Văn Dĩ Thành (chữ Hán: 文以誠; 1380–1416) was the leader of a resistance movement during the

Fourth Era of Northern Domination The Fourth Era of Northern Domination was a period of Vietnamese history, from 1407 to 1427, during which Vietnam was ruled by the Chinese Ming dynasty as the province of Jiaozhi (Giao Chỉ). Ming rule was established in Vietnam following its co ...

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

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. M ...

Family

The surname Văn Dĩ Thành's ancestors was originally Hoa and they were carpenters from Bảo Hà (Vĩnh Bảo, Haiphong). His father moved to Tổng Gối in Tân Hội commune, Đan Phượng district,

Hanoi 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 ...

and gave birth to him there. His father Văn Dĩ Thành was ordered by

Hồ Quý Ly Hồ Quý Ly ( vi-hantu, 胡季犛, born 1336) ruled Đại Ngu (Vietnam) from 1400 to 1401 as the founding emperor of the short-lived Hồ dynasty. Quý Ly rose from a post as an official served the court of the ruling Trần dynasty and a milit ...

to join the construction of

Citadel of the Hồ Dynasty Citadel of the Hồ Dynasty ( vi, Thành nhà Hồ, Hán Nôm: 城家胡; also called ''Tây Đô castle'' or ''Tây Giai castle'') is a 15th century stone fortress in Thanh Hóa, Vietnam. It served as the western capital of the Hồ dynasty (13 ...

Anti-Ming activities

In 1407,

Hồ dynasty The Hồ dynasty (Vietnamese: , chữ Nôm: 茹胡； Sino-Vietnamese: ''Hồ triều, chữ Hán:'' 胡朝) was a short-lived Vietnamese dynasty consisting of the reigns of two monarchs, Hồ Quý Ly (胡季犛) in 1400–01 and his second so ...

was defeated and Vietnam was annexed by the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. Văn Dĩ Thành built a resistance army with Lê Ngộ to fight the northern occupiers. His army was based in Tổng Gối and worn black clothes, so they were called the "Black-clothed army". The movement was also called the "Black-clothed Uprising". Văn Dĩ Thành was honored as the "Black-clothed Yaksha general". He put his base in Đống Đám mound, in the middle of Dinh rice field in Thượng Hội village-one of the four villages (Vĩnh Kỳ, Thúy Hội, Thượng Hội, Phan Long) of Tổng Gối (nowadays Thượng Hội village in Tân Hội commune, Đan Phượng district, Hanoi). The resistance movement expanded their area of operation to the Western Gate (Đoài Môn) and the

West Lake West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural is ...

(Tây Hồ) in Đông Quan, on the other side of Red River, building more bases in Hạ Lôi, Dõm Mountain, Đôi Mountain, Thanh Tước... ( Mê Linh District nowadays). He wrote the "Six Precious Commandments" to discipline his army: :One, to stockpile food as much as possible :Two, to choose strategy according to one's strength :Three, to determine to repel the Ming invaders :Four, to keep absolute secrecy :Five, to stay united :Six, to keep strict discipline He also wrote the "Four Hopes for the Land", which is considered one of Vietnam's early declarations of independence: :For the independent country :For the free people :For the happy livelihood :For the equal rights He was ambushed and killed by the Ming on March 12, 1416, while his right hand Lê Ngộ was away.

Legacy

To honor him, the people in the region have venerated him as the guardian god and built Voi Phục temple. This temple holds 40 imperial decrees from 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 ...

in 1620 to

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (chữ Nôm: 茹阮, vi, Nhà Nguyễn; chữ Hán: 阮朝, vi, Nguyễn triều) was the last Vietnamese dynasty, which ruled the unified Vietnamese state largely independently from 1802 to 1883. During its existence, ...

in 1924 to posthumously grant him various titles. Nowadays, on the rice field of Dinh in Thượng Hội village, Tân Hội commune, there is Văn Sơn tomb, which is Văn Dĩ Thành's grave according to the legend. Voi Phục temple and Văn Sơn tomb was recognized as a historical site in November, 1997. General

Văn Tiến Dũng Văn Tiến Dũng (; 2 May 1917 – 17 March 2002), born Co Nhue commune, Từ Liêm District, Hanoi, was a Vietnamese general in the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), PAVN chief of staff (1954–74); PAVN commander in chief (1974–80); mem ...

was a descendant of Văn Dĩ Thành.''Đại tướng Văn Tiến Dũng và hơn 3.000 ngày tìm nguồn cội''
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In literature

Văn Dĩ Thành and Lê Ngộ were the two main characters in ''

The Tale of the Yaksha General ''The Tale of the Yaksha General'' (, ''Dạ Xoa bộ soái lục'') is a Vietnamese legend told in ''Truyền kỳ mạn lục'' by Nguyễn Dữ in the 16th century. It mythifies and fictionalizes the lives of Văn Dĩ Thành and Lê Ngộ, the ...

'' in ''

Truyền kỳ mạn lục The ''Truyền kỳ mạn lục'' (傳奇漫錄, "Casual Records of Transmitted Strange Tales") is a 16th-century Vietnamese historical text, in part a collection of legends, by Nguyễn Dữ (阮餘) composed in Chữ Hán. The collection w ...

'' by

Nguyễn Dữ Nguyễn Dữ ( chữ Hán: 阮餘), also called Nguyễn Dữ (阮與), was a 16th-century poet of Vietnam known for the Truyền kỳ mạn lục (傳奇漫錄, ''Collection of Strange Tales'').Patricia M. Pelley ''Postcolonial Vietnam: new hist ...

References

{{reflist 1380 births 1416 deaths People from Hanoi