Trn Nhn Tng
Trn Nhn Tng (7 December 125816 December
1308), given name Trn Khm, was the third emperor
of the Trn dynasty, reigning over i Vit from 1278
to 1293. After ceding the throne to his son Trn Anh
Tng, Nhn Tng held the title Retired Emperor (Viet-
namese: i thng hong) from 1294 to his death in
1308. During the second and third Mongol invasions of
i Vit, the Emperor Nhn Tng and his father the Re-
tired Emperor Thnh Tng were credited as the supreme
commanders who led the Trn dynasty to the nal vic-
tories and since established a long period of peace and
prosperity over the country.
1 Background and during Thnh
Tngs reign
Trn Nhn Tng was born on November 11 of the lunar
calendar 1258 as Trn Khm,[1] the rst son of the Em-
peror Trn Thnh Tng, who had been ceded the throne
by Trn Thi Tng for only eight months, and Empress
Thin Cm Trn Th Thiu. It was said that the new-
born Trn Khm was so ne that his grandfather Thi
Tng and father Thnh Tng named him as Kim Tin
ng t (Pupil of the Heavenly Kim Tin).[2] Prince Trn
Khm was entitled as Crown Prince of the Trn dynasty
in December 1274,[3] he had a younger brother, Prince
T Thin Trn c Vip (born in 1265)[4] and an elder
sister, Princess Thin Thy, who would die on the same
day as her brother Nhn Tng.[5] Always concerned with
the education of his son, in 1274, Trn Thnh Tng ap-
pointed the prominent mandarin and general L Ph Trn
in the position of the crown princes professor with two
famous scholars Nguyn S C and Nguyn Thnh Hun
as assistants, the Emperor himself also composed poems
and a literary work named Di hu lc to educate prince
Trn Khm.[3]
On the 22nd of the tenth lunar month (November 5)
1278, Trn Thnh Tng decided to cede the throne to
the Crown Prince Trn Khm, now Trn Nhn Tng,
and held the title Retired Emperor.[2] After the coro-
nation, Nhn Tng changed the era name to Thiu Bo
( , 12781285),[6] during his reign, the emperor had
one more era name which was Trng Hng ( , 1285
1293).[7] Although passing the throne to his son, Thnh
Tng continued to co-rule the country with Nhn Tng
from 1279 to his death in 1290.
2 As emperor
2.1 Mongol invasions
In 1279, the Yuan dynasty had the decisive victory over
the Song dynasty in Battle of Yamen which marked the
end of the Song dynasty and the total control of Kublai
Khan over China.[6] As a result, Kublai Khan began to ex-
pose his attempt to take over the southern countries like
i Vit or Champa. Aware of the situation, Thnh Tng
and Nhn Tng began to prepare the Trn dynasty for the
obvious and inevitable war while tried to keep a exible
policy with the Yuan dynasty.[8] First, Prince Chiu Vn
Trn Nht Dut was appointed for the mission of paci-
fying the revolt led by Trnh Gic Mt in Giang by
diplomatic means in order to keep the country in stabil-
ity before the war. With his knowledge of minority peo-
ples language and culture, Trn Nht Dut successfully
accomplished his task in 1278, hence, the Trn dynasty
had free hand to deal with the threat from the North.[9]
In October 1282, the Retired Emperor Trn Thnh Tng
and the Emperor Trn Nhn Tng gathered all the mem-
bers of the royal family, and ocials in royal court in
Bnh Than to discuss about the unadvoidable war.[10] Two
prominent generals of i Vits army were noticed on
this occasion, Trn Khnh D, former commander of
the army but was deprived of all titles after his guilt,
and Trn Quc Ton, only a 16-year-old marquis.[10] In
1283, Prince Hng o Trn Quc Tun was appointed
as commander-in-chief (Quc cng tit ch) of i Vit
army, the Retired Emperor and the Emperor began to
hold military exercises with their generals and troops.[10]
In December 1284, the second Yuans invasion of i
Vit was opended under the command of Kublai Khans
prince Toghan.[11] i Vit was attacked in two direc-
tions, Toghan himselft conducted the infantry invaded
from the northern border while Yuans navy under gen-
eral Sogetu advanced from the southern border through
Champa's territory.[12] In the beginning of the war, Thnh
Tng and Nhn Tng had to order the army retreat to
avoid the pressure from Yuans force when Prince Chiu
Minh Trn Quang Khi commanded troops try to stop
Sogetus eet in the Ngh An Province. During this time,
there were several high-ranking ocials and members of
royal family of the Trn dynasty defected to Yuans side
including Thnh Tngs own brother, Prince Chiu Quc
Trn ch Tc and Trn Kin who was son of Prince Tnh
Quc Trn Quc Khang. For the safeness of Thnh Tng
and Nhn Tngs retreat, Princess An T was oered as
1
2 5 REFERENCES

present and diversion for prince Toghan while Marquis disasters.[28]

Bo Ngha Trn Bnh Trng was captured and later killed On February 3 of lunar calendar, 1292,[29] Nhn Tng
in Battle of Mc in defending the two emperors.[13] entitled his rst son Trn Thuyn as Crown Prince of the
In the southern border, Trn Quang Khi also had to re- Trn dynasty and nally decided to pass the throne to him
treat under the pressure of Sogetus navy and the defec- on March 3 of lunar calendar, 1293.[30]
tion of the governor of Nghe An.[14] Despite the repeated
problems, the royal family and royal court of the Trn dy- As a cloistered emperor, Trn Nhn Tng is revered as
nasty still kept their harmony and determination owing to a wise Buddhist sage who founded Trc Lm, the only
accurates decisions and actions from the leaders Thnh indigenous Thin (i.e. zen) sect. He is thought to have
Tng, Nhn Tng,[15] Trn Quc Tun and Trn Quang attained Buddhahood.
Khi.[16] In 1301, he visited Champa, and lived for nine months at
The critical situation of the Trn dynasty began to change Jaya Sinhavarman III's court.[31]:87
after their victory in Battle of Hm T in April 1285 In 1306, he gave his daughter, Princess Huyen Tran, in
where the troops commanded by Trn Nht Dut, Prince marriage to the Champa king Jaya Simhavarman III, in
Chiu Thnh, Trn Quc Ton and Nguyn Khoi were return for two Cham provinces.[32]:217
nally able to defeat the eet of Admiral Sogetu. On May
10 of lunar calendar 1285, Trn Quang Khi fought the
decisive battle in Chng Dng where Sogetus navy
was almost destroyed and therefore the balance in battle-
eld titled denitely in favour of the Trn dynasty.[14][17]
10 days after Sogetu was killed and Trns Emperor Nhn
Tng and Retired Emperor Thnh Tng returned to cap-
ital Thng Long on June 6 of lunar calendar, 1285.[18]
In March 1287, the Yuan dynasty launched their third in-
vasion of i Vit.[7] Unlike the second attack, this time
commander in chief Prince Hng o Trn Quc Tun
armed with the Emperor that i Vits army could
easily break the Yuans military campaign. Indeed, this
invasion was ended one year later by a disastrous defeat
of the Yuan navy in Battle of Bch ng on March 8 of
lunar calendar, 1288.[19] Besides Trn Quc Tun, other c Lng - The tomb of Trn Nhn Tng in Thi Bnh Province,
notable generals of the Trn dynasty during this time were Vietnam
Prince Nhn Hu Trn Khnh D who destroyed the lo-
gistics convoy of Yuan navy[20][21][22][23] in the Battle of
Vn n or general Phm Ng Lo who took charge of
ambushing prince Toghans retreating troops.[24]
3 Family
Trn Nhn Tng married Princess Khm T, later Em-
press Consort Khm T Bo Thnh, the eldest daugh-
2.2 After the war
ter of Prince Hng o Trn Quc Tun, in December
1274 when he was entitled as crown prince.[3] Trn Nhn
In rewarding Trn dynasty generals and mandarins after
Tng had his rst son, Trn Thuyn, on September 17
the victory, Thnh Tng and Nhn Tng also reminded
of lunar calendar, 1276, Trn Thuyn eventually became
them of the caution to the northern border.[25] About the
Nhn Tngs successor as Trn Anh Tng.[33]
defectors to Yuan side, the Emperor issued an order in
which the family name of every defected member of Trn
clan was changed to Mai, for example Trn Kin was re-
named as Mai Kin, being the only defected prince of 4 Legacy
Trn clan, Trn ch Tc was exempted from this order but
he was called in historical accounts of the Trn dynasty by Most cities in Vietnam have named major streets after
the name " Trn (the woman named Trn) meaning him.[34]
that Trn ch Tc was coward as a woman.[22][25][26]
The Retired Emperor Trn Thnh Tng died on May 25
of lunar calendar, 1290 at the age of 50.[27] As the sole 5 References
ruler of i Vit, Trn Nhn Tng ordered to relax the
taxing policy, relieve the poor and postpone the military 5.1 Notes
campaign against Ai Lao so that the country could re-
cover after two erce wars, several famine and natural [1] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 175
5.2 Bibliography 3

[2] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 185 5.2 Bibliography

[3] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 182 Ng S Lin (1993), i Vit s k ton th (in Viet-
[4] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 179 namese) (Ni cc quan bn ed.), Hanoi: Social Sci-
ence Publishing House
[5] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 220
National Bureau for Historical Record (1998),
[6] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 186 Khm nh Vit s Thng gim cng mc (in Viet-
namese), Hanoi: Education Publishing House
[7] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 195
Trn Trng Kim (1971), Vit Nam s lc (in Viet-
[8] Trn Trng Kim 1971, p. 52
namese), Saigon: Center for School Materials
[9] Ng S Lin 1993, pp. 186187
Chapuis, Oscar (1995), A history of Vietnam: from
[10] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 188 Hong Bang to Tu Duc, Greenwood Publishing
Group, ISBN 0-313-29622-7
[11] Ng S Lin 1993, pp. 189190

[12] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 193

[13] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 192

[14] Chapuis 1995, p. 83

[15] Chapuis 1995, pp. 8485

[16] Ng S Lin 1993, pp. 192193

[17] Trn Trng Kim 1971, p. 58

[18] Ng S Lin 1993, pp. 192195

[19] Ng S Lin 1993, pp. 196198

[20] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 197

[21] Trn Trng Kim 1971, p. 61

[22] Chapuis 1995, p. 84

[23] Delgado, James P. (2009). Khubilai Khans Lost Fleet: In

Search of a Legendary Armada. University of California
Press. pp. 161162. ISBN 0-520-25976-9.

[24] Trn Trng Kim 1971, p. 62

[25] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 200

[26] Trn Trng Kim 1971, p. 63

[27] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 201

[28] Ng S Lin 1993, pp. 201202

[29] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 202

[30] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 203

[31] Maspero, G., 2002, The Champa Kingdom, Bangkok:

White Lotus Co., Ltd., ISBN 9747534991

[32] Coeds, George (1968). Walter F. Vella, ed. The Indian-

ized States of Southeast Asia. trans.Susan Brown Cowing.
University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.

[33] Ng S Lin 1993, p. 183

[34] Vietnam Country Map. Periplus Travel Maps. 200203.

ISBN 0-7946-0070-0. Check date values in: |date= (help)
4 6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1 Text
Trn Nhn Tng Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%E1%BA%A7n_Nh%C3%A2n_T%C3%B4ng?oldid=746272748 Contribu-
tors: DHN, Rich Farmbrough, Kwamikagami, Nightngle, Bgwhite, Kauner, Badagnani, Howcheng, YellowMonkey, Hmains, Colonies
Chris, CmdrObot, Cydebot, Thijs!bot, JAnDbot, STBot, CommonsDelinker, Haiauphixu, Tridungvo, TXiKiBoT, Adsoucy, Bedwyr,
Dabomb87, Icarusgeek, JacquesNguyen, Addbot, Favonian, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Xqbot, Amore Mio, , Erik9bot, FrescoBot,
RedBot, Grenouille vert, EmausBot, John of Reading, Ptdtch, Helpful Pixie Bot, PhnomPencil, Calvin Marquess, Aisteco, Jeremy112233,
VIAFbot, Nimetapoeg, Pi3.124, I Love Triu , Ethereal Static, Crazynyancat, KasparBot, The Quixotic Potato, Bqn1996, Bender the
Bot and Anonymous: 10

6.2 Images
File:Lng_Trn_Nhn_Tng.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/L%C4%83ng_Tr%E1%BA%A7n_
Nh%C3%A2n_T%C3%B4ng.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Pvloc90

6.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0