Ngo Quyen

Victor of the Battle of Bạch Đằng and founder of Vietnam's independent statehood.

Life

Lieutenant of Dương Đình Nghệ

Ngô Quyền came from a powerful clan of Đường Lâm (in today's Sơn Tây area of Hanoi); his father, Ngô Mân, had served as a provincial governor. After the fall of the Tang, Jiaozhou was first governed autonomously by the Khúc clan under the title of jiedushi (military governor), until the Southern Han occupied it in 930. In 931 Dương Đình Nghệ of Ai Chau rose in revolt and drove out the Southern Han. Ngô Quyền served as a general under him and, recognized for his outstanding ability, married Dương Đình Nghệ's daughter and was given command of Ai Chau.

Battle of Bạch Đằng

In 937 Dương Đình Nghệ was killed by his lieutenant Kiều Công Tiễn. Ngô Quyền immediately rose in revolt to punish him, and Kiều Công Tiễn appealed to the Southern Han for help. In 938 Ngô Quyền attacked and killed Kiều Công Tiễn, and the Southern Han crown prince Liu Hongcao came to his aid with a fleet. Ngô Quyền had iron-tipped wooden stakes driven into the riverbed at the mouth of the Bạch Đằng River in advance; at high tide he used light boats to lure the enemy into the river, and when the tide went out the stakes were exposed, the Southern Han warships ran aground and broke apart, Liu Hongcao was killed in battle, and the Southern Han army retreated after a crushing defeat.

Kingship and Legacy

In 939 Ngô Quyền proclaimed himself king at Cổ Loa, established a bureaucracy and devised court ritual; traditional Vietnamese historiography treats this as the end of Northern domination and the beginning of independent statehood. He reigned for only six years, however; after his death in 944 his brother-in-law Dương Tam Kha usurped the throne, and the Ngô dynasty soon descended into civil strife and the Period of the Twelve Warlords. Today streets in many parts of Vietnam bear his name, and the Battle of Bạch Đằng has become a classic case in Vietnamese military history of victory won by exploiting terrain.

Legacy

In traditional Vietnamese historiography, Ngô Quyền is regarded as the key figure who ended the period of Chinese rule and opened the era of independent dynasties, and the Battle of Bạch Đằng is seen as a classic victory won by exploiting terrain and the tides; his tactics were used again in the later wars resisting the Yuan. However, the Ngô dynasty was short-lived: soon after his death it descended into usurpation and the Period of the Twelve Warlords, and a more stable unified regime was not established until Đinh Bộ Lĩnh.

Major works & achievements

• 938: Defeats the Southern Han navy at the Battle of Bạch Đằng
• Defeated the enemy with tides and stakes planted in the riverbed
• 939: Proclaims himself king at Cổ Loa and establishes a court of officials

Key dates

• 898Born in Đường Lâm
• 931Drives out the Southern Han under Dương Đình Nghệ
• 937Dương Đình Nghệ is killed; Ngô Quyền rises in revolt against Kiều Công Tiễn
• 938Defeats the Southern Han navy at the Battle of Bạch Đằng
• 939Proclaims himself king at Cổ Loa
• 944Dies; Dương Tam Kha usurps the throne