the king, Anh was around 21 years old when her son was appointed the future king, over time she assumed more power in the government.
The next 17 years were good years for Vietnam. While some disputes surfaced between the Confucian scholars and the noble families, by and large things were fairly peaceful and prosperous for the country.
Relations with Champa
were never good and from 1443 till 1445 the Champa raided Vietnam. The Vietnamese sent messages to the Ming
Court protesting these raids. The Ming did nothing and so in 1446 the Vietnamese sent an army south to attack the Champa
kingdom. The campaign was successful and the Cham capital of Vijaya was captured, but the Vietnamese were driven out a year later. However, there were no further raids by the Cham for the next twenty years.
In 1451, for reasons that are unclear, Anh ordered the execution of Trinh Kha and his eldest son. Two years later, Trịnh Khả was officially pardoned along with several other close advisors to Le Loi who had been killed (like Lê Sát). The pardon occurred in conjunction with the official ascension to power of Le Nhan Tong, though he was only 12 years old at the time.
It is unknown why a 12 year old boy was formally given the power of government since ancient custom said power could only be given when a boy became a man at the age of 16. It may have been done to remove the Empress Nguyen Thi Anh from power, but if that was the reason, it failed, the boy's mother still controlled the government up until the coup of 1459.
In 1459, Le Nhan Tong's older brother, Nghi Dân, plotted with a group of officials to kill the king. On October 28, the plotters with some 100 "shiftless men" entered into the palace and killed the king (he was just 18). The next day, facing certain execution, his mother, Anh, was killed by a loyal servant.
So ended the nearly 20 year period when Vietnam was essentially ruled by a woman. Later Vietnamese histories offered two different pictures of this time, one court historian said this was a period of benevolent rule, with harmony in the court and idyllic peace in the land. Another history says the court was in chaos and that having a woman rule the state was as unnatural as "a hen crowing at daybreak". Good counselors like Trinh Kha had been removed from office and dolts had been elevated, bringing oppression and calamity to Vietnam.
Nghi Dân would not long enjoy his rule, he was removed from power and killed in a counter-coup just 9 months later. The next king of Vietnam was the last son of Le Thai Tong: Le Thanh Tong
, perhaps the greatest king in Vietnamese history.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
from 1453 till his murder in a coup. He was a grandson of the hero-king Le Loi. During nearly all of his short reign, the real power behind the throne was his mother, Nguyen Thi Anh
Nguyen Thi Anh
Nguyễn Thị Anh was a queen consort of Vietnam, mother of the Vietnamese King Le Nhan Tong, and effective head of state of Vietnam from 1451 until she allowed a servant to kill her in 1459 to avoid being captured or killed in a coup....
.
Biography
With the sudden death of Le Thai TongLê Thái Tông
Lê Thái Tông was an emperor of Vietnam from 1438 till his early death four years later.- Biography :...
, his heir was an infant son named Bang Co, mothered by Anh. He was the second son of his father but the elder son (Nghi Dân) had been officially passed over due to his mother's low social status.
The government was actually under the control of Trinh Kha
Trinh Kha
Trịnh Khả close advisor to Lê Lợi, chief ruler of Vietnam during the 1440s, and founder of the powerful Trịnh family.Trịnh Khả, like most of Lê Lợi’s chief aids and generals, was from Thanh Hóa province which is where Lê Lợi was born. During the decade-long war against the Ming dynasty, Trịnh Khả...
. Trịnh Khả was a long-time aide, friend, and counselor of Lê Lợi. By 1442, he was the first among the surviving top aides of Lê Lợi, the others had been killed or were second rank. Despite the dangers of having an infant on the throne, the government seems to have run well with no serious problems. The mother of the king, Anh was around 21 years old when her son was appointed the future king, over time she assumed more power in the government.
The next 17 years were good years for Vietnam. While some disputes surfaced between the Confucian scholars and the noble families, by and large things were fairly peaceful and prosperous for the country.
Relations with Champa
Champa
The kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...
were never good and from 1443 till 1445 the Champa raided Vietnam. The Vietnamese sent messages to the Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
Court protesting these raids. The Ming did nothing and so in 1446 the Vietnamese sent an army south to attack the Champa
Champa
The kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...
kingdom. The campaign was successful and the Cham capital of Vijaya was captured, but the Vietnamese were driven out a year later. However, there were no further raids by the Cham for the next twenty years.
In 1451, for reasons that are unclear, Anh ordered the execution of Trinh Kha and his eldest son. Two years later, Trịnh Khả was officially pardoned along with several other close advisors to Le Loi who had been killed (like Lê Sát). The pardon occurred in conjunction with the official ascension to power of Le Nhan Tong, though he was only 12 years old at the time.
It is unknown why a 12 year old boy was formally given the power of government since ancient custom said power could only be given when a boy became a man at the age of 16. It may have been done to remove the Empress Nguyen Thi Anh from power, but if that was the reason, it failed, the boy's mother still controlled the government up until the coup of 1459.
In 1459, Le Nhan Tong's older brother, Nghi Dân, plotted with a group of officials to kill the king. On October 28, the plotters with some 100 "shiftless men" entered into the palace and killed the king (he was just 18). The next day, facing certain execution, his mother, Anh, was killed by a loyal servant.
So ended the nearly 20 year period when Vietnam was essentially ruled by a woman. Later Vietnamese histories offered two different pictures of this time, one court historian said this was a period of benevolent rule, with harmony in the court and idyllic peace in the land. Another history says the court was in chaos and that having a woman rule the state was as unnatural as "a hen crowing at daybreak". Good counselors like Trinh Kha had been removed from office and dolts had been elevated, bringing oppression and calamity to Vietnam.
Nghi Dân would not long enjoy his rule, he was removed from power and killed in a counter-coup just 9 months later. The next king of Vietnam was the last son of Le Thai Tong: Le Thanh Tong
Lê Thánh Tông
Lê Thánh Tông was emperor of Đại Việt from 1460 until his death. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest emperors of Vietnamese history and the Vietnamese "Hammurabi."-Early years:...
, perhaps the greatest king in Vietnamese history.
Sources
This history is based on the doctoral thesis of John K. Whitmore "The Development of the Le Government in Fifteenth Century Vietnam" (Cornell University, 1968). The thesis is mostly concerned with the structure and make-up of the Le government from 1427 to 1471.See also
- List of Vietnamese dynasties
- Lê DynastyLê DynastyThe Later Lê Dynasty , sometimes referred to as the Lê Dynasty was the longest-ruling dynasty of Vietnam, ruling the country from 1428 to 1788, with a brief interruption....