Trần Phế Đế
Encyclopedia
Trần Phế Đế given name
Trần Hiện (陳晛), was the tenth emperor of the Trần Dynasty who reigned Đại Việt from 1377 to 1388. After his father
's death in Battle of Đồ Bàn in January 1377, Phế Đế was enthroned as Đại Việt Emperor by the Retired Emperor Trần Nghệ Tông
who acted as Phế Đế's regent during his reign. Fearing the rise of Hồ Quý Ly in royal court, Phế Đế tried to reduce his power but Hồ Quý Ly already got ahead of this plot by a defamation campaign against the Emperor which ultimately made Nghệ Tông decide to dethrone Phế Đế in December 1388. Phế Đế was downgraded to Prince Linh Đức and forced to commit suicide and his supporters in royal court were purged by Hồ Quý Ly faction. The death of Phế Đế marked the last step of Hồ Quý Ly's power seizing from Trần clan.
, and his wife Lady Lê, then Queen Gia Từ. Initially, Duệ Tông wanted to make his first son Prince Chương Vũ Trần Vĩ crown prince
but Trần Vĩ soon died during Duệ Tông's reign so Prince Kiến Đức Trần Hiện became the first in line of successor.
In January 1377, after the Battle of Đồ Bàn in which Duệ Tông and seventy percent of his troops were killed by Champa's army, the Retired Emperor Nghệ Tông decided to cede the vancant throne to Prince Kiến Đức. After the coronation, Phế Đế changed the era name to Xương Phù (昌符, 1377–1388).
ruler because it was Nghệ Tông who still held the real power. According to Đại Việt sử kí toàn thư, Phế Đế was actually worse than his father, he had a weak and ignorant character which was profited by Hồ Quý Ly in his gradual control of royal court.
After the major defeat of Duệ Tông at Đồ Bàn, Champa's force continued to attack Đại Việt several times, unable to stop Chế Bồng Nga's troops, Trần's rulers even decided to hide royal treasure and worshiping objects in northern border in fearing that Chế Bồng Nga's troop might capture the royal palace in Thăng Long. Besides the threat from Champa, Phế Đế and his regent Nghệ Tông also had to face with many inside revolts ignited by famine and Chế Bồng Nga's stimulation.
In May 1380, Trần's army under the command of Hồ Quý Ly had the first victory over Champa's troops in Thanh Hóa
. After this point, general Đỗ Tử Bình resigned from the position of highest commander of Tran army and thus Hồ Quý Ly began to held all civil and military power in royal court. Despite another victory by the troops of general Nguyễn Đa Phương in February 1382, Trần Dynasty had to suffer a severe attack from Chế Bồng Nga in June 1383 which made Nghệ Tông fled from capital Thăng Long in spite of the begging advice to stay from his mandarins. This decision of Nghệ Tông was heavily criticized by the historian Ngô Sĩ Liên
in his work Đại Việt sử kí toàn thư as a "coward decision". In the northern border, Ming Dynasty
also began to expose their ambition of invading southern kingdoms like Đại Việt and Champa.
Facing the unstoppable rise of Hồ Quý Ly in royal court, Phế Đế ploted with minister Trần Ngạc to reduce Hồ Quý Ly's power but Hồ Quý Ly already got ahead of this plot by a defamation campaign against the Emperor which ultimately made Nghệ Tông decide to dethrone and downgrade Phế Đế to Prince Linh Đức in December 1388. Some loyal generals of Phế Đế tried to bring troops in royal palace to overturn this decision but they were stopped by Phế Đế himself soon before his forced suicide by the order of Nghệ Tông. On December 27 of Lunar calendar
, 1387, Nghệ Tông passed the throne to his youngest son Trần Ngung, now Trần Thuận Tông
, who was only eleven. In the mean time, Hồ Quý Ly faction purged Phế Đế's supporters so that Hồ Quý Ly became the most powerful man in royal court. After the coronation, Thuận Tông had Phế Đế bury at An Bài Mountain.
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese names generally consist of three parts: a family name, a middle name, and a given name, used in that order. The "family name first" order follows the system of Chinese names and is common throughout the Sinosphere , but is different from Chinese, Korean, and Japanese names in having a...
Trần Hiện (陳晛), was the tenth emperor of the Trần Dynasty who reigned Đại Việt from 1377 to 1388. After his father
Trần Duệ Tông
Trần Duệ Tông , given name Trần Kính , was the ninth emperor of the Trần Dynasty who reigned Đại Việt from 1373 to 1377. Duệ Tông succeeded the throne from his brother Trần Nghệ Tông who was credited with the re-establishment of Trần clan's ruling in Đại Việt from Hôn Đức Công...
's death in Battle of Đồ Bàn in January 1377, Phế Đế was enthroned as Đại Việt Emperor by the Retired Emperor Trần Nghệ Tông
Trần Nghệ Tông
Trần Nghệ Tông , given name Trần Phủ , was the eighth emperor of the Trần Dynasty who reigned Đại Việt from 1370 to 1372. Nghệ Tông was credited with the re-establishment of Trần clan's ruling in Đại Việt from Hôn Đức Công who kept the throne in nearly two years after the decease of Trần Dụ Tông...
who acted as Phế Đế's regent during his reign. Fearing the rise of Hồ Quý Ly in royal court, Phế Đế tried to reduce his power but Hồ Quý Ly already got ahead of this plot by a defamation campaign against the Emperor which ultimately made Nghệ Tông decide to dethrone Phế Đế in December 1388. Phế Đế was downgraded to Prince Linh Đức and forced to commit suicide and his supporters in royal court were purged by Hồ Quý Ly faction. The death of Phế Đế marked the last step of Hồ Quý Ly's power seizing from Trần clan.
Background
Phế Đế (Deposed Emperor) was born in 1361 as Trần Hiện, second child of the Prince Cung Tuyên Trần Kính, then Emperor Trần Duệ TôngTrần Duệ Tông
Trần Duệ Tông , given name Trần Kính , was the ninth emperor of the Trần Dynasty who reigned Đại Việt from 1373 to 1377. Duệ Tông succeeded the throne from his brother Trần Nghệ Tông who was credited with the re-establishment of Trần clan's ruling in Đại Việt from Hôn Đức Công...
, and his wife Lady Lê, then Queen Gia Từ. Initially, Duệ Tông wanted to make his first son Prince Chương Vũ Trần Vĩ crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
but Trần Vĩ soon died during Duệ Tông's reign so Prince Kiến Đức Trần Hiện became the first in line of successor.
In January 1377, after the Battle of Đồ Bàn in which Duệ Tông and seventy percent of his troops were killed by Champa's army, the Retired Emperor Nghệ Tông decided to cede the vancant throne to Prince Kiến Đức. After the coronation, Phế Đế changed the era name to Xương Phù (昌符, 1377–1388).
As emperor
Although being the Emperor of Đại Việt, Phế Đế was only a de jureDe jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
ruler because it was Nghệ Tông who still held the real power. According to Đại Việt sử kí toàn thư, Phế Đế was actually worse than his father, he had a weak and ignorant character which was profited by Hồ Quý Ly in his gradual control of royal court.
After the major defeat of Duệ Tông at Đồ Bàn, Champa's force continued to attack Đại Việt several times, unable to stop Chế Bồng Nga's troops, Trần's rulers even decided to hide royal treasure and worshiping objects in northern border in fearing that Chế Bồng Nga's troop might capture the royal palace in Thăng Long. Besides the threat from Champa, Phế Đế and his regent Nghệ Tông also had to face with many inside revolts ignited by famine and Chế Bồng Nga's stimulation.
In May 1380, Trần's army under the command of Hồ Quý Ly had the first victory over Champa's troops in Thanh Hóa
Thanh Hóa
Thanh Hóa is the capital city of Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province. The population is nearly 200,000 with an area of only 57.9 square kilometers....
. After this point, general Đỗ Tử Bình resigned from the position of highest commander of Tran army and thus Hồ Quý Ly began to held all civil and military power in royal court. Despite another victory by the troops of general Nguyễn Đa Phương in February 1382, Trần Dynasty had to suffer a severe attack from Chế Bồng Nga in June 1383 which made Nghệ Tông fled from capital Thăng Long in spite of the begging advice to stay from his mandarins. This decision of Nghệ Tông was heavily criticized by the historian Ngô Sĩ Liên
Ngô Sĩ Liên
Ngô Sĩ Liên was an historian of the Lê Dynasty. He is best known for being the principal compiler of the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, a comprehensive chronicle of the history of Vietnam and the oldest official historical record of a Vietnamese dynasty that remains today...
in his work Đại Việt sử kí toàn thư as a "coward decision". In the northern border, 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...
also began to expose their ambition of invading southern kingdoms like Đại Việt and Champa.
Facing the unstoppable rise of Hồ Quý Ly in royal court, Phế Đế ploted with minister Trần Ngạc to reduce Hồ Quý Ly's power but Hồ Quý Ly already got ahead of this plot by a defamation campaign against the Emperor which ultimately made Nghệ Tông decide to dethrone and downgrade Phế Đế to Prince Linh Đức in December 1388. Some loyal generals of Phế Đế tried to bring troops in royal palace to overturn this decision but they were stopped by Phế Đế himself soon before his forced suicide by the order of Nghệ Tông. On December 27 of Lunar calendar
Lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
, 1387, Nghệ Tông passed the throne to his youngest son Trần Ngung, now Trần Thuận Tông
Trần Thuận Tông
Trần Thuận Tông , given name Trần Ngung , was the eleventh emperor of the Trần Dynasty who reigned Đại Việt from 1378 to 1398. He was chosen to succeed to this position by his father, the Retired Emperor Trần Nghệ Tông, after Nghệ Tông decided to dethrone and force Trần Phế Đế to commit suicide...
, who was only eleven. In the mean time, Hồ Quý Ly faction purged Phế Đế's supporters so that Hồ Quý Ly became the most powerful man in royal court. After the coronation, Thuận Tông had Phế Đế bury at An Bài Mountain.