THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-107

VIETNAM ( SERIES -25 )

EMPEROR LY THAN TONG OF DAI VIET

LY THAN TONG or LY DURONG HOAN was the fifth monarch of the LY DYNASTY who ruled DAI VIET from 1127 AD to 1138 AD until his death . He was born in 1116 AD . He was the yonger brother of Emperor LY NHAN TONG . According to DAI VIET SUR KY TOAN THU ( The VIETNAMESE official chronicles of states ) LY DURONG HOAN was born right after the death of the VIETNAMESE monk called TU DAO HAN, that’s why he was considered as the incarnation of monk TU DAO HAN by the people of DAI VIET . He became the Ruler of DAI VIET at the age of only twelve . But he started ruling the country peacefully just after the death of Emperor LY NHAN TONG with the help of his capable officers in view of the stability of the LÝ DYNASTY in DAI VIET . This action of the king was vehemently criticized by contemporary historians like LE VAN HUU and NGO SI LIEN because they were of the opinion that LY THAN TONG should have at least mourn the death of his predecessor king LY NHAN TONG to show his respect for the departed soul of the Emperor before start ruling DAIVIET . However , he died at the young age of 23 only before passing the throne to his crown prince LY THIEN TO .

THE REIGN OF EMPEROR LY THAN TONG

The first thing after enthronement , LY THAN TONG did was that he changed the name of the era as THIEN THUAN from 1128 AD to 1232 AD . He again changed the name of era as THIEN CHUONG BAO TU from 1133 AD to 1138 AD . He made his adoptive mother Lady TRAN ANH as the Empress Mother of the LY DYNASTY . He brought about major changes in the court laws namly : 1. Relaxing strict laws ; 2. Adopting officials for important positions ; and 3. Maintaining diplomatic relations with the SONG DYNASTY and the Kingdom of CHAMPA . There were little or no skirmishes on the DAI VIET border except a few . In January 1129 AD , Emperor LY THAN TONG bestowed his real father and mother MARQUIS SUNG HIEN and Lady DO THI respectably on the titles of the Retired Emperor and the Empress Mother of the LY DYNASTY . In January 1130 AD , the Emperor brought about an order according to which every daughter of the mandarins in the royal court had to be available for the Emperor’s selection of concubines and those who were not chosen could only get married afterwards . However , these two decisions of the Emperor were severely criticized by the historians like LE VAN HUU and NGO SI LIEN . But the official chronicles of VIETNAM , DAI VIET SU KY TOAN THU , considered Emperor LY THAN TONG as a skilled ruler who was able to choose and use talented officials and hold the stability of the LY DYNASTY . Moreover , his policy of NGU BINH U NONG , which meant conscription of farmers ìnto the army for a period of six months and release them for the next six months so that they could resume farming , was appreciated by one and all . Due to this policy , the agricultural activities of the country was not affected much by the military activities .

MONK NGUYEN MINH KHONG AND HIS ANTIDOTE

In 1136 AD , Emperor LY THAN TONG contacted a severe disease . His physician and court doctors were unable to cure him . He was only 21 years old that time . So a Monk from the empire was called for that . His name was NGUYEN MINH KHONG who had learned the disease’s antidote from his master TU DAO HANH before he died . He applied that antidote on Emperor LY THAN TONG . And the Emperor was cured . Nevertheless , Emperor LY THAN TONG survived only for two years . He died on 26th September 1138 AD at the age of 23 . And he was succeeded by LY ANH TONG .