Ly Nhan Tong
Encyclopedia
Lý Nhân Tông given name
Lý Càn Đức (李乾德), was the fourth emperor of the Lý Dynasty
, reigning over Đại Việt from 1072 to his death in 1127. Succeeded his father Lý Thánh Tông
at the age of only 7, during the early years Lý Nhân Tông reigned with the assistance of his mother the Empress Mother Ỷ Lan
and the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành
who were both considered competent regent and able to help the emperor to keep the prosperity of the country. Appreciated as a great emperor of the Lý Dynasty, Lý Nhân Tông had important contribution to the development of Đại Việt, especially the national education for Confucian
learning with the first imperial examination
and the first imperial school for Confucian students that were established by the order of the emperor. During his 55-year ruling that is the longest reign in the history of Vietnamese monarchs, Lý Nhân Tông also experienced several conflicts against Đại Việt's neighbours the Song Dynasty
and the kingdom of Champa
in which the Song-Đại Việt War (1075–1076) was the fiercest.
and his concubine Ỷ Lan
. It was said that Lý Thánh Tông was unable to have his own son up to the age of 40, thus he paid visit to Buddhist
pagodas all over the country to pray for a child. Therefore right after the birth, Lý Càn Đức was entitled crown prince
of the Lý Dynasty while Lady Ỷ Lan was granted the title Imperial Concubine. To celebrate the event that lifted the emperor's constraint of dying without issue, Lý Thánh Tông changed his era name from Chương Thánh Gia Khánh (彰聖嘉慶) to Long Chương Thiên Tự (龍章天嗣) and gave out a general amnesty for prisoners.
In the first month of lunar calendar in 1072, the emperor Thánh Tông deceased and thus the crown prince Càn Đức, now Lý Nhân Tông, began to succeed the throne at the age of only 7. The emperor changed the era name to Thái Ninh (1072–1076), during his reign Lý Nhân Tông had seven more era names which are Anh Vũ Chiêu Thắng (1076–1084), Quảng Hựu (1085–1092), Hội Phong (1092–1100), Long Phù (1101–1109), Hội Tường Đại Khánh (1110–1119), Thiên Phù Duệ Vũ (1120–1126) and Thiên Phù Khánh Thọ (1127–1127).
: thái sư) Lý Đạo Thành
and the Empress Mother Thượng Dương but she was soon dismissed by Lý Nhân Tông after the influence from the emperor's natural mother Ỷ Lan. Later the Empress Mother Thượng Dương and her 76 imperial maids were imprisoned in the Thượng Dương palace and ultimately killed and buried in the tomb of Lê Thánh Tông. After the event, Ỷ Lan was entitled Empress Mother Linh Nhân and replaced the Empress Mother Thượng Dương in the position of regent for the emperor. About this event, the historian Ngô Sĩ Liên
commented that although having a devotion for Buddhism, Ỷ Lan was too ruthless in killing the innocent empress mother, he also remarked that the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành was transferred to a position in the southern border likely because he advised against the act of Ỷ Lan and the emperor.
Once held the control of the country on behalf of Lý Thánh Tông during his military campaign in Champa
, Ỷ Lan continued to proved her ability in successfully assisting the emperor in ruling the country, together with the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành and the commander-in-chief Lý Thường Kiệt. In the second month of 1117, after Ỷ Lan's advice, Lý Nhân Tông issued the law of prohibiting people from killing buffaloes, reasoning that since buffalo was essential for farming, a buffalo being killed would cause serious effect on many people, therefore the criminal of killing buffalo and his accomplice had to be heavily punished. The chancellor Lý Đạo Thành was also famous for his competence and righteousness that helped the young emperor Nhân Tông to keep the prosperity of the country and the strength of the Lý army.
The ruling of Lý Nhân Tông is highly appreciated, above all in national education. After the order of the emperor, the first imperial examination
of a Vietnamese monarch based on Confucian
learning was organized in the second month in 1072 with Lê Văn Thịnh
becoming the first first-rank laureate in history of imperial examination in Vietnam, afterwards Lê Văn Thịnh was promoted to the position of chancellor in 1086 but was deprived of all titles and banished to a remote region after a controversial treason case in 1096. Besides Lê Văn Thịnh, Mạc Hiển Tích was also a capable official who found his way to the royal court from Confucian learning that was continuously developed by the emperor, especially after his decree of establishing the first school for Confucian students in Đại Việt, the Temple of Literature (國子監, National Academy), in 1076. In 1089 Lý Nhân Tông had another important decision when he restructured the system of officials in royal court and in the country. To protect the capital Thăng Long
against floods, Lý Nhân Tông initiated the construction of the Cổ Xá Dike, one of the first dike system
in Đại Việt.
began to deteriorate when the Song chancellor Wang Anshi
brought out his reforms in 1069. According to Trần Trọng Kim
in his Việt Nam sử lược
, knowing that the Song emperor prepared for an invasion in Đại Việt, Lý Nhân Tông decided to get ahead by ordering the generals Lý Thường Kiệt and Tôn Đản open a military campaign under the pretext of "rescuing Chinese people from the cruel reform". In 1075 the Lý army led by Lý Thường Kiệt attacked the Lian
and Qin
provinces of the Song Dynasty while another group of Tôn Đản besieged the citadel of Yongzhou
. Although Lý Thường Kiệt succeeded in defeating the reinforcing troops of the Song Dynasty for Yongzhou, the Song army and people in the citadel were still able to stand the besiegement for 40 days and inflicted high casualties for the Lý forces. As a result, when the Lý army finally took down the defence of Yongzhou, Lý generals decided to revenge by killing more than 58,000 people of the city. Several sources estimate that the total number of people killed by Lý troops during this campaign was about 100,000. In response to the sudden attack, the Song emperor opened an invasion in Đại Việt in the twelfth month in 1076 with the support of Song's vassal kingdoms Champa
and Chenla
. After a rapid advance in the territory of Đại Việt, the Song forces were stopped by the Lý defence line along the Như Nguyệt River
led by Lý Thường Kiệt. In avoiding this strong defence system, the commander of the Song army decided to change the operating direction towards the nearby region of Phú Lương where they had a major victory over the troops of Lý Thường Kiệt. As the Song forces took the advantage in battlefield while the Lý Dynasty had to strenuously keep the defence line, Lý Thường Kiệt tried to boost the moral of his soldiers by a poem named Nam quốc sơn hà, afterwards this poem is considered the first Declarations of independence of Vietnam. Being aware of the unfavourable situation of the Lý army, Lý Nhân Tông finally decided to propose a cease-fire which was accepted by the Song Dynasty since its troops already lost about 400,000 men by battles and the harsh weather of Đại Việt. The Song army retreated after occupied a vast region near the border between two countries, however this region was gradually returned to the Lý Dynasty after several diplomatic efforts of the Đại Việt envoys Đào Tôn Nguyên and Lê Văn Thịnh.
In the southern border, the Lý Dynasty also had conflicts with the kingdom of Champa. Appointed for the position of commander-in-chief of the Lý army by Lý Nhân Tông, Lý Thường Kiệt often personally commanded operations in the southern border where he defeated the army of Champa several times with the last one in 1104, only one year before his death in 1105. The success of Lý Thường Kiệt during his military campaigns against the kingdom of Champa helped Lý Nhân Tông to stabilize the southern region for the later years of his ruling.
was erected in 1121 with the content composed by the minister of justice Nguyễn Công Bật, called Sùng Thiện Diên Linh Stele, this work still stands today and is considered one of the most important steles in the History of Vietnam
.
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese names generally consist of three parts: a family name, a middle name, and a given name, used in that order. The "family name first" order follows the system of Chinese names and is common throughout the Sinosphere , but is different from Chinese, Korean, and Japanese names in having a...
Lý Càn Đức (李乾德), was the fourth emperor of the Lý Dynasty
Lý Dynasty
The Lý Dynasty , sometimes known as the Later Lý Dynasty , was a Vietnamese dynasty that began in 1009 when Lý Thái Tổ overthrew the Prior Lê Dynasty and ended in 1225 when the queen Lý Chiêu Hoàng was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of her husband, Trần Cảnh. They ruled Vietnam for a...
, reigning over Đại Việt from 1072 to his death in 1127. Succeeded his father Lý Thánh Tông
Lý Thánh Tông
Lý Thánh Tông was the posthumous title of the third emperor of the Lý dynasty of Vietnam. Like his father, he was considered as one of the most talented and benevolent kings in Vietnamese history.-Genius Crown Prince:...
at the age of only 7, during the early years Lý Nhân Tông reigned with the assistance of his mother the Empress Mother Ỷ Lan
Ỷ Lan
Ỷ Lan or Empress Mother Linh Nhân was the imperial concubine of Lý Thánh Tông, the third emperor and the natural mother of Lý Nhân Tông, the fourth emperor of the Lý Dynasty...
and the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành
Lý Đạo Thành
Lý Đạo Thành was a member of the Lý royal family and the chancellor in the royal court of Lý Thánh Tông and Lý Nhân Tông. Highly appreciated for his ability and righteousness, Lý Đạo Thành had a major role in the stability and prosperity of Đại Việt during the early years of Lý Nhân Tông's reign...
who were both considered competent regent and able to help the emperor to keep the prosperity of the country. Appreciated as a great emperor of the Lý Dynasty, Lý Nhân Tông had important contribution to the development of Đại Việt, especially the national education for Confucian
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
learning with the first imperial examination
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
and the first imperial school for Confucian students that were established by the order of the emperor. During his 55-year ruling that is the longest reign in the history of Vietnamese monarchs, Lý Nhân Tông also experienced several conflicts against Đại Việt's neighbours the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
and the kingdom of 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...
in which the Song-Đại Việt War (1075–1076) was the fiercest.
Background
Nhân Tông was born in the first month of lunar calendar in 1066 as Lý Càn Đức to the emperor Lý Thánh TôngLý Thánh Tông
Lý Thánh Tông was the posthumous title of the third emperor of the Lý dynasty of Vietnam. Like his father, he was considered as one of the most talented and benevolent kings in Vietnamese history.-Genius Crown Prince:...
and his concubine Ỷ Lan
Ỷ Lan
Ỷ Lan or Empress Mother Linh Nhân was the imperial concubine of Lý Thánh Tông, the third emperor and the natural mother of Lý Nhân Tông, the fourth emperor of the Lý Dynasty...
. It was said that Lý Thánh Tông was unable to have his own son up to the age of 40, thus he paid visit to Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
pagodas all over the country to pray for a child. Therefore right after the birth, Lý Càn Đức was entitled crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
of the Lý Dynasty while Lady Ỷ Lan was granted the title Imperial Concubine. To celebrate the event that lifted the emperor's constraint of dying without issue, Lý Thánh Tông changed his era name from Chương Thánh Gia Khánh (彰聖嘉慶) to Long Chương Thiên Tự (龍章天嗣) and gave out a general amnesty for prisoners.
In the first month of lunar calendar in 1072, the emperor Thánh Tông deceased and thus the crown prince Càn Đức, now Lý Nhân Tông, began to succeed the throne at the age of only 7. The emperor changed the era name to Thái Ninh (1072–1076), during his reign Lý Nhân Tông had seven more era names which are Anh Vũ Chiêu Thắng (1076–1084), Quảng Hựu (1085–1092), Hội Phong (1092–1100), Long Phù (1101–1109), Hội Tường Đại Khánh (1110–1119), Thiên Phù Duệ Vũ (1120–1126) and Thiên Phù Khánh Thọ (1127–1127).
Early years
Initially, the regency of the young emperor was placed in the hand of the chancellor (VietnameseVietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
: thái sư) Lý Đạo Thành
Lý Đạo Thành
Lý Đạo Thành was a member of the Lý royal family and the chancellor in the royal court of Lý Thánh Tông and Lý Nhân Tông. Highly appreciated for his ability and righteousness, Lý Đạo Thành had a major role in the stability and prosperity of Đại Việt during the early years of Lý Nhân Tông's reign...
and the Empress Mother Thượng Dương but she was soon dismissed by Lý Nhân Tông after the influence from the emperor's natural mother Ỷ Lan. Later the Empress Mother Thượng Dương and her 76 imperial maids were imprisoned in the Thượng Dương palace and ultimately killed and buried in the tomb of Lê Thánh Tông. After the event, Ỷ Lan was entitled Empress Mother Linh Nhân and replaced the Empress Mother Thượng Dương in the position of regent for the emperor. About this event, the historian Ngô Sĩ Liên
Ngô Sĩ Liên
Ngô Sĩ Liên was an historian of the Lê Dynasty. He is best known for being the principal compiler of the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, a comprehensive chronicle of the history of Vietnam and the oldest official historical record of a Vietnamese dynasty that remains today...
commented that although having a devotion for Buddhism, Ỷ Lan was too ruthless in killing the innocent empress mother, he also remarked that the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành was transferred to a position in the southern border likely because he advised against the act of Ỷ Lan and the emperor.
Once held the control of the country on behalf of Lý Thánh Tông during his military campaign in 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...
, Ỷ Lan continued to proved her ability in successfully assisting the emperor in ruling the country, together with the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành and the commander-in-chief Lý Thường Kiệt. In the second month of 1117, after Ỷ Lan's advice, Lý Nhân Tông issued the law of prohibiting people from killing buffaloes, reasoning that since buffalo was essential for farming, a buffalo being killed would cause serious effect on many people, therefore the criminal of killing buffalo and his accomplice had to be heavily punished. The chancellor Lý Đạo Thành was also famous for his competence and righteousness that helped the young emperor Nhân Tông to keep the prosperity of the country and the strength of the Lý army.
The ruling of Lý Nhân Tông is highly appreciated, above all in national education. After the order of the emperor, the first imperial examination
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
of a Vietnamese monarch based on Confucian
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
learning was organized in the second month in 1072 with Lê Văn Thịnh
Lê Văn Thịnh
Lê Văn Thịnh was an official in the royal court of Lý Nhân Tông, the fourth emperor of the Lý Dynasty. Ranking first in the first imperial examination of the Lý Dynasty, Lê Văn Thịnh was appointed tutor for Lý Nhân Tông and was gradually promoted to the position of chancellor of the Lý Dynasty...
becoming the first first-rank laureate in history of imperial examination in Vietnam, afterwards Lê Văn Thịnh was promoted to the position of chancellor in 1086 but was deprived of all titles and banished to a remote region after a controversial treason case in 1096. Besides Lê Văn Thịnh, Mạc Hiển Tích was also a capable official who found his way to the royal court from Confucian learning that was continuously developed by the emperor, especially after his decree of establishing the first school for Confucian students in Đại Việt, the Temple of Literature (國子監, National Academy), in 1076. In 1089 Lý Nhân Tông had another important decision when he restructured the system of officials in royal court and in the country. To protect the capital Thăng Long
Thang Long
Thang Long can be:*Former name of Hanoi*Thang Long Imperial City...
against floods, Lý Nhân Tông initiated the construction of the Cổ Xá Dike, one of the first dike system
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
in Đại Việt.
Conflicts with neighbours
The relation between the Lý Dynasty and the Song DynastySong Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
began to deteriorate when the Song chancellor Wang Anshi
Wang Anshi
Wang Anshi was a Chinese economist, statesman, chancellor and poet of the Song Dynasty who attempted controversial, major socioeconomic reforms...
brought out his reforms in 1069. According to Trần Trọng Kim
Tran Trong Kim
Trần Trọng Kim was a Vietnamese scholar and politician who served as the Prime Minister of the short-lived Empire of Vietnam, a puppet state created by Imperial Japan in 1945...
in his Việt Nam sử lược
Việt Nam sử lược
Việt Nam sử lược was the first Quoc Ngu history text compiled by Vietnamese historian Trần Trọng Kim. It covered the period from Hồng Bàng Dynasty to the time of French Indochina. The book was first published in 1921 and reprinted many times to this day...
, knowing that the Song emperor prepared for an invasion in Đại Việt, Lý Nhân Tông decided to get ahead by ordering the generals Lý Thường Kiệt and Tôn Đản open a military campaign under the pretext of "rescuing Chinese people from the cruel reform". In 1075 the Lý army led by Lý Thường Kiệt attacked the Lian
Hepu County
Hepu County is a county of Beihai City, Guangxi, China. It has 26 neighborhood committees and 245 village committees...
and Qin
Qinzhou
Qinzhou is a municipal region in Guangxi, People's Republic of China.The municipality lies on the Gulf of Tonkin and has a population of 944, 000.-Administration:The Qinzhou municipal region comprises two districts and two counties....
provinces of the Song Dynasty while another group of Tôn Đản besieged the citadel of Yongzhou
Nanning
Nanning is the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush tropical foliage.-History:...
. Although Lý Thường Kiệt succeeded in defeating the reinforcing troops of the Song Dynasty for Yongzhou, the Song army and people in the citadel were still able to stand the besiegement for 40 days and inflicted high casualties for the Lý forces. As a result, when the Lý army finally took down the defence of Yongzhou, Lý generals decided to revenge by killing more than 58,000 people of the city. Several sources estimate that the total number of people killed by Lý troops during this campaign was about 100,000. In response to the sudden attack, the Song emperor opened an invasion in Đại Việt in the twelfth month in 1076 with the support of Song's vassal kingdoms 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...
and Chenla
Chenla
Chenla is the Chinese designation for Cambodia after the fall of Funan. That name was still used in the 13th century by the Chinese envoy Zhou Daguan, author of the Manners and Customs of Cambodia...
. After a rapid advance in the territory of Đại Việt, the Song forces were stopped by the Lý defence line along the Như Nguyệt River
Cau River
Cầu River is a river of northern Vietnam. It flows through the city of Thai Nguyen. The river has a length of 288 km and basin area of 6030 km²....
led by Lý Thường Kiệt. In avoiding this strong defence system, the commander of the Song army decided to change the operating direction towards the nearby region of Phú Lương where they had a major victory over the troops of Lý Thường Kiệt. As the Song forces took the advantage in battlefield while the Lý Dynasty had to strenuously keep the defence line, Lý Thường Kiệt tried to boost the moral of his soldiers by a poem named Nam quốc sơn hà, afterwards this poem is considered the first Declarations of independence of Vietnam. Being aware of the unfavourable situation of the Lý army, Lý Nhân Tông finally decided to propose a cease-fire which was accepted by the Song Dynasty since its troops already lost about 400,000 men by battles and the harsh weather of Đại Việt. The Song army retreated after occupied a vast region near the border between two countries, however this region was gradually returned to the Lý Dynasty after several diplomatic efforts of the Đại Việt envoys Đào Tôn Nguyên and Lê Văn Thịnh.
In the southern border, the Lý Dynasty also had conflicts with the kingdom of Champa. Appointed for the position of commander-in-chief of the Lý army by Lý Nhân Tông, Lý Thường Kiệt often personally commanded operations in the southern border where he defeated the army of Champa several times with the last one in 1104, only one year before his death in 1105. The success of Lý Thường Kiệt during his military campaigns against the kingdom of Champa helped Lý Nhân Tông to stabilize the southern region for the later years of his ruling.
Family
Although Lý Nhân Tông had three empresses, Lan Anh, Khâm Thiên and Chấn Bảo, he was unable to have his own son and thus decided to adopt sons of the Marquises Sùng Hiền, Thành Khánh, Thành Quảng, Thành Chiêu, Thành Hưng, so that the emperor could choose a capable successor to maintain the throne for the Lý Dynasty. Finally, being an intelligent and vivacious boy, Marquis Sùng Hiền's son Lý Dương Hoán was made by Lý Nhân Tông the crown prince of the Lý Dynasty at the age of two in 1117. In December 1127 after 56 years reigning, Lý Nhân Tông deceased at Vĩnh Quang Palace at the age of 61 and was succeeded by Lý Dương Hoán, now the emperor Lý Thần Tông. In his last will, Lý Nhân Tông still expressed his concern for the country when he only wished for a prosperous nation (bốn bể yên vui) and a stable frontier (biên thuỳ ít loạn).Legacy
The 55-year ruling of Lý Nhân Tông is the longest reign in the history of Vietnamese monarchs. For his contributions, Lý Nhân Tông is still considered today a great emperor of the Lý Dynasty who is credited with solidifying the ruling of the Lý Dynasty in Đại Việt and improving the independent status of the country. During his 56 years of reigning, Lý Nhân Tông not only developed the agriculture and military strength of Đại Việt but also initiated a national education for Confucian learning with the establishment of the first imperial examination and the first imperial school for Confucian learning in Thăng Long which are still preserved today. Besides, Lý Nhân Tông is well-known for his talent in writing poetry with three poems that still remains, Tán Giác Hải thiền sư, Thông Huyền đạo nhân, Truy tán Vạn Hạnh thiền sư and Lâm chung di chiếu. To commemorate the successful reign of Lý Nhân Tông, a steleStele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
was erected in 1121 with the content composed by the minister of justice Nguyễn Công Bật, called Sùng Thiện Diên Linh Stele, this work still stands today and is considered one of the most important steles in the History of Vietnam
History of Vietnam
The history of Vietnam covers a period of more than 2,700 years. By far Vietnam's most important historical international relationship has been with China. Vietnam's prehistory includes a legend about a kingdom known as Van Lang that included what is now China's Guangxi Autonomous Region and...
.