Ỷ Lan (

chữ Hán ( , ) are the Chinese characters that were used to write Literary Chinese in Vietnam, Literary Chinese (; ) and Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in Vietnamese language, Vietnamese. They were officially used in Vietnam after the Red River Delta region ...

: 倚蘭, lit: ''leaning on the orchid'', 1044–1117) or Empress Mother Linh Nhơn (

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

: ''Linh Nhơn hoàng thái hậu'',

: 靈仁太后) was a Vietnamese

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

and

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

who effectively controlled the imperial government of the

Lý dynasty The Lý dynasty (, , chữ Nôm: 茹李, chữ Hán: 朝李, Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''triều Lý''), officially Đại Cồ Việt (chữ Hán: 大瞿越) from 1009 to 1054 and Đại Việt (chữ Hán: 大越) from 1054 to 1225, was ...

for over 40 years.

Background

As the

Lý Thánh Tông Lý Thánh Tông (19th March 1023 - 1st February 1072), personal name Lý Nhật Tôn , temple name Thánh Tông, was the third emperor of the Lý dynasty and the 8th ruler of the Vietnamese dynasty Đại Việt. In his reign, Lý Thánh Tô ...

, the third emperor of the

, she is the mother of

Lý Nhân Tông Lý Nhân Tông (22 February 1066 – 15 January 1128), personal name Lý Càn Đức, temple name Nhân Tông was the fourth emperor of the Lý dynasty, ruling the empire of Đại Việt from 1072 until his death in 1128. Succeeding his fat ...

, the fourth emperor. Ỷ Lan twice served as regent, first during the absence of her spouse from 1066 to 1068, and then as co-regent during the reign of her son from 1073 until her death in 1117. Being of commoner origin, Ỷ Lan was favoured by Lý Thánh Tông because she not only gave birth to his first child but also successfully acted the regency for him during his military campaign in

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 ...

. After the death of the Emperor Lý Thánh Tông, Ỷ Lan conspired with General

Lý Thường Kiệt Lý Thường Kiệt (; 1019–1105), real name Ngô Tuấn (), was a Vietnamese general and admiral of the Lý dynasty. He served as an official through the reign of Lý Thái Tông, Lý Thánh Tông and Lý Nhân Tông and was a general duri ...

to murder the Empress Mother Thượng Dương and took over the regency, making her a controversial figure in Vietnamese history. Ỷ Lan is considered one of the most important figures of the early Lý era, being credited with driving the country's economic prosperity and political stability, in addition to her contributions to promoting

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

in Vietnam. One of the few women who held significant political power during the dynastic period of Vietnamese history, Ỷ Lan has been

worshipped Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...

as a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

while streets in cities across Vietnam have been named after her.

Biography

During Lý Thánh Tông's reign

According to '' Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam'', the birthyear of Ỷ Lan was unknown, she was born in the Thổ Lỗi (later changed to Siêu Loại) village, now Dương Xá commune,

Gia Lam ''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Elizab ...

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. It was said that the Emperor

was unable to have his own child up to the age of 40, therefore he paid visit to

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

pagodas all over the country to pray for a child, naturally the escort of Lý Thánh Tông often attracted attention of people. In 1063, the emperor passed the Thổ Lỗi village where he saw a girl of commoner origin leaning on an orchid tree (Vietnamese: ''ỷ lan'') and paid no curiosity to the escort of the emperor like others, afterwards Lý Thánh Tông decided to choose the girl as his concubine with the title Lady Ỷ Lan (Ỷ Lan phu nhân). On 25th of the first month in 1066, Lady Ỷ Lan gave birth to Lý Càn Đức, the first child of Lý Thánh Tông. Right after the birth, Lý Càn Đức was entitled

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of the Lý dynasty while Lady Ỷ Lan was granted the title Imperial Concubine (Nguyên phi or Thần phi). To celebrate the event that lifted the emperor's constraint of dying without issue, Lý Thánh Tông changed his

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a t ...

from Chương Thánh Gia Khánh ( 彰聖嘉慶) to Long Chương Thiên Tự ( 龍章

天 Tian () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, Chinese philosophy, philosophy, and cosmology. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as ''Shan ...

嗣) and gave out a general amnesty for prisoners. In the second month of 1068, Ỷ Lan had a second son who was later entitled Prince Minh Nhân (Minh Nhân vương). In the second month of 1069, Lý Thánh Tông personally led a military campaign against the kingdom of

and left the regentship for Ỷ Lan.

Ngô Sĩ Liên Ngô Sĩ Liên (吳士連) was a Vietnamese historian of the Lê dynasty. Biography Ngô Sĩ Liên was the main compiler of the '' Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'', a chronicle of the history of Vietnam and a historical record of an Annamese ...

in ''

Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư The ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' ( vi-hantu, 大越史記全書; ; ''Complete Annals of Đại Việt'') is the official national chronicle of the Đại Việt, that was originally compiled by the royal historian Ngô Sĩ Liên under ...

'' recounted that after an unsuccessful period of attack, the emperor wanted to abandon the campaign but in hearing the stability of the country under the regency of the imperial concubine, Lý Thánh Tông continued to carry on his campaign, finally he was able to capture the king of Champa

Rudravarman IV Rudravarman IV (?–1147) was a king of Champa during the mid-12th century, at mid of the Khmer–Cham wars, Angkor invasions of Champa. Rudravarman however has never reigned. In 1129, king Suryavarman II of the Khmer Empire forced the king of Cha ...

and fifty thousand people of Champa. During that time, Ỷ Lan accomplished her regentship by bringing the harmony to Đại Việt people and propagating Buddhism in the country, therefore Ỷ Lan was called by the name " Quan Âm".

During Lý Nhân Tông's reign

In the first month of 1072, Lý Thánh Tông died and was succeeded by the crown prince Lý Càn Đức, now called

. After his coronation, Lý Nhân Tông gave the former empress Thượng Dương the title Empress Mother (Hoàng thái hậu) while his natural mother Ỷ Lan was granted the lower title Imperial Concubine Mother (Hoàng thái phi). Because the new emperor was only six years old, Empress Mother Thượng Dương held the regency for Lý Nhân Tông while the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành took charge in the royal court. Furious at the fact that she did not have the regentship despite being the real mother of the emperor, Ỷ Lan influenced her son to dismiss the Empress Mother Thượng Dương that ultimately resulted in the imprisonment of the Empress Mother and 76 imperial maids in the Thượng Dương palace. Later both the Empress Mother Thượng Dương and her servants were killed and buried in the tomb of Lê Thánh Tông. After the event, Ỷ Lan was entitled Empress Mother Linh Nhân and replaced the Empress Mother Thượng Dương in the position of regent for the emperor. About this event, the historian Ngô Sĩ Liên commented that although having a devotion for Buddhism, Ỷ Lan was too ruthless in killing the innocent empress mother, he also remarked that the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành was transferred to a position in the southern border likely because he advised against the act of Ỷ Lan and the emperor. During her second regentship, Ỷ Lan continued to prove her ability in successfully ruling the country together with the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành and the commander-in-chief

. When Lý army led by Lý Thường Kiệt continuously operated in the border regions and Lý Đạo Thành died in 1081, it was Ỷ Lan who looked after the agriculture and developing education in Đại Việt. At that time, the first

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

based on

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

learning was organized with Lê Văn Thịnh becoming the first first-rank laureate in history of imperial examination in Vietnam. In 1096 the Queen Mother consulted the monk Thông Biện regarding the history of Buddhism in Vietnam. Since Đại Việt had a long period of peace and prosperity, Ỷ Lan began her plan of spreading Buddhism in the country by order to build over one hundred pagodas. It was believed that Ỷ Lan went into Buddhism and had built pagodas because she felt regret for the death of the Empress Mother Thượng Dương and her servants. Nevertheless, she still cared about the life of her people, for example in the Spring of 1103, she granted money for poor women in the country who had to sell themselves to be wives of widowers. In the second month of 1117, Ỷ Lan brought out the law of prohibiting people from killing buffaloes, she reasoned that buffalo was essential for farming, a buffalo being killed would cause serious effect on many people, therefore the criminal of killing buffalo and his accomplice had to be heavily punished. On 25 July 1117, with Ỷ Lan dead, she was given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

Phù thánh linh nhân hoàng thái hậu ( 扶聖靈仁皇太后) and was buried in the imperial tomb Thọ Lăng which was located in Thiên Đức prefect (now Từ Sơn District,

Bắc Ninh Bắc Ninh () is a city in the Northern Vietnam, northern part of Vietnam and is the capital of Bắc Ninh province. The city is the cultural, administrative and commercial center of the province. The city area is 82.60 square km, with a populat ...

), the native land of the Lý dynasty.

Influence

There are many shrines and temples dedicated to Ỷ Lan in the northern region of Vietnam, from her village Siêu Loại to the mountainous province

Tuyên Quang Tuyên Quang () is a city in Vietnam, and is the capital of Tuyên Quang Province. History The French post at Tuyên Quang was defended for four months against 12,000 troops of the Yunnan Army and the Black Flag Army by two companies of the ...

, a street in Gia Lam near her birthplace is also named in honour of Ỷ Lan. Each year, people in her native district Gia Lam organizes a festival to commemorate the feats of Ỷ Lan on the 3rd of the third month in lunar calendar. A bigger festival to commemorate Ỷ Lan is held in the Ghềnh Temple (Đền Ghềnh) in Văn Lâm District, Hung Yen from 5th to 16th of the third lunar month. In 1997, a national committee was established in order to select a list of distinguished women in history of Vietnam, Ỷ Lan was one of the first choices and the only representative of the list who was well known for her political activities. Besides, Ỷ Lan is also considered the first woman who taught Vietnamese the

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

technique. In culture, Ỷ Lan is one of the main characters in the

chèo Chèo (, Chữ Nôm: 嘲) is a form of generally satirical musical theatre, often encompassing dance, traditionally performed by Vietnamese peasants in northern Vietnam. It is usually performed outdoors by semi-amateur touring groups, stereo-typ ...

play '' Bài ca giữ nước'' (''The Song of Defending the Country''), the most famous work of the writer Tào Mạt.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * , - style="text-align: center;" , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Y Lan Lý dynasty empresses dowager 1117 deaths Year of birth unknown People from Hanoi 11th-century women regents 12th-century women regents 11th-century Vietnamese women 11th-century Vietnamese people 12th-century Vietnamese women 12th-century Vietnamese people Lý dynasty Buddhists Vietnamese goddesses Vietnamese deities 11th-century regents 12th-century regents Regents of Vietnam