Trần Anh Tông ( vi-hantu, 陳英宗, 17 September 1276 – 12 December 1320),
personal name
A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...
Trần Thuyên (陳烇),
courtesy name
A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...
Nhật Sủy (日煃) or Nhật Sáng (日㷃/日𤊞), was the fourth emperor of the
Trần dynasty
The Trần dynasty (Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: Nhà Trần, chữ Nôm: 茹陳; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: triều Trần, chữ Hán: ikt:朝ikt:陳, 朝wikt:陳, 陳), officially Đại Việt (Chữ Hán: 大越), was a List ...
, reigning over
Dai Viet
Dai may refer to:
Names
* Dai (given name), a Welsh or Japanese masculine given name
* Dai (surname) (戴), a Chinese surname
* Bảo Đại (保大), Emperor of Vietnam from 1926 to 1945
Places and regimes
* Dai Commandery, a commandery of ...
from 1293 to 1314. After ceding the throne to his son
Trần Minh Tông, Anh Tông held the title Retired Emperor for six years. As the first Trần emperor who ruled in total peace with respect to foreign affairs, Anh Tông was known for his successful reign of Đại Việt, which brought a long period of peace and prosperity over the country. He also had several military victories over the kingdoms of
Champa
Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...
and
Lan Xang
Lan Xang () or Lancang was a Lao people, Lao kingdom that held the area of present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The kingdom is the basis for Laos's nat ...
.
Early years
Anh Tông was born in 1276 as Trần Thuyên, the first son of the then-emperor
Trần Nhân Tông and Empress
Khâm Từ Bảo Thánh.
In 1292 he was invested as
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent.
''Crown prince ...
by Nhân Tông and ultimately was ceded the throne in 1293 while his father still reigned as Retired Emperor () for 16 years.
According to officially commissioned historical books, although being an intelligent ruler and a devoted son,
the young Emperor Anh Tông often drank alcohol and escaped from the royal citadel to wander around
Thăng Long at night. One time the Emperor was so drunk that he forgot to welcome the Retired Emperor who was coming back from
Thiên Trường for a visit. When he was made aware of the situation, Nhân Tông departed immediately in a fury from Thăng Long
and Anh Tông had to write a petition for the Retired Emperor with the help from a young scholar named
Đoàn Nhữ Hài. After that event, Anh Tông appointed Đoàn as court counselor and avoided drinking.
As emperor
Anh Tông was the first Trần emperor who reigned without having to face attacks from the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...
. Despite the deaths of the two most important generals of the early Trần dynasty,
Trần Quang Khải in 1294 and
Trần Quốc Tuấn in 1300, the Emperor was still served by many efficient mandarins like
Trần Nhật Duật, Đoàn Nhữ Hài,
Phạm Ngũ Lão
Phạm Ngũ Lão (范五老, 1255–1320) was a general of the Trần dynasty during the reigns of three successive emperors Trần Nhân Tông, Nhân Tông, Trần Anh Tông, Anh Tông, and Trần Minh Tông, Minh Tông. His talent was noticed ...
,
Trương Hán Siêu,
Mạc Đĩnh Chi and
Nguyễn Trung Ngạn. Anh Tông was very strict in suppressing gambling and corruption but he also generously rewarded those who served him well.
Under the reign of an able emperor and capable court administration, Đại Việt witnessed a long period of peace and prosperity.
[
Foreign policy during Anh Tông's reign was continuing the détente with the ]Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
while restraining the two other neighbours of Đại Việt, the kingdoms of Champa
Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...
and Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
. The Emperor's envoy to the Yuan dynasty was so successful that the leader Mạc Đĩnh Chi was dubbled the "Two-state exemplar" because he came first as Trạng nguyên (Zhuangyuan, 狀元) in Đại Việt's imperial examination and was praised in the Yuan dynasty court for his eloquence. After the failed invasions of the Mongol Empire, Đại Việt's southwestern border was invaded several times by Laos until Anh Tông appointed Phạm Ngũ Lão to oversee the pacification of the frontier regions.
In 1306, the king of Champa
Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...
Chế Mân offered Vietnam two Cham prefectures Ô and Lý in exchange for a marriage with Vietnamese princess Huyền Trân. Anh Tông accepted this offer, then he took and renamed Ô prefecture and Lý prefecture to Thuận prefecture and Hóa prefecture, both of them often referred shortly as Thuận Hóa region.[ Only one year into the marriage, Chế Mân died and in line with the royal tradition of Champa, Huyền Trân was to be cremated with her husband. Facing this urgent condition, Anh Tông sent his mandarin Trần Khắc Chung to Champa to save Huyền Trân from an imminent death. Finally Huyền Trân was able to return to Đại Việt but Chế Chí, the successor of Chế Mân, no longer wished to abide by the peace treaty with Đại Việt. After that event, Anh Tông himself, along with generals Trần Quốc Chân and Trần Khánh Dư commanded three groups of Đại Việt military units to attack Champa in 1312. Chế Chí was defeated and captured in this invasion,] and Anh Tông installed a hand-picked successor, Che Man's brother Che Da-a-ba-niem,[Maspero, G., 2002, The Champa Kingdom, Bangkok: White Lotus Co., Ltd., ] but the relations between Đại Việt and Champa remained strained for a long time afterwards.
As retired emperor
After 21 years of rule, Anh Tông passed the throne to the crown prince Trần Mạnh, who became the Emperor Trần Minh Tông, and Anh Tông retained the title Thái thượng hoàng for six more years before dying in 1320 at the age of 54.[ Anh Tông had only one ]era name
A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin 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 of rule, a t ...
during his reign, which was Hưng Long ( 興 隆, prosperity). After the Emperor's death, he was given the posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...
Hiển văn duệ vũ khâm minh nhân hiếu hoàng đế (顯文睿武欽明仁孝皇帝).[
According to history books, Anh Tông was praised for his righteous reign, which created a peaceful and prosperous period in the history of Đại Việt. He was known as a modest ruler who was quick to mend his mistakes, was always cautious and intelligent in judgment, and the only major criticism of him was building a tower and gathering monks in Yên Tử mountain.] According to the royal historian Ngô Sĩ Liên
Ngô Sĩ Liên (吳士連) was a Vietnamese historian of the Lê dynasty.
Biography
Ngô Sĩ Liên was the main compiler of the '' Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'', a chronicle of the history of Vietnam and a historical record of an Annamese ...
, Anh Tông was a father with sense of responsibility for his son, which is seen as an important factor in Minh Tông's good governance in the future. The decision made by Anh Tông and his father Nhân Tông to marry off the royal princess Huyền Trân to the king of Champa in exchange for peace and land was sometimes considered a stigma on the Trần dynasty.
Family
* Anh Tông had one empress, two other wives and several concubines:
** Empress Thuận Thánh (?–1330), daughter of Trần Quốc Tảng and granddaughter of Trần Quốc Tuấn. She was entitled Queen dowager
A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is cle ...
when Trần Mạnh was made emperor
** Imperial consort Chiêu Hiến, daughter of Trần Bình Trọng, natural mother of Trần Mạnh
** Imperial consort Tĩnh Huệ, daughter of Phạm Ngũ Lão
Phạm Ngũ Lão (范五老, 1255–1320) was a general of the Trần dynasty during the reigns of three successive emperors Trần Nhân Tông, Nhân Tông, Trần Anh Tông, Anh Tông, and Trần Minh Tông, Minh Tông. His talent was noticed ...
** Đa La Thanh, daughter of northern monk Du Chi Bà Lam
** Imperial concubine Trần Thị Thái Bình
** Palace maid Vương Thị
* Besides three short-lived sons, Anh Tông was survived by only one son, Trần Mạnh, who eventually became his successor Trần Minh Tông. The Emperor also had five daughters:
** Princess Thiên Chân
** Princess Ý Trinh
** Princess Huy Chân
** Princess Huệ Chân
** Princess Thánh Chân
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Anh Tong
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1276 births
1320 deaths
Vietnamese monarchs
Royalty from Hanoi