Trịnh Tùng (19 December 1550 – 17 July 1623), also known as Trịnh Tòng and later given the title ''Bình An Vương'' (平安王), was the de facto ruler 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 ...
from 1572 to 1623.
Trịnh Tùng is the first official Trịnh lord, although his father –
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 ...
– was de facto ruler of Dai Viet before him, Trịnh Kiểm never claimed himself as Trịnh lord. Therefore, Trịnh Kiểm is not considered as the first Trịnh lord.
Trịnh Tùng was reputed to be from the first generation of the
Trịnh lords
The Trịnh lords ( vi, Chúa Trịnh; Chữ Nôm: 主鄭; 1545–1787), formal title Trịnh Viceroy (; ), also known as Trịnh clan (鄭氏, ''Trịnh thị'') or the House of Trịnh, were a noble feudal clan who de facto ruled Northern Viet ...
who ruled Vietnam from 1545 to 1789, however, since he was so young when the family first came to power, Trịnh Tùng theoretically belonged to the second generation. The Trịnh family wielded the military power of the country and took turns as regents to the figurehead Lê kings who nominally reigned over the country.
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 ...
, Tùng's father, was given the title of 'Duke' during his life and after his death was conferred with the title of ''Thái Vương'', which means "Great Prince". From the time of Trịnh Tùng onwards, members of the Trịnh family were given the title of
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
while in power. Also known with the title of Lord, they had the right to choose the crown prince and had power over political and military matters. 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 ...
was successfully completed.
History
Trịnh Tùng was the second son of
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 ...
. In 1572, upon the death of his father, Trịnh Tùng's elder brother,
Trịnh Cối, took command. Immediately challenged by Trịnh Tùng, Trịnh Cối lost a battle to the Mạc, and thus Trịnh Tùng took control of the situation.
[ He proved to be a very capable leader and in 1571, the Lê Loyalist Army captured the Eastern 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 ...
from emperor Mạc Mậu Hợp
Mạc Mậu Hợp (莫茂洽, 1560–1593) was the fifth and effectively last reigning emperor of the Mạc dynasty from 1562 to 1593. Biography
Mạc Mậu Hợp was born in 1560 at Đông Đô. He became the emperor in 1562.
In 1592, the Southe ...
. However, a counteroffensive the next year drove them out. In the midst of this reversal, the nominal Lê emperor, Lê Anh Tông
Lê Anh Tông ( chữ Hán: 黎英宗; 1532–1573), posthumous name Tuấn Hoàng đế (峻皇帝) birth name Lê Duy Bang (黎維邦) was the 12th emperor of Vietnamese Later Lê dynasty, ruling nation's south realm from 1556 to 1573 during ...
, fled to Nghệ An Province. Trịnh Tùng appointed a new emperor (Lê Thế Tông
Lê Thế Tông (chữ Hán: 黎世宗, 1567 – 12 October 1599, reigned 1573–1599), real name Lê Duy Đàm (黎維潭) was the 15th emperor of the later Lê dynasty of Vietnam.
He was the fifth son of Lê Anh Tông, born during the Trịnh– ...
), and had the previous king assassinated. The war against the Mạc continued for the next twenty years until 1592, when the Eastern Capital( Dong kinh) was reconquered. Mạc Mậu Hợp was captured during the retreat and subsequently executed.
Further military actions took place against the army of the Mạc in the years 1593 and 1594. The Royal (Trịnh) army was lent assistance in this battle by Tung's uncle Nguyễn
Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese name, Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. wiktionary:nguyên, Nguyên (元)is a different word and surname.
By some estimates 39 perc ...
army.
In formal recognition for his defeat of the Mạc, Trịnh Tùng was given the title ''Pacifying Prince'' (Bình An Vương) in 1599.
In 1619, Emperor Lê Kinh Tông, and Tùng's own son, Trịnh Xuân schemed against Trịnh Tùng so the emperor could reclaim actual Imperial power but the plot was discovered, the emperor was forced to garrotte himself and a new emperor was put in his place (Lê Thần Tông
Lê Thần Tông (黎神宗, 19 November 1607 – 2 November 1662) was the 17th emperor of Vietnamese Later Lê dynasty.
Biography
Lê Thần Tông's birth name is Lê Duy Kỳ (黎維祺). He was born in 1607 and reigned in 1619–1643 following ...
). This led Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên
Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên (阮福源; 16 August 1563 – 19 November 1635) was an early Nguyễn lord who ruled the southern Vietnam from the city of Phú Xuân (modern-day Huế) from 1613 to 1635. During his rule, the Nguyễn established a city ...
to a formal ending of his relations with the court which, after seven more years, led to the Trịnh–Nguyễn War
The Trịnh–Nguyễn Civil War ( vi, Trịnh-Nguyễn phân tranh; Hán tự: 鄭阮紛爭) was a 17th-century lengthy civil war waged between the two ruling families in Vietnam, the Trịnh lords of Đàng Ngoài and the Nguyễn lords of ...
.
By 1623, Trịnh Tùng was growing old. He tried to secure his succession by dividing rule between his two sons in order to avoid conflict. His attempt was not successful.
:"Jealousy broke out in his family even before his death, as not only both his sons but also one of his brothers tried to (take) his power. Trịnh Tùng was taken ill to his brother's house and there his younger son was murdered. The elder, called Trịnh Tráng
Trịnh Tráng (Hán tự: 鄭梉, 6 August 1577 – 28 May 1657), posthumous name: Nghị Vương (誼王), temple name: Văn Tổ (文祖). He is the second lord of Trịnh ruled Tonkin from 1623 to 1657. He is one of the famous Trịnh lords wh ...
, hearing of this, ran away to the province of Thanh Hóa
Thanh Hóa () is the capital of Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City. Thanh ...
, taking with him the king and the royal family. Trịnh Tùng was then driven away from his brother's place, and, abandoned by the servants who had carried him away in a sedan chair, died alone on the road. So ended the life of a statesman who had more capacity and energy than any other man mentioned in the whole of Annamese
The Vietnamese people ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi). The native lang ...
history..." [- Annam and its Minor Currency]
Chapter 16 (retrieved May 2006)
File:Funeral of Lord Trinh Tung 3.png, Funeral of Lord Trinh Tung painted by Western merchants.
File:Funeral of Lord Trinh Tung.png, Funeral of Lord Trinh Tung painted by Western merchants.
Sources
(retrieved May 2006)
See also
*Cao Cao
Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...
*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 ...
*List of Vietnamese dynasties
Prior to the Abdication of Bảo Đại, abdication of Bảo Đại on 30 August 1945 in the aftermath of the August Revolution, Vietnam was ruled by a series of Dynasty, dynasties of either local or Chinese origin. The following is a list of ma ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tung, Trinh
1623 deaths
Trịnh lords
1550 births
16th-century Vietnamese monarchs
17th-century Vietnamese monarchs