Lý Thường Kiệt (Hán tự: 李常傑) (1019–1105) was a Vietnamese eunuch and general during the Lý Dynasty in Vietnam. He penned what is considered the first Vietnamese declaration of independence and is regarded as a Vietnamese national hero.
Lý Thường Kiệt was born into a Ngô family in Thăng Long, the capital of Đại Việt. His real name was Ngô Tuấn. His father was a low-ranking general. In 1036, he served the Emperor as a captain in cavalry and later, became a eunuch to lead 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, Wang Anshi, the prime minister, 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, the Đại Việt troops were victorious, capturing the generals of three Song armies. They also brutally massacred Chinese civilians in these areas.
In 1076, the Songs formed an alliance with Champa and the Khmer Empire and sent troops to invade Đại Việt. Lý Nhân Tông sent, again, Lý Thường Kiệt. Being one of the many great military strategists of Vietnam, Lý Thường Kiệt had placed spikes under the Như Nguyệt River before tricking the Song troops into the deadly trap, killing more than 1,000 Chinese soldiers and forcing the Chinese to retreat.
Those two glorious victories over the Song stopped their attempt 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 poem, Nam Quốc Sơn Hà.
| Original Chinese | Vietnamese translation | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 南國山河南帝居 截然定分在天書 |
Nam quốc sơn hà nam đế cư Tiệt nhiên định phận tại thiên thư Như hà nghịch lỗ lai xâm phạm Nhữ đẳng hành khan thủ bại hư. |
Over Mountains and Rivers of the South, reigns the Emperor of the South As it stands written forever in the Book of Heaven |
Huynh Thieu Trung