The Ngô dynasty (;
Chữ Nôm
Chữ Nôm (, ; ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters (''Chữ Hán'') to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represented ...
: 茹吳) was a dynasty that ruled
Tĩnh Hải quân
Tĩnh Hải quân or the Jinghai Military Command ( Chinese: 靜海軍, pinyin: Jìnghǎi Jūn) (literally "Peaceful Sea Army"), also known as Annam (安南), was an administrative division of the Tang dynasty of China administered by Chinese go ...
(Jinghai) in
northern Vietnam
Northern Vietnam ( vi, Bắc Bộ) is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng S ...
from 939 to 968. The dynasty was founded by
Ngô Quyền
Ngô Quyền ( vi-hantu, 吳權) (April 17, 898 – February 14, 944), often referred to as Tiền Ngô Vương (前吳王; "First King of Ngô"), was a warlord who later became the founding king of the Ngô dynasty of Vietnam. He reigned from ...
, who led Vietnamese forces in the
Battle of Bạch Đằng River against the Chinese
Southern Han dynasty
Southern Han (; 917–971), officially Han (), originally Yue (), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The ...
in 938.
Around 930, as Ngô Quyền rose to power,
northern Vietnam
Northern Vietnam ( vi, Bắc Bộ) is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng S ...
was militarily occupied by the Southern Han and was treated as an autonomous province and
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...
state of
Later Tang Dynasty
Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history.
The first three of the Later Tang's four e ...
, referred to as
Tĩnh Hải quân
Tĩnh Hải quân or the Jinghai Military Command ( Chinese: 靜海軍, pinyin: Jìnghǎi Jūn) (literally "Peaceful Sea Army"), also known as Annam (安南), was an administrative division of the Tang dynasty of China administered by Chinese go ...
. Every year the
Jiedushi
The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...
of Tĩnh Hải quân had to pay tribute to its Chinese master in exchange for peace and political support. At the beginning of the 10th century, China was domestically plagued and weakened by civil war during what is known as the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
. The Chinese were preoccupied with these civil struggles and lost their grip on Tĩnh Hải quân periodically. Tĩnh Hải quân took advantage of this opportunity and proclaimed its independence and seceded from China. Under the rule of Lord Protector Dương Đình Nghệ, the Tĩnh Hải quân state initiated a full blown military campaign for independence.
Background
Pre-independence
After defeating the
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
adjusted its administrative divisions and provinces, maintaining Chinese rule in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. In the late 9th Century, however, civil unrest increased and the rebellion of
Huang Chao
Huang Chao (835 – July 13, 884) was a Chinese smuggler, soldier, and rebel, and is most well known for being the leader of a major rebellion that severely weakened the Tang dynasty.
Huang was a Salt in Chinese history, salt smuggler before ...
weaken the Tang dynasty. At the beginning of the 10th Century in 905, a member of the
Khúc clan
The Khúc family or Khúc clan ( vi, Họ Khúc, Chữ nôm: 𣱆曲; ) was a succession of native leaders who ruled over Tĩnh Hải quân during the late Tang dynasty until the Five Dynasties period.
The Chinese Tang dynasty took control of the ...
of Vietnam, Khúc Thừa Dụ took advantage of the continuing turmoil in China, seized power from the weakened Tang, and appointed himself
Jiedushi
The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...
(Viet: Tiết độ sứ) establishing a degree of autonomy for Vietnam.
In 906 the Tang recognized Jiaozhi as an autonomous state, however a year later the Tang dynasty ended when
Zhu Wen
Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...
overthrew Tang rule establishing the
Later Liang Dynasty for himself and ushering in the division of China into the short-lived empires of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. During this time of civil wars in China, the Khúc clan attempted to increase its power and control over Vietnam. In
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
province of south China, however, the former Tang governor,
Liu Yan declared himself the emperor of the emergent
Southern Han
Southern Han (; 917–971), officially Han (), originally Yue (), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The ...
kingdom.
In 917,
Khúc Thừa Mỹ
Khúc Thừa Mỹ ( chữ Hán: 曲承美; pinyin: ''Qū Chéngměi''; governed: 918–923 or 918–930) was a self-declared jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân (modern northern Vietnam) during the later part of the Third Chinese domination of Vietnam, w ...
succeeded Khúc Hạo as
Jiedushi
The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...
of
Tĩnh Hải Quân
Tĩnh Hải quân or the Jinghai Military Command ( Chinese: 靜海軍, pinyin: Jìnghǎi Jūn) (literally "Peaceful Sea Army"), also known as Annam (安南), was an administrative division of the Tang dynasty of China administered by Chinese go ...
and reached out to the Liang Dynasty in northern China seeking political support as a vassal state. Such an action angered the Southern Han and in 930 emperor Liu Yan attempted to bring Tĩnh Hải Quân under his control by invading the capital city and taking Khúc Thừa Mỹ captive. Shortly thereafter, however,
Dương Đình Nghệ
Dương Đình Nghệ ( Chữ Hán: 楊廷藝; pinyin: ''Yáng Tíngyì''; 874 – March 937; some sources record Dương Diên Nghệ, Chữ Hán: 楊延藝) was the jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân in around 931 AD.
He was a skillful, talented g ...
, the Governor of the Ái Châu district of Tĩnh Hải Quân sent troops to rescue Khúc Thừa Mỹ, defeated the Southern Han army, and in the process appointed himself as Jiedushi of Jinghai. In 937, Dương Đình Nghệ was assassinated by his official
Kiều Công Tiễn
Kiều Công Tiễn ( chữ Hán: 矯公羡 or 皎公羨; ) (870 - 938) was a general in the court of Dương Đình Nghệ, a Vietnamese Jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân who took over the position in 931. In 937 Kiều Công Tiễn assassinated ...
who declared himself loyal to the Southern Han's emperor. Immediately thereafter, Dương Đình Nghệ's son in law, general
Ngô Quyền
Ngô Quyền ( vi-hantu, 吳權) (April 17, 898 – February 14, 944), often referred to as Tiền Ngô Vương (前吳王; "First King of Ngô"), was a warlord who later became the founding king of the Ngô dynasty of Vietnam. He reigned from ...
who was governing the Ái district, initiated hostilities against Kiều Công Tiễn.
Battle of Bạch Đằng River
![Five Dynasties Ten Kingdoms 923 CE](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Five_Dynasties_Ten_Kingdoms_923_CE.png)
Ngô Quyền (897–944) was Dương Đình Nghệ's most loyal general and son-in-law. He served under Dương Đình Nghệ's command and married one of his daughters. After the murder of father-in-law, Ngô Quyền sought revenge. He launched an attack and defeated Kiều Công Tiễn in 938. The latter, before his death in battle with Ngô Quyền, sent an emissary to Southern Han court to ask for military re-enforcement. The Southern Han state's emperor then sent an army to the South land to assist
Kiều Công Tiễn
Kiều Công Tiễn ( chữ Hán: 矯公羡 or 皎公羨; ) (870 - 938) was a general in the court of Dương Đình Nghệ, a Vietnamese Jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân who took over the position in 931. In 937 Kiều Công Tiễn assassinated ...
in 938. However, Ngô Quyền's forces were tipped off over the advancing Southern Han army and therefore he quickly mobilized his forces and strategically stationed them in key battle sites.
To defeat the Southern Han army coming to supply aid to his rival, Ngô Quyền and his troops planted iron spikes underneath the Bạch Đằng River and timed the attack of the Southern Han navy. The attack began during high tide to conceal the spikes beneath the water. After the Vietnamese held the enemy in check for hours, the tides receded and the spikes impaled the Chinese armada. The Vietnamese forces followed this impalement with ferocious fire attacks, which annihilated hundreds of giant warships. The Southern Han navy and the Prince of Southern Han were killed in the battle, thus ended SH's ambition over Annam.
Independence era(938)
Ngô Quyền's reign
The Battle of Bạch Đằng River was the first significant of many victories throughout the centuries at this famous river. Ngô Quyền then ascended to the throne and took the name "Ngô Vương" (King Ngô) or "Tiền Ngô Vương". He moved the capital back to
Cổ Loa. He reigned for only five years, until 944, when he died of illness at age 47. A short reign for an ambitious ruler set the stage for future campaigns for independence. Nevertheless, Ngô Vương ushered in a new Viet era of continuous independence and political autonomy. Due to the Ngô dynasty's failure to control chieftains and Ngô Quyền's failure to gain Chinese acknowledgement of his legitimacy as a ruler, it was little more than a protectorate of the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
.
Royal Court disputes
Before his death, Ngô Vương's wish was to see his brother-in-law
Dương Tam Kha
Dương Tam Kha ( 楊 三 哥), formally King Ping of Yang ( 楊 平 王), later known as the Duke of Chương Dương (章陽公) (died 10 August 980), was king of the Ngô dynasty from 944 to 950.''Đại Việt sử lược'', vol. 1''Nguyễn ...
act as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for his son Ngô Xương Ngập. However
Dương Tam Kha
Dương Tam Kha ( 楊 三 哥), formally King Ping of Yang ( 楊 平 王), later known as the Duke of Chương Dương (章陽公) (died 10 August 980), was king of the Ngô dynasty from 944 to 950.''Đại Việt sử lược'', vol. 1''Nguyễn ...
usurped the throne and proclaimed himself "Bình Vương" (平王). He took
Ngô Xương Ngập
Ngô Xương Ngập ( vi-hantu, 吳昌岌, died 954), formally King of Thiên Sách (天策王), was a co-ruler of the Ngô dynasty of Vietnam. He was the eldest son of Ngô Quyền, the dynastic founder.
Ngô Quyền named Dương Tam Kha as r ...
's younger brother,
Ngô Xương Văn
Ngô Xương Văn ( vi-hantu, 吳昌文, 935–965), formally King of Nam Tấn (南晉王), was a king of the Vietnamese Ngô dynasty. He was the second son of Ngô Quyền, the dynastic founder.
Background
Ngô Xương Văn was born in 935. ...
, as his adoptive son and made him heir to the throne. Fearing for his life, Ngô Xương Ngập went into hiding with his
retinue
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers.
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', it ...
in Nam Sách(now
Hải Dương province). Dương Tam Kha's reign was unpopular and many revolts and rebellions sprung up across the kingdom.
Ngô Xương Văn & Ngô Xương Ngập co-reign: 950–954
Ngô Xương Văn (吳昌文) deposed Dương Tam Kha in 950 and styled himself "Nam Tấn Vương" (南晉王) Out of respect for his uncle, Ngô Xương Văn did not have him killed, but merely demoted him and sent him into exile. Ngô Xương Văn then searched out his older brother Ngô Xương Ngập in order to share the throne with him. After arriving at the capital, Ngô Xương Ngập styled himself "Thiên Sách Vương" (天策王).
Brought back by his younger brother Ngô Xương Văn to the throne, Ngô Xương Ngập soon abused his rights as the oldest son and began to rule Tĩnh Hải quân as dictator, "Thiên Sách Vương" (天策王). The country was ripe for open rivalries between different lords who fought each other to become the next successor.
Ngô Xương Xí's reign: 965–968
After Ngô Xương Văn's death in 965, his son Ngô Xương Xí (吳昌熾) succeeded him. But as he ascended to the throne Ngô Xương Xí was faced with the daunting task of having his rule recognized by the now open rivalry between the 12 lords who fought one another as they vied for control of the country. With the announcement of his rule, the country was thrown into a chaotic period called the
Thập Nhị Sứ Quân (十二使君) Rebellion.
[Burke, p. 16., "Following the death of Ngỏ Quyển, who had driven the Chinese from Vietnam after a thousand years of domination, the Ngô Dynasty disintegrated. Vietnam was beset by a reign of confusion as twelve Warring lords fought over who was to rule ...""]
Breakup and Civil war
"The Anarchy of the 12 Warlords" or "Thập Nhị Sứ Quân Rebellion" (966–968)
The depression of Ngô dynasty caused the uprising of some governors who want to revolt to the royal court. In 951, Duke
Đinh Bộ Lĩnh
Đinh Bộ Lĩnh (924–979) (r. 968–979), real name allegedly Đinh Hoàn ( 丁 桓), was the first Vietnamese emperor following the liberation of the country from the rule of the Chinese Southern Han Dynasty, as well as the founder of the s ...
of Hoa Lư district who was the son of Governor of Hoan district
Đinh Công Trứ, relied on the difficult geography of mountain area and start his rebellion against the Ngô dynasty. Both king of Tĩnh Hải Quân Ngô Xương Văn & Ngô Xương Ngập launched the military campaign against
Đinh Bộ Lĩnh
Đinh Bộ Lĩnh (924–979) (r. 968–979), real name allegedly Đinh Hoàn ( 丁 桓), was the first Vietnamese emperor following the liberation of the country from the rule of the Chinese Southern Han Dynasty, as well as the founder of the s ...
. However, after more than a month, Royal troops failed to succeed and returned to the capital and keep persuading Duke Đinh to give up.
In 954 Ngô Xương Ngập died and the leader of Thao Gian district
Chu Thái also started to betray Ngô dynasty. Then, Ngô Xương Văn had to use force to suppress the revolt and beheaded Chu Thái. In 965 he was shot by arrows of archeries and died. His son, Ngô Xương Xí took up his leadership but the dynasty gradually fall in the weakness. According to
Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục
The ''Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục'' ( vi-hantu, 欽定越史通鑑綱目, lit. "The Imperially Ordered Annotated Text Completely Reflecting the History of Viet") was a history of Vietnam commissioned by the emperor Tự Đ ...
(Historical record), The Kiều clan and Dương clan revolted against the Ngô and in 966. The country was divided into 12 states and ruled by 12 warlords in which there were also the Ngô royalty (Ngô Xương Văn, Ngô Nhật Khánh).
After having submission of the royal clan in the 960s, to strengthen his position, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh married one of his daughters to the last Ngô king; he married a younger sister of that king to his eldest son Ngô Nhật Khánh, and he took the Ngô queen mother as one of his wives. In 968 Đinh Bộ Lĩnh established a new kingdom of
Dai Viet
Dai may refer to:
Names
* Dai (given name), a Welsh or Japanese masculine given name
* Dai (surname) (戴), a Chinese surname
Places and regimes
* Dai Commandery, a commandery of the state of Zhao and in early imperial China
* Dai County, in Xinz ...
. Ngô Nhật Khánh quickly became a dissent and went exile in
Champa
Champa (Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd cen ...
. When Đinh Bộ Lĩnh died in 979, Nhật Khánh persuaded the Cham king
Paramesvaravarman I
Parameswaravarman I was a Pallava emperor who ruled in South India in the latter half of the 7th century, 670-695 AD. He ascended to the throne after the death of his father Mahendravarman II in 670 CE. His grandfather Narasimhavarman I had al ...
boarded a fleet to reclaim the throne, however the expedition was scuttled by a
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
and Nhật Khánh was drown.
Family tree
Citations
References
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External link
*
{{5d10k
Vietnamese dynasties
939 establishments
10th-century establishments in Vietnam
968 disestablishments
10th-century disestablishments in Vietnam
Former monarchies of Asia