One of Vietnam's earliest national patriots was Ly Bon, a Vietnamese of Chinese descent. His ancestors had fled China for the Great South during the Wang Mang rebellion. He came from an officers family and served as a Mandarin in the Liang Dynasty bureaucracy. However, Ly Bon was not happy with his position nor with the condition of his country which was still a satellite of China. In 524 A.D. Ly Bon took action and organized and lead a rebellion against the Chinese presence in Vietnam. The struggle was a difficult one, not only because of the advantages possessed by the Chinese in men and material but also due to a war with the Champa Kingdom in the south that broke out at the same time.
All might have gone very badly, but the amount of oppression endured under the rule of China ensured that Ly Bon had massive public support in Vietnam. As many others would find out, no enemy, no matter how strong, can hold dominion over the common people of Vietnam for very long. Finally, in 544 Ly Bon succeeded in over-throwing the hated Chinese government and established the independent nation of 10,000 Springs (Van Xuan). Using the name instituted by the earlier Trieu Da Dynasty he was proclaimed Emperor Ly Bon of Nam Viet. He established his ruling city at Gia Ninh, at the bottom of Mt. Tam Dao, near present day Hanoi.
Once secure in his position as Emperor, Ly Bon launched military expeditions to unite the Vietnamese people. Eventually he secured control of most of the cultural lands of Vietnam as well as the northern Champa territories. However, while Emperor Ly Bon was engaged in battle, in 545 the Liang Dynasty sent an attack force against him under the skillful General Ch'en Pa-hsien. While Ly Bon was fighting in the south Ch'en captured his city of Gia Ninh. The Emperor managed to evade Ch'en's forces and handed most of his authority over to the general Trieu Quang Phuc to stop the invader. However, shortly thereafter Emperor Ly Bon was assassinated by the unpredictable mountain tribes and without his leadership the nation of Van Xuan fell apart. However, Ly Bon's example inspired resistance against the Chinese for many years to come. |
