Ngô Quyền

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For South Vietnamese frigate, see
RVNS Ngô Quyền (HQ-17)
.
In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Ngô, but is often simplified to Ngo in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Quyền.
Ngô Quyền
吳權
Cổ Loa, Ngô dynasty
Burial18 April 944
Tomb of Ngô Quyền (in modern Đường Lâm, Sơn Tây, Hanoi)
SpouseDương Phương Lan
Dương Như Ngọc
Đỗ phi
IssuePrince of Thiên Sách Ngô Xương Ngập
Prince of Nam Tấn Ngô Xương Văn
Ngô Nam Hưng
Ngô Càn Hưng
Names
Ngô Quyền (吳權)
Regnal name
Ngô Vương (吳王)
DynastyNgô
FatherNgô Mân
MotherPhùng Thị Tinh Phong
ReligionBuddhism
Ngô Quyền
Vietnamese alphabetNgô Quyền
Chữ Hán吳權
Formal name
Vietnamese alphabetNgô Vương
Chữ Hán吳王

Ngô Quyền (

central district in modern Haiphong is named after him.[2]

Early life and career

Ngô Quyền was born in 898 AD in

Hung kings period.[4] Ngô Quyền's birth, according to Vietnamese tradition, that he was bathed with strange luminosity and three strangle black moles were seen on the baby's back, which were signs of his future greatness, and the mother named him "Quyền", meaning authority and power.[3]

Since 905, the Tang dynasty lost control of

Khúc family ruled Annam autonomy until in 930 the Chinese kingdom of Southern Han invaded Jinghai and removed the Khúc family from power.[5] A formal vassal of the Khúc family, Dương Đình Nghệ launched a revolt in 931 that ousted the Chinese.[5]

In 931, he served under Dương Đình Nghệ (the governor of

Ái Châu
(Nghệ An province at present). The province was Dương Đình Nghệ's hometown and military power base. By giving Ngô Quyền command of this region Dương Đình Nghệ recognized Ngô Quyền's loyalty and talent.

After Dương Đình Nghệ was assassinated in a military coup in 937 by a usurper named Kiều Công Tiễn,[6] he took control of the military and was well received. That same year, Ngô Quyền's forces defeated the rebel Kiều Công Tiễn and had him executed. This transpired into an opportunistic pretense for wrestling control of Annam by the new Southern Han regime due to its strategic geographical location. Ngô Quyền foresaw the Southern Han intention. He quickly mobilized the armed forces and made war preparations well in advance. His victory at the Battle of Bach Dang paved the way for Vietnamese independence.[7]

Defeating the Southern Han

Main article: Battle of Bạch Đằng (938)
Đông Hồ woodblock depiction of Ngô Quyền leading his troops against Southern Han forces on the Bạch Đằng River, 938 AD

In 938, the Southern Han emperor

Giao Châu to do the most damage. To prevent this incursion, Ngô Quyền strategized and ordered the waters of Bạch Đằng embedded with thousands of large wooden pikes hidden just beneath the rising tide water. He used boats with shallow drafts to instigate and lure the Southern Han toward the traps after the tide had risen. When the hundreds of Southern Han ships were punctured and caught against the deadly traps, Ngô Quyền led his forces in the attack. Hundreds of trapped ships were burned and sabotaged and thousands of Southern Han soldiers were killed, while some managed to retreat and were chased out relentlessly by the forces of An Nam. In the thick of battle, most of the Southern Han army, including the Admiral Liu Hongcao (the prince of the Southern Han Emperor), were killed.[8][9][10] Similar tactics were later repeated by Lê Hoàn in 981 and Trần Hưng Đạo
against the Mongols in 1288.

King of Annam (Tĩnh Hải Quân)

After overthrowing the Chinese government in Vietnam and proclaimed as king, Ngô Quyền transferred the capital to

Đông Sơn drums.[11]

Despite having defeated Southern Han, Quyền also imposed a Chinese style administration that followed Chinese etiquette such as the color of dress that was worn.[12] But his new realm quickly succumbed to prolonged civil conflict, beginning with internecine struggles between members of the Dương and Ngô families, who continued to alternate in power until the mid-960s. Ngô Quyền's immediate heirs proved unable to maintain a unified state. After his death in 944, Dương Tam Kha usurped the throne for a brief time, until Ngô Quyền's two sons, Ngô Xương Văn and Ngô Xương Ngập, finally established a joint rule, which lasted until the collapse of the royal family in 966.

Family

  • Father
    • Ngô Mân
  • Mother
    • Phùng Thị Tinh Phong
  • Wife
    • Dương Thị Ngọc
  • Brother in law
  • Children
    • Ngô Xương Ngập (?–954)
    • Ngô Xương Văn (935–965)
    • Ngô Nam Hưng
    • Ngô Càn Hưng

Legacy

The first history of

Dai Viet by Lê Văn Hưu (13th century), Anthology of Palace Spirits of Lý Tế Xuyên (14th Century), and successive histories all recognized the importance of Ngô Quyền.[13]

"The Battle of Bach-dang River took place in the autumn of 938. It has been remembered by the Vietnamese as an important milestone on their path to national independence. It had a powerful effect on the people of the time, as well, for it directly led to the abandonment of T'ang-style political titles and to the proclamation of the first Vietnamese "king" of the tenth century."[9]

— K. W. Taylor

Image

  • Ngô Quyền's temple in Cam Lâm village.
    Ngô Quyền's temple in Cam Lâm village.
  • Ngô Quyền's Temple.
    Ngô Quyền's Temple.
  • Shrine of Ngô Quyền.
    Shrine of Ngô Quyền.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Hoang 2008, p. 7.
  2. ^ "Ngo Quyen, Vietnam King". britannica.
  3. ^ a b Taylor 1983, p. 267.
  4. ^ a b Ngô Vui 2014.
  5. ^ a b Kiernan 2019, p. 126.
  6. ^ a b c Kiernan 2019, p. 127.
  7. ^ Taylor 1983, p. 268.
  8. ^ Ouyang 1995, p. 813.
  9. ^ a b Taylor 1983, p. 269.
  10. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 281.
  11. ^ Kiernan 2019, p. 139.
  12. ^ Taylor 1983, p. 213.
  13. ^ Pelley 2002, p. 177.

Bibliography

Further reading
Ngô Quyền
Ngô Dynasty
Born: 897 Died: 944
Preceded by
Kiều Công Tiễn
as governor of Tĩnh Hải quân
King of Jinghai

939–944 		Succeeded by


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