Nguyễn Trãi (Hán tự: ), also known under his style name Ức Trai (1380-1442) was a Vietnamese Confucian scholar, politician, strategist and poet. He became a close friend and advisor of Lê Lợi, Vietnam's hero-king, who freed Vietnam from Chinese rule. He is credited with writing the important political statements of Lê Lợi and inspiring many Vietnamese to support the rebellion against the Ming Dynasty rulers. He is the author of the declaration of independence from China Bình Ngô đại cáo.
Biography
Early life
Nguyễn Trãi was born in 1388 in Thang Long (present-day Hanoi), the capital of the declining Tran Dynasty. ["Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals", p.48 ff.] Under the brief Ho Dynasty, he obtained his doctorate and served for a time in the government. In 1406, Ming force invaded and conquered Vietnam. The Ming attempted to convert Vietnam into a Chinese province and quashed a number of attempted rebellions.
War of independence
In 1417, Nguyễn Trãi joined a rebel leader named Lê Lợi, who was resisting the occupation from a mountainous region in Thanh Hoa Province south of Hanoi. Nguyễn Trãi served as an advisor, strategist and propagandist for the movement.
The war of independence leading to the defeat of the Ming and the instauration of the Le Dynasty, lasted from 1417 to 1427. ["Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals", p.55 ff.] From 1417 until 1423, Lê Lợi conducted a guerilla campaign from his bases in the mountans. Following a negotiated truce, the rebel troops extended their control over the whole of Thanh Hoa and over the southern province of Nghe An. The Ming then sent a series of armies of reinforcement to bolster their positions. In 1426, the army of a general named Wang Tong arrived in the Red River Delta. However, the Vietnamese forces were able to cut supply lines and control the countryside, leaving the Chinese holed up in the capital and other citadels. During this period, Nguyễn Trãi sought to undermine the resolve of the enemy and to negotiate a favorable peace by writing a series of letters to the Ming commanders. [An English translation of one such letter, under the title "New Letter to Wang Tong," has been published in "Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals", p.69 ff.] In 1427 two other Chinese relief armies entered Vietnam and were defeated. Wang Tong sued for peace. The numerous Chinese prisoners of war were given provisions and allowed to return to China. Nguyễn Trãi penned a famous proclamation of victory. [An English translation of the proclamation, under the title "Proclamation of Victory over the Wu," has been published in "Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals", pp.63 ff.]
Later life
After the war Nguyễn Trãi was elevated by Lê Lợi to a very high rank in the new court but he was not appointed the regent of the country upon Lê Lợi's death. Instead that position was given to Le Sat, who ruled as regent for the young heir Lê Thái Tông.
At some point during the regency of Le Sat, Nguyễn Trãi retired to his country home north of Hanoi in the tranquil mountains of Con Son, where he enjoyed poetry writing and meditation. Today, visitors can visit this site where a large shrine of remembrance, covering from the foot of the mountain to the top is erected to honour the national hero. The site of Nguyễn Trãi's house remains however only tiled floors still exist. Close by is an ancient Buddhist temple, which has stood there several centuries before Nguyễn Trãi's time.
Nguyễn Trãi's death resulted from a scandal involving the young king, Le Thai Tong, and the wife or concubine of Nguyễn Trãi, named Nguyễn Thị Lộ. Early in 1442, the young king began an affair with Nguyễn Thị Lộ. This affair continued when the king visited the old scholar at his home. Not long after the king left, he suddenly became ill and died. The nobles at the court blamed Nguyễn Trãi and Nguyễn Thị Lộ for the young kings death, accused them of treason, and had them and their entire families executed "to the third generation".
Twenty years later, the great king Lê Thánh Tông officially pardoned Nguyễn Trãi, saying that he was innocent in the death of the king.