Lê Thái Tổ (Lê Lợi)

From the mid-1300s, Đại Việt faced serious troubles that damaged much of the kingdom. The fourteenth century ecological breakdown led to a social crisis as the ruling Trần dynasty weakened.[2] Even in the capital, Thăng Long, turmoil broke out in 1369–70, provoking a princely coup and a short, bloody civil war.[3] From the south, the Chams under Chế Bồng Nga repeatedly fought against Đại Việt, and even sacked Thăng Long in 1371. In 1377 Champa defeated and killed Đại Việt's king Trần Duệ Tông in a battle near Vijaya, then marched north and against sacked Thăng Long four more times from 1378 to 1383.[3] The repeated destruction of a radical intellectual and reformer, Hồ Quý Ly (c. 1336 – 1408). In 1399 Hồ Quý Ly deposed the Trần royal family and declared himself as ruler of Đại Việt. This provoked a response from the Ming dynasty, who invaded Vietnam under the pretext of restoring the deposed Trần dynasty.[4][5] In 1406 215,000 Chinese troops crossed the border commanded by generals Zhang Fu and Mu Sheng; they quickly defeated Hồ Quý Ly's army, conquered Vietnam, and renamed the country Jiaozhi.[6]

The Ming Chinese began building up their colonial administration in Jiaozhi Province, encouraging the Ming Confucian ideology, bureaucratic and Classic Chinese study to the local people, forced the Vietnamese to wear Chinese clothes and adopt Chinese culture.[7] The Ming government enjoyed some support from the Vietnamese, at least in the capital of Thăng Long, but their efforts to assert control in the surrounding countryside were met with stiff resistance. A general popular dissatisfaction with the colonial arrangement seems clear.[8] Between 1415 and 1424, 31 uprising and revolt leaders against the Ming emerged in Lạng Giang, Nghệ An, Hanoi, Ninh Kiều, Lạng Sơn and other prefecture capitals where the Ming troops were stationed.[9] 

Early life

Lê Lợi was born on the sixth day of August, 1385 in Lam Giang village, Lam Sơn, Thanh Hóa province in a noble family, and he was the youngest among three sons. His father Lê Khoáng, was a wealthy Vietnamese aristocrat nobleman/land owners in the village, although there is some evidence to suggest his family was Hmong in origin.[10] The Lê/Lê Duy clan was the powerful clan in Lam Sơn for hundreds of years. The area of Lam Sơn, Thanh Hóa back then in the late 14th century was a mixed region with various ethnic groups such as Vietnamese, Hmong and Tai villagers.[11]

During Lê Lợi's early adult time, the Ming invasion and occupation suddenly happened. During two Trần princes's revolts against the Chinese rules (1408 – 1414), Lê Lợi joined the revolt as nominally in charge of the royal guard. He was arrested and imprisoned by the Chinese from 1413 to 1415 after the Trần princes were defeated,[8] and other revolts were suppressed in 1411 and 1420.[12] After his release, he worked as a tutor officer and translator for the Ming colonial administrator in Ngã Lạc county, Lạng Sơn (modern-day Bình Gia District, Lạng Sơn Province).[8][13] He then became involved in a feud with a neighboring strongman who denounced him as a rebel to the Ming. The Ming chased him back to his village.[11] It was widely reported that when Lê Lợi's daughter was nine years old, a Chinese eunuch, Ma Ji (fl. 1410–1427) had taken her away from her parents and sent her into Yongle's harem. Yongle's grand secretary Yang Shiqi noted that Zhang Fu time and again criticized Ma Ji's wanton behavior in Jiaozhi. Although Ma Ji did the bidding of His Majesty, his conduct provided the catalyst that brought the new uprising.[14] The Chinese also said that Lê Lợi escaped to Laos and Cambodia several times.[14] In early 1418, Lê Lợi again raised the flag of resistance at his home village of Lam Sơn, declaring himself Bình Định vương (平定王, Prince of Pacification)

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In 1427, after 10 years of war, Đại Việt regained its independence and the Ming Empire officially acknowledged Đại Việt as an independent state (Annam). On April 15, 1428, Lê Lợi took the throne and claimed himself King of the restored Dai Viet kingdom. He chose his reign name Thuận-Thiên (順天), literally "To obey Heaven."[34]

source: wikipedia