Lý Chiêu Hoàng facts for kids

Southeast Asia in the 13th century; Lý Chiêu Hoàng ruled Dai Viet, in the northeast of the map.

Lý Chiêu Hoàng (chữ Hán: 李昭皇, September 1218 – 1278) was a very important person in Vietnamese history. Her personal name was Lý Phật Kim. She was the ninth and last ruler of the Lý dynasty.

Lý Chiêu Hoàng was the queen of Đại Việt from 1224 to 1225. She is known as the only empress who ruled Vietnam directly. Another female ruler, Trưng Trắc, was the first queen to rule.

A Young Ruler's Life

Lý Phật Kim was born in September 1218. Her courtesy name was Thiên Hinh, and her pen name was Chiêu Thánh. She was the second child of Emperor Lý Huệ Tông and Empress Trần Thị Dung.

She had an older sister, Princess Thuận Thiên. Her sister was born in 1216. Princess Thuận Thiên later married Prince Phụng Càn, whose name was Trần Liễu. Lý Phật Kim herself was called Princess Chiêu Thánh. She was the only one who could take over the throne.

Becoming Empress

Emperor Lý Huệ Tông had been unwell for a long time. In October 1224, he decided to give his throne to Princess Lý Chiêu Hoàng. This made Lý Chiêu Hoàng the only empress to rule in the history of Vietnam.

Some historians, like Ngô Sĩ Liên, thought this decision was a big reason why the Lý Dynasty ended. They believed if the emperor had chosen a strong family member instead of his young daughter, things might have been different.

Ruling as Empress

Lý Chiêu Hoàng became empress when she was only six years old. She was greatly influenced by the Commander of the Royal Guard, Trần Thủ Độ. Other members of the Trần family also started to gain power in the royal court. This happened during the reign of her father, Lý Huệ Tông.

Even the empress's personal helpers were chosen by Trần Thủ Độ. This meant that her trusted servants were all from the Trần family. These included Trần Bất Cập, Trần Thiêm, and Trần Thủ Độ's seven-year-old nephew, Trần Cảnh.

When Trần Cảnh told Trần Thủ Độ that the empress seemed to like him, Trần Thủ Độ saw an opportunity. He decided to use this chance to plan the end of the Lý Dynasty. He wanted to start his own family's dynasty.

The End of a Dynasty

First, Trần Thủ Độ moved his entire Trần family into the royal palace. He then secretly arranged a marriage between Lý Chiêu Hoàng and Trần Cảnh. No government officials or Lý royal family members were present.

This royal wedding happened in October or November 1225. Both Lý Chiêu Hoàng and Trần Cảnh were only seven years old. After the marriage, Trần Thủ Độ told the royal court what had happened. He then made Lý Chiêu Hoàng give up her throne to her new husband. He said she was not able to rule.

So, Trần Cảnh was chosen as her successor. This ended the 216-year rule of the Lý Dynasty. The new Trần Dynasty began on December 31, 1225. The empress's only era name was Thiên Chương Hữu Đạo.

Life After the Throne

After Trần Cảnh became Emperor Trần Thái Tông, Lý Chiêu Hoàng's title changed. In January 1226, she became Empress Consort Chiêu Thánh. Even though Trần Thừa, the new emperor's father, was the Regent, Trần Thủ Độ held all the real power. He made all the important decisions for the country.

Trần Thủ Độ was worried that the new Trần Dynasty might be overthrown. So, he continued to remove members of the Lý royal family. He ordered Lý Chiêu Hoàng's father, Lý Huệ Tông, to end his own life in October 1226. He also married Lý Chiêu Hoàng's mother, Empress Trần Thị Dung, to another person.

Historians like Ngô Sĩ Liên criticized Trần Thủ Độ's actions. They called his decisions inhumane. Later, in August 1232, Trần Thủ Độ decided to remove all remaining Lý royal family members. This happened during a ceremony for past Lý emperors. However, some historians question if this event truly happened.

As Empress Consort and Princess

Empress Chiêu Thánh did not have a child with Emperor Trần Thái Tông for some time. This worried Trần Thủ Độ. He had used a similar situation with Emperor Lý Huệ Tông to end the Lý Dynasty.

So, in 1237, Trần Thủ Độ made a difficult decision. He forced Trần Liễu to give up his wife, Princess Thuận Thiên, to the Emperor. Princess Thuận Thiên was already three months pregnant with Trần Quốc Khang. After this new marriage, Thuận Thiên became the new empress. Chiêu Thánh was then given a lower title, becoming a princess.

Trần Liễu was very angry about losing his pregnant wife. He started a rebellion against the royal family. Emperor Thái Tông felt uncomfortable and decided to become a monk for a while. Eventually, Trần Thủ Độ convinced Thái Tông to return to the throne. Trần Liễu surrendered because his forces were too small.

In 1258, Emperor Thái Tông decided that Princess Chiêu Thánh should marry again. She married General Lê Phụ Trần. He was very important in the victory against the first Mongol invasion.

Princess Chiêu Thánh passed away in Cổ Pháp in March 1278. She was 61 years old. With her second husband, Lê Phụ Trần, she had two children. They were Marquis Lê Tông and Princess Ứng Thụy Lê Khuê.

Her Place in History

Because of her role in the end of the Lý Dynasty, Lý Chiêu Hoàng was not honored with her ancestors. The eight previous Lý emperors were worshipped at the Lý Bát Đế Temple in Bắc Ninh. Her memorial tablet was placed in a smaller shrine nearby.

In 2009, this smaller shrine was renovated. This was for the 1000th anniversary of Hanoi, which the Lý Dynasty founded. Some people and newspapers criticized the renovation. They said that almost all the old parts of the shrine were torn down and rebuilt. This was despite the shrine being a national historical site.

Officials said the temple was not as old as people thought. They explained that they had to rebuild it from the ground up. This was because the shrine was in very poor condition and needed a full reconstruction.

See also

In Spanish: Lý Chiêu Hoàng para niños