Prince Chiêu Văn Trần Nhật Duật (1255–1330) was the sixth son of
Trần Thái Tông
Trần Thái Tông (17 July 1218 – 5 May 1277), Vietnamese name, 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 R ...
,
first 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 ...
. Being a younger brother of the emperor
Trần Thánh Tông
Trần Thánh Tông (October 12, 1240 – July 3, 1290), personal name Trần Hoảng (), was the second emperor of the Trần dynasty, reigning over Đại Việt from 1258 to 1278. After ceding the throne to his son Trần Nhân Tông, Th ...
, Trần Nhật Duật was one of the most important figures of the Trần family and royal court during the reigns of four successive emperors: Thánh Tông,
Nhân Tông,
Anh Tông and
Minh Tông. In the second war of resistance against
Mongol invasion
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 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
, Trần Nhật Duật was the general who commanded the Đại Việt army to defeat the navy of Mongol general
Sogetu in the
Battle of Hàm Tử, one of the biggest victories of the Trần dynasty. With his knowledge of numerous foreign
language
Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
s and cultures, Prince Chiêu Văn was also a prominent
diplomat
A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
of the Trần dynasty who helped the emperor to maintain good relations with several ethnic groups in the northwestern region of Đại Việt.
Background
Trần Nhật Duật was born in 1255 as the sixth son of the emperor
Trần Thái Tông
Trần Thái Tông (17 July 1218 – 5 May 1277), Vietnamese name, 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 R ...
. According to ''
Đại Việt sử kí toàn thư'', Trần Nhật Duật was born with four
characters "Chiêu Văn đồng tử" ("pupil of Chiêu Văn") in his arm,
which is why he was entitled Prince Chiêu Văn (
Vietnamese: Chiêu Văn vương) in 1268.
Besides the emperor
Trần Thánh Tông
Trần Thánh Tông (October 12, 1240 – July 3, 1290), personal name Trần Hoảng (), was the second emperor of the Trần dynasty, reigning over Đại Việt from 1258 to 1278. After ceding the throne to his son Trần Nhân Tông, Th ...
, Trần Nhật Duật had two other famous elder brothers, Prince Chiêu Minh (Chiêu Minh vương)
Trần Quang Khải, who was grand chancellor of royal court,
and Prince Chiêu Quốc (Chiêu Quốc vương)
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 ...
, who was broadly known not only for his intelligence
but also for his notorious defection to
Yuan side during the second
Mongol invasion of Đại Việt.
Since he was young, Trần Nhật Duật began to make friends with many foreigners from
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 ...
or the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
with whom he could discuss by their own languages and customs.
One of them was
Triệu Trung, a refugee from China, who eventually became Trần Nhật Duật's subordinate during the war against the Yuan dynasty.
Prince Chiêu Văn spoke foreign languages, even some exotic ones, so well that he was once mistaken as a Chinese by an Yuan ambassador.
[
]
History
Diplomatic activities
Two years after the coronation of Trần Nhân Tông (in 1280), head of Đà Giang Circuit Trịnh Giác Mật rose a revolt against Trần rulers. Being an expert of minority people's language and culture, Trần Nhật Duật was appointed by Nhân Tông to take charge of pacifying this revolt by diplomatic means. At the age of 25, Trần Nhật Duật went directly into the headquarters of Trịnh Giác Mật with only several servants and discussed with the head of revolt by his own language and manner. Trịnh Giác Mật and his men were so impressed by Trần Nhật Duật that they decided to unconditionally surrender the Trần dynasty and the revolt was since put down without any casualty. After the pacification, Trịnh Giác Mật and his family were still well treated by Trần Nhật Duật; therefore, Prince Chiêu Văn gradually became a respected figure among ethnic groups in the northwestern region.
Military activities
In 1279, the Yuan dynasty had the decisive victory over the Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
in the Battle of Yamen which marked the end of the Song dynasty and the total control of Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan (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 and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the ...
over China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. As a result, Kublai Khan began to expose his attempt to take over the southern countries like Đại Việt
Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), was a Vietnamese monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day Hanoi. Its early name, Đại Cồ Việt,(ch ...
or 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 ...
. In December 1284, the second Yuan's invasion of Đại Việt was opened under the command of Kublai Khan's prince Toghan. Đại Việt was attacked in two directions: Toghan himself conducted the infantry invaded from the northern border while Yuan's navy under general Sogetu advanced from the southern border through 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 ...
's territory. At the beginning of the war, Prince Chiêu Văn took charge of a military base near the northern border, and thanks to his accurate judgment, Trần Nhật Duật's troops was able to escape the trap of Yuan army and successfully retreated. Ultimately, Sogetu's army suffered heavy defeat in the Battle of Hàm Tử, where Trần Nhật Duật commanded allied troops of Đại Việt soldiers and former Song refugees.
During the reign of Trần Anh Tông, Prince Chiêu Văn and general 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 ...
were responsible for the quelling some rebellions in northern region.
In the imperial court
Holding several high positions during the reigns of four successive emperors, Thánh Tông, Nhân Tông, Anh Tông and Minh Tông, Prince Chiêu Văn became an important figure of both the royal family and royal court; he was appointed as grand chancellor in 1302 during the reign of Anh Tông. Since the other sons of Anh Tông all died at a young age, the emperor had Trần Nhật Duật take the duty of bringing up 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 ...
Trần Mạnh, his only surviving son. Indeed, Prince Trần Mạnh was well looked after due to the wholehearted devotion of Trần Nhật Duật and finally became the emperor Trần Minh Tông. It was also Trần Nhật Duật and Trần Quốc Tú who assisted the 12-year-old Crown Prince Trần Mạnh in ruling the country when Anh Tông was away for a military campaign against 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 ...
in 1312.
Trần Nhật Duật died in 1330 at the age of 77.
Family
Trần Nhật Duật had one wife, Lady Trinh Túc, who was 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 capital Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh Cit ...
origin, so his other concubines all came from Thanh Hóa and descendants of Prince Chiêu Văn were often appointed as officials in this region. The only son of Trần Nhật Duật is Marquis Cương Đông Văn Hiến (Cương Đông Văn Hiến hầu), who plotted with Trần Khắc Chung the defamation campaign which led to the death of Trần Quốc Chẩn, father-in-law of the emperor and prominent general, to keep the position of throne successor for prince Trần Vượng.
Legacy
In his work ''Đại Việt sử kí toàn thư'', the court 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 ...
praised Trần Nhật Duật as not only a capable official but also a gentleman of intelligence and culture. He was a polyglot and was known to be able to converse in Chinese, Cham and Malay. Despite holding high position in royal court for many years, Prince Chiêu Văn always kept an amiable, tolerant attitude and was well known as a scholar with wide knowledge. Therefore, he was compared with Guo Ziyi, one of the greatest generals and mandarins in Chinese history
The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...
.[ Modern opinions still consider Trần Nhật Duật, together with Trần Hưng Đạo and Trần Quang Khải, as the most important members of Trần clan who were credited with the victories over the Yuan dynasty and the prosperous situation in Đại Việt afterwards. A main street in ]Hanoi
Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
and many places in Vietnam are named in honour of Trần Nhật Duật.
References
Notes
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Nhat Duat
Trần dynasty princes
Trần dynasty generals
Trần dynasty officials
1255 births
1330 deaths
13th-century Vietnamese people
13th-century diplomats
Vietnamese diplomats
Politicians from Hanoi