Background
Lý Thường Kiệt was born into a Ngô family in Thăng Long, the capital of Đại Việt. His father was a low-ranking general.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Ly Li
Edit Profile李常傑
Career
He penned what is considered the first Vietnamese declaration of independence and is regarded as a Vietnamese national hero. His real name was Ngô Tuấn. In 1036, he served the Emperor as a captain in cavalry and later led the imperial guard force.
Because of his bravery, intelligence and loyalty, he was granted a royal name, Lý Thường Kiệt, and given an important position in the Court.
In 1075, the Song prime minister Wang Anshi told the Song Dynasty emperor that Đại Việt was being destroyed by Champa, with less than ten thousand soldiers surviving, hence it would be a good occasion to annex Đại Việt. The Song emperor mobilized troops and passed decrees to forbid all the provinces to trade with Đại Việt.
Upon hearing the news, the Lý ruler sent Lý Thường Kiệt and Nùng Tôn Đản with more than 100,000 troops to China to carry out a pre-emptive attack against the Song Dynasty troops. In the ensuing 40-day battle near modern-day Nanning, Đại Việt troops were victorious, capturing the generals of three Song armies.
In 1076, the Songs formed an alliance with Champa and the Khmer Empire and sent troops to invade Đại Việt.
Đại Việt Emperor Lý Nhân Tông again sent General Lý Thường Kiệt to lead his forces. Being one of many great military strategists of Vietnam, Lý Thường Kiệt placed spikes under Như Nguyệt riverbed before tricking Song troops into the death trap, killing more than 1,000 Chinese soldiers and forcing the rest of Chinese forces to retreat. Those two glorious victories over the Song ceased their attempts to extend south.
After the victory against the Song, he also led a Vietnamese army to invade Champa two times with big victories.
Lý Thường Kiệt is one of the national heroes of Vietnam. He died in 1105 at the age of 86.
He is considered the author of Vietnam’s first declaration of independence: the Chinese-language poem,
He is also the author of the vi:(chữ Hán: 伐宋露布文) another Chinese poem against the Sung Dynasty.
