THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-120

**A PROCLAMATION HYMN OF INDEPENDENCE FROM MING DYNASTY**

VIETNAM ( SERIES -38 )

LATER LE DYNASTY OF DAI VIET

LATER LE DYNASTY was the longest ruling Dynasty of DAI VIET . It ruled from 1428 AD to 1789 AD . As we know that the LE DYNASTY is historically divided into two different periods : 1. EARLIER LE DYNASTY (980 AD to 1009 AD ) ; and 2. LATER LE DYNASTY ( 1428 AD to 1789 AD ) . We have already studied about the earlier period of the LE DYNASTY in previous chapters . Now we have to study about the later LE DYNASTY which officially began in 1428 AD with the enthronement of LE LOI after he drove the MING army out of DAI VIET . He established the reign of later LE DYNASTY and took the reign name as LE THAI TO by making tributary relationship with the MING DYNASTY . In 1429 AD , he introduced the THUAN THIEN CODE with severe charges for gambling , bribery and corruption . It was largely based on TANG CODE which was a penal code that was established and used during the TANG DYNASTY of CHINA . Later it became the basis for later Dynastic codes not only in CHINA but but elsewhere in the East ASIA. Emperor LE LOI granted a land reform in 1429 AD . According to this reform , lands from people , who collaborated with the CHINESE , were taken away and distributed among landless peasants and soldiers . He also started purging of Generals, who during the LAM SON movement favoured the MING army . They were : 1. GENERAL TRAN NGUYEN HAN ; and 2. PHAM VAN XAO . But the reign of LE LOI was very short as he died only in 1433 AD .

**THE HALL OF KINH THIEN WHERE LE LOI WAS PROCLAIMED AS AN EMPEROR OF DAI VIET**

EMPEROR LE THAI TONG OF DAI VIET

LE THAI TONG was only eleven years old when he took over the reign of DAI VIET . So, a close friend of LE LOI , LE SAT assumed as the Regent of the Emperor . Emperor LE THAI TONG ruled the country from 1433 AD to 1442 AD . But LE SAT was executed in 1438 AD by the Emperor on the charges of abuse of power . However , in between , in December 1435 AD , Emperor LE THAI TONG ordered General TU MA TAY to subdue the TAY chief CAM QUY who had ten-thousand army of raiders in the North-West region of DAI VIET . Emperor LE THAI TONG ordered to make roads and canals in January 1436 AD from the north- west region to the capital . It was meant for showing the superior power of the Imperial Court to the local tribe men . When tribe men from AI-LAO, with the help of local raiders led by NGHIEM SINH TUONG , crossed the ANNAMITE RANG and raided THANH HOA and southern HUNG HOA between 1437 AD to 1441 AD , it was suppressed by the Imperial army . ANNAMITE RANG is a major mountain range of eastern INDO-CHINA extending about 1,100 KM ranging from LAOS , DAI VIET and north-eastern part of CAMBODIA. And LE THAI TONG’S hostility with the ethnic minority in the western region becomes apparent from a stone monument carved in 1439 AD which reads , “BON-MAN (MUANG PHUAN) barbarians were against our assimilation, they need to be exterminated to their roots and with the SON-NAN (MUONG and CHUT) barbaric raiders, we need to eliminate all of them…“ MUANG PHUAN was a city-state founded by CHET CHUONG , the second son of KHUN BOROM . It is said that the PHUAN people were , a THERAVADA BUDDHIST TAI-LAO ethnic group , which migrated to the area now called LAOS in the thirteenth century . And MUONG were the ethnic group native to the northern part of DAI VIET . Likewise, CHUT were a small ethnic group located in the MINH HOA and THUYEN HOA district of QUANG BINH Province of DAI VIET . And with all of these minority groups , Emperor LE THAI TONG had an absolute disliking .

**MAP OF MUANG PHUAN (LOCATED BETWEEN LUANG PRABANG TO THE NORTH AND VIENTIANE TO THE SOUTH WITH DAI VIET IN THE EAST)**

THE EMPEROR WITH A WEAKNESS FOR WOMEN

According to a MAC TRINH (a version of Complete ANNALS of DAI VIET) , Emperor LE THAI TONG had a weakness for women . He had many wives . Apart from that many concubines . Not only that , he had affairs with NGUYEN THI LO , the wife of his father’s chief advisor NGUYEN TRAI . And this affair started in 1442 AD and continued uptil he traveled to the home of NGUYEN TRAI . And this travel proved to be quite unfortunate for him . As the Emperor left TRAI’S home after spending a few days there for the western province , he fell ill and died . The rumour spread in the royal palace of DAI VIET that Emperor LE THAI TONG had been poisoned to death by NGUYEN TRAI . And NGUYEN TRAI with his three entire relations/generations were executed for that . As per existing rule , for such treason , the punishment involved the execution of close and extended family members . These included : 1. The criminal’s living parents ; 2. The criminal’s living grand parents; 3. Any children the criminal might have ; 4. Any grand children the criminal might have ; 5. Siblings and siblings-in-law ; 6. Uncles and aunts of the criminal ; 7. The criminal’s cousins ; 8. The criminal’s spouse ; 9. The criminal’s spouse’s parents ; and 10. The criminal . CONFUCIAN principles also played a major role in such punishment . And this brutal punishment for treason continued in DAI VIET for long .