Ly Thai To, whose name is Ly Cong Uan (974 – 1028), was the first Emperor of the Later Ly Dynasty in Vietnamese history, reigning for 20 years, from 1009 to his death in 1028. Around Ly Cong Uan, there are many legends and legends, especially legends and legends about the Ly dynasty replacing the Le (Money) dynasty to rule the country.

Mysterious origin

About Ly Cong Uan’s life, there are many historical books recorded but all have mysterious features. The book of Dai Viet historical records toan Thu says: “King of the Ly family, Huy Cong Uan, a native of Co Phap, Bac Ninh. The mother, surnamed Pham, went to visit Tieu Son pagoda with her relatives, then got pregnant and gave birth to the King on the 12th of February in the year of Giap Tuat, the fifth year of Thai Binh year (947), the Dinh dynasty.

As for the book Viet Su Thong Cuong Muc, it is written: “His mother, Pham Thi, went to Tieu Son pagoda, met a god who had intercourse, so she became pregnant and gave birth to him in the year of the Dog, the fifth Thai Binh (947), the Dinh Dynasty.” . There is still a couplet in Chinese engraved on the column of the stele house at Tieu Pagoda (Bac Ninh) “Ly Gia relic remains cynical / Tieu Linh Danh kha Dat Truyen”, meaning “Although the Ly dynasty’s sacred stele is still engraved / Danh”. The first victory has a history”.

Also at this temple located on the slopes of Tieu mountain in Tieu Son district, at the end of the twentieth century, historians discovered a historical truth. Those are valuable information, revealing the truth about the woman who gave birth to Ly Cong Uan.

The inscriptions of the ancestors are left on the stele “Ly Gia Linh Thach” that the woman who gave birth to Ly Cong Uan whose real name is Pham Thi Nga. She is a native of Hoa Lam village, works as a guardian of the temple, specializes in sweeping the yard, gardening and taking care of incense sticks…

The reincarnation was tinged with mystery, and so was the birth of Ly Cong Uan: “…one night, the sky was exceptionally clear, with five-colored clouds appearing, the abbot at Ung Tam Pagoda was The dream is to welcome the king tomorrow. But early the next morning, she only saw the woman Pham Thi Nga who was temporarily begging at the temple to give birth to a handsome son, in the palm of her hand were four words “son-ha-xa-tac” as red as lipstick.

Father is a “divine man” chosen by mysterious forces as the Buddha’s birthplace. Mother is a village girl, works as a guardian at a temple, has a predestined relationship with gods. Thus, it can be seen that Ly Cong Uan is the result of the love between a common woman and a “divine person”. When he was three years old, his mother sent him to monk Ly Khanh Van.

According to Dai Viet historical records, “The king was born at the age of three, his mother took him to Ly Khanh Van’s house, and Khanh Van adopted him”. According to the book Dai Viet History of Tien Bien, “when he was 3 years old, his mother took him to Ly Khanh Van’s house at Co Phap pagoda, and Khanh Van adopted him” and named him Ly Cong Uan.

Cong Uan is handsome, solid and very intelligent, so he is wholeheartedly cared for and taught by his “adoptive father”. At the age of six or seven, Cong Uan was familiar with the history of history but was mischievous. An anecdote tells that: One day, monk Khanh Van sent Cong Uan to bring an oar to the altar of the protector, the boy ate it first. At night, the Dharma protector informed the monk in a dream.

The next day, Khanh Van scolded Cong Uan. The boy was very upset, and then wrote on the back of the statue the words “Three thousand miles of exile”. That night, the monk dreamed again that the Dharma Protector had come to say goodbye, “The emperor has sent me away, please greet him”. The next morning, the monk went up to see the Dharma Protector statue and saw the words “Three thousand miles of exile” on the back.

The monk then sent his uncle to wash the words with water, but they never washed them clean. When he asked Cong Uan to do it, he just rubbed a few times and it was clean. Master was amazed. Seeing that Cong Uan was a bit big and naughty, Khanh Van immediately sent Cong Uan to study with monk Van Hanh at Luc To Pagoda.

According to the book Thien Nam Luc Luc, at the age of 20, Ly Cong Uan was recommended to the court by Van Hanh. He began his career by working as a martial general under the Former Le Dynasty, holding the position of Dien Tien Quan and holding the position of Tu deng Quan Deputy Commander of the Le Ngoa Trieu Dynasty (1005-1009).

Thus, the period of time Cong Uan was under the tutelage of monk Van Hanh lasted about 12 to 13 years. More than 10 years of cultivating the mind, cultivating character, studying under the Buddha’s roof and being trained by Zen Master Van Hanh, Ly Cong Uan became a man of higher education and wisdom, with a deep patriotism.

Talk about Zen master Van Hanh, spiritual father, teacher and the person who charted the way to the throne for Ly Cong Uan. According to historical records, Zen master Van Hanh was born around the year (938-939), in Co Phap continent (equivalent to present-day Tu Son and Tien Du districts). He and Dao Can Moc – a martial general at that time supported and supported Ly Cong Uan to ascend to the throne, and founded the Ly dynasty.

According to the book Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, when Van Hanh was 70 years old, he once told the Imperial Palace Commander Ly Cong Uan: “Recently, I saw a strange word of thunder spells, knowing that the Ly family name was strong, it must have aroused a threat. Karma. Now looking at the world, there are many people with the Ly surname, but there is no one like Than Guard, who is tolerant, benevolent, and popular with the people, who holds military power in his hands, who is at the top of the people, who is not the Bodyguard? floating again. I’m more than 70 years old, I hope to relax and die to see how your virtue is. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind …”.

To ascend the throne according to the will of heaven, to the heart of people

Painting of Ly Cong Uan

According to historical records, Ly Cong Uan’s ascension to the throne was also very strange, with many foreshadowing. The book Dai Viet History of the Complete Book has the passage:

In the past, in Dien Uan village, Co Phap Chau, a rice tree was struck by lightning. The local people carefully examined the traces of lightning with the words:

“Understanding the bird’s nest

The bar chart

Peace of mind

The Eight Deadly City

Dong and enter the land

Simple rebirth

The Sword of the

Sun Palace of hidden stars

The Sixth Century

Heaven is at peace”.

Does that mean

“Abyss tree stump

Green tree tops

Fallen tree

Eighteen City Seeds

Winter branches to the ground

Another tree is born again

East sunrise

Western stars hide picture

About six or seven years

Heaven is at peace”

In Co Phap incense, there is a white-backed dog with the word “heavenly son” with black fur. The banyan tree of Song Lam pagoda has a deep stain in the shape of the word “Quoc”.

Around the grave of Ly Cong Uan’s father at night, there was chanting and reciting poetry foretelling the Ly family’s becoming king… Someone asked Zen master Van Hanh about these things, and he explained that it was a harbinger of the Le family. died, the surname Ly emerged.

To be more specific, under the Early Le Dynasty, Buddhism played an important role in social life. Many high monks were admired and treated with respect. The military force led by Dao Cam Moc and Buddhism, of which Van Hanh was a typical Zen master, were the two main forces supporting the Le dynasty. However, during Le Ngoa Trieu’s time, the king maintained cruel policies that caused resentment among the people, and lost the support of Buddhism and the army.

Once, Dao Cam Moc said to Ly Cong Uan: “Recently, God is stupid and tyrannical, doing many unjust things, heaven is disgusted, so he won’t give up his life, his son is a child, he can’t bear many difficulties. Everything that disturbs the gods does not like it, the people are confused, and they want to find the Lord’s truth.” Next time say: “Everybody in the country says that the surname Ly started a big business, the oracle has already appeared. It was a disaster that could no longer be hidden.

Turning misfortune into happiness only in the early afternoon. This is the time when heaven gives people to follow …” and “The bodyguard is a forgiving, benevolent, and heartwarming person. Currently, hundreds of them are tired, exhausted, and the people can’t stand it. Bodyguards should be patted with grace and virtue, then people will all rush back like water flowing in a low place, no one can stop it.

With the support of the army and the Buddhist community, Ly Cong Uan came to power. This is the change of the dynasty according to the will of heaven and the people, so it took place smoothly, without bloodshed. Ly Cong Uan ascended the throne on November 2, Year of the Rooster, ie November 21, 1009 in the capital Hoa Lu (Ninh Binh). He was the founder of the Ly dynasty, took the title Ly Thai To, set the era name Thuan Thien, still took the national title Dai Co Viet.

Ly Thai To was a gentle king, very concerned for the people. As the founding emperor of the dynasty, the king first took care of building the dynasty and strengthening the central government.

The administrative apparatus was built in a orderly manner, the whole country was divided into 24 highways, and the local forces were quelled. The king especially took care of building social, political and ideological foundations for the dynasty.

Ly Cong Uan implemented the “people-friendly” policy. In 1013, he redefined taxes, from land taxes, ponds to mulberry fields, property taxes, etc. For many years, he pardoned taxes for the people like in 1016. Tax rent for 3 years, next year, 1017 again to pay land rent…

Under his reign, the central court was consolidated, the rebel forces were defeated. In the nation’s history, Ly Thai To did a great job, creating a historic milestone – that was the decision to move the capital to Thang Long.

At that time, seeing that the land of Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Dai Co Viet, was narrow and could not be expanded as a capital, he intended to move the capital to Dai La citadel (or La Thanh – Hanoi today). The decision to completely leave a capital from the rugged mountains to the plains can show the bravery and vision of the emperor who founded the Ly dynasty.

In July of the first year of Thuan Thien (1010), the capital began to move. When he went to La Thanh, he used the excuse of seeing a golden dragon flying into the sky, so he changed the name of Dai La city to Thang Long citadel and changed Hoa Lu to become Truong An Palace and Co Phap as Thien Duc Palace. The establishment of the capital in Thang Long in 1010 by Ly Thai To was a major milestone that opened the history of Thang Long – Hanoi, marking a turning point in the country’s history.

Source: Compilation