Trần Thánh Tông (October 12, 1240 – July 3, 1290),
personal name
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...
Trần Hoảng (), was the second emperor of the
Trần dynasty
The Trần dynasty, (Vietnamese: Nhà Trần, chữ Nôm: 茹陳)also known as the House of Trần, was a Vietnamese dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Đại Việt from 1225 to 1400. The dynasty was founded when emperor Trần Thái T ...
, reigning over
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 ...
from 1258 to 1278. After ceding the throne to his son
Trần Nhân Tông
Trần Nhân Tông (7 December 1258–16 December 1308), personal name Trần Khâm, temple name Nhân Tông, was the third emperor of the Trần dynasty, reigning over Đại Việt from 1278 to 1293. After ceding the throne to his son Tr ...
, Thánh Tông held the title of retired emperor () from 1279 to his death in 1290. During the second and the third
Mongol invasions
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
of Đại Việt, Retired Emperor Thánh Tông and Emperor Nhân Tông were credited as the supreme commanders who led the nation to the final victories and, as a result, established a long period of peace and prosperity over the country. With his successful rulings in both military and civil matters, Trần Thánh Tông was considered one of the greatest emperors of not only the Trần dynasty but also the whole dynastic era in the
history of Vietnam
The history of Vietnam can be traced back to around 20,000 years ago, as the first modern humans arrived and settled on this land, known as the Hoabinhians, which can be traced to modern-day Negritos. Archaeological findings from 1965, which are ...
.
Background and during Thái Tông's reign
Trần Hoảng was born on September 25, 1240 (in the lunar calendar),
as the second prince but the first natural son of King
Trần Thái Tông
Trần Thái Tông (17 July 1218 – 5 May 1277), personal name Trần Cảnh or Trần Nhật Cảnh, temple name Thái Tông, was the first emperor of the Trần dynasty, reigned Đại Việt for 33 years (1226–58), being Retired Emperor f ...
and Empress Consort
Thuận Thiên. He had a half-brother on the mother's side, Prince Tĩnh Quốc ()
Trần Quốc Khang
Prince Tĩnh Quốc Trần Quốc Khang (1237–1300) was the first prince of the Emperor Trần Thái Tông, the eldest brother of Trần Thánh Tông and princes Trần Quang Khải, Trần Ích Tắc and Trần Nhật Duật. Although a son o ...
, who was born after the forced marriage by
Trần Thủ Độ
Prince Trung Võ Trần Thủ Độ ( vi-hantu, 陳守度, 1194–1264) was a general and leader of the Trần clan during the reign of Lý Huệ Tông and Lý Chiêu Hoàng of Vietnam. Trần Thủ Độ was credited for overthrowing the Lý dyna ...
between Emperor Thái Tông and Princess Thuận Thiên. In fact, although being Thái Tông's first prince, Trần Quốc Khang was the son of his elder brother Prince Hoài
Trần Liễu
Prince Yên Sinh Trần Liễu (1211–1251) was the elder brother of the Trần Thái Tông, the first emperor of Trần Dynasty. Initially, Trần Liễu was honoured by his younger brother with the title King Hiển (Vietnamese: Hiển Ho ...
, therefore officially he was not chosen by Thái Tông as the heir, a position which ultimately belonged to Prince Trần Hoảng.
Besides Prince Tĩnh Quốc, Trần Hoảng had other younger brothers, including Prince Chiêu Minh
Trần Quang Khải
Prince Chiêu Minh Trần Quang Khải (1241–1294) was the third son of Trần Thái Tông, first emperor of the Trần dynasty of Vietnam. Being the younger brother of the Emperor Trần Thánh Tông and holding the position of grand ch ...
(who was also born to Empress Thuận Thiên), Prince Chiêu Quốc
Trần Ích Tắc
Trần Ích Tắc ( vi-hantu, 陳益稷, Chen Yiji, 1254–1329), or Prince Chiêu Quốc (Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: Chiêu Quốc vương / wikt:昭, 昭wikt:國, 國wikt:王, 王), was a prince of Đại Việt, the fifth son of List of em ...
, and Prince Chiêu Văn
Trần Nhật Duật
Prince Chiêu Văn Trần Nhật Duật (1255–1330) was the sixth son of Trần Thái Tông, first emperor of Trần Dynasty. Being younger brother of the Emperor Trần Thánh Tông, Trần Nhật Duật was one of the most important figur ...
.
In 1257, Crown Prince Trần Hoảng witnessed the first
Mongol invasion in Vietnam.
In the beginning, Đại Việt's army suffered several defeats by the Mongols, who had already conquered a vast area in Asia. Several high-ranking officials of the Trần dynasty were so frightened that Prince Khâm Thiên
Trần Nhật Hiệu
Trần (陳) or Tran is a common Vietnamese surname. More than 10% of all Vietnamese people share this surname. It is derived from the common Chinese surname Chen.
History
The Tran ruled the Trần dynasty, a golden era in Vietnam, and succe ...
, younger brother of Thái Tông, even suggested to the Emperor that they might escape from Đại Việt to
Song China
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 ...
.
But because of the firm faith of Emperor Thái Tông, Grand Chancellor Trần Thủ Độ, and the talents of generals such as Prince Hưng Đạo
Trần Quốc Tuấn
Trần (陳) or Tran is a common Vietnamese surname. More than 10% of all Vietnamese people share this surname. It is derived from the common Chinese surname Chen.
History
The Tran ruled the Trần dynasty, a golden era in Vietnam, and succe ...
and
Lê Phụ Trần
Lê Phụ Trần (?–?) was a general of the Trần Dynasty during the reigns of three successive emperors: Thái Tông, Thánh Tông, and Nhân Tông.
As a skilled general on the battlefield, he was one of the few commanders of the Trầ ...
, the Trần dynasty was able to repulse the invasion and ultimately re-establish peace in Đại Việt in December 1257.
Returning to the capital
Thăng Long
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
, Trần Thái Tông decided to cede the throne to Crown Prince Trần Hoảng, now Trần Thánh Tông, on the 24th day of the second lunar month (March 30), 1258. After the coronation, Thánh Tông changed the
era name
A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...
to Thiệu Long (; 1258–1272). During his reign, the Emperor had one more era name, Bảo Phù (; 1273–1278).
Although passing the throne to his son, Thái Tông continued to rule the country with Thánh Tông in the position of retired emperor from 1259 to his death in 1277.
As emperor
After his enthronement, Thánh Tông and his father began to rehabilitate both the country's economy and administrative system, which had been heavily damaged by the Mongol invasion and the troubled time at the end of the
Lý dynasty
The Lý dynasty ( vi, Nhà Lý, , chữ Nôm: 茹李, chữ Hán: 李朝, Hán Việt: ''Lý triều'') was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed from 1009 to 1225. It was established by Lý Công Uẩn when he overthrew the Early Lê dynasty an ...
. In June 1261, the king opened an examination for scholars who wanted to be appointed as mandarins of the administrative system. The examination comprised two abilities of writing and calculating.
In the royal court, Thánh Tông proved to be a skilled ruler with his often right appointment of officials, such as his brother Prince Chiêu Minh Trần Quang Khải for the position of grand chancellor,
or Lê Phụ Trần and Prince Hưng Đạo Trần Quốc Tuấn for the position of military commander.
For members of the royal family, Thánh Tông had them hire the poor to cultivate their land, thus creating social reform.
[
In March 1266, Trần Thánh Tông ordered his first ]imperial examination
The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...
to be carried out, in which more than 50 scholars were chosen for high-ranking positions in the royal court and administrative system of Đại Việt.[ For the purpose of educating more scholars for the royal court, Thánh Tông permitted his brother Trần Ích Tắc to open a private school at the latter's palace due to his intellectual ability.][ Several prominent future mandarins of the royal court, including ]Mạc Đĩnh Chi
Mạc Đĩnh Chi (; 1272–1346) was a renowned Vietnamese Confucian scholar who was the highest-scoring graduate in the palace examinations at the age of only twenty-four. He served three Trần dynasty emperors—first Trần Anh Tông until 1314 ...
or Bùi Phóng
Bùi ( Chữ Hán: 裴) is a common Vietnamese surname, ranked 9th among the most common surnames in Vietnam. The surname Pei (裴) in Chinese and Bae (배) in Korean share the same origin with it.
Bui is also an Italian surname.
Bùi may refer ...
, were trained in this school.[ At the same time, the Emperor also reinforced Đại Việt's army by several recruitments, and by reorganizing the military to improve its efficiency.] In addition, Trần Thánh Tông always kept a vigilant eye on the northern border by sending several scout units to learn about military actions of the Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
, the potential threat against Đại Việt.[
After the death of Retired Emperor Trần Thái Tông on April 1, 1277 (in the lunar calendar), Trần Thánh Tông officially began his reign as the sole ruler of Đại Việt,] but he decided to pass the throne to Crown Prince Trần Khâm, now Trần Nhân Tông, only one year later. He took up the post of retired emperor on the 22nd day of the tenth lunar month (November 8), 1278.[ The second option on the left tab allows for the lunar date to be entered on the top green row, and gives a conversion to Gregorian date, and vice versa.]
Negotiations with Kublai
In 1268, the Yuan court sent Hulonghaiya to the Vietnamese capital to replace Nanladin as overseer of Annam with his assistant Zhang Tingzhen. The next year Zhang replaced Hulonghaiya as overseer while holding the prestigious title of Grant Master for the Court Precedence. Arriving in the Vietnamese capital Thăng Long, Zhang delivered Kublai Khan's edict, but king Thánh Tông stood (rather than kowtowed) to receive it. Zhang accused the king of maintaining connections with the Song dynasty in Southern China, and threatened him with Yuan military forces – a million Yuan troops who were besieging Xiangyang
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...
"could reach Đại Việt" in less than two months. According to Chinese sources, this scared the Vietnamese king and made him kowtow to the edict. The king nonetheless had more complaints which can be seen in his dialogue with Zhang. After few sentences, Trần Thánh Tông felt increasingly angry. Hence he ordered guards to draw their swords and surround Zhang to threaten him. Seeing this, Zhang untied his bow and sword and lay them down on the floor in middle of the hall, saying: "See what you can do to me!". The Vietnamese king and his guards were impressed with Zhang's courage.
In 1269, Trần Thánh Tông memorialized the Yuan court that the two Muslim merchants had died, so he would send two large elephants demanded by Huilonghaiya in the proper tribute year. In the next year, the Secretariat of the Yuan sent to the Vietnamese king a message, quoting the words from the ''Spring and Autumn Annals
The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The ''Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...
'' to chastise him for not "having kowtowed to the imperial edict; for having treated the emissary of the Son of Heaven
Son of Heaven, or ''Tianzi'' (), was the sacred monarchical title of the Chinese sovereign. It originated with the Zhou dynasty and was founded on the political and spiritual doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. Since the Qin dynasty, the secula ...
(Kublai) improperly; for having presented bad-tasting medicine; and for having dishonest in the matter of the Muslim merchants." Trần Thánh Tông refused these accusations in his letter written in Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning
"literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning
"literar ...
to Kublai next year (1271). In the next two years, Kublai sent new overseers to Đại Việt, demanded for searching the lost copper columns of Ma Yuan which erected after the Trung sisters' rebellion
The Trưng sisters' rebellion was an armed civil uprising in the south of Han China between 40 AD and 43 AD. In 40 AD, the Vietnamese leader Trưng Trắc and her sister Trưng Nhị rebelled against Chinese authorities in Jiaozhi (in what i ...
was suppressed in 43 AD, and one again wanted Trần Thánh Tông to be presented in Dadu in person. He refused.
As retired emperor
Second Mongol invasion
In 1279, the Yuan dynasty decisively defeated 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 ...
in the Battle of Yamen
The naval battle, naval Battle of Yamen () (also known as the Naval Battle of Mount Ya; ) took place on 19 March 1279 and is considered to be the last stand of the Song dynasty against the invading Mongols, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. Although out ...
, which marked the end of the Song dynasty and began the total control of Kublai Khan
Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...
over China. As a result, Kublai Khan began to expose his attempt to take over the southern countries like 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 ...
or 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 ...
. Aware of the situation, Thánh Tông and Nhân Tông began to prepare the military for the obvious and inevitable war while trying to maintain a flexible policy towards the Yuan dynasty.[ Prince Chiêu Văn Trần Nhật Duật was appointed with the task of pacifying the revolt led by Trịnh Giác Mật in Đà Giang by diplomatic means to keep the country stable before the war. With his knowledge of the minority people's language and culture, Trần Nhật Duật successfully accomplished his task in 1278; the Trần dynasty was hence free to deal with the threat from the north. In October 1282, Retired Emperor Trần Thánh Tông and Emperor Trần Nhân Tông gathered all members of the royal family, the Trần clan, and officials at the royal court in Bình Than to discuss the unavoidable war.] Two prominent generals of the Đại Việt army who were noticed on this occasion were Trần Khánh Dư
Prince Nhân Huệ Trần Khánh Dư (?–1339) was the adopted prince of the Retired Emperor Trần Thánh Tông and a general of Đại Việt army in royal court of four successive emperors of the Trần Dynasty: Thánh Tông, Nhân Tô ...
, the former commander of the army but who was deprived of all titles after his guilt, and Trần Quốc Toản
Marquis Hoài Văn Trần Quốc Toản ( vi-hantu, , born 1267, fl. 1267–1285) was a marquis of the Trần Dynasty who was well known for his active role in the second war of resistance of Đại Việt against the Mongol invasion. Alth ...
, a marquis who was only sixteen years old.[ In 1283, Prince Hưng Đạo Trần Quốc Tuấn was appointed the commander-in-chief () of the Đại Việt army, and the Retired Emperor and the Emperor began to hold military exercises with their generals and troops.][
In December 1284, the second Yuan invasion of Đại Việt began under the command of Kublai Khan's son Toghan. Đại Việt was attacked from two directions, with Toghan himself commanding the infantry's invasion from the northern border while the Yuan navy under General Sogetu advanced from the southern border through ]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 ...
n territory. At the beginning of the war, Thánh Tông and Nhân Tông ordered the army to retreat to avoid pressure from the Yuan force when Prince Chiêu Minh Trần Quang Khải commanded troops try to stop Sogetu's fleet in the Nghệ An Province. During this time, several high-ranking officials and members of the Trần royal family defected to Yuan forces, including Thánh Tông's own brother Prince Chiêu Quốc Trần Ích Tắc, and Trần Kiện, who was the son of Prince Tĩnh Quốc Trần Quốc Khang. For the safety of Thánh Tông and Nhân Tông's retreat, Princess An Tư
An Tư ( vi-hantu, 安姿, 1267 - ?), was a princess during the Trần dynasty (1225–1400), the youngest offspring of emperor Trần Thái Tông. The exact year of her birth and death are unknown. The '' Đại Việt sử kí toàn thư'' (1675) ...
was offered as a gift and a diversion for Toghan, while Marquis Bảo Nghĩa Trần Bình Trọng was captured and later killed in the Battle of Đà Mạc while defending the two emperors. At the southern border, Trần Quang Khải was also forced to retreat under the pressure of Sogetu's navy and the defection of the governor of Nghe An. Despite the repeated problems, the royal family and royal court of the Trần dynasty maintained their harmony and determination owing to favourable decisions and actions from Thánh Tông, Nhân Tông, Trần Quốc Tuấn and Trần Quang Khải.
The critical situation of the Trần dynasty began to change after their victory at the Battle of Hàm Tử
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in April 1285, where troops commanded by Trần Nhật Duật
Prince Chiêu Văn Trần Nhật Duật (1255–1330) was the sixth son of Trần Thái Tông, first emperor of Trần Dynasty. Being younger brother of the Emperor Trần Thánh Tông, Trần Nhật Duật was one of the most important figur ...
, Prince Chiêu Thành, Trần Quốc Toản
Marquis Hoài Văn Trần Quốc Toản ( vi-hantu, , born 1267, fl. 1267–1285) was a marquis of the Trần Dynasty who was well known for his active role in the second war of resistance of Đại Việt against the Mongol invasion. Alth ...
, and Nguyễn Khoái
Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元)is a different word and surname.
By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...
were finally able to defeat Sogetu's fleet. On May 10, 1285 (in the lunar calendar), Trần Quang Khải fought a decisive battle at Chương Dương where Yuan's navy was almost destroyed; the balance on the battlefield tilted definitively in favour of the Trần dynasty. Ten days after Sogetu was killed, Emperor Nhân Tông and Retired Emperor Thánh Tông returned to the capital, Thăng Long, on June 6, 1285 (in the lunar calendar).
Third Mongol invasion
In March 1287, the Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
launched their third invasion of Đại Việt. Unlike in the second attack, Prince Hưng Đạo Trần Quốc Tuấn, the commander-in-chief, affirmed that Đại Việt's army could easily break the Yuan military campaign. Indeed, this invasion ended one year later with a disastrous defeat of the Yuan navy at the Battle of Bạch Đằng on March 8, 1288 (in the lunar calendar). Besides Trần Quốc Tuấn, other notable generals of the Trần dynasty during this time included Prince Nhân Huệ Trần Khánh Dư
Prince Nhân Huệ Trần Khánh Dư (?–1339) was the adopted prince of the Retired Emperor Trần Thánh Tông and a general of Đại Việt army in royal court of four successive emperors of the Trần Dynasty: Thánh Tông, Nhân Tô ...
, who destroyed the Yuan navy's logistics convoy at the Battle of Vân Đồn
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, and General Phạm Ngũ Lão
Phạm Ngũ Lão (1255–1320) was a general of the Trần Dynasty during the reigns of three successive emperors Nhân Tông, Anh Tông and Minh Tông. His talent was noticed by Prince Hưng Đạo Trần Quốc Tuấn who married his ad ...
, who was responsible for ambushing Toghan's retreating troops.
In rewarding generals and mandarins Trần dynasty after the victory, Thánh Tông and Nhân Tông also reminded them to be cautious of the northern border. The Emperor also issued an order in which the family name of every defector from the Trần clan was changed to Mai – Trần Kiện, for instance, was renamed Mai Kiện. As the only prince from the Trần clan who defected, Trần Ích Tắc was exempt from this requirement, but was referred to in historical accounts of the Trần dynasty by the name "Ả Trần" ('the woman named Trần'), implying that Trần Ích Tắc was as cowardly as a woman.
Retired Emperor Trần Thánh Tông died on May 25, 1290 (in the lunar calendar), at the age of 50. He was buried in Dụ Lăng with the posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...
Huyền công thịnh đức nhân minh văn vũ tuyên hiếu hoàng đế (玄功盛德仁明文武宣孝皇帝).
Family
Trần Thánh Tông had one consort, Empress Thiên Cảm Trần Thiều, the fifth daughter of his uncle Trần Liễu
Prince Yên Sinh Trần Liễu (1211–1251) was the elder brother of the Trần Thái Tông, the first emperor of Trần Dynasty. Initially, Trần Liễu was honoured by his younger brother with the title King Hiển (Vietnamese: Hiển Ho ...
. Thánh Tông's first son, Trần Khâm, was born on November 11, 1258 (in the lunar calendar), only eight months after the Emperor's enthronement; he was entitled as Crown Prince in December 1274. His second son, Prince Tá Thiên Trần Đức Việp, was born in 1265. Trần Thánh Tông's only daughter was Princess Thiên Thụy, who married to Prince Hưng Vũ Trần Quốc Nghiễn, son of Trần Quốc Tuấn. She had an adulterous affair with General Trần Khánh Dư, which almost led to the latter's death by order of the Emperor.[ Princess Thiên Thụy and her younger brother Trần Nhân Tông died on the same day, November 3, 1308 (in the lunar calendar).][
]
Legacy
The Lê dynasty
The Lê dynasty, also known as Later Lê dynasty ( vi, Hậu Lê triều, chữ Hán: 後黎朝 or vi, nhà Hậu Lê, link=no, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), was the longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, ruling Đại Việt from 1428 to 1789. The Lê ...
historian Ngô Sĩ Liên
Ngô Sĩ Liên (吳士連) was a Vietnamese historian of the Lê dynasty. He was 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 ...
praised Trần Thánh Tông as one of the finest monarchs of the Trần dynasty, as not only a righteous ruler, but also a dutiful son, kind-hearted brother and father with sense of responsibility who was credited for the stability of both the royal family and the whole country. Thánh Tông's successful reign was the foundation for the subsequent long period of prosperity and peace in Đại Việt.[ Moreover, like his brother Trần Quang Khải, Trần Ích Tắc and Trần Nhật Duật, Trần Thánh Tông was a renowned scholar. Thánh Tông taught his princes with his own poems, and he also had a literary work named ''Di hậu lục''.] As a Confucian historian, Ngô Sĩ Liên did, however, sometimes criticize the Emperor for his devotion for Buddhism, which was seen as not being suitable for a person in a high position like him.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
, - style="text-align: center;"
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Thanh Tong
1240 births
1290 deaths
13th-century Vietnamese poets
Monarchs who abdicated
Thanh Tong
Thanh Tong
13th-century Vietnamese monarchs
Vietnamese male poets
Trần dynasty poets
Vietnamese monarchs