An Nam chí lược
Encyclopedia
The An Nam chí lược is an historical text that was compiled by the Vietnamese
historian Lê Tắc during his exile in China
in early 14th century. Published for the first time in 1335 during the reign of the Yuan Dynasty
, An Nam chí lược became one of the few historical books about Đại Việt that survive from the 14th and 15th centuries and it is considered the oldest historical work by a Vietnamese that has been preserved.
and grandson of the emperor Trần Thái Tông
. During the 1285 invasion
of Đại Việt by the Yuan Dynasty
, Trần Kiện surrendered to Kublai Khan
's prince Toghan but he was killed before he could flee to the northern border. As a subordinate of Trần Kiện, Lê Tắc followed his master to China, he survived the ambush that killed Trần Kiện and afterwards lived in exile in the town of Hanyang, Hubei
. During his exile in Hanyang, Lê Tắc compiled the An Nam chí lược to recite the history
, geography and culture of Đại Việt. A study shows that Lê Tắc wrote his work around the period from 1285 to 1307 and continuously supplemented until 1339, from the foreword of Lê Tắc, one knows that An Nam chí lược was published for the first time in 1335 during the reign of the Emperor Huizong of Yuan, it was subsequently published in the library Siku Quanshu
of the Qing Dynasty
. During the reign of the Ming Dynasty
, an author also based on An Nam chí lược to write an extensive records about Vietnam named Việt Kiệu thư.
During the Fourth Chinese domination, many valuable books of Đại Việt were taken away by the Ming Dynasty
and subsequently were lost. Hence the An Nam chí lược became one of the few historical books about Đại Việt that survive from the 14th and 15th centuries and it is considered the oldest historical work compiled by a Vietnamese that has been preserved. Only in early 20th century, the book was brought back to Vietnam through a version that was printed in Japan
in 1884, An Nam chí lược was translated into Vietnamese
in 1961.
(Pacified South) was the Chinese name for Vietnam during the Tang Dynasty
, thus An Nam chí lược was written with a Chinese bias. The contents of An Nam chí lược are arranged in 20 chapters (quyển), except for details dating from Lê Tắc's lifetime, An Nam chí lược is derived almost entirely from Chinese accounts and contains some records that cannot be found elsewhere. Today 19 chapters are preserved in the original form except the 20th chapter named Danh công đề vịnh An Nam chí that was lost.
According to Keith Weller Taylor in his The Birth of Vietnam, although Lê Tắc wrote his work in China, the An Nam chí lược still reflects his Vietnamese root and thoughts that result in some materials about "rebels" of Chinese authority which one would not expect from a Chinese historian. For example, An Nam chí lược is the earliest surviving historical book to mention Lady Triệu
who led a rebellion against the kingdom of Eastern Wu
in 3rd century. Besides the historical accounts, An Nam chí lược also contains valuable information about the geography, tradition and culture of Vietnam such as the influence of Taoism
in Đại Việt. The oldest records about the activities of Đại Việt people from the ancient time to the Trần Dynasty are found in the first chapter of the An Nam chí lược, by his own experiences, Lê Tắc made a detailed description about the Vietnamese tradition of singing, dancing and musical instruments. From this account, it is known that Vietnamese people has an old tradition of creating songs in native language
together with tunes in Chinese
.
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
historian Lê Tắc during his exile in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in early 14th century. Published for the first time in 1335 during the reign of the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, An Nam chí lược became one of the few historical books about Đại Việt that survive from the 14th and 15th centuries and it is considered the oldest historical work by a Vietnamese that has been preserved.
History of compilation
Lê Tắc (or Lê Trắc) was an advisor of the Marquis Chương Hiến Trần Kiện who was the son of Prince Tĩnh Quốc Trần Quốc KhangTrần Quốc Khang
Prince Tĩnh Quốc Trần Quốc Khang was the first prince of the Emperor Trần Thái Tông, the eldest brother of Trần Thánh Tông and princes Trần Quang Khải, Trần Ích Tắc and Trần Nhật Duật...
and grandson of the emperor Trần Thái Tông
Trần Thái Tông
Trần Thái Tông, born name: Trần Cảnh , July 17, 1218-May 4, 1277) was the first emperor of the Trần Dynasty, seated on the throne for 33 years , being Grand Emperor for 19 years.-Biography:...
. During the 1285 invasion
Mongol invasions of Vietnam
Mongol invasions of Vietnam or Mongol-Vietnamese War refer to the three times that the Mongol Empire and its chief khanate the Yuan Dynasty invaded Đại Việt during the Trần Dynasty and the Kingdom of Champa: in 1257–1258, 1284–1285, and 1287–1288. The Mongols were defeated by Đại...
of Đại Việt by the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, Trần Kiện surrendered to Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
's prince Toghan but he was killed before he could flee to the northern border. As a subordinate of Trần Kiện, Lê Tắc followed his master to China, he survived the ambush that killed Trần Kiện and afterwards lived in exile in the town of Hanyang, Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
. During his exile in Hanyang, Lê Tắc compiled the An Nam chí lược to recite the history
History of Vietnam
The history of Vietnam covers a period of more than 2,700 years. By far Vietnam's most important historical international relationship has been with China. Vietnam's prehistory includes a legend about a kingdom known as Van Lang that included what is now China's Guangxi Autonomous Region and...
, geography and culture of Đại Việt. A study shows that Lê Tắc wrote his work around the period from 1285 to 1307 and continuously supplemented until 1339, from the foreword of Lê Tắc, one knows that An Nam chí lược was published for the first time in 1335 during the reign of the Emperor Huizong of Yuan, it was subsequently published in the library Siku Quanshu
Siku Quanshu
The Siku Quanshu, variously translated as the Imperial Collection of Four, Emperor's Four Treasuries, Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature, or Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, is the largest collection of books in Chinese history and probably the most ambitious editorial...
of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. During the reign of the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, an author also based on An Nam chí lược to write an extensive records about Vietnam named Việt Kiệu thư.
During the Fourth Chinese domination, many valuable books of Đại Việt were taken away by the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and subsequently were lost. Hence the An Nam chí lược became one of the few historical books about Đại Việt that survive from the 14th and 15th centuries and it is considered the oldest historical work compiled by a Vietnamese that has been preserved. Only in early 20th century, the book was brought back to Vietnam through a version that was printed in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1884, An Nam chí lược was translated into Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
in 1961.
Description
In An Nam chí lược, Lê Tắc recounted the history and other aspects of his country Đại Việt from its beginning to the reign of the Trần Dynasty. The title of the book literally means Abbreviated Records of An Nam with An NamAnnam (Chinese Province)
Annam or Jiaozhi was the southernmost province of the Chinese Empire. It is now part of present-day Vietnam...
(Pacified South) was the Chinese name for Vietnam during the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, thus An Nam chí lược was written with a Chinese bias. The contents of An Nam chí lược are arranged in 20 chapters (quyển), except for details dating from Lê Tắc's lifetime, An Nam chí lược is derived almost entirely from Chinese accounts and contains some records that cannot be found elsewhere. Today 19 chapters are preserved in the original form except the 20th chapter named Danh công đề vịnh An Nam chí that was lost.
According to Keith Weller Taylor in his The Birth of Vietnam, although Lê Tắc wrote his work in China, the An Nam chí lược still reflects his Vietnamese root and thoughts that result in some materials about "rebels" of Chinese authority which one would not expect from a Chinese historian. For example, An Nam chí lược is the earliest surviving historical book to mention Lady Triệu
Trieu Thi Trinh
Triệu Thị Trinh was a Vietnamese female warrior in 3rd century AD Vietnam who managed, for a time, to successfully resist the Kingdom of Wu during their occupation of Vietnam...
who led a rebellion against the kingdom of Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
in 3rd century. Besides the historical accounts, An Nam chí lược also contains valuable information about the geography, tradition and culture of Vietnam such as the influence of Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
in Đại Việt. The oldest records about the activities of Đại Việt people from the ancient time to the Trần Dynasty are found in the first chapter of the An Nam chí lược, by his own experiences, Lê Tắc made a detailed description about the Vietnamese tradition of singing, dancing and musical instruments. From this account, it is known that Vietnamese people has an old tradition of creating songs in native language
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
together with tunes in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
.
Table of contents
| Chapter (Quyển) | Title | Contents | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | General | General information about Đại Việt, administrative divisions, geography, legends and traditions | |
| 02 | "Đại Nguyên chiếu chế" (大元詔制) |
Edicts, proclamations and other formal documents of the Yuan Dynasty and former Chinese dynasties to rulers of Đại Việt | |
| 03 | "Đại Nguyên phụng sứ" (大元奉使) |
Records about Vietnamese ambassadors to China and Chinese envoys to Vietnam | |
| 04 | "Chính thảo vận hướng" (征討運餉) |
Brief accounts about conflicts and wars between two country | |
| 05 | "Đại Nguyên danh thần vãng phục thơ vấn" (大元名臣往復書問) |
Letters of mandarins of the Yuan Dynasty and former Chinese dynasties to Đại Việt or related to the country | |
| 06 | "Biểu chương" (表章) |
Petitions and letters of Vietnamese rulers to Chinese authorities | |
| 07 | "Thứ sử, thái thú Giao Châu, Cửu Chân, Nhật Nam và thứ sử, thái thú đời Tam Quốc" (漢交州九真日南刺史太守) |
Records about Chinese governors of the Han Dynasty Han Dynasty The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang... and Eastern Wu Eastern Wu Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China... in Vietnam during the First Chinese domination |
|
| 08 | "Đô đốc, thứ sử Giao Châu, thái thú Giao Chỉ, Cửu Chân, Nhật Nam thời Lục triều" (六朝交州刺史都督交趾九真日南太守) |
Records about Chinese governors of the Six Dynasties Six Dynasties Six Dynasties is a collective noun for six Chinese dynasties during the periods of the Three Kingdoms , Jin Dynasty , and Southern and Northern Dynasties .... in Vietnam during the Second Chinese domination |
|
| 09 | "Đô đốc, đô hộ, kinh lược sứ An Nam, thứ sử Giao, Ái, Hoan thời nhà Đường" (唐安南都督都護經略使交愛驩三郡刺史) |
Records about Chinese governors of the Tang Dynasty Tang Dynasty The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire... in Vietnam during the Third Chinese domination |
|
| 10 | "Những người tôi các đời trước sang ký ngụ" (歷代覊臣) |
Records about other Chinese mandarins in Vietnam | |
| 11 | "Gia thế họ Triệu" (趙氏世家) |
Records about Vietnamese rulers from the Triệu Dynasty, Khúc family Khúc family The Khúc clan was a succession of leaders who challenged Tang rule over Vietnam. The Tang took control of the northern Vietnamese region of Giao Châu after 618 and established twelve provinces and 59 districts under the Commonwealth of Annam... , Ngô Dynasty Ngô Dynasty The Ngô dynasty was a dynasty in Vietnam.Around the year 930 AD, as Ngô Quyền rose to power, northern Vietnam was militarily occupied by Southern Han and was treated as an autonomous province and vassal state of China and was referred to as Giao Chỉ... to the Đinh Dynasty and Early Lê Dynasty |
|
| 12 | "Gia thế họ Lý" (李氏世家) |
Records about the Lý Dynasty Lý Dynasty The Lý Dynasty , sometimes known as the Later Lý Dynasty , was a Vietnamese dynasty that began in 1009 when Lý Thái Tổ overthrew the Prior Lê Dynasty and ended in 1225 when the queen Lý Chiêu Hoàng was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of her husband, Trần Cảnh. They ruled Vietnam for a... |
|
| 13 | "Gia thế họ Trần" (陳氏世家) |
Records about the Trần Dynasty from Trần Thừa Trần Thừa Trần Thừa was the head of the Trần clan and a high-ranking mandarin during the reign of Lý Huệ Tông and Lý Chiêu Hoàng. After the overthrow of the Lý Dynasty by Trần Thủ Độ, Trần Thừa's second son Trần Cảnh was enthroned as Trần Thái Tông, the first emperor of the Trần Dynasty... to Trần Minh Tông Trần Minh Tông Trần Minh Tông , given name Trần Mạnh , was the fifth emperor of the Trần Dynasty who ruled Đại Việt from 1314 to 1329. After ceding the throne to his son Trần Hiến Tông, Minh Tông held the title of Thái thượng hoàng for 29 years... with supplemental accounts about Trần Ích Tắc Trần Ích Tắc Trần Ích Tắc , title before defection Prince Chiêu Quốc was the fifth prince of Trần Thái Tông, first emperor of the Trần Dynasty, and the younger brother of the Emperor Trần Thánh Tông and grand chancellor Trần Quang Khải... , Trần Tú Viên, Trần Văn Lộng and Trần Kiện |
|
| 14 | Administrative information | Records about the administrative system, education, military organization and Vietnamese ambassadors to China | |
| 15 | "Nhân vật" (人物) |
Records about notable figures in history of Vietnam, supplemental accounts about Vietnamese specialities | |
| 16 | "Tạp ký" (雜記) |
Various remarks about Vietnam and recitation of famous poems | |
| 17 | "Thơ của các danh nhân đi sứ An Nam" (至元以來名賢奉使安南詩) |
Poems of Chinese envoys to Vietnam and poems or letters of Vietnamese scholars for Chinese envoys | |
| 18 | "Thơ của danh nhân An Nam" (安南名人詩) |
Poems of prominent Vietnamese authors | |
| 19 | "Đồ chí ca" (圖志歌) |
Summary of history of Vietnam by a poem |