 900
Years of Vietnamese Independence Part 1
Having driven out the
Chinese, Ngo Quyen defeated a series of local rival
chiefs and, seeking to identify his rule with
traditional Vietnamese kingship, established his capital
at Co Loa, the third century B.C. citadel of An Duong
Vuong. The dynasty established by Ngo Quyen lasted fewer
than thirty years, however, and was overthrown in 968 by
a local chieftain, Dinh Bo Linh, who reigned under the
name Dinh Tien Hoang. He brought political unity to the
country, which he renamed Dai Co Viet (Great Viet). The
major accomplishments of Dinh Bo Linh's reign were the
establishment of a diplomatic basis for Vietnamese
independence and the institution of universal military
mobilization. He organized a 100,000-man peasant militia
called the Ten Circuit Army, comprising ten circuits
(geographical districts). Each circuit was defended by
ten armies and each army was composed of ten brigades.
Brigades in turn were made up of ten companies with ten
ten-member squads a piece. After uniting the Vietnamese
and establishing his kingdom, Dinh Bo Linh sent a
tributary mission to the newly-established Chinese
Northern Song dynasty (A.D. 960-1125). This diplomatic
maneuver was a successful attempt to stave off China's
reconquest of its former vassal. The Song emperor gave
his recognition to Dinh Bo Linh, but only as "King
of Giao Chi Prefecture," a state within the Chinese
empire. Not until the rise of the Ly dynasty
(1009-1225), however, did the Vietnamese monarchy
consolidate its control over the country.
The
Great Ly Dynasty and the Flowering of Buddhism
Following the death of
Dinh Bo Linh in 979, the Song rulers attempted to
reassert Chinese control over Vietnam. Le Hoan, the
commander in chief of Dinh Bo Linh's army, seized the
throne and successfully repulsed the Chinese army in
981. Ly Cong Uan, a former temple orphan who had risen
to commander of the palace guard, succeeded Le Hoan in
1009, thereby founding the great Ly dynasty that lasted
until 1225. Taking the reign name Ly Thai To, he moved
his capital to Dai La (modern Hanoi). The early Ly kings
established a prosperous state with a stable monarchy at
the head of a centralized administration. The name of
the country was changed to Dai Viet by Emperor Ly Thanh
Tong in 1054.
The first century of Ly
rule was marked by warfare with China and the two
Indianized kingdoms to the south, Cambodia and Champa.
After these threats were dealt with successfully, the
second century of Ly rule was relatively peaceful
enabling the Ly kings to establish a Buddhist ruling
tradition closely related to the other Southeast Asian
Buddhist kingdoms of that period. Buddhism became a kind
of state religion as members of the royal family and the
nobility made pilgrimages, supported the building of
pagodas, sometimes even entered monastic life, and
otherwise took an active part in Buddhist practices.
Bonzes became a privileged landed class, exempt from
taxes and military duty. At the same time, Buddhism, in
an increasingly Vietnamized form associated with magic,
spirits, and medicine, grew in popularity with the.
During
the Ly dynasty, the Vietnamese began their long march to
the south (nam tien) at the expense of the Cham
and the Khmer. Le Hoan had sacked the Cham capital of
Indrapura in 982, whereupon the Cham established a new
capital at Vijaya. This was captured twice by the
Vietnamese, however, and in 1079 the Cham were forced to
cede to the Ly rulers their three northern provinces.
Soon afterwards, Vietnamese peasants began moving into
the untilled former Cham lands, turning them into rice
fields and moving relentlessly southward, delta by
delta, along the narrow coastal plain. The Ly kings
supported the improvement of Vietnam's agricultural
system by constructing and repairing dikes and canals
and by allowing soldiers to return to their villages to
work for six months of each year. As their territory and
population expanded, the Ly kings looked to China as a
model for organizing a strong, centrally administered
state. Minor officials were chosen by examination for
the first time in 1075, and a civil service training
institute and an imperial academy were set up in 1076.
In 1089 a fixed hierarchy of state officials was
established, with nine degrees of civil and military
scholarofficials . Examinations for public office were
made compulsory, and literary competitions were held to
determine the grades of officials.
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