TRUYỆN CỔ TÍCH TIẾNG ANH

PHUNG HUNG (Bo Cai Dai Vuong)
(767 - 791)
Phung Hung was born in Duong Lan province (present-day Ba Vi, Ha Noi). His father is Phung Hap Khanh, a talented Mountain District Chief to has joined forces with Mai Thuc Loan's revolt.
Phung Hung was extraordinarily handsome, strong and intelligent. Popular believed he has killed a tiger with his bare hands. It was due to his patriotism that he gained the love and trust of the populace since his early ages.
At that time, Tan Dynasty ruled Chinese. Tan King commanded Cao Chinh Binh and his army to dominant An Nam. Cao Chinh Binh made demands to the Viet people in the form of high tributary payments.
Seeing Viet people suffering under the cruelties of Chinese rulers, Phung Hung, along with his 2 brother, Phung Hai and Phung Dinh, rallied their troops to fight against the Chinese. Thousands people all around responsed to his call joining the army. Cao Chinh Binh tried to defeat Phung Hung's army, but he failed so many times during 20 years long. In 791, Phung Hung devided his followers into 5 troups attacked Chinese army and regained control of Tong Binh province after 7 days fighting. Thousands of Chinese got killed in this battle. Cao Chinh Binh died from depression. Phung Hung took over An Nam and reigned the land for 7 years. After he passed away, his son Phung An inherit his throne. To honor his father, Phung An proclaimed Phung Hung "Bo Cai Dai Vuong".
Phung An succeed the throne for another 2 years. The Chinese then resumed their efforts, sent Trieu Xuong to retake An Nam.

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NGO QUYEN
(939 - 944)
The end of the Trieu Dynasty in 111 A.D. marked the beginning of the Chinese thousand years conquest. Although there were many insurrections and attempts to restore independence during that millennium, all were short-lived. Finally in 939 A.D., the provincial mandarin Ngo Quyen vanquished the Chinese. Ngo Quyen is honored as Vietnam's greatest hero for restoring Vietnamese independence, which despite centuries of turbulence, has continued through today.
Ngo Quyen was born in 899 in Son Tay province. He was the son of a provincial officer and a native of the western Red River Delta. He was a military general under Duong Dinh Nghe, and was well known for his martial art and tactical skills, courage, wisdom and generosity. When Duong Dinh Nghe defeated the Southern Han in 931, he wedded one of his daughters to Ngo Quyen and gave him command of Ai Province.
In 937, Duong Dinh Nghe was assassinated by one of his generals, Kieu Cong Tien. After killing the traitor, Ngo Quyen assumed responsibility for the country's affairs. In 938, aware that the Southern Han, led by Prince Hoang Thao were attacking through the Bach Dang River, Ngo Quyen devised a battle plan that would use the tide to their advantage. At low tide, he ordered his men to embed thousands of iron-tipped stakes along the mouth of the Bach Dang River. When the tide was high enough to conceal the stakes, Ngo Quyen sent his men out in small boats to lure the enemy. After a few rounds of battle, they feigned defeat and retreated into the Bach Dang River. Eager to capture them, the Han followed.
As the Han's ships crossed the thorny bed and the water level begin to recede, Ngo Quyen ordered his men to turn back. Realizing that they were being trapped, the Han dropped their pursuit and fled in the opposite direction. By the time they reached the mouth, the tide was low enough to expose the sharp stakes, which assisted by gravity (dragging the ships down), broke through the hulls and impaled their ships. Ngo Quyen's army attacked vigorously, killing thousands of Hans and Prince Hoang Thao.
The Han Emperor was coming to his son's aid when he received news of his son's demise. He broke down in sorrow and instructed his army return to China. With Vietnamese independence restored in 939 A.D., Ngo Quyen crowned himself Emperor. He set up the Ngo Dynasty and established the Capital at Co Loa. After ruling for five years, he passed away on January 18, 944, at the age of 45.

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DINH BO LINH
(968-980)
Dinh Bo Linh was born in 923 in Hoa Lu (southern of the Red River Delta). He was the founder of Dinh dynasty and a significant figure in the restoration of Vietnamese independence in the tenth century.
Growing up in a local village Dinh Bo Linh became a local military leader. From this anarchic era, the first independent Viet Nam emerged. Faced once more with the threat of a powerful China, Dinh Bo Linh, tried to find ways to reunify the country. On the death of the last Ngo King in 963, he seized power and founded the new kingdom in his home province at Hoa Lu. To consolidate his legitimacy, he married a member of the Ngo family.
At first, Dinh Bo Linh had been careful to avoid antagonizing the Southern Han Empire. But in 966 he adopted the title of Emperor (Hoang De) and declared his independence from Chinese rule. Under the name of Dinh Tien Hoang De, he founded the Dinh Dynasty and called his kingdom Dai Co Viet. Well aware of the new Chinese Song dynasty's military might, Dinh Bo Linh obtained a non-aggression treaty of the country's independence in exchange for tributes payable to the Chinese every three years. This arrangement with China was carried out until the 19th Century and the advent of French colonization.
Seven years later, however, he pacified the new Sung Dynasty by sending a tribute mission to demonstrate his fealty to the Chinese Emperor, who subsequently recognized the Vietnamese ruler as An Nam Quoc Vuong (King of Annam).
Dinh Bo Linh energetically reformed the administration and the armed forces to strengthen the foundation of the new Vietnamese state. He established a royal court and a hierarchy of civil and military servants. He instated a rigorous justice system and introduced the death penalty to serve as a deterrent to all who threatened the new order in the kingdom.
However, Dinh Bo Linh's reign did not last long. In 980 a palace guard killed both Dinh Bo Linh and his eldest son Dinh Lien in their sleep. He was succeeded by his six-year old son. In the meantime, the Chinese Emperor wanted to take advantage of the young King by sending an army to attack Dai Co Viet. In this crisis, Le Hoan, a general in Dinh Bo Linh's army, dispossessed the child of Dinh, killed all of his opponents in the Court, and entering into illicit relations with the Queen Mother. Le Hoan proclaimed himself King, called the Early Le Dynasty state.

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LE HOAN (Le Dai Hanh)

(Le Dai Hanh's temple in Hoa Lu)

Le Hoan, the commander in chief of the armies of Emperor Dinh Bo Linh, who also had and illicit relationship with the Queen Mother, dethroned Dinh Bo Linh's heir and proclaimed himself King Le Dai Hanh in 980. He retained the capital in Hoa Lu and succeeded in warding off several Chinese invasions by the Song Court, but continued paying them tributes every three years in exchange for a peaceful relations.
Le Dai Hanh's reign marked the first attempt to consolidate the Viet nation. He devoted a great deal of energy to developing the road network in order to better administer the country's different regions. However, the local forces were still reluctant to toe the line to the central authority and mounted a succession of revolts.
Le Hoan's 25 year reign was marked by foreign wars. The Tan Dynasty in China had hoped to take advantage of the instability in Vietnam by launching an invasion of its ex-dependency but Le Hoan defeated the Chinese armies in 981 and obtained official Chinese recognition of Vietnamese independence.
On the domestic scene, the reign of Le Hoan was marked by efforts to strengthen the fragile structure of the infant Vietnamese state. He relied to a considerable degree on his sons, several of whom he appointed as governors of key provinces. Le Hoan died in 1005, leading to a fratricidal strife among his heirs. The victor himself died two years later, leaving an infant son as successor. Through intrigues at court, a mandarin by the name of Le Cong Uan was placed on the throne and founded a new Ly Dynasty.
In 1005, after 24 years of difficult rule, Le Dai Hanh died. The Tien Le dynasty eventually collapsed after the death of one of Le Dai Hanh's heirs in 1009.

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LY CONG UAN (Ly Thai To) and THE LY DYNASTY
The Early Le Dynasty was followed by the Great Ly Dynasty, 1010-1225, which numbered nine kings. Founder of the Ly Dynasty is Ly Cong Uan (Ly Thai To), then Ly Thai Tong, Ly Thanh Tong, Ly Nhan Tong, Ly Than Tong, Ly Anh Tong, Ly Cao Tong, Ly Hue Tong, and Ly Chieu Hoang.
Ly Cong Uan was born in 974 and brought up by Van Hanh, a Buddhist monk for his mother died righ after giving birth. He was trained on all necessary knowledges of a leader, a scholar and a military general because the monk, who took care of him was a wise bonze-superior and could foresee the future. And Ly had become a famous general in the Le Court when he was still very young. After the death of emperor Le Long Dinh (Le Ngoa Trieu) in 1010, Ly Cong Uan was raised by the Court and brought to the throne. He styled himself Ly Thai To and became the first Ly Emperor.
In 1010, Ly Thai To moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Dai La (presently Hanoi). According to ancient history documents, on the way, the king saw a vision of a golden dragon ascending from the Hong river. The King decided to change Dai La to Thang Long (Ascending Dragon). During the reign of eighteen years, Ly Cong Uan initiated a number of actions that would significantly affect the development of the new state. He reorganized the government, with the Emperor on top who decided everything and important positions in the court belonged to his relatives. The country was divided into 24 Lo (province) comprising Huyen (District). Huyen was composed of Xa (Villages). The Emperor appointed the rulers for Lo only, the Huyen and Xa were ruled by elected council. All discontents could be submitted directly to the Emperor by ringing a huge bell hung in front of royal palace.
In 1054 the Lys re-named the country Dai Viet (Viet the Great).
During the Ly dynasty, Buddhism flourished as the national religion. Buddhist masters, who acted as supreme advisors, assisted the Ly kings in their rule. Several Ly Kings - Thai Tong, Anh Tong and Cao Tong - led the Buddhist sects of Thao Duong and founded some 150 monasteries in the region of Thang Long. On agriculture, the Lys encouraged people to break soil by allowing them to possess that soil as own property. The education was in the first step. In 1070 a National College was founded to educate future mandarins. The Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) was established. In 1075, the first examination was held to choose the talents. Chinese scripts was official letters. Buddhism was the national religions.
At the beginning of 1077, as predicted, the Tan took the oppotunity that King Ly Nhan Tong was still a 7 years old child, sent 100,000 soldiers to invade Vietnam, but they had been defeated at the Song Cau by Ly Thuong Kiet. The proclaimatin of the independent was made by Ly Thuong Kiet, consisted of 4 verses:
Nam quo^'c so+n ha` Nam dde^' cu+
Tie^.t nhie^n ddi.nh pha^.n ta.i thie^n thu+
Nhu+ ha` nghi.ch lo^~ lai xa^m pha.m
Nhu+~ dda(?ng ha`nh khan thu? ba.i hu+.
Ly Dynasty started to decline at Ly AnhTong and Ly Cao Tong reign. At his youth he indulged in play, ignored the ruling. The country fell in chaos by rebellions raised everywhere and the misery of people. In 1208, the Quach Boc rebellion caused the Court taking flight from the capital, the Emperor hiden in Phu Tho now and crown prince Sam (Ly Hue Tong) hiden in Nam Dinh now. Sam then got married with Tran Thi Dung, daughter of a fisherman of that region and was supported by Tran family to fight against the Quach rebellion and won at last. The members of Tran family were confered the important positions in the Court. The crown prince Sam reigned in 1211 with the court that most important titles belonged to Tran family. In 1224, Ly Hue Tong was forced to hand down the throne to his younger daughter, the Chieu Thanh princess, because he had no son, and went into a Buddhist monastery. In 1227, he was forced to commit suicide by Tran Thu Do, Thai su (one of 3 positions at highest rank of the court) at his 33.
Ly Chieu Hoang or Phat Kim, Chieu Thanh princess, reigned at her 7 years old. In an attempt to usurp the throne, Thai su Tran Thu Do sent Tran Canh, his 8-years old nephew to serve Chieu Hoang as a courtier and a boy friend and Chieu Hoang was very fond of him . At this stage, Thu Do spreaded a rumour that Chieu Hoang wished to get married with Tran Canh and the wedding was soon hold under his pressure. The last result was, in 1225, Ly Chieu Hoang ceded the throne to her husband, Tran Canh. The Ly Dynasty ended, the Tran opened.

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TRAN HUNG DAO (Hung Dao Dai Vuong)
Tran Hung Dao was a figure of almost legendary proportions in Vietnamese history, a brilliant military strategist who defeated two Mongol invasions and became a cultural hero among modern Vietnamese. He was born in Nam Dinh, was King Tran Thai Ton's nephew. He was talented and very intelligent. In 1283, Tran Hung Dao was appointed commander-in-chief of the Dai Viet armed forces.
At that time, the Mongols had denominanted China, they grew more and more demanding towards Viet Nam. Despite concessions by the Tran, the Mongol court remained intransigent, dreaming of conquering both Viet Nam and Champa.
King Tran Nhan Tong was aware of the enemy's strategy. As early as 1282 he has assembled and consulted all the princes and dignitaries on the action to be taken; their unanimous response was to fight. Prince Quoc Toan, only 16 years old, recuited 1,000 men to go to the front. By 1283, all princes and dignitaries were ordered to put their troops under the command of Tran Hung Dao.
In the last month of 1284, the Mongol army crossed the border at Lang Son under the command of Thoat Hoan. Asked by King Tran Nhan Tong whether the Vietnamese Empire should appease the Mongols rather than fight, Tran Hung Dao had replied with a famous declaration in which he appealed to his sovereign and to the population at large, for a policy of national resistance (Hich Tuong Si).
As the Mongols crossed the frontier. The Vietnamese force, totalling a mere of 200,000 men, was unable to withstand the first onslaught. Tran Hung Dao ordered the evacuation of the capital and was asked by the king: "The enemy is so strong that a protracted war might bring terrible destruction down upon the people. Wouldn't it be better-to lay down our arm to save the population?" The general answered: "If you want *****rrender, please have my head cut off first". With that iron will, Tran Hung Dao and his men entered and won battles. The Mongols withdrawed. So scared that they called him Emperor Hung Dao (Hung Dao Vuong).
However then Mongols returned in 1287, this time with 300,000 men. At high tide he attacked the Mongol fleet as it sailed on the Bach Dang River and lured them deep into the Vietnamese territory. The battle continued for many hours until low tide when a sudden Vietnamese counteroffensive forced the Mongol boats back, impaling them on the steel tipped bamboo burried deep in the river bed the night before. The entire troop got captured or sunk.
The name of Tran Hung Dao is one of the greatest in Vietnamese military history. After he died of old age, King Tran Anh Tong styled him as Hung Dao Dai Vuong.

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LE QUI LY (Ho Qui Ly) and the HO DYNASTY
(1400 - 1407)
Le Qui Ly was born in 1400 to the Ho family with the name Ho Qui Ly. He took up the Le's last name when Le Huan adopted him. Le Qui Ly was cousin to the Queen, Le Thi, and served as minister during the Tran Dynasty.
Taking advantage of his proximity to the King, Le Qui Ly shrewdly maneuvered his way to power. When King Tran Due Tong passed away in 1377, Le Qui Ly seized control and founded the Ho Dynasty, after his ancestral name, Ho. He ruled Viet territory for a year before sharing the throne with his son, Ho Han Thuong.
During their reign, the Hos reorganized and reinforced the army. They revised taxes, placed restrictions on land ownerships, and opened ports to trading, taxing those as well. They also established a new fiscal system which replaced coins with bank notes and introduced the extension of royal appointments to their servants. Convinced that administrators needed to be well versed, the Hos modified the competitive examination system to demand more practical knowledge of peasant life, mathematics, history, Confucian classics and literature. They also took measures to reform the legal system and establish medical services.
In the mean time, well aware that Ho had usurped the throne, the Chinese Ming Emperor sent 5,000 soldiers into the country to uproot the new king and reclaim Viet territory. With the pretext of helping the movement faithful to the Tran Dynasty, the Ming army assisted the rebels in bringing down the Ho Dynasty. In 1407, they succeeded and the Ming gained control of Viet territory. In the short period of occupation that followed, the Chinese strived to obliterate Vietnamese national identity. Vietnamese literature and artistic and historical works were either burned or taken to China, and were replaced by Chinese classics. Chinese dress and hair style were imposed on Vietnamese women, local religious rites and costumes were replaced or banished, and private fortunes were confiscated and transported to China.

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NGUYEN TRAI
(1380 - 1442)
Nguyen Trai (pseudonym Uc Trai) was born in 1380 in Nhi Khe, Ha Dong province (North Vietnam), son of Nguyen Phi Khanh, a scholar and official who had been forced to go to China after the occupation of Minh dynasty, and Tran Thi Thai.
Nguyen Trai earned his master's degree when he was only twenty years old. He was appointed to the position of deputy head provincial administrator.
When Chinese forces occupied Vietnam in 1407 under commander Truong Phu, King Ho failed to resist the enemy. Nguyen Trai refused to collaborate with the new regime and was placed under house arrest in Thang Long, (present-day Hanoi).
When Le Loi raised a revolt against the Ming in 1418, Nguyen Trai escaped from confinement, join the liberation army, and became Le Loi's closest adviser and the primary strategist of the latter's victory over the Chinese in 1428. Many letters and pronouncements written by him and sent in Le Loi's name to the Ming generals have been preserved in "Quang Trung Tu Menh Tap" (letters and commands from the time of military service). His best known poem is in Chinese, Binh Ngo Sach (Book on Defeating the Wu) written after victory, became Vietnam's declaration of independence. With his clever propaganda and profound writings, he contributed greatly to making Le Loi a hero in his own time.
After victory in 1428, Nguyen Trai served the new emperor as a high official in the bureaucracy. Nguyen Trai promote integrity, righteousness, and purity of purpose.
Nguyen Trai retired after the death of Le Thai To and the accession of the latter's son Le Thai Tong. He came back home at Con Son where he lived a simple life with integrity. Such high moral standards aroused resentment and jealousy among his colleagues in the bureaucracy and even aroused the suspicion of Emperor Le Thai To himself.
Nguyen Trai married to Nguyen Thi Lo, a beautiful talented country girl. King Le Thai Tong became very fond of her. In 1442, King Le Thai Tong came to Con Son to visit Nguyen Trai's family. The day later the King died misteriously. Nguyen Thi Lo was accused of regicide, therefore, Nguyen Trai was executed along with his entire family.
Twenty years later his name was rehabilitated by King Le Thanh Tong.

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LE LOI








Ho Hoan Kiem (Returned Sword Lake)

(1428 - 1443)
Le Loi was born in Lam Son (Thanh Hoa province) in 1384. He was known for his courage, wisdom and generosity. The Minh dynasty wanted to use his talent for their system, but Le Loi refused.
The population was by this time in a state of general rebellion against the Minh Dynasty, and revolts broke out throughout the North in support of Le Loi. Le Loi style himself as Binh Dinh Vuong and raise his flag against the Chiness. Le Loi had time to consolidate his forces while the Chinese were occupied with quelling people's rebellions everywhere.
In 1427, Le Loi organized a mock defeat to fool the Chinese reinforcements. Lured into the trap, the Chinese general was ambushed and beheaded, and the rest of his army was defeated in later battles of the same year. With tremendous help of his loyal friends Nguyen Trai and Le Lai, Le Loi founded the Le Dynasty in 1428 and became king under the name of Le Thai To. He changed the country name from An Nam to Dai Viet and started reconstructing the teritory after the devastation caused by the war. It was during this period that Christianity was first introduced to the country. The romanized Quoc Ngu script was developed by a missionary, Alexandre deRhodes; and this form of writing later supplanted the then-current Chinese-type Nom characters.
It has been said while fighting against the Chinese, Le Loi has in his possession a very valuable sword given by a large turtle. After 10 years of continuous struggle, Le Loi reclaimed Vietnam's independence. One day, while sailing on that lake, the turtle appeared. Le Loi said "gods must have lent him the sword to drive back the enemy. Now as Vietnam is free, the sword must be returned", he then gave the sword to the turle. The turtle grab hold of the sword and submerged. Le Loi then named the lake Ho Hoan Kiem or Lake of the Returned Sword
Le Thai To died in 1443, at the age of 49, leaving the throne to his eleven year old son, Le Thai Tong.

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QUANG TRUNG (Nguyen Hue)
(1752-1792)
Nguyen Hue was born in 1752 in Tay Son village, Nghia Binh province. He was the second eldest of three brothers Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue, and Nguyen Lu. In 1770s, the brothers, led by the eldest Nguyen Nhac, revolted against the rule of the Nguyen Lords, who controlled the southern provinces of Vietnam in the name of the Later Le Dynasty. In 1785, the Tay Son brothers seized the Nguyen capital of Saigon and began to move against the Trinh Lords, who controlled the North.
Nguyen Hue was endowed with both political wisdom and military genius. At first, Nguyen Hue kept his campaign slogan "Restore the Le, destroy the Trinh" (Pho Le, diet Trinh) and recognized the legitimacy of King Le Hien Tong, who had resigned since 1740. In return, the King let Nguyen Hue married his daughter Le Ngoc Han. When Le Hien Tong died in 1786, the throne passed to his grandson Le Chien Tong, who called on Chinese assistance to restore the power of the Le Dynasty and remove the influence of the Tay Son. When Chinese troops entered Vietnam in late 1788 and occupied the capital of Thang Long, Nguyen Hue declared himself emperor Quang Trung and launched an attack to the North. Nguyen Hue seized the imperial capital of Thang Long in July 1786. In only seven days, he defeated a force of 200,000 Chinese, twice the size of his own army. The invasion succeeded and the Chinese forces retreated across the border.
After the victory, King Quang Trung set his capital at Phu Xuan (modern-day Hue) and offered tribute to China. He also moved vigorously to strengthen the state, reorganizing the military, promoting land reform, and stimulating trade relations with the West. To promote a sense of national independence, King Quang Trung significantly replaced the Chinese Han with Nớ?Ănd declared it is the official language at court. But he died suddenly in 1792 at age 39, and was succeeded by his ten-year old son, Canh Thinh. The young emperor was unable to prevent the outbreak of internal dissention within the regime, and was overthrown in 1802.

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