Mai Thúc Loan

History of Vietnam
2879–258 BC Hồng Bàng dynasty 2879–1913 BC • Early Hồng Bàng 1912–1055 BC • Mid-Hồng Bàng 1054–258 BC • Late Hồng Bàng 257–179 BC Thục dynasty 207–111 BC Triệu dynasty 111 BC–40 AD 1st Chinese domination 40–43 Trưng Sisters 43–544 2nd Chinese domination 544–602 Early Lý dynasty 602–938 3rd Chinese domination 939–967 Ngô dynasty 968–980 Đinh dynasty 980–1009 Early Lê dynasty 1009–1225 Later Lý dynasty 1225–1400 Trần dynasty 1400–1407 Hồ dynasty 1407–1427 4th Chinese domination 1428–1788 Later Lê dynasty 1527–1592 • Mạc dynasty 1545–1787 • Trịnh lords 1558–1777 • Nguyễn lords 1778–1802 Tây Sơn dynasty 1802–1945 Nguyễn dynasty 1858–1945 • French imperialism from 1945 Republic
Further subjects Champa dynasties (192–1832) Historical capitals Prehistoric and ancient cultures List of monarchs Country's names Economic history Military history

Mai Thúc Loan (or Mai Huyền Thành (梅玄成), titled Mai Hắc Đế (梅黑帝, literally Mai the Black Emperor), was the Vietnamese leader of the 722 uprising against the rule of the Tang dynasty in the region of Hoan and Ái provinces (now Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An of Vietnam). Regarded as one of the major rebellions of Vietnamese people during the Third Chinese domination, the uprising of Mai Thúc Loan succeeded in capturing the capital Tống Bình (now Hanoi) of the Tang protectorate and Mai Thúc Loan thus became Mai Hắc Đế, the emperor of the independent region for a short time before being put down by the military campaign after the order of the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Today Mai Thúc Loan is praised as one of the early national heroes in the history of Vietnam who contributed for the struggle for independence of the country.

Background

According to Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam, the date of birth of Mai Thúc Loan was unknown but he was from the Mai Phụ village, now Thạch Hà District, Hà Tĩnh.^[1][2] In the Basic Records of the New Book of Tang, his name was Mai Thúc Loan while in the Old Book of Tang the name was recorded as Mai Huyền Thành and the one in the Zizhi Tongjian was Mai Thúc Yên.^[3]

Uprising

In 722, Mai Thúc Loan appealed Vietnamese laborers for an uprising against the rule of the Tang dynasty.^[1] Mai Thúc Loan's army of laborers was quickly followed by people of the Hoan and Ái provinces (now Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An of Vietnam). Based on the mountainous and bushy region of Sa Nam – Rú Đụn near the Lam River, the uprising united with forces from Champa and Chân Lạp^[4] in fighting against the Chinese troops of the Tang Dynasty and eventually succeeded in occupying both Hoan and Ái provinces.^[2][5] After the insurgent army took down the capital Tống Bình (now Hanoi) and forced the Tang governor Guang Suo Ge to flee to China, Mai Thúc Loan was proclaimed the emperor of the independent region, he was called Mai Hắc Đế (Mai the Black Emperor) and decided to establish his new capital in the citadel of Vạn An (now Nghệ An) with stronghold and palaces.^[1][5] According to Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục, the title Black Emperor originated from his distinctively dark skin colour.^[6][7] At the end of 722, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ordered his generals with about 10,000 soldiers to put down the rebellion of Mai Thúc Loan. Could not stand the overwhelming opponent, Mai Thúc Loan was defeated, took refuge in the mountains and subsequently died in 723, thus ended the uprising.^[1][7]

The traditional record about Mai Thúc Loan's uprising in historical books of Vietnamese dynasties was brief, for example the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư of Ngô Sĩ Liên only acknowledged that there was a rebellion led by the rebel leader Mai Thúc Loan in 722 with the said army of 30,000 soldiers with allies from Champa, Lâm Ấp and that the rebellion was quickly pacified by Tang troops.^[3] In Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục, the total number of Mai Thúc Loan's forces was 40,000 but the compilers of the book expressed their doubt about this number and thought that it might be made by Tang generals who wanted to emphasize their victory over the uprising with the Emperor Xuanzong.^[6] While Đại Việt sử ký and Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư only regarded Mai Thúc Loan as a rebel (giặc) of the Tang authority, Ngô Thì Sĩ in Đại Việt sử ký tiền biên, compiled during the Tây Sơn dynasty, praised the uprising as a symbol of the independent spirit of Vietnamese people and thus criticized Lê Văn Hưu and Ngô Sĩ Liên for misjudging the real value of Mai Thúc Loan's rebellion.^[8]

Legacy

Today Mai Thúc Loan is appreciated as one of the early national heroes in the history of Vietnam who contributed for the struggle for independence of the country.^[9] In the site of his ancient citadel of Vạn An, people erected a temple to worship Mai Thúc Loan and he was considered being equal with other Vietnamese emperors although his rule was short-lived and he was not officially called an emperor of Vietnam in dynastic historical books.^[2][6] According to folk legend, Mai Thúc Loan had a daughter named Mai Thị Cầu and a son named Mai Kỳ Sơn who followed their father in fighting against the Tang Dynasty, today there still remains a shrine to worship Mai Thị Cầu and Mai Kỳ Sơn in Haiphong where people hold an annual festival in the third lunar month to celebrate the deeds of Mai Thúc Loan's children.^[10][11] A street of Hanoi and several places in Vietnam are named in honour of Mai Thúc Loan.^{[12][13][14][15]}

References

Notes

Bibliography

• National Bureau for Historical Record (1998), Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Education Publishing House 
• Ngô Sĩ Liên (1993), Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (in Vietnamese) (Nội các quan bản ed.), Hanoi: Social Science Publishing House 
• Taylor, Keith Weller (1991), The Birth of Vietnam, University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-07417-3 
• Trần Trọng Kim (1971), Việt Nam sử lược (in Vietnamese), Saigon: Center for School Materials