Ngô Quyền

Long ago, a leader named Ngô Quyền lived. He was a brave man. He wanted his land to be free.

A group from a far land tried to take over. Ngô Quyền had a smart plan. He put sharp wooden poles in a river. He hid them under the water.

When the enemy ships came, they hit the poles. The ships could not move. Ngô Quyền and his people won the fight. This helped his land stay free for a long time.

He became a great king. He moved his home to an old city. He used drums and banners for dances. People still remember him today.

Ngô Quyền was a great leader in Vietnam. He was born in the year 898. His father was a high official. Ngô Quyền was very smart and brave. He worked for a leader named Dương Đình Nghệ. Later, Ngô Quyền fought to protect his land.

A group called the Southern Han tried to take over. They sent a large fleet of ships. Ngô Quyền had a clever plan to stop them. He put large wooden poles in the Bạch Đằng River. He hid the poles under the water. When the tide was high, the poles were hidden. When the tide went down, the poles stuck out. The enemy ships hit the poles and got stuck. Ngô Quyền led his troops to win the battle in 938. This victory ended 1,000 years of rule from China.

Ngô Quyền became the first king of his new ruling family. He moved his capital to the old Cổ Loa citadel. He used drums and banners for special dances. He wanted to keep old traditions alive. He ruled from 939 until he died in 944. People in Vietnam still honor him today.

Ngô Quyền was a famous leader in Vietnam. He is known as the first king of the Ngô dynasty. He was born in the year 898 in Đường Lâm. His father was a man named Ngô Mân. Ngô Mân was an important official in the Phong area. Tradition says Ngô Quyền was a very special baby. People believed he was destined for greatness.

Ngô Quyền worked hard to rise in rank. He served a leader named Dương Đình Nghệ. The leader trusted him very much. He even gave his daughter, Lady Dương, to marry Ngô Quyền. This showed that Ngô Quyền was a loyal man. By the year 934, he was a military governor. He was in charge of the Ái Châu region. This gave him a strong base of power.

In the year 937, a man named Kiều Công Tiễn took power by force. He killed Dương Đình Nghệ in a coup. Ngô Quyền acted quickly to stop this rebel. His forces defeated Kiều Công Tiễn that same year. This event made the Southern Han dynasty want to invade. The Southern Han was a kingdom from China. They wanted to control the land of Vietnam. Ngô Quyền saw this coming and prepared for war.

In 938, a great battle happened at the Bạch Đằng River. Ngô Quyền had a very clever plan. He placed thousands of large wooden pikes in the river. He hid them under the water when the tide was high. He used small boats to lure the enemy ships in. When the tide went down, the enemy ships hit the poles. Many ships were destroyed or burned in the fight. The Southern Han army lost many soldiers in the battle.

This victory changed history for Vietnam. It ended 1,000 years of rule from China. Ngô Quyền became king in 939. He moved his capital to the Cổ Loa citadel. He used old traditions like brass gongs and deer skin drums. He wanted to honor the history of his people. He ruled until he died in 944. Today, a part of Haiphong is named after him.

Ngô Quyền was a significant military leader and the founding king of the Ngô dynasty in Vietnam. He ruled from 939 to 944. His leadership is most famous for winning the Battle of Bạch Đằng River in 938. This victory is a major turning point in Vietnamese history. It ended a period of Chinese rule that had lasted for 1,000 years. That long period of foreign control had begun in 111 BC under the Western Han dynasty. Today, Ngô Quyền is remembered as a hero of national independence.

Ngô Quyền was born in 898 AD in Đường Lâm. This area is now the Sơn Tây District in Hanoi. His father was Ngô Mân, an influential official in the Phong region. The family had a long history of leadership. A family stone from 1631 claims their ancestors dated back to the era of the Hung kings. Vietnamese tradition says his birth was marked by signs of future greatness. These signs included a strange light and three black moles on his back. Because of this, his mother named him "Quyền," which means authority and power.

His career began while serving under a leader named Dương Đình Nghệ. Ngô Quyền rose quickly through the military and government ranks. By 934, he was promoted to military governor of Ái Châu. This was a very important position in the Nghệ An province. Dương Đình Nghệ trusted Ngô Quyền so much that he gave him his daughter, Lady Dương, in marriage. This marriage helped secure Ngô Quyền's loyalty and his power base. However, the political situation changed in 937 when a man named Kiều Công Tiễn launched a military coup. Kiều Công Tiễn killed Dương Đình Nghệ and took control. Ngô Quyền acted quickly to defeat the rebel and execute him.

This internal conflict gave the Southern Han dynasty an excuse to invade. The Southern Han was a Chinese kingdom that wanted to control the region. Ngô Quyền saw this threat coming and prepared his army well in advance. In 938, the Southern Han emperor, Liu Yan, sent a large naval fleet to attack. Ngô Quyền developed a clever strategy to use the natural environment of the Bạch Đằng River. He ordered his men to plant thousands of large wooden pikes into the riverbed. These pikes were placed so they would be hidden beneath the water during high tide.

During the battle, Ngô Quyền used small boats with shallow drafts to lure the enemy. He waited for the tide to rise so the enemy ships could sail over the hidden pikes. Once the enemy was deep in the river, the tide began to go out. The retreating water left the heavy Southern Han ships stuck on the sharp wooden poles. Ngô Quyền then led his forces in a massive attack. The trapped ships were burned or destroyed in the chaos. Many Southern Han soldiers were killed in the fighting. This included the Admiral Liu Hongcao, who was a prince of the Southern Han emperor.

After his victory, Ngô Quyền was proclaimed king. He moved his capital to the Cổ Loa citadel. This was the ancient capital of the Âu Lạc kingdom. By doing this, he wanted to show that the traditions of the Lạc Việt people would continue. He brought back old rituals and used items like brass gongs and deerskin drums. These items were similar to those found on ancient Đông Sơn drums. At the same time, he also adopted some Chinese styles of government and dress. He tried to blend the old traditions of his people with new ways of managing a kingdom.

Despite his great success, Ngô Quyền's reign faced challenges after his death in 944. His empire fell into a period of civil conflict between different families. Members of the Dương and Ngô families fought for power for many years. His sons, Ngô Xương Văn and Ngô Xương Ngập, eventually ruled together for a short time. However, the royal family's control collapsed by the year 966. Even so, his legacy remains strong in Vietnamese history. Later leaders, such as Lê Hoàn and Trần Hưng Đạo, used similar river tactics to defend the country. Ngô Quyền's name is still honored today, and a district in Haiphong is named after him.