Ly Dynasty
The
Lý Dynasty (
Vietnamese:
nhà Lý, pronounced like
Lee), sometimes known as the
Posterior Lý Dynasty (
nhà Hậu Lý), was a
Vietnamese dynasty that began in
1009 when
Lý Thái Tổ overthrew the
Anterior Lê Dynasty (
nhà Tiền Lê) and ended in
1225 when the queen
Lý Chiêu Hoàng (then 8 years old) was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of her husband,
Trần Cảnh. They ruled Vietnam for a total of 216 years. During
Lý Thánh Tông's reign, the official name of Vietnam became
Đại Việt.
The person who began the Lý Dynasty was Lý Công Uẩn. The Lý was the first Vietnamese dynasty that was able to hold onto power for more than several decades, allowing them to secure and expand the territory. Domestically, while the Lý kings were devout
Buddhists, the influence of
Confucianism from
China was on the rise, with the opening of the first University in Vietnam in
1070 (
Temple of Literature) for selection of civil servants who are not from noble families. Politically, they created a system of administration based on rule of law rather than on autocratic principles. The fact that they chose the Đại La Citadel as the capital (later renamed Thăng Long and subsequently
Hà Nội) showed that they held onto power due to economic strength and were liked by their subjects rather than by military means like prior dynasties.
Following the death of
Dinh Bo Linh in 979, the
Song rulers attempted to reassert Chinese control over Vietnam.
Le Hoan, the commander in chief of Dinh Bo Linh's army, seized the throne and successfully repulsed the Chinese army in 981.
Ly Cong Uan, a former temple orphan who had risen to commander of the palace guard, succeeded Le Hoan in 1009, thereby founding the great Ly dynasty. He took the reign name Ly Thai To. The early Ly kings established a prosperous state with a stable monarchy at the head of a centralized administration. The name of the country was changed to Dai Viet by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong in 1054.
The first century of Ly rule was marked by warfare with China and the two Indianized kingdoms to the south, Cambodia and Champa. After these threats were dealt with successfully, the second century of Ly rule was relatively peaceful enabling the Ly kings to establish a Buddhist ruling tradition closely related to the other East Asian Buddhist kingdoms of that period. Buddhism became a kind of state religion as members of the royal family and the nobility made pilgrimages, supported the building of pagodas, sometimes even entered monastic life, and otherwise took an active part in Buddhist practices. Bonzes became a privileged landed class, exempt from taxes and military duty. At the same time, Buddhism, in an increasingly Vietnamized form associated with magic, spirits, and medicine, grew in popularity with the people.
During the Ly dynasty, the Vietnamese began their long march to the south (
Nam Tiến) at the expense of the Cham and the Khmer. Le Hoan had sacked the Cham capital of Indrapura in 982, whereupon the Cham established a new capital at Vijaya. This was captured twice by the Vietnamese, however, and in 1079 the Cham were forced to cede to the Ly rulers their three northern provinces. Soon afterwards, Vietnamese peasants began moving into the untilled former Cham lands, turning them into rice fields and moving relentlessly southward, delta by delta, along the narrow coastal plain. The Ly kings supported the improvement of Vietnam's agricultural system by constructing and repairing dikes and canals and by allowing soldiers to return to their villages to work for six months of each year. As their territory and population expanded, the Ly kings looked to China as a model for organizing a strong, centrally administered state. Minor officials were chosen by examination for the first time in 1075, and a civil service training institute and an imperial academy were set up in 1076. In 1089 a fixed hierarchy of state officials was established, with nine degrees of civil and military scholarofficials . Examinations for public office were made compulsory, and literary competitions were held to determine the grades of officials.
In foreign relations with the
Song Dynasty in
China during the Lý Dynasty, Vietnam acted as a vassal state, although at its zenith it had sent troops into Chinese territory to fight the Song.
In
1075,
Wang Anshi, the prime minister, told the Song emperor that Đại Việt was being destroyed by
Champa, with less than ten thousand soldiers surviving, hence it would be a good occasion to annex Đại Việt. The Song emperor mobilized troops, passed decree to forbid all the provinces to trade with Đại Việt. Upon hearing the news, the Lý ruler sent
Lý Thường Kiệt and Tông Đản with more than 100,000 troops to China to meet the Song troops. In the ensuing 40-day battle near modern-day
Nanning, the Đại Việt troops were victorious, killing hundred of thousands of soldiers as well as others and capturing the generals of three Song armies. In 1076, the Songs formed an alliance with Champa and
Chenla and sent troops to invade Đại Việt.
Lý Nhân Tông sent, again, Lý Thường Kiệt. Being one of the many great military strategists of Vietnam, Lý Thường Kiệt had placed spikes under the Như Nguyệt River before tricking the Song troops into the deadly trap, killing more than 1,000 Chinese soldiers and forcing the Chinese to retreat. According to legends, during this time Lý Thường Kiệt had also composed the famous poem
Nam quốc sơn hà (Rivers and Mountains of the South Nation), which asserted the sovereignty of Vietnam over its land. This poem is considered the first Vietnamese
Declaration of independence.
Administration
In 1010, Lý Thái Tổ changed the 10
đạo subdivisions into 24
lộ. The
lộ was possibly subdivided into
châu (in mountainous areas) or
phủ (in the lowlands). The
châu and
phủ were further subdivided itno
huyện and
giáp, and under them
hương and
ấp.
Civil service system
At the central level, under the king were the
Thái positions:
Tam thái for the three literary mandarins (
Thái sư,
Thái bảo and
Thái phó), and
Thái úy for the martial mandarin. Under the
Tháis were the
Thiếu positions like
Thiếu sư,
Thiếu bảo,
Thiếu phó, and
Thiếu úy.
Law
During the Lý Dynasty, laws in Đại Việt were primarily based on royal proclamations, although a body of law composing of civil laws, criminal laws, litigation laws, and laws dealing with marriage existed. However, because the Lý rulers were devout Buddhists, the punishments during this era were not very severe.
Economy
Foreign relations
Expatriate to Korea
Temple name
(Miếu hiệu) | Era name
(Niên hiệu) | Name | Birth-Death | Reign | Posthumous name
(Thụy hiệu) | Royal tomb |
|---|
| Thái Tổ | Thuận Thiên
(1010-1028) | Lý Công Uẩn | 974-1028 | 1009-1028 | Thần Vũ Hoàng đế | Thọ Lăng |
| Thái Tông | Thiên Thành
(1028-1034)
Thông Thụy
(1034-1039)
Càn Phù Hữu Đạo
(1039-1042)
Minh Đạo
(1042-1044)
Thiên Cảm Thánh Vũ
(1044-1049)
Sùng Hưng Đại Bảo
(1049-1054) | Lý Phật Mã | 1000-1054 | 1028-1054 | Đại Hành Hoàng Đế | Thọ Lăng |
| Thánh Tông | Long Thụy Thái Bình
(1054-1058)
Chương Thánh Gia Khánh
(1059-1065)
Long Chương Thiên Tự
(1066-1068)
Thiên Thống Bảo Tượng
(1068-1069)
Thần Vũ
(1069-1072) | Lý Nhật Tôn | 1023-1072 | 1054-1072 | Ứng Thiên Sùng Nhân
Chí Đạo Uy Khánh
Long Tường Minh Văn
Duệ Vũ Hiếu Đức
Thánh Thần Hoàng Đế | Thọ Lăng |
| Nhân Tông | Thái Ninh
(1072-1076)
Anh Vũ Chiêu Thắng
(1076-1084)
Quảng Hựu
(1085-1092)
Hội Phong
(1092-1100)
Long Phù
(1101-1109)
Hội Tường Đại Khánh
(1110-1119)
Thiên Phù Duệ Vũ
(1120-1126)
Thiên Phù Khánh Thọ
(1127-1127) | Lý Càn Đức | 1066-1127 | 1072-1127 | Hiếu Từ Thánh Thần
Văn Vũ Hoàng Đế | Thiên Đức Lăng |
| Thần Tông | Thiên Thuận
(1128-1132)
Thiên Chương Bảo Tự
(1133-1138) | Lý Dương Hoán | 1116-1138 | 1128-1138 | Quảng Nhân Sùng Hiếu
Văn Vũ Hoàng Đế | Thọ Lăng |
| Anh Tông | Thiệu Minh
(1138-1140)
Đại Định
(1140-1162)
Chí Long Bảo Ứng
(1163-1174)
Thiên Cảm Chí Bảo
(1174-1175) | Lý Thiên Tộ | 1136-1175 | 1138-1175 | ? | Thọ Lăng |
| Cao Tông | Trinh Phù
(1176-1186)
Thiên Tư Gia Thụy
(1186-1202)
Thiên Gia Bảo Hựu
(1202-1204)
Trị Bình Long Ứng
(1204-1210) | Lý Long Trát | 1173-1210 | 1175-1210 | ? | Thọ Lăng |
| Huệ Tông | Kiến Gia
(1211-1224) | Lý (Hạo) Sảm | 1194-1226 | 1211-1224 | ? | ? |
| Chiêu Hoàng | Thiên Chương Hữu Đạo
(1224-1225) | Lý Phật Kim
Lý Thiên Hinh | 1218-1278 | 1224-1225 | ? | ? |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | - | | | width="75px" | | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | 1
Lý Thái Tổ
1009 - 1028 | | | | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 0 2px 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | |
| | | width="75px" | | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | 2
Lý Thái Tông
1028 - 1054 | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 0 2px 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | |
| | | width="75px" | | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | 3
Lý Thánh Tông
1054 - 1072 | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 0 2px 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 2px 0 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 2px 2px 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | |
| | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | 4
Lý Nhân Tông
1072 - 1127 | | | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | Sùng Hiền Hầu | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 0 2px 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | 5
Lý Thần Tông
1128 - 1138 | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 0 2px 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | 6
Lý Anh Tông
1138 - 1175 | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 0 2px 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | 7
Lý Cao Tông
1175 - 1210 | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 0 2px 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | 8
Lý Huệ Tông
1210 - 1224 | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" style="border-width: 0 2px 0 0; border-style:solid; border-color:black;" | |
| | | width="75px" | | | width="75px" | | | colspan="2" style="border:1px solid #8F8F8F;" | 9
Lý Chiêu Hoàng
1224 - 1225 | |
|
Note: Years in the table above are the years of their reign.
