Nguyễn Trãi

Timeline

1. 1380–1407Thăng Long · Red River DeltaNguyễn Trãi was born into a scholar family in Thăng Long and received Confucian training from his father Nguyễn Phi Khanh. In 1400, at the Hồ dynasty's first examination, he passed as taisheng (jinshi) and was appointed chief registrar of the Censorate. In 1406–1407 Ming forces destroyed the Hồ dynasty and established the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Commission; his father was sent north and he himself was briefly detained—this upheaval later motivated his support for Lê Lợi against the Ming.
2. c. 1418–1427Lam Sơn (Thanh Hóa) · Thanh HóaAfter Lê Lợi rose in arms in 1418, Nguyễn Trãi joined his staff and became the rebel army's chief civil strategist. He drafted anti-Ming proclamations and surrender inducements in parallel prose classical Chinese, arguing the tyranny of taxes and corvée and the legitimacy of raising arms, and took part in political appeals during the guerrilla phase. In 1427 the Ming commander Vương Thông was defeated and sued for peace, and Ming forces withdrew from Jiaozhi; his strategy and proclamations were key to transforming the rebel army from a mountain-and-marsh force into a state-building regime.
3. 1428–1433Đông Kinh (Thăng Long) · capital of the Later Lê dynastyIn 1428 Lê Lợi ascended the throne with the state name Đại Việt; according to the Lam Sơn thực lục and other records, he ordered Nguyễn Trãi to compose the Bình Ngô đại cáo, using 'Wu' as a metaphor for the Ming army, proclaiming restoration and independence. The text was later included in the Chính Hòa edition of the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư and became a classic of Vietnamese political literature. During Thái Tổ's reign, Nguyễn Trãi participated in building the new dynasty through proclamations and institutional discussions, ranking among the founding meritorious officials.
4. 1433–1442Lychee garden (Gia Lâm) · Red River DeltaAfter Lê Lợi died in 1433, Nguyễn Trãi continued to serve Emperor Thái Tông Lê Nguyên Long and composed works such as the Quốc âm thi tập. In 1442, during the emperor's tour, he accompanied him with his concubine Nguyễn Thị Lộ, and the emperor suddenly died at the lychee garden. The court charged Nguyễn Thị Lộ and Nguyễn Trãi with regicide and exterminated three generations of their families. The case was later regarded as a wrongful conviction amid early Later Lê power struggles; in 1464 Emperor Thánh Tông rehabilitated them, and Nguyễn Trãi was thereafter enshrined in the lineage of meritorious officials and the Temple of Literature.