Đào Duy Từ
Encyclopedia
Đào Duy Từ was a Vietnamese scholar, military adviser, and mandarin who served under the reign of Nguyễn Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên.
), was a son of Đào Tả Hán, a Vietnamese folk singer, who died when Từ was five years old. After this Từ was raised solely by his mother, a woman named Vũ Thị Kim Chi. When Từ was 14 years old his mother sent him to study Confucianism
under a local scholar named Nguyễn Đức Khoa. Đào Duy Từ was however forbidden from taking the court examination
because his father's profession as a folk singer was considered the most shameful profession under the Confucian system of the Lê Dynasty
.
Từ's mother managed to bribe a low-ranking mandarin named Lưu Minh Phương to change Tu's surname from Đào to Vũ which gave Từ a chance to take the court examination. In 1593, Đào Duy Từ, under the false name Vũ Duy Từ, passed his first court examination which prompted Lưu Minh Phương to demand that Từ's mother marry him as a payment for his help. Phương's demand was rejected and therefore he angrily reported the case of Đào Duy Từ to a local mandarin. Because of this Từ was expelled from the examination school while he was taking the second court examination in Thăng Long. After learning of this failure his mother blamed herself and committed suicide by cutting her throat. Both his mother's death and his failure in the examination lead to Từ becoming seriously ill. After some years of inactivity, Đào Duy Từ went south to the land of Nguyễn Lords.
.
Wanting to test Đào Duy Từ, the Nguyễn Lord wore casual clothing and stood near a small door of Phú Xuân Palace
when Đào Duy Từ first met him (these actions could be considered as a disdain by confucianist scholars during this time). Thereon Đào Duy Từ kept refusing to talk with Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên until the lord opened the main gate of the palace and wore formal clothing. After a long meeting in which Đào Duy Từ discussed and gave advice about the current Trịnh–Nguyễn War, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên appeared to like Đào Duy Từ's ability and then he made Đào Duy Từ his advisor and a high ranking mandarin.
From this point on, Đào Duy Từ served as the chief military advisor, directing the construction of Nguyen's two famous strategic walls, named Lũy Thầy and Lũy Trường Dục, in northern Thuận Hóa
(present day Quang Binh province). During the Trịnh Nguyen war, Lũy Thầy and Lũy Trường Dục were largely invincible which enabled the Nguyễn lords to defend themselves against the Trịnh lords' invasions despite the population and army of the Nguyễn lord being smaller than those of the Trịnh lords. In 1627, when these walls were completed, Đào Duy Từ had a double-bottomed tray in which he put the royal decree which demanded that the Nguyễn lord submit to the Lê emperors
and a letter of rejection from Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên. He then put a precious gift on the tray and sent an envoy bringing this tray to Thăng Long. Unaware of Tu's trap, Trịnh Lord Trịnh Tráng accepted the tray and Tu's plot remained undiscovered until the Nguyễn envoy hadfled back to the south. After learning of Đào Duy Từ's trap; Lord Trịnh Tráng got angry and sent a large army to the south, starting the Trịnh–Nguyễn War.
had Đào Duy Từ worshiped along with the Nguyễn Lords in Thế Miếu temple, the main temple of the Nguyễn emperors' ancestors in Huế
. During the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng
Đào Duy Từ was posthumously bestowed with the title of Hoằng Quốc Công (Duke Hằng Quốc).
Most cities in Vietnam, regardless of the political orientation of the government, have named major streets after him. Despite the ruling communist party's disapproval of the Nguyen Lords and their subsequent dynasty as "feudal" and "reactionary", and their renaming of streets and public facilities named after most Nguyen leaders, streets named after Đào Duy Từ remain.
Early life
Đào Duy Từ, born in Hoa Trai village, Ngọc Sơn, Tĩnh Gia, Thanh Hóa (present day Vân Trai, Hải Nhân, Tĩnh Gia, Thanh HóaThanh Hóa
Thanh Hóa is the capital city of Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province. The population is nearly 200,000 with an area of only 57.9 square kilometers....
), was a son of Đào Tả Hán, a Vietnamese folk singer, who died when Từ was five years old. After this Từ was raised solely by his mother, a woman named Vũ Thị Kim Chi. When Từ was 14 years old his mother sent him to study Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
under a local scholar named Nguyễn Đức Khoa. Đào Duy Từ was however forbidden from taking the court examination
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
because his father's profession as a folk singer was considered the most shameful profession under the Confucian system of the Lê Dynasty
Lê Dynasty
The Later Lê Dynasty , sometimes referred to as the Lê Dynasty was the longest-ruling dynasty of Vietnam, ruling the country from 1428 to 1788, with a brief interruption....
.
Từ's mother managed to bribe a low-ranking mandarin named Lưu Minh Phương to change Tu's surname from Đào to Vũ which gave Từ a chance to take the court examination. In 1593, Đào Duy Từ, under the false name Vũ Duy Từ, passed his first court examination which prompted Lưu Minh Phương to demand that Từ's mother marry him as a payment for his help. Phương's demand was rejected and therefore he angrily reported the case of Đào Duy Từ to a local mandarin. Because of this Từ was expelled from the examination school while he was taking the second court examination in Thăng Long. After learning of this failure his mother blamed herself and committed suicide by cutting her throat. Both his mother's death and his failure in the examination lead to Từ becoming seriously ill. After some years of inactivity, Đào Duy Từ went south to the land of Nguyễn Lords.
Activities in southern Vietnam
After arriving in southern Vietnam, Đào Duy Từ attempted to meet Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên but failed. After that, Từ became a worker for a landlord named Chúc Trịnh Long in Tùng Châu (present day Bồng Sơn, Bình Định) in order to get close to Trần Đức Hòa, a neighbor of Chúc Trịnh Long and a mandarin of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên. This attempt was a success: after leaning of Từ's ability, Trần Đức Hòa gave his daughter's hand to Đào Duy Từ and hired him as the family tutor . At this time, Từ composed a famous Vietnamese language poem ,"Ngọa Long Cương Vãng" (Singing of a Lying Dragon), in which he compared himself to famous Chinese military strategist Zhuge LiangZhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
.
Mandarin of the Nguyễn Lord
On an occasion when Trần Đức Hòa met Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên, Hòa give the Lord the poem "Ngọa Long Cương Vãng" of Đào Duy Từ. After reading the poem, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên ordered Trần Đức Hào bring Đào Duy Từ to meet him.Wanting to test Đào Duy Từ, the Nguyễn Lord wore casual clothing and stood near a small door of Phú Xuân Palace
Phú Xuân
Phú Xuân is an historic place in Huế, Vietnam. It was the capital of the Nguyễn Lords, the Tây Sơn Dynasty, and later became a part of the Nguyễn Dynasty’s capital in Huế....
when Đào Duy Từ first met him (these actions could be considered as a disdain by confucianist scholars during this time). Thereon Đào Duy Từ kept refusing to talk with Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên until the lord opened the main gate of the palace and wore formal clothing. After a long meeting in which Đào Duy Từ discussed and gave advice about the current Trịnh–Nguyễn War, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên appeared to like Đào Duy Từ's ability and then he made Đào Duy Từ his advisor and a high ranking mandarin.
From this point on, Đào Duy Từ served as the chief military advisor, directing the construction of Nguyen's two famous strategic walls, named Lũy Thầy and Lũy Trường Dục, in northern Thuận Hóa
Thuận Hóa
Thuận Hóa is a commune and village in Tuyên Hóa District, Quang Binh Province, in Vietnam....
(present day Quang Binh province). During the Trịnh Nguyen war, Lũy Thầy and Lũy Trường Dục were largely invincible which enabled the Nguyễn lords to defend themselves against the Trịnh lords' invasions despite the population and army of the Nguyễn lord being smaller than those of the Trịnh lords. In 1627, when these walls were completed, Đào Duy Từ had a double-bottomed tray in which he put the royal decree which demanded that the Nguyễn lord submit to the Lê emperors
Lê Dynasty
The Later Lê Dynasty , sometimes referred to as the Lê Dynasty was the longest-ruling dynasty of Vietnam, ruling the country from 1428 to 1788, with a brief interruption....
and a letter of rejection from Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên. He then put a precious gift on the tray and sent an envoy bringing this tray to Thăng Long. Unaware of Tu's trap, Trịnh Lord Trịnh Tráng accepted the tray and Tu's plot remained undiscovered until the Nguyễn envoy hadfled back to the south. After learning of Đào Duy Từ's trap; Lord Trịnh Tráng got angry and sent a large army to the south, starting the Trịnh–Nguyễn War.
Family
No information regarding the family of Đào Duy Từ was recorded except that Đào Duy Từ has a daughter who married Nguyễn Hữu Tiến, one of the two most important commanders of the Nguyễn army in the Trịnh–Nguyễn War.Death
In 1633, after nine years service to the Nguyễn lords, Đào Duy Từ died of an illness. Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên posthumously gave him the title of "Hiệp đồng mưu đức công thần, đặc tiến Kim tử Vinh lộc đại phu" (Common Strategist Merit-man, especially entitled as "Glorious, Fortunious and Golden Grand Scholar"). Later emperor Gia LongGia Long
Emperor Gia Long , born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh , was an emperor of Vietnam...
had Đào Duy Từ worshiped along with the Nguyễn Lords in Thế Miếu temple, the main temple of the Nguyễn emperors' ancestors in Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
. During the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng
Minh Mang
Minh Mạng was the second emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty of Vietnam, reigning from 14 February 1820 until 20 January 1841. He was a younger son of Emperor Gia Long, whose eldest son, Crown Prince Canh, had died in 1801...
Đào Duy Từ was posthumously bestowed with the title of Hoằng Quốc Công (Duke Hằng Quốc).
Most cities in Vietnam, regardless of the political orientation of the government, have named major streets after him. Despite the ruling communist party's disapproval of the Nguyen Lords and their subsequent dynasty as "feudal" and "reactionary", and their renaming of streets and public facilities named after most Nguyen leaders, streets named after Đào Duy Từ remain.