Đào Duy Từ
Đào Duy Từ 陶維慈 | |
---|---|
Died | 1634 (62–63 years old) Phú Xuân, Đại Việt |
Pen name | Lộc Khê |
Occupation | Official |
Nationality | Vietnamese |
Đào Duy Từ (1572–1634) was a Vietnamese scholar, poet, military adviser, and mandarin who served under the reign of Nguyễn lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên.[1]
Early life
Đào Duy Từ, born in Hoa Trai village, Ngọc Sơn, Lương Sơn, Hoà Bình (present day Ngọc Sơn,
Từ's mother managed to bribe a low-ranking mandarin named Lưu Minh Phương to change Tu's surname from Đào to Vũ which gave Từ a chance to take the court examination. In 1593, Đào Duy Từ, under the false name Vũ Duy Từ, passed his first court examination which prompted Lưu Minh Phương to demand that Từ's mother marry him as a payment for his help.
Activities in southern Vietnam
After arriving in southern Vietnam, Đào Duy Từ attempted to meet Lord
Mandarin of the Nguyễn Lord
On an occasion when Trần Đức Hòa met Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên, Hòa give the Lord the poem "Ngọa Long Cương Vãng" of Đào Duy Từ. After reading the poem, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên ordered Trần Đức Hào bring Đào Duy Từ to meet him.
Wanting to test Đào Duy Từ, the Nguyễn lord wore casual clothing and stood near a small door of Phú Xuân Palace when Đào Duy Từ first met him (these actions could be considered as a disdain by confucianist scholars during this time).[6] Thereon Đào Duy Từ kept refusing to talk with Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên until the lord opened the main gate of the palace and wore formal clothing.[6] After a long meeting in which Đào Duy Từ discussed and gave advice about the current Trịnh–Nguyễn War, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên appeared to like Đào Duy Từ's ability and then he made Đào Duy Từ his advisor and a high ranking mandarin.[7]
From this point on, Đào Duy Từ served as the chief military advisor, directing the construction of Nguyen's two famous strategic lines of defense: the ramparts of
In 1627, when these ramparts were completed, Đào Duy Từ presented a double-bottomed tray to the Lê Emperor in which he concealed the royal decree that demanded the Nguyễn lord to submit to the Lê emperors.[9] He then carved the tray with a cryptic poem that involves a letter play, upon solving would reveal the message: 予不受勑, meaning Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên does not accept the decree. He topped the tray with gifts and sent an envoy bringing it to Thăng Long.[9] Unaware of the hidden content, Lord Trịnh Tráng accepted the tray and Tu's letter remained undiscovered until the Nguyễn envoy had fled back to the south. After learning the true meaning of Đào Duy Từ's poem; Lord Trịnh Tráng got angry and sent a large army to the south, starting the Trịnh–Nguyễn War.[9]
Family
No information regarding the family of Đào Duy Từ was recorded except that Đào Duy Từ had a daughter who married Nguyễn Hữu Tiến, one of the two most important commanders of the Nguyễn army in the Trịnh–Nguyễn War.[6]
Death
In 1633, after nine years service to the Nguyễn lords, Đào Duy Từ died of an illness. Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên posthumously gave him the title of "Hiệp đồng mưu đức công thần, đặc tiến Kim tử Vinh lộc đại phu" (Common Strategist Merit-man, especially entitled as "Glorious, Fortunious and Golden Grand Scholar").[6] Later emperor Gia Long had Đào Duy Từ worshiped along with the Nguyễn Lords in Thế Miếu temple, the main temple of the Nguyễn emperors' ancestors in Huế.[6] During the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng Đào Duy Từ was posthumously bestowed with the title of Hoằng Quốc Công (Duke Hằng Quốc).[10]
Most cities in Vietnam, regardless of the political orientation of the government, have named major streets after him.[11] Despite the ruling communist party's disapproval of the Nguyễn lords and the subsequent Nguyễn dynasty as "feudal" and "reactionary", and their renaming of streets and public facilities named after most Nguyen leaders, streets named after Đào Duy Từ remain.
Notes
- ^ Thê ́Anh Nguyêñ, Alain Forest Guerre et paix en Asie du Sud-Est 1998 - Page 119 "Đào Duy Tù (1572-1634) may be considered as the first Đảng Trong poet. He was excluded from the competitive race for position and wealth in the north because the Trịnh lords categorized and scorned him as being from a family of entertainers, so he went south and served the Nguyễn lords, for whom he designed the system of walls at Đồng Hới. Poems attributed to him use a very different Buddhist rhetoric from the poetry of Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm. Time, rather than being cyclic, is empty :.."
- ^ a b c Tôn Thất Bình, p. 9
- ^ a b Tôn Thất Bình, p. 10
- ^ Tôn Thất Bình, p. 12
- ^ a b Tôn Thất Bình, p. 13
- ^ a b c d e Phan Khoang, p. 135
- ^ Tôn Thất Bình, p. 14–16
- ^ Phan Khoang, pp. 137–140
- ^ a b c Chapuis, p.125
- ^ Phan Khoang, p. 144
- ISBN 0-7946-0070-0.
References
- Tôn Thất Bình (2001). 12 danh tướng triều Nguyễn. Vietnam: Thuận Hóa Publishing House.
- Phan Khoang (2001). Việt sử xứ Đàng Trong. Hanoi: Văn Học Publishing House.
- Trần Trọng Kim (1971), Việt Nam sử lược (in Vietnamese), Saigon: Center for School Materials
- Chapuis, Oscar (1995), A history of Vietnam: from Hong Bang to Tự Đức, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0-313-29622-7