Nguyen Kim (; 1468–1545) was a Vietnamese statesman who was the ancestor of the famous Nguyễn Lords who later ruled south Vietnam (and much later, all of Vietnam). During his rule, the war with the

Mạc dynasty The Mạc dynasty ( vi, Nhà Mạc / ''Mạc triều''; Hán Nôm: 茹莫 / 莫朝) (1527-1627), as known as House of Mạc ruled the whole of Đại Việt between 1527 and 1540 and the northern part of the country from 1540 until 1593, and ...

started. Nguyễn Kim claimed descent from

Nguyễn Trãi Nguyễn Trãi (阮廌), pen name Ức Trai (抑齋); (1380–1442) was an illustrious Vietnamese Confucian scholar, a noted poet, a skilled politician and a master strategist. He was at times attributed with being capable of almost miraculous o ...

, one of the top aides of

Lê Lợi Lê Lợi (, Chữ Hán: 黎利; c. 10 September 1384/1385 – 5 October 1433), also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương (平定王; "Prince of Pacification"), was a Vietnam ...

. He was the son of Nguyễn Hoang Du, one of the leaders of the first revolt against

Mạc Đăng Dung Mạc Đăng Dung ( chữ Hán; 莫登庸; 23 November 1483 – 22 August 1541), also known by his temple name Mạc Thái Tổ (), was an emperor of Vietnam and the founder of the Mạc dynasty. Previously a captain of the imperial guard (Praet ...

). After the first revolt was crushed and his father executed, a second revolt against Mạc Đăng Dung took place in response to Dung's usurpation of the throne in 1527. This second revolt was led by Nguyễn Kim and his son-in-law,

Trịnh Kiểm Trịnh Kiểm (1503–1570) ruled northern part of Vietnam from 1545 to 1570. Trịnh Kiểm was the founder of the Trịnh lords or House of Trịnh who ruled Dai Viet while a succession of figurehead Later Lê emperors took the role as puppet g ...

Career

In 1527, a high-rank military officer of the weakened court,

, seized power of

Đại Việt Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), often known as Annam ( vi, An Nam, Chữ Hán: 安南), was a monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day H ...

. He deposed the ruling Lê monarch,

Lê Cung Hoàng Lê Cung Hoàng (黎恭皇, 26 July 1507 – 15 June 1527), born Lê Xuân, was the last emperor of the Later Lê dynasty of Vietnam. He reigned from 1522 to 1527. Lê Cung Hoàng was put on the throne by the powerful general Mạc Đăng Dung in ...

and made himself ruler of Đại Việt. In 1529, Nguyễn Kim who was a loyalist of the old royal family, went to Laos and submitted to the Laotian king

Photisarath Photisarath (also spelled Phothisarath, Phothisarat, or Potisarat, lo, ພະເຈົ້າໂພທິສະລາດ, 1501–1547) son of King Visoun of Lanxang, is considered to be the most devout of the Lao kings. He banned spirit worship a ...

(r. 1520 – 1547). Photisarath granted for Nguyễn Kim administrator the territory of

Xam Neua Xam Neua (ຊຳເໜືອ , sometimes transcribed as ''Sam Neua'' or ''Samneua'', literally 'northern swamp'), is the capital of Houaphanh Province, Laos, in northeast Laos. Demographics Residents are mostly Lao, Vietnamese, and Hmong, with s ...

. In Đại Việt, Mạc Đăng Dung suppressed the Lê loyalist in Thanh Hóa, forced the Lê remnant to seek refuge in Nguyễn Kim's domain. In 1533, Nguyễn Kim proclaimed prince Lê Ninh (son of emperor

Lê Chiêu Tông Lê Chiêu Tông ( 黎昭宗, 4 October 1506 – 18 December 1526; also called Lê Y, 黎椅 or 黎譓) was an emperor of the Lê dynasty of Vietnam who ruled from 1516 to 1526. He was the son of Lê Sùng and nephew of the preceding king ...

) as king of Đại Việt. Photisarath acknowledged this claim and allocated resources to support it. Envoys were sent to Ming China in 1536 and 1537 to denounce Mạc Đăng Dung as a usurper and to request an intervention aid in restoring the legitimate dynasty. Triệu Tổ Miếu

However the Ming canceled their intervention. The struggle continued as with aided by members of two powerful Thanh Hóa military clans, the Nguyễn and Trịnh, the Lê family slowly made their way back to power. This effort continued through most of the sixteenth century, and in the course of the long seesaw struggle with the Mạc, a rivalry emerged between the two families, represented by their principal figures, Nguyễn Kim and

(1503–1570). This tension developed even though the families were not merely allied militarily, but were also linked through marriage. Nguyễn Kim had married one of his daughters to Trịnh Kiểm, thus binding the two families in a time-honored fashion. Neither the military nor the marital connections, however, could forestall Trịnh Kiểm's personal ambitions. The ongoing contest for political supremacy gradually saw the Trịnh gain the upper hand, a position that was secured when the Nguyễn paterfamilias was murdered at the hands of a surrendering Mạc general in 1545. Eager to eliminate his rivals, Trịnh Kiểm arranged to have the elder Nguyễn son killed. His youngest son,

Nguyễn Hoàng Nguyễn Hoàng (28 August 1525 – 20 July 1613) was the first of the Nguyễn lords who ruled the southern provinces of Vietnam between 1558 and 1613, from a series of cities: Ai Tu (1558–70), Tra Bat (1570–1600), and Dinh Cat (modern-day H ...

, saw in this act his own fate unless he took measures to protect himself. Through his sister, Kiểm's wife, Hoàng requested that he be appointed governor general of the distant southern frontier territories of Thuận Hoá and Quảng Nam. Remote exile of this political challenger suited the Trịnh overlord, and he agreed to the request. Shortly thereafter, in 1558, Nguyễn Hoàng entered the southern realms, marking the beginnings of a political division that would have lasted for 250 years.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * ''Encyclopedia of Asian History'', Volume 3 (''Nguyễn Lords'') 1988. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
''Annam and its Minor Currency''
Chapter 16 (downloaded May 2006)

Career

References

Bibliography

See also