Le Quy Don
Encyclopedia
Lê Quý Đôn was an 18th-century Vietnamese
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...

 philosopher, poet, encyclopedist, and government official. His pseudonym was Quế Đường. He was a native of Duyen Ha village in present-day Thai Binh Province
Thai Binh Province
Thái Bình is a coastal eastern province in the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam, named after the Vietnamese name for the Pacific Ocean: Thái Bình Dương...

. He is considered one of the most outstanding and prolific Vietnamese savants of the early modern period.

The period of his life was marked by a split between the Trịnh Lords of the north and the Nguyễn Lords of the south, followed by the Tây Sơn rebellion.

In 1760, Le Quy Don went to China with an embassy mission. He later served as a government official in the ministries of war, finance and public works. He also served as the rector of the National University situated in Van Mieu in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...

 and as Director of the Bureau of Annals.

Le Quy Don was responsible for a large number of encyclopedic, historical, bibliographical, and philosophical works.
It is estimated that he has the largest volume of works among the old Vietnamese savants (about 40 series with hundreds of volumes). The encyclopedia Vân đài loại ngữ (9 volumes) is Vietnam's largest encyclopedia, a landmark in Vietnamese science in the Middle Ages. The history work Đại Việt thông sử (30 volumes) contains many documents about the Lê Dynasty
Lê Dynasty
The Later Lê Dynasty , sometimes referred to as the Lê Dynasty was the longest-ruling dynasty of Vietnam, ruling the country from 1428 to 1788, with a brief interruption....

. The Phu Bien Tap Luc (Frontier Chronicles) (6 volumes) was a detailed description of Nguyen territories in Thuận Hoá
Thuận Hóa
Thuận Hóa is a commune and village in Tuyên Hóa District, Quang Binh Province, in Vietnam....

 and Quảng Nam Provinces.

Today, one of largest technical universities in Hanoi, Le Quy Don Technical University (LeTech), and many schools in Vietnam are named after him.

Most cities in Vietnam have named major streets after him.
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