The Strange and Tragic Life of Vietnam's Only Female Emperor

Ly Chieu Hoang, also known as Chieu Thanh Queen, was the 9th and last Emperor of the Ly Dynasty. She was the second daughter of King Ly Hue Tong and Queen Tran Thi Dung.

In Vietnamese history, she was the first and only Queen. From a young age, Ly Chieu Hoang was caught up in the struggle for power between the Ly and Tran dynasties, and her life was full of hardships.

Abdicated the throne to her husband at the age of 7.

According to Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu , Ly Chieu Hoang ascended the throne in October 1224, when she was only 6 years old, and her reign name was Thien Chuong Huu Dao. She ascended the throne at a young age, so all the affairs of the court were still managed by Queen Mother Tran Thi Dung. At that time, the Commander of the Royal Guard Tran Thu Do (the cousin of Queen Mother Tran Thi Dung) - the person with the greatest power in the court at that time - arranged for a nephew, Tran Canh, to be brought into the palace as Chief. At that time, Tran Canh was only 8 years old.

Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu recorded: "One day, Canh, who was 8 years old at that time, had to carry water to wash, so he went to serve inside. Chieu Hoang saw this and liked it. Every time she played at night, she called Canh to play together. When she saw Canh in the dark, she would come over to tease him, sometimes grabbing his hair, or standing on the shadow.

One day, Canh served water to Chieu Hoang, who was washing her face. She scooped up water and splashed it all over Canh's face, then laughed and teased him. When Canh brought her a betel and a towel, she threw the towel at Canh.

Seeing that Ly Chieu Hoang had a good impression of Tran Canh, Tran Thu Do immediately arranged for the two to become husband and wife. In November of the year At Dau (1225), Ly Chieu Hoang issued an edict to abdicate the throne to her husband, Tran Canh. From then on, the throne of the Ly family was officially ceded to the Tran family.

Ly Chieu Hoang abdicated the throne to her husband Tran Canh (illustration).

After abdicating the throne, Ly Chieu Hoang was crowned Empress, becoming the youngest Empress in history at the age of 7. She lived with Emperor Thai Tong for more than 10 years, had deep feelings for him, and was loved and respected by him.

Married to another woman at the age of 40

Everyone thought Ly Chieu Hoang would have a peaceful life, but ironic fate caused her to encounter many incidents.

In 1233, Queen Ly gave birth to Crown Prince Tran Trinh, but the Crown Prince died shortly after birth. This left a great pain in her heart, causing her to be constantly ill. Therefore, in the following years, she was still unable to have children.

The birth was unsuccessful and she was constantly ill. Fearing that Tran Thai Tong would not have a son to succeed him, Tran Thu Do forced the king to establish a new queen. At this time, Ly Chieu Hoang was demoted to Princess Chieu Thanh. Faced with the continuous changes in her life, she was so sad and depressed that she shaved her head and became a nun.

Portrait of Ly Chieu Hoang drawn by author Binh Chi.

Thinking that after becoming a nun, her life would be peaceful, the fate of the only queen had not yet ended. In 1259, after the war with the Mongol army, Tran Thai Tong married Princess Chieu Thanh to Le Phu Tran, a general of the lineage of Minh Can Quang Hieu, Emperor of the Early Le Dynasty.

Le Phu Tran was a man who had many achievements in the resistance war, and had the merit of saving King Tran Thai Tong. At this time, Ly Chieu Hoang was 40 years old. Living with Le Phu Tran for 20 years, she gave birth to 2 children. The son was Thuong Vi Hau Le Tong, the daughter was Ung Thuy princess Le Ngoc Khue.

During her life, Ly Chieu Hoang had 7 titles. From princess, crown prince, queen of the Ly dynasty to queen, princess, nun, and finally lady under the Tran dynasty (illustrative photo).

In 1278, Ly Chieu Hoang passed away at the age of 60 while visiting her hometown in Co Phap (Tu Son, Bac Ninh ). Legend has it that she passed away while visiting her hometown in Co Phap (Bac Ninh).

When she left this world, her hair was still jet black, her lips were still red as vermillion, and her cheeks were still as fresh as peach blossoms. She was buried at the edge of Bang forest, west of Tho Lang Thien Duc. Later, she was worshiped at the Dragon Temple in her hometown.

From birth until her death, many events made Ly Chieu Hoang become a person with the strangest fate in the feudal history of Vietnam with 7 times in different titles: Princess of Ly Dynasty, Crown Prince of Ly Dynasty, Female Emperor of Ly Dynasty, Queen of Tran Dynasty, Princess of Tran Dynasty, Nun (Tran Dynasty) and Wife of General of Tran Dynasty.

Inspiration for works of art

Ly Chieu Hoang's life went through countless events and ups and downs, and her fate is considered the strangest in the history of Vietnamese feudalism. The life of this female emperor was tragic and extremely complicated, and was also the inspiration for many works of popular art.

In 2021, a film project called Ly Chieu Hoang , based on the life and fate of the only female emperor in Vietnamese history, was announced and attracted the attention of the audience.

According to the producer, the film will be set after the female emperor was forced to abdicate in favor of her husband and become the Empress. At this time, she once again faces a plot to dethrone her when she is no longer of any use. In the last 3 days before being deposed, Ly Chieu Hoang will fight to reverse the situation and regain the royal power.

The project "Ly Chieu Hoang" has announced the character design ideas, but is still in the period of calling for investors.

The poster introduces the character's appearance with costumes quite different from the historical ones, but has quite beautiful visual effects. The main characters are mostly young and beautiful new actors such as Nguyen Hoang Kieu Trinh, Nguyen Phuc Quy Quang, Nong Hong Son, Nguyen Thi Dieu Van,... but their acting ability is still a mystery.

In particular, the work was written by Korean screenwriter Paek Seong Og. This makes the audience even more interested. However, up to now, the film is still in the pre-production stage, with unknown filming and release dates.

In 2020, the audience was particularly impressed with the animated film Floating Flowers in the Royal Dynasty, adapted from the famous novel of the same name. The plot was inspired by the life story of the first female emperor of Dai Viet, also the last king of the Ly Dynasty and the first Queen of the Tran Dynasty - Ly Chieu Hoang.

Putting aside political stories, the animated film mainly explores another little-known aspect of Ly Chieu Hoang's childhood. After being broadcast, Floating Flowers in the Royal Dynasty received great support from domestic audiences. Many fans praised the easy-to-understand, familiar plot, combined with lovely drawings that create a sense of excitement for viewers.

Some fans also believe that this will be an effective way for young people to access Vietnamese history more easily, both entertaining and containing many historical lessons of the country.

Emperor Ly Chieu Hoang is depicted with lovely, humorous drawings in the cartoon.

Won the Gold Medal at the 1999 National Professional Theater Festival, Bamboo Forest - one of the classic plays recreating a historical period of our country at the end of the Ly Dynasty - the beginning of the Tran Dynasty. People's Artist Le Khanh plays the role of Ly Chieu Hoang. This role helped the actress win the Gold Medal at the 1999 National Theater Festival.

People's Artist Le Khanh plays the role of Ly Chieu Hoang in the play "Bamboo Forest".

The play delves into the tragedy between mother and son, brothers, king and subject, uncle and nephew in the royal family. Amidst the fierce conflicts, Tran Thai Tong, bewildered, abandoned the throne and went to the Yen Tu bamboo forest to seek Buddha's door. At that time, the Yuan-Mongol invaders plotted to invade our country. For the safety of the country, Grand Tutor Tran Thu Do brought all the courtiers to Yen Tu to welcome the king back. The king returned to the capital with his family, put aside their grudges, reconciled with each other to unify the will to unite the nation against foreign invaders.

With the script by the late writer Nguyen Dinh Thi and the staging and direction of the late People's Artist Nguyen Dinh Nghi and People's Artist Pham Thi Thanh, the play won the gold medal at the National Theater Festival in 1999.

In 2021, Ly Chieu Hoang was once again brought to life on stage with the play Thang Long Citadel (script: Chu Thom, director: People's Artist Giang Manh Ha). Just over 2 hours long, the play helps people grasp historical events, while also delving into each character, revealing their inner thoughts and hidden feelings. The play depicts a portrait of a woman in a political storm, a flower in the storms of civil war and foreign invasion when she had to sacrifice herself for the greater good.

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Source: https://vtc.vn/cuoc-doi-la-lung-day-bi-kich-cua-nu-hoang-de-duy-nhat-o-viet-nam-ar766355.html