Khúc Hạo

Khúc Hạo 曲顥
Jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân
Reign	907–917
Predecessor	Khúc Thừa Dụ
Successor	Khúc Thừa Mỹ
Ruler of autonomous Vietnam
Reign	907–917
Predecessor	Khúc Thừa Dụ
Successor	Khúc Thừa Mỹ
Issue
Khúc Thừa Mỹ
House	Khúc family
Father	Khúc Thừa Dụ
Born	? Ninh Giang, Hải Dương, Tĩnh Hải quân
Died	917 Đại La, Tĩnh Hải quân

History of Vietnam

Hồng Bàng dynasty prior to 257 BC Thục dynasty 257–207 BC Triệu dynasty 207–111 BC First Chinese domination 111 BC–39 AD Trưng sisters 40–43 Second Chinese domination 43–544 Early Lý dynasty 544–602 Third Chinese domination 602–905 Autonomy 905–938 Ngô dynasty 939–967 Đinh dynasty 968–980 Early Lê dynasty 980–1009 Lý dynasty 1009–1225 Trần dynasty 1225–1400 Hồ dynasty 1400–1407 Fourth Chinese domination 1407–1427 • Later Trần dynasty 1407–1413 Later Lê dynasty (Early Lê) 1428–1527 Mạc dynasty 1527–1592 Later Lê dynasty (Restored Lê) 1533–1788 • Trịnh Lords 1545–1787 • Nguyễn Lords 1558–1777 Tây Sơn dynasty 1778–1802 Nguyễn dynasty 1802–1945 • French imperialism 1887–1954 Partition 1954–1975 • Democratic Republic (North) 1945–1976 • State of Vietnam (South) 1949–1955 • Republic of Vietnam (South) 1955–1975 Socialist Republic from 1976 Related topics Champa Dynasties 192–1832 List of Vietnamese monarchs Economic history of Vietnam Prehistoric cultures of Vietnam

Khúc Hạo (died 917) (Chinese: 曲顥; pinyin: Qū Hào) was the Vietnamese Jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân from 907 to 917 succeeding his father Khúc Thừa Dụ. During his reign, Khúc Hạo made several important social and administrative reforms including a new system of administrative division, the levelling of cultivated land tax and the abolishment of corvée. Besides, Khúc Hạo maintained a discreet policy towards Chinese authorities and thus brought a period of stability and prosperity to his country. Khúc Hạo deceased in 917 and was succeeded by his son Khúc Thừa Mỹ who failed to keep the autonomy of Tĩnh Hải quân when he was defeated by the army of the kingdom of Southern Han in 923. However, Khúc Hạo's ruling is still considered a foundation for the administration of Vietnam in the early independent time afterwards.

Contents 1 Background 2 History 3 Legacy 4 References 4.1 Notes 4.2 Bibliography

Background

The date of birth of Khúc Hạo was unknown but he came from the Khúc family which was a powerful clan with long history and tradition in Hồng Châu, Cúc Bồ (now Ninh Giang, Hải Dương, Vietnam).^[1] In early 10th century, the head of Khúc family Khúc Thừa Dụ succeeded in taking over the control of Tĩnh Hải quân (now the northern part of Vietnam) and became the first Jiedushi of native origin that marked the beginning of the independence of Vietnam,^[2][3] because while the country still nominally belonged to the Tang Dynasty, it had now a status of autonomy with a native ruler who could decide matters without any interference from China.^[4]

History

As the son of Khúc Thừa Dụ, Khúc Hạo began to hold the position Jiedushi in 907 after his father's death and continue to consolidate the autonomy of the country.^[1] On the other hand, in old historical books such as the Đại Việt sử lược or Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, it was Khúc Hạo, instead of Khúc Thừa Dụ, who was mentioned as the first member of the Khúc family holding the position Jiedushi,^[5][6] according to Đại Việt sử lược, he succeeded this title from the Chinese Jiedushi named Độc Cô Tồn^[6][7] while in Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, Khúc Hạo self-entitled him Jiedushi after rising a revolt that took control over Tĩnh Hải quân.^[5] After Keith Weller Taylor, since the power was smoothly transferred from Khúc Thừa Dụ to his son Khúc Hạo and there is no indication of struggle or political conflict in the period from 880 to 906, one can reason that the Khúc family was actually in control of the country throughout these years.^[8]

In the position of ruler of Tĩnh Hải quân, Khúc Hạo made several important social and administrative reforms.^[9] He decided to changed the basic administrative unit from hương (township), which was established during the Tang Dynasty, to giáp. For each giáp, Khúc Hạo appointed a quản giáp (supervisor of giáp) and a phó tri giáp (deputy-supervisor of giáp) to keep the control, a system of family register (sổ hộ) was also created in order to collect an accurate statistics of population and manpower of the country. Another important social changes initiated by Khúc Hạo were the levelling of cultivated land tax (thuế ruộng) and the abolishment of corvée (lực dịch).^[10] The reign of Khúc Hạo was praised for its tolerance and simplicity towards common people, hence Tĩnh Hải quân had a period of stability and prosperity.^[1] In regard to relation with Chinese authorities, Khúc Hạo maintained a discreet policy towards the new Later Liang Dynasty which continued to accept the autonomous reign of the Khúc family by giving Khúc Hạo the title Jiedushi of the Protectorate General to Pacify the South (An Nam đô hộ sung Tiết độ sứ) in the ninth month of 907.^[10] He assigned his own son Khúc Thừa Mỹ to the position of ambassador in Guangzhou with the mission of not only keeping a good relation with the northern country but also studying the real situation in China at the time.^[9][11]

Khúc Hạo deceased in 917^[1] and was succeeded by his son Khúc Thừa Mỹ who failed to keep the autonomy of Tĩnh Hải quân when he refused to acknowledge allegiance to the newly-established kingdom of Southern Han^[9] and afterwards was defeated by the army of this kingdom in 923^[12] or 930.^[13] Nevertheless, Dương Đình Nghệ, who was a subordinate of the Khúc family, quickly restored the indigenous control of the country in 931.^[13] In the Đại Việt sử lược,^[6] Khúc Thừa Mỹ was recorded as younger brother, not son, of Khúc Hạo but from the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư in the Lê Dynasty, Ngô Sĩ Liên wrote that Khúc Hạo was Khúc Thừa Mỹ's father.^[5]

Legacy

Today Khúc Hạo is still regarded as one of the first rulers of an independent Vietnam, a street in Hanoi and other places are named in honour of Khúc Hạo.^[14]

References

Notes

Bibliography

• National Bureau for Historical Record (1998) (in Vietnamese), Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục, Hanoi: Education Publishing House 
• Chapuis, Oscar (1995), A history of Vietnam: from Hong Bang to Tu Duc, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0313296227 
• Ngô Sĩ Liên (1993) (in Vietnamese), Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (Nội các quan bản ed.), Hanoi: Social Science Publishing House 
• Trần Trọng Kim (1971) (in Vietnamese), Việt Nam sử lược, Saigon: Center for School Materials 

Khúc Hạo Born:  ? Died: 917
Regnal titles
Preceded by Khúc Thừa Dụ	Jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân 907–917	Succeeded by Khúc Thừa Mỹ
Preceded by Khúc Thừa Dụ	Ruler of autonomous Vietnam 907–917	Succeeded by Khúc Thừa Mỹ

Notable families in early independent Vietnam

Colour note   Khúc   Dương   Ngô   Kiều   Đinh   Lê                                                                                                             Khúc Thừa Dụ                                                                                                                       Khúc Hạo                                                                                                               Dương Đình Nghệ   Khúc Thừa Mỹ                                                                                                                                                                                               Ngô Quyền   Queen Dương       Đinh Công Trứ   Dương Tam Kha   Kiều Công Tiễn                                                                                                                                 Ngô Xương Ngập   Ngô Xương Văn         Đinh Tiên Hoàng   Dương Vân Nga   Lê Đại Hành   Kiều Công Chuẩn                                                                                                                                     Ngô Nhật Khánh   Ngô Xương Xí     Đinh Liễn   Đinh Hạng Lang   Đinh Phế Đế                   Kiều Công Hãn                                                                                         Princess Phất Kim                                 Lê Long Việt   Lê Long Đĩnh     Kiều Thuận                                                                           Family tree of Vietnamese monarchs Overall Early independence Lý Dynasty Trần Dynasty

Persondata
Name	Hao, Khuc
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	Ninh Giang, Hải Dương, Tĩnh Hải quân
Date of death	917
Place of death	Đại La, Tĩnh Hải quân