To Hien Thanh

Tô Hiến Thành (chữ Hán: 蘇憲誠) (November 01, 1101-September 23, 1179) was an official in the royal court of Lý Anh Tông and Lý Cao Tông, the sixth and seventh emperors of the Lý dynasty. Being a capable official of Lý Anh Tông who helped the emperor in civil and military matters, Tô Hiến Thành was chosen by Lý Anh Tông for the regentship of his son Lý Long Trát. He was granted the title Prince and thus became the only possessor of the title who did not come from the Lý royal family. The achievements and loyalty of Tô Hiến Thành to the infant emperor Lý Cao Tông made him a highly praised figure in the history of Vietnam. Today, Tô Hiến Thành is considered one of the most prominent mandarins in the dynastic time of Vietnam.

History During Lý Anh Tông's reign According to Từ điển bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam, the birth date of Tô Hiến Thành was on November 01, 1101; he was born in the Hạ Mỗ village (now Đan Phượng, Hanoi). Since his family name was Tô, there was a hypothesis that he might have a kinship with Tô thị, the wife of Đỗ Anh Vũ who was the most powerful figure in the royal court during the early reign of Lý Anh Tông.

Tô Hiến Thành was mentioned for the first time in historical account for his role in pacifying the rebellion of Thân Lợi. In 1140, Thân Lợi called himself the son of Lý Nhân Tông and raised a revolt against Lý Anh Tông in the northern region (now Thái Nguyên). Thân Lợi's army was finally suppressed by Lý troops led by Đỗ Anh Vũ while Thân Lợi was captured by Tô Hiến Thành and beheaded by the order of Lý Anh Tông in the tenth month of 1141. It was Tô Hiến Thành who advised the emperor to grant amnesty for members of the rebellion to demonstrate the kindness of the dynasty to its people.

During the early rule of Lý Anh Tông, the most powerful official was Đỗ Anh Vũ who decided military and civil matters of Đại Việt, but Tô Hiến Thành, as a court minister, began to prove his ability in the royal court. The historian Trần Trọng Kim remarked that Đỗ Anh Vũ did not take any further step in taking power only because of the appearance of such skilled officials like Tô Hiến Thành, Hoàng Nghĩa Hiền or Lý Công Tín.

After the death of Đỗ Anh Vũ, in 1158, Tô Hiến Thành became the most prominent figure in the royal court who helped the emperor successfully rule the country. In this position, Tô Hiến Thành conducted several measures to improve the efficiency of the army such as reorganizing, recruiting strong and young people, choosing capable commanders and stepping up the exercise in army. Originally holding a military position in the royal court, Tô Hiến Thành helped the emperor improve the efficiency of the Lý army and paid attention to the development of Confucian learning in the country.

Self-castration was banned by Tô Hiến Thành

During Lý Cao Tông's reign In 1175, the emperor was seriously ill and decided to entrust the regentship of his son Lý Long Trát to Tô Hiến Thành. The regent was appointed to the position of chancellor of the Lý dynasty (Thái phó bình chương quân quốc trọng sự) and granted the title Prince (Vương) — an unprecedented act of a Lý emperor for a title that was reserved exclusively for members of the royal family. During the Lý dynasty, Tô Hiến Thành was the only possessor of the title Prince who did not come from the Lý royal family. His firmness in refusing the proposal of the Empress Mother and controlling the army and order during the funeral time made other officials believe in Lý Cao Tông. They therefore declined the campaign of replacing him by the prince Lý Long Xưởng.

During his regentship, Tô Hiến Thành proved to be a skilled official with deep knowledge in military and civil matters.

However, after Tô Hiến Thành's death, the Empress Mother did not follow his advice and the Lý dynasty began to fall into a turbulent time and finally collapsed in 1225.

Legacy The talent and faithful character of Tô Hiến Thành was highly appreciated in the history of Vietnam. In 1394, the Retired Emperor Trần Nghệ Tông of the Trần dynasty ordered his painter to draw an illustration about four exemplary regents, in which only Tô Hiến Thành was from Đại Việt. The other three — the Duke of Zhou, Huo Guang and Zhuge Liang — all came from China. Because of his achievements and loyalty for the infant emperor, Tô Hiến Thành was often compared with Zhuge Liang who was the dedicated regent for Liu Shan.

Today, a main street in Hanoi and many places in Vietnam are named in honour of Tô Hiến Thành. Each year a traditional festival is held in Phú Xuyên in the first lunar month to commemorate his feats. In the Lý Bát Đế Shrine, the traditional temple for worshiping the emperors of the Lý dynasty, Tô Hiến Thành is one of only two civil mandarins who are jointly worshiped, along with Lý Đạo Thành.