|
Vietnam – Later Le Dynasty (1428-1527)
Thai To – Emperor: 1428-1433
Bronze Thuan Thien Nguyen Bao Cash Token 24mm, Struck 1428-1433
Reference: B 29.1, H 25.10, T 051
Chinese Symbols.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
 Lê Lợi (Chữ Hán: 黎利; c. 10 September 1384/1385 – 5 October 1433), temple name Thái Tổ Emperor, title Bình Định vương (平定王; “Prince of Pacification”) was a Vietnamese rebel leader who founded the Later Lê dynasty and became the first emperor of the restored empire of Đại Việt after it was conquered by the Ming dynasty. In 1418, Lê Lợi and his followers in his homeland rose up against Ming rule, was called the Lam Sơn Uprising. He was known for his effective guerrilla tactics, including constantly moving on the wing and using small bands of brigands to ambush the regular Ming units. Nine years later, his resistance movement successfully drove the Ming armies out of Vietnam and liberated the country. Lê Lợi is among the most famous figures of Vietnamese history and one of its greatest heroes.
Lê Lợi formally re-established Đại Việt as the Xuande Emperor of the Ming Empire officially recognized Lê Lợi as the king of Dai Viet in 1431. In return, Lê Lợi sent diplomatic messages to the Ming imperial court, promising his loyalty as a nominate tributary state of China and cooperation, and paid 50,000 gold taels for obtaining investiture. The Ming imperial court accepted this arrangement, much as they accepted the vassal status of Korea under the Joseon dynasty. Lê Lợi briefly established good relations with Champa’s king, Indravarman VI (r. 1400–1441).
Lê Lợi renamed the capital, Thăng Long, to Đông Kinh, which later known as Tonkin. He embarked on a significant reorganization of the Vietnamese government, based on the old system of government which was developed during late 14th century. He also elevated his longtime comrades and generals such as Nguyễn Trãi, Tran Nguyen Han, Lê Sát, Pham Van Sao, and Trịnh Khả to high official rank.
The Le government rebuilt the infrastructure of Vietnam: roads, bridges, canals. Land distribution were awarded to soldiers that contributed in the war against the Ming Empire. He revived the classical examination and devised good administrative laws. With the peace returned, men released from the army service, included non-Viet soldiers, were encouraged to settle in low density areas in the country, increasing rice production led population expansion during his reign, particularly in the coastal areas.
From 1430 to 1432, the king and his army fought a set of campaigns in the hills to the west of the coastal area. Then, in 1433, he became sick and his health declined. On his deathbed he appointed his prince Lê Sát as the regent for his second son, who would rule after him as Lê Thái Tông. He was posthumously named as Thái Tổ.
Internal palace politics quickly decimated the ranks of Lê Lợi’s trusted counselors, Trần Nguyên Hãn committed suicide when he was being taken to the capital for investigating his suspected betrayal, Phạm Văn Xảo was executed in 1432 and Lê Sát, who ruled as regent for five years, was executed in 1438. Nguyễn Trãi was killed in 1442 (it was claimed he was involved in or responsible for the death of Lê Thái Tông). Only Trịnh Khả survived to an old age and even he was executed in 1451.
Many legends and stories were told about Lê Lợi. The most famous story concerns his magical sword. Much like King Arthur and his sword Excalibur, Lê Lợi was said to have a magic sword of wondrous power. One story tells that he obtained the sword, inscribed with the words ‘The Will of Heaven’ (Thuận Thiên) from the Dragon King (Vietnamese: Long Vương), a demi-god to the local people, who decided to lend his sword to Lê Lợi. But there was a catch: the sword did not come straight to him in one piece.
It was split into two parts: a blade and a sword hilt. First, in Thanh Hóa province, there was a fisherman named Lê Thận, who was not related to Lê Lợi in any way. One night, his fishing net caught something heavy. Thinking of how much money he would get for this big fish, he became very excited. However, his excitement soon turned into disappointment when he saw that his catch was a long, thin piece of metal which had somehow become entangled to the net. He threw it back into the water, and recast the net at a different location. When he pulled the net in, the metal piece had found its way back into the net. He picked it up and threw it far away with all its strength. The third time the fishing net came up, the same thing happened, the metal piece was once again caught in the net. Bewildered, he brought his lamp closer and carefully examined the strange object. Only then did he notice that it was the missing blade of a sword. He took the blade home and not knowing what to do with it, put it in the corner of his house. Some years later, Lê Thận joined the rebel army of Lê Lợi, where he quickly rose in ranks. Once, the general visited Lê Thận’s home. Lê Thận’s house lacked lighting, so everything was dark. But as though it was sensing the presence of Lê Lợi, the blade at the corner of the house suddenly emitted a bright glow. Lê Lợi held up the blade and saw two words manifesting before his very eye: Thuận Thiên (Will of Heaven). With Lê Thận’s endorsement, Lê Lợi took the blade with him.
One day, while on the run from the enemy, Lê Lợi saw a strange light emanating from the branches of a banyan tree. He climbed up and there he found a hilt of a sword, encrusted with precious gems. Remembering the blade he found earlier, he took it out and placed it into the hilt. The fit was perfect. Believing that the Heaven had entrusted him with the great cause of freeing the land, Lê Lợi took up arms and rallied people under his banner. For the next few years, the magic sword brought him victory after another. His men no longer had to hide in the forest, but aggressively penetrated many enemy camps, captured them and seized their granaries. The sword helped them push back the enemy, until Vietnam was once again free from Chinese rule. Lê Lợi ascended the throne in 1428, ending his 10-year campaign, and reclaimed independence for the country. The stories claim Lê Lợi grew very tall when he used the sword and it gave him the strength of many men. Other stories say that the sword blade and the sword hilt came together from different places, the blade fished out of a lake, the hilt found by Lê Lợi himself.
The stories largely agree on what happened to the sword: One day, not long after the Chinese had accepted Vietnam as independent, Lê Lợi was out boating on a lake in Hanoi. The golden turtle, Kim Quy, advanced toward the boat and the king, then with a human voice, it asked him to return the magic sword to his master, Long Vương (Dragon King), who lived under the water. Suddenly it became clear to Lê Lợi that the sword was only lent to him to carry out his duty, but now it must be returned to its rightful owner, lest it corrupt him. Lê Lợi drew the sword out of its scabbard and lobbed it towards the turtle. With great speed, the turtle opened its mouth and snatched the sword from the air with its teeth. It descended back into the water, with the shiny sword in its mouth. Lê Lợi then acknowledged the sword had gone back to the Long Vương (Dragon King) and caused the lake to be renamed ‘The Lake of the Returned Sword’ (Hoan Kiem Lake) located in present-day Hanoi.
Countless poems and songs were written about Lê Lợi, both during his lifetime and in later years. Lê Lợi is looked upon as the perfect embodiment of the just, wise, and capable leader. All future Vietnamese kings were measured against the standard of Lê Lợi and most were found wanting.
Every town in Vietnam has one of the major streets named after Lê Lợi, but in Hanoi the name is Lê Thái Tổ Street.
The Lê dynasty, also known as Later Lê dynasty (Vietnamese: Hậu
Lê triều Hán tự: 後黎朝 or Vietnamese: nhà Hậu Lê Hán tự: 家後黎 was the
longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, ruling Đại Việt from 1428 to 1789. The Lê
dynasty is divided into two historical periods – the Early period (Lê sơ triều,
Hán tự: 黎初朝; 1428–1527) before usurpation by the Mạc dynasty (1527–1683), in
which emperors ruled in their own right, and the restored period or Revival Lê (Lê
Trung hưng triều, Hán tự: 黎中興朝; 1533–1789), in which figurehead emperors reigned
under the auspices of the powerful Trịnh family. The Restored Lê period is
marked by two lengthy civil wars: the Lê–Mạc War (1533–1592) in which two
dynasties battled for legitimacy in northern Vietnam and the Trịnh–Nguyễn War
(1627–1672) between the Trịnh family in Tonkin and the Nguyễn lords of the
South.
The dynasty officially began in 1428 with the enthronement of Lê Lợi after he
drove the Ming army from Vietnam. The dynasty reached its peak during the reign
of Lê Thánh Tông and declined after his death in 1497. In 1527, the Mạc dynasty
usurped the throne; when the Lê dynasty was restored in 1533, the Mạc fled to
the far north and continued to claim the throne during the period known as
Southern and Northern Dynasties. The restored Lê emperors held no real power,
and by the time the Mạc dynasty was finally eradicated in 1677, actual power lay
in the hands of the Trịnh lords in the North and Nguyễn lords in the South, both
ruling in the name of the Lê emperor while fighting each other. The Lê dynasty
officially ended in 1789, when the peasant uprising of the Tây Sơn brothers
defeated both the Trịnh and the Nguyễn, ironically in order to restore power to
the Lê dynasty.
The Lê dynasty continued the nam tiến expansion of Vietnam’s borders
southwards through the domination of the Kingdom of Champa and expedition into
today Laos and Myanmar, nearly reaching Vietnam’s modern borders by the time of
the Tây Sơn uprising. It also saw massive changes to Vietnamese society: the
previously Buddhist state became Confucian after the preceding 20 years of Ming
rule. The Lê emperors instituted many changes modeled after the Chinese system,
including the civil service and laws. Their long-lasting rule was attributed to
the popularity of the early emperors. Lê Lợi’s liberation of the country from 20
years of Ming rule and Lê Thánh Tông’s bringing the country into a golden age
was well-remembered by the people. Even though the restored Lê emperors’ rule
was marked by civil strife and constant peasant uprisings, few dared to openly
challenge their power for fear of losing popular support. The Lê dynasty also
was the period Vietnam saw the coming of Western Europeans and Christianity in
early 16th-century.
Cash was a type of coin of China and East Asia, used from the 4th century BC until the 20th century AD. Originally cast during the Warring States period, these coins continued to be used for the entirety of Imperial China as well as under Mongol, and Manchu rule. The last Chinese cash coins were cast in the first year of the Republic of China. Generally most cash coins were made from copper or bronze alloys, with iron, lead, and zinc coins occasionally used less often throughout Chinese history. Rare silver and gold cash coins were also produced. During most of their production, cash coins were cast but, during the late Qing dynasty, machine-struck cash coins began to be made. As the cash coins produced over Chinese history were similar, thousand year old cash coins produced during the Northern Song dynasty continued to circulate as valid currency well into the early twentieth century.
In the modern era, these coins are considered to be Chinese “good luck coins”; they are hung on strings and round the necks of children, or over the beds of sick people. They hold a place in various superstitions, as well as Traditional Chinese medicine, and Feng shui. Currencies based on the Chinese cash coins include the Japanese mon, Korean mun, Ryukyuan mon, and Vietnamese văn.
|
