Tr?n Anh Tong 陳英宗
Emperor of đ?i Vi?t
Emperor of Tr?n dynasty
Reign	1293–1314
Predecessor	Tr?n Nhan Tong
Successor	Tr?n Minh Tong
Retired Emperor of Tr?n dynasty
Reign	1314–1320
Predecessor	Tr?n Nhan Tong
Successor	Tr?n Minh Tong
Born	17 September 1276 Th?ng Long , đ?i Vi?t
Died	12 December 1320 Th?ng Long , đ?i Vi?t
Burial	Thai Tomb
Spouse	Empress Thu?n Thanh
Issue	Crown prince Tr?n M?nh and 5 daughters
Names Tr?n Thuyen (陳?) Era dates H?ng Long (興隆, 1293–1314) Regnal name ?ng Thien Qu?ng V?n Nhan Minh Thanh Hi?u hoang đ? (應天廣運仁明聖孝皇帝) Posthumous name ?ng Thien Qu?ng V?n Hi?n V?n Du? V? Kham Minh Nhan Hi?u hoang đ? 應天廣運顯文睿武欽明仁孝皇帝 Temple name Anh Tong (英宗)
House	Tr?n dynasty
Father	Tr?n Nhan Tong
Mother	Empress Kham T? B?o Thanh
Religion	Buddhism

Tr?n Anh Tong ( ch? Han : 陳英宗 , 17 September 1276 ? 12 December 1320), personal name Tr?n Thuyen (陳?), courtesy name Nh?t S?y (日?) or Nh?t Sang ^[1] (日?/日??), was the fourth emperor of the Tr?n dynasty , reigning over Dai Viet from 1293 to 1314. After ceding the throne to his son Tr?n Minh Tong , Anh Tong held the title Retired Emperor for six years. As the first Tr?n emperor who ruled in total peace with respect to foreign affairs, Anh Tong was known for his successful reign of đ?i Vi?t, which brought a long period of peace and prosperity over the country. He also had several military victories over the kingdoms of Champa and Lan Xang .

Early years [ edit ]

Anh Tong was born in 1276 as Tr?n Thuyen, the first son of the then-emperor Tr?n Nhan Tong and Empress Kham T? B?o Thanh . ^[2] In 1292 he was invested as crown prince by Nhan Tong ^[3] and ultimately was ceded the throne in 1293 while his father still reigned as Retired Emperor ( Thai th??ng hoang ) for 16 years.

According to officially commissioned historical books, although being an intelligent ruler and a devoted son, ^[4] the young Emperor Anh Tong often drank alcohol and escaped from the royal citadel to wander around Th?ng Long at night. One time the Emperor was so drunk that he forgot to welcome the Retired Emperor who was coming back from Thien Tr??ng for a visit. When he was made aware of the situation, Nhan Tong departed immediately in a fury from Th?ng Long ^[5] and Anh Tong had to write a petition for the Retired Emperor with the help from a young scholar named đoan Nh? Hai . After that event, Anh Tong appointed đoan as court counselor and avoided drinking. ^[6]

As emperor [ edit ]

Anh Tong was the first Tr?n emperor who reigned without having to face attacks from the Mongol Empire . Despite the deaths of the two most important generals of the early Tr?n dynasty, Tr?n Quang Kh?i in 1294 and Tr?n Qu?c Tu?n in 1300, the Emperor was still served by many efficient mandarins like Tr?n Nh?t Du?t , đoan Nh? Hai, Ph?m Ng? Lao , Tr??ng Han Sieu , M?c đ?nh Chi and Nguy?n Trung Ng?n . Anh Tong was very strict in suppressing gambling and corruption but he also generously rewarded those who served him well. ^[7] Under the reign of an able emperor and capable court administration, đ?i Vi?t witnessed a long period of peace and prosperity. ^{[2] [4]}

Foreign policy during Anh Tong's reign was continuing the detente with the Yuan dynasty while restraining the two other neighbours of đ?i Vi?t, the kingdoms of Champa and Laos . The Emperor's envoy to the Yuan dynasty was so successful that the leader M?c đ?nh Chi was dubbled the "Two-state exemplar" because he came first as Tr?ng nguyen (Zhuangyuan, 狀元) in đ?i Vi?t's imperial examination and was praised in the Yuan dynasty court for his eloquence. ^[8] After the failed invasions of the Mongol Empire, đ?i Vi?t's southwestern border was invaded several times by Laos until Anh Tong appointed Ph?m Ng? Lao to oversee the pacification of the frontier regions. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

In 1306, the king of Champa Ch? Man offered Vietnam two Cham prefectures O and Ly in exchange for a marriage with Vietnamese princess Huy?n Tran . ^[11] Anh Tong accepted this offer, then he took and renamed O prefecture and Ly prefecture to Thu?n prefecture and Hoa prefecture, both of them often referred shortly as Thu?n Hoa region. ^[11] Only one year into the marriage, Ch? Man died and in line with the royal tradition of Champa, Huy?n Tran was to be cremated with her husband . Facing this urgent condition, Anh Tong sent his mandarin Tr?n Kh?c Chung to Champa to save Huy?n Tran from an imminent death. Finally Huy?n Tran was able to return to đ?i Vi?t but Ch? Chi , the successor of Ch? Man, no longer wished to abide by the peace treaty with đ?i Vi?t. After that event, Anh Tong himself, along with generals Tr?n Qu?c Chan and Tr?n Khanh D? commanded three groups of đ?i Vi?t military units to attack Champa in 1312. Ch? Chi was defeated and captured in this invasion, ^[12] and Anh Tong installed a hand-picked successor, Che Man's brother Che Da-a-ba-niem , ^{[13] : 89} but the relations between đ?i Vi?t and Champa remained strained for a long time afterwards. ^{[9] [14]}

As retired emperor [ edit ]

After 21 years of rule, Anh Tong passed the throne to the crown prince Tr?n M?nh, who became the Emperor Tr?n Minh Tong , and Anh Tong retained the title Thai th??ng hoang for six more years before dying in 1320 at the age of 54. ^[9] Anh Tong had only one era name during his reign, which was H?ng Long ( 興 隆 , prosperity). After the Emperor's death, he was given the posthumous name Hi?n v?n du? v? kham minh nhan hi?u hoang đ? (顯文睿武欽明仁孝皇帝). ^[2]

According to history books, Anh Tong was praised for his righteous reign, which created a peaceful and prosperous period in the history of đ?i Vi?t. He was known as a modest ruler who was quick to mend his mistakes, was always cautious and intelligent in judgment, and the only major criticism of him was building a tower and gathering monks in Yen T? mountain . ^{[2] [15] [16]} According to the royal historian Ngo S? Lien , Anh Tong was a father with sense of responsibility for his son, which is seen as an important factor in Minh Tong's good governance in the future. ^[17] The decision made by Anh Tong and his father Nhan Tong to marry off the royal princess Huy?n Tran to the king of Champa in exchange for peace and land was sometimes considered a stigma on the Tr?n dynasty. ^[18]

Family [ edit ]

• Anh Tong had one empress, two other wives and several concubines:
  • Empress Thu?n Thanh (?–1330), daughter of Tr?n Qu?c T?ng and granddaughter of Tr?n Qu?c Tu?n . She was entitled Queen dowager when Tr?n M?nh was made emperor
  • Imperial consort Chieu Hi?n, daughter of Tr?n Binh Tr?ng , natural mother of Tr?n M?nh ^[19]
  • Imperial consort T?nh Hu?, daughter of Ph?m Ng? Lao
  • đa La Thanh, daughter of northern monk Du Chi Ba Lam

    

  • Imperial concubine Tr?n Th? Thai Binh
  • Palace maid V??ng Th?
• Besides three short-lived sons, Anh Tong was survived by only one son, Tr?n M?nh, who eventually became his successor Tr?n Minh Tong . The Emperor also had five daughters:
  • Princess Thien Chan
  • Princess Y Trinh
  • Princess Huy Chan
  • Princess Hu? Chan
  • Princess Thanh Chan

References [ edit ]

Sources [ edit ]

• Ngo, S? Lien (1993), đ?i Vi?t s? ky toan th? (in Vietnamese) (N?i cac quan b?n ed.), Hanoi: Social Science Publishing House
• National Bureau for Historical Record (1998), Kham đ?nh Vi?t s? Thong giam c??ng m?c (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Education Publishing House
• Tr?n, Tr?ng Kim (1971), Vi?t Nam s? l??c (in Vietnamese), Saigon: Center for School Materials
• Tran Tuyet Nhung, Anthony Reid (2006), Vi?t Nam: borderless histories , Univ of Wisconsin Press, ISBN   0-299-21774-4
• Chapuis, Oscar (1995), A history of Vietnam: from Hong Bang to Tu Duc , Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN   0-313-29622-7