THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-102

VIETNAM ( SERIES -20 )

EMPEROR LY CONG UAN OF DAI CO VIET

LY CONG UAN or LY THAI TO was the founder of the LY DYNASTY who ruled DAI CO VIET from 1009 AD to 1028 AD . He was the 6th Ruler of the Kingdom . His father’s name was HIEN KHANH VUONG and his mother’s name was MINH DUC THAI HUA PHAM THI about whom not much was recorded historically . He was born in CO PHAP village , TU SON in the BAC NINH Province in the RED RIVER DELTA of VIETNAM in 974 AD . According to the VIETNAMESE Cronicles , his mother PHAM THAI gave him up to the most imminent BUDDHIST Patriarch of his time LY KANH VAN at the age of three . LY CONG UAN was educated by LY KANH VAN and he became a devout BUDDHIST , a historian and a soldier . He was appointed as a royal minor official who by dint of his hard labour ultimately bestowed with the title TA THAN VE DIEN TIEN CHI HUY SU which literally means the Commander of the Palace’s Left Flank . It was the most important position within royal guards . As we know that the last king of the LE DYNASTY , LE LONG DINH developed hemorrhoids/piles in 1009 AD , and he had to lie down while listening to officials’ reports in the Royal Court . On the other hand , the monks of GIAO launched a propaganda campaign that brought about belief in the masses that LY CONG UAN was inevitably becoming King of DAI CO VIET after LE LONG DINH as the King was incapacitated by declining health . LE LONG DINH died in November 1009 AD under the wrath of the people due to brutality and cruelty he hurled upon them during his reign . DAO CAM MOC , a royal official , and Patriarch VAN HANH by using their political influences enthroned their trusted disciple LY CONG UAN without any resistance at all . Thus , the reign of the LE DYNASTY ended . And an era of LY DYNASTY started .

DAI LA – A PLACE BETWEEN HEAVEN & EARTH

The first thing LY CONG UAN did , after becoming King of DAI CO VIET , was that the Royal Court was relocated from HOA LU to the sight of DAI LA , the modern day HANOI in 1010 AD . He changed the capital from HOA LU to DAI LA due to two reasons which he profoundly mentioned in the edict : 1. Dai La was the earlier capital in the rich Red River Delta ; and 2. He saw/believed that Dai La was a place ‘between Heaven and Earth where coiling dragon and the crouching tiger lie , and his capital would last 10,000 years’. He renamed the place as THANG LONG which literally means the ‘ ascending dragon ‘ as when LY CONG UAN’S boat docked at the new capital , a dragon , symbol of the sovereign authority , was said to have soared above his head . Amazingly , the royal city of THANG LONG was constructed with architectural design in such a way that the urban centre encompassed the royal city . The Throne Room Palace faced South was located within a Dragon Courtyard . The Crown Prince used to live in the Eastern Palace outside the city walls . Palaces and offices were made up of timber. On the top of the NUNG hill was located CAN NGUYEN Palace where the King used to hold audience . And by 1010 AD , altogether eleven Palaces were built in THANG LONG .

EMPEROR LY CONG UAN AS A BUDDHIST MONK

As a BUDDHIST MONK , LY CONG UAN promoted BUDDHISM as the national religion . He supported the BUDDHIST clergymen and institutions . He also donated a sizable amount to build pagodas throughout his Kingdom . Initially , he built eight BUDDHIST temples in the TIEN DU area . He also built three other BUDDHIST temples around the capital region . For reading and reciting the BUDDHIST scriptures , he built a temple in 1024 AD . All these BUDDHIST scriptures he got on request from the SONG Court of CHINA . To establish the cultural basis of his authority in DAI CO VIET , he showed an interest in establishing proper relationships with the supernatural power also . The local spirits that had long dominated more distant regions of the Kingdom i.e : 1. the spirit of the TONG SISTERS from the western delta ; 2. the earth genie of PHU DONG north of the capital ; and 3. the mountain of Bronze Drum God from THANH HOA in AI to the south — all were relocated to the capital and housed there in temples especially dedicated to them . These spirits were ‘symbols of regional powers’ . And Pacification of these local and regional spirits involved the extention of monarchical authority to the region of DAI CO VIET . Thereafter he began to withdraw from public affairs . In 1025 AD , VAN HANH died . He had been LY CONG UAN’S teachers , mentor and just like father figure . Thus , his royal personality was in some degree animated throughout his life as an extension of VAN HANH’S expectation of him .