Trịnh Cương (Hán tự: 鄭棡; 9 July 1686 – 20 December 1729) was the lord who ruled

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...

from 1709 to 1729 (his title as ruler was ''An Đô Vương''). Trịnh Cương was born to Trịnh Bính, a grandson of the former lord

Trịnh Căn Trịnh Căn ( Hán tự: 鄭根; 18 July 1633 – 17 June 1709) ruled northern Vietnam from 1682 to 1709 (he ruled with the title ''Định Vương''). Trịnh Căn was one of the Trịnh lords who ruled Vietnam. With the Trịnh–Nguyễn W ...

. He belonged to the line of

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 had ruled parts of Vietnam since 1545. Like his great-grandfather and predecessor,

, his reign was mostly devoted to administrative reforms. __TOC__

Biography

Trịnh Cương ruled Việt Nam during a time of external peace but growing internal strife. He enacted many governmental reforms in both financial matters and judicial rules. His main concern was the growing problem of landless peasants. Unlike the

Nguyễn lords 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 ...

who were constantly expanding their territory south, the Trịnh lords had little room for expansion. Hence, the land supply was essentially fixed but the population kept growing. Trịnh Cương tried various legislative means to solve the problem. He tried to limit private land holdings. He tried to redistribute the communal fields of the small villages. Nothing really worked and the problem became very serious over the succeeding decades. According to historian

R. H. Bruce Lockhart Sir Robert Hamilton Bruce Lockhart, KCMG (2 September 1887 – 27 February 1970) was a British diplomat, journalist, author, secret agent and footballer. His 1932 book ''Memoirs of a British Agent''Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, ''Memoirs of a Bri ...

, the governmental reforms enacted by Trịnh Cương and his great-grandfather,

, made the government more effective but, they also made the government more of a burden to the people. This had the effect of increasing the hatred felt by the people towards the Trịnh rulers in

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 ...

. Trịnh Cương passed an edict forbidding people to practice

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in 1712. Like previous efforts to suppress Christianity, this had little real effect in Vietnam. However, he tried to offer the people an alternative, and he had many

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

pagodas A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

constructed during his rule. As far as the Lê dynasty was concerned, the emperor, Lê Dụ Tông, ruled throughout Trịnh Cương's lifetime. The two men died within a few months of each other in 1729.

Sources

*''Encyclopedia of Asian History'', Volume 4. 1988. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
''Annam and its Minor Currency''
Chapter 16 (downloaded May 2006)

Biography

Sources

See also