Trần Thái Tông

He is also known for his Buddhist scholarship, which is still influential on Vietnamese Buddhism today, especially his Khóa Hư Lục (課虛錄‎, Instructions on Emptiness).

Life

Early life

The ancestors of the Trần clan originated from the province of Fujian before they migrated under Trần Kính (陳京, Chén Jīng) to Đại Việt. According to a Chinese writer, Zhou Mi (1232–1298), Trần Nhật Cảnh's real name was Hsieh Sheng-ch'ing, "a man from Qinglo district in Fujian".

Trần Cảnh (陳 煚) was born in 1218 in modern-day Nam Định province during the last years of the Lý. Trần Thủ Độ, his uncle, prepared the way for his marriage to Empress Lý Chiêu Hoàng, the last empress of the House of Lý, who later abdicated to make him the founder of the Trần dynasty in 1226.

His progress to the throne in particular and the replacement of the Trần dynasty over the Lý dynasty in general were mostly thanks to the efforts of Trần Thủ Độ, Trần Cảnh's uncle. At that time, Trần Thủ Độ was the front commander of capital of the Lý house. Trần Cảnh's father, Trần Thừa, was also an official under the Lý dynasty, like Trần Thủ Độ. He had been "Nội thị phán thủ", one of the most important officials in the Lý dynasty.

Reign

During his reign Trần Thái Tông used three era names: Kiến Trung (1225–1232), Thiên Ứng Chính Bình (1232–1250) and Nguyên Phong (1251–1258).

In the autumn of 1257, Mongol general Uriyangkhadai addressed three letters to Trần Thái Tông demanding passage through to southern China in order to attack the Song dynasty. After the three successive envoys were imprisoned in the capital Thang Long (modern-day Hanoi) of Dai Viet, Uriyangkhadai invaded Dai Viet.

A battle was fought in which the Vietnamese used war elephants: the emperor even led his army from atop an elephant. Aju ordered his troops to fire arrows at the elephants' feet. The animals turned in panic and caused disorder in the Đại Việt army, which was routed. The Vietnamese senior leaders were able to escape on pre-prepared boats while part of their army was destroyed at No Nguyen (modern Viet Tri on the Hong River). The remainder of the royal army again suffered a major defeat in a fierce battle at the Phu Lo bridge the day after. This led the Tran leadership to evacuate the capital.

The Vietnamese annals report that the evacuation was "in an orderly manner;" however this is viewed as an embellishment because the Vietnamese must have retreated in disarray to leave their weapons behind in the capital. While Chinese source material incorrectly stated that Uriyangkhadai withdrew from Vietnam due to poor climate, Uriyangkhadai left Thang Long after nine days to invade the Song dynasty. After the Mongol departure, Trần Thái Tông agreed to send tribute every 3 years to the court of the Mongol Empire.

Learned in both Confucianism and Buddhism, Trần Thái Tông authored several profound works on Mahayana Buddhism, the most famous of which is Khóa Hư Lục (課虛錄‎, Instructions on Emptiness), a collection of sermons and essays on Buddhism. A prodigious writer, he left behind a substantial number of works, of which only a small number survive.

In 1258 Trần Thái Tông abdicated the throne in favor of his son, crown prince Trần Hoảng.

During his reign, a boy student was given money in exchange for becoming a eunuch by the emperor in 1254 since many men castrated themselves to become eunuchs during the Tran and Ly dynasties.