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Ngô Quyền ( vi-hantu, 吳權) (April 17, 898 – February 14, 944), often referred to as Tiền Ngô Vương (前吳王; "First King of Ngô"), was a warlord who later became the founding king of the Ngô dynasty of Vietnam. He reigned from 939 to 944. In 938, he defeated the Southern Han dynasty at the Battle of Bạch Đằng River north of modern
Haiphong Haiphong ( vi, Hải Phòng, ), or Hải Phòng, is a major industrial city and the third-largest in Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the Red River delta. Haiphong wa ...
. The battle is usually remembered in Vietnamese national history as it ended 1,000 years of Chinese rule over Vietnam dating back to 111 BC under the
Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...
. A central district in modern Haiphong is named after him.


Early life and career

Ngô Quyền was born in 898 AD in Đường Lâm (modern-day
Sơn Tây ''Toxicodendron succedaneum'', the wax tree, Japanese Hazenoki tree (Sumac or wax tree), sơn in Vietnam or charão in Portuguese, is a flowering plant species in the genus ''Toxicodendron'' found in Asia, although it has been planted elsewhere, ...
District,
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
of northern Vietnam) during the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
. He was the son of Ngô Mân, an influential official in Phong, Annan (today
Phu Tho province Phu or ''variation'', may refer to: Places *Phủ, prefecture in 15th–19th century Vietnam People Given name *Phu Dorjee (died 1987), first Indian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen *Phu Dorjee Sherpa (died 1969), first Nepali to climb Mount ...
). Ngô Mân's ancestor was Wu Ridai (Ngô Nhật Đại), a local tribal chief from Fuluzhou, Annan (Modern-day Ha Tinh Province). In 722, Wu Ridai and his family migrated to Aizhou (Modern-day Thanh Hoa Province) after the defeat of
Mai Thúc Loan Mai Thúc Loan (or Mai Huyền Thành ( 梅 玄 成), self-proclaimed Mai Hắc Đế ( 梅 黑 帝, The Black Emperor or The Swarthy Emperor), was the Vietnamese leader of the uprising in 722 AD against the rule of the Chinese Tang dynasty in t ...
. According to the family's stele erected in 1631, the family claimed to has dated back to
Hung kings Hung may refer to: People * Hung (surname), various Chinese surnames * Hùng king, a king of Vietnam People with the given name Hung include: * Hung Huynh, Vietnamese-American chef, winner of the third season of the television show ''Top Chef' ...
period. 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. Since 905, the Tang dynasty lost control of
Jinghai Jinghai District () is a district of the municipality of Tianjin, People's Republic of China, located in the southwest portion of the municipality, bordering Hebei province to the south and west, Xiqing District to the north and northeast, and ...
to locals and native chieftains. The
Khúc family Khúc is a Vietnamese surname. Notable people with the surname Khúc * Khúc family, a session of leaders who challenged Tang rule over Vietnam. :*Khúc Thừa Dụ, the head of the Khúc family :*Khúc Hạo Khúc Hạo (860–917) () was the ...
ruled Annam autonomy until in 930 the Chinese kingdom of
Southern Han Southern Han (; 917–971), officially Han (), originally Yue (), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The ...
invaded Jinghai and removed the Khúc family from power. A formal vassal of the Khúc family,
Dương Đình Nghệ Dương Đình Nghệ (Chữ Hán: 楊廷藝; pinyin: ''Yáng Tíngyì''; 874 – March 937; some sources record Dương Diên Nghệ, Chữ Hán: 楊延藝) was the jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân in around 931 AD. He was a skillful, talented gen ...
launched a revolt in 931 that ousted the Chinese. In 931, he served under Dương Đình Nghệ (the governor of Jinghai circuit/principality) and quickly rose through the military ranks and government administration; by 934, he was promoted to the post of military governor of Ái Châu. Dương Đình Nghệ loved his talent and gave him one of his daughters, Lady Dương, in marriage and placed him in charge 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 Kiều Công Tiễn (chữ Hán: 矯公羡 or 皎公羨; ) (870 - 938) was a general in the court of Dương Đình Nghệ, a Vietnamese Jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân who took over the position in 931. In 937 Kiều Công Tiễn assassinated th ...
, 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 Southern Han (; 917–971), officially Han (), originally Yue (), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The ...
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.


Defeating the Southern Han

In 938, the Southern Han emperor Liu Yan dispatched an naval fleet to subdue Jinghai. Ngô Quyền calculated that the Southern Han would sail down the Bạch Đằng River to unload their troops right in the middle of
Giao Châu Jiaozhou (; Wade–Giles: Chiao1-Cho1; vi, Giao Châu) was an imperial Chinese province under the Han and Jin dynasties. Under the Han, the area included Liangguang and northern Vietnam but Guangdong was later separated to form the province of ...
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.''
Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...
'', vol. 281.


King of Annam (Tĩnh Hải Quân)

After overthrowing the Chinese government in Vietnam and proclaimed as king, Ngô Quyền transferred the capital to Cổ Loa citadel, the capital of Âu Lạc, the ancient Yue kingdom, thus affirming the continuity of the traditions of the Lạc Việt people. He strengthened old rituals, and also provided feathered accessories, yellow banners, brass gongs, and deerskin drums for all the ancient dances with sword and battle axe, reminiscent of scenes depicted on Đông Sơn drums. Quyền also imposed a new administrative hierarchy. He assigned a hundred mandarins, decided on the designs and colors of royal robes and hats for everyone, and appointed mandarins to different levels and functions. 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 ** Dương Tam Kha (?–980) *Children **Ngô Xương Ngập (?–954) **Ngô Xương Văn (935–965) **Ngô Nam Hưng **Ngô Càn Hưng


Legacy

The first history of
Dai Viet Dai may refer to: Names * Dai (given name), a Welsh or Japanese masculine given name * Dai (surname) (戴), a Chinese surname Places and regimes * Dai Commandery, a commandery of the state of Zhao and in early imperial China * Dai County, in Xinz ...
by
Lê Văn Hưu Lê Văn Hưu (1230–1322) was an historian of the Trần dynasty. He is best known for his work the '' Đại Việt sử ký'', the first comprehensive historical record of the history of Vietnam. Although the book was lost during the Fourth Ch ...
(13th century), ''Anthology of Palace Spirits'' of Lý Tế Xuyên (14th Century), and successive histories all recognized the importance of Ngô Quyền.


Image

image:Đền thờ Ngô Quyền.jpg, Ngô Quyền's temple in Cam Lâm village. image:Đền thờ Ngô Quyền 2.jpg, Ngô Quyền's Temple. image:Lăng Ngô Quyền.jpg, Shrine of Ngô Quyền.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * *


Further reading


Nam Viet
Britannica

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngo Quyen Ngô dynasty Vietnamese kings 897 births 944 deaths 10th-century rulers in Asia 10th-century Vietnamese monarchs People from Hanoi Vietnamese monarchs Founding monarchs