Marquis Hoài Văn, better known as Trần Quốc Toản ( vi-hantu, ), born 1267 (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1267–1285), was a marquis 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 ...

who was well known for his active role in the second war of resistance of

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 ...

against the

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 ...

. Although there were only a few historical records about Trần Quốc Toản, he is still widely known as an example of

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

while he participated and ultimately sacrificed himself for the country at a very young age. Today, story about Trần Quốc Toản is taught in Vietnamese schoolbooks and many places in Vietnam are named in honour of this young hero.

History

According to '' Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam'', Marquis Hoài Văn ( Vietnamese: Hoài Văn hầu) Trần Quốc Toản was born in 1267 during the reign 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 ...

. 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 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

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 ...

. It was said that facing threat from the north, in October 1282, the Retired Emperor Trần Thánh Tông and the Emperor Trần Nhân Tông gathered all members of royal family, the Trần clan and officials in royal court in Bình Than to discuss about the unadvoidable war. Although being a member of the royal family, Trần Quốc Toản was not invited because the 16-year-old marquis was too young to be considered in the meeting. As a result, Marquis Hoài Văn felt so ashamed and stimulated that he crushed an orange (given to him by the Emperor in recognition of his courage and valor despite his youth) with his own hand and began to mobilize his house servants and relatives for the purpose of fighting against the Yuan dynasty. Eventually, Trần Quốc Toản was able to form an army of over one thousand soldiers and he created himself a flag with six characters: Ngô Sĩ Liên, in his work '' Đại Việt sử kí toàn thư'', did not have an extensive account about Trần Quốc Toản; the historian only acknowledged that Marquis Hoài Văn's troops always fought bravely against the army of the Yuan dynasty so that they had to retreat when facing Trần Quốc Toản. In the victory of Đại Việt over Mongol general Sogetu's navy in the Battle of Hàm Tử in April 1285, Marquis Hoài Văn was one of the main commanders of Đại Việt's army besides Prince Chiêu Văn Trần Nhật Duật, Prince Chiêu Thành and general Nguyễn Khoái. On the tenth day of the fifth lunar month (June 14) 1285, Trần Quốc Toản continued to fight under the command of Prince Chiêu Minh Trần Quang Khải in the decisive Battle of Chương Dương in which Sogetu's navy was almost destroyed and

's prince Toghon ''(Vietnamese: Thoát Hoan)'' had to retreat from Thăng Long to northern border. The circumstance of Marquis Hoài Văn's death was not written in Vietnamese accounts but was narrated in the historical book of the Yuan dynasty, the '' History of Yuan''. In the words of "Story of Annam" in ''History of Yuan'', Trần Quốc Toản commanded his troops pursuing the Yuan army along their retreat route. During this period, Đại Việt and the Yuan dynasty had a battle near the Như Nguyệt River (now the Cầu River) where Trần Quốc Toản was appointed to command the troops by the order of Trần Nhân Tông (named Trần Nhật Huyên in the Yuan account) and was ultimately killed in battle. In fact, it is possible that the Yuan dynasty confused Hoài Văn Hầu Trần Quốc Toản with Hoài Nhân Vương Trần Quốc Kiện. The person who was killed in Như Nguyệt River was Hoài Nhân Vương Trần Quốc Kiện, not Hoài Văn Hầu Trần Quốc Toản. Because the battle at Tây Kết then killed Toa Đô, Hoài Văn Hầu Trần Quốc Toản also participated and was also rewarded after the second great victory over Mongolia. Not to mention in Việt Sử Kỷ Yếu of the 3rd Mongol battle, Hoài Văn Hầu Trần Quốc Toản is also recorded as helping Nhân Huệ Vương Trần Khánh Dư fend off the attack of Ô Mã Nhi in Vân Đồn wharf. In the ensuing battle of Bạch Đằng river, Hoài Văn Hầu Trần Quốc Toản also contributed to capturing enemy general Ô Mã Nhi. After knowing the death of Trần Quốc Toản, the Emperor mourned for the marquis by his own funeral oration and posthumously entitled him as Prince Hoài Văn (Hoài Văn vương).

Legacy

Today, Trần Quốc Toản is still considered as one of the finest examples of Vietnamese

, especially for the young generation. Stories about his spirit and action are taught in schoolbooks of several grades while many streets, schools and gymnasiums in Vietnam are named in honour of this young hero. Trần Quốc Toản is also the main character of several historical novels, including '' Lá cờ thêu sáu chữ vàng'' (''The flag embroidered with six golden characters'') by Nguyễn Huy Tưởng.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Quoc Toan Trần dynasty princes Trần dynasty marquises Trần dynasty generals 1267 births 1285 deaths