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{{short description|Vietnamese historian (15th century)}}
{{infobox writer {{infobox writer
| name = Ngô Sĩ Liên<br />]]] | name = Ngô Sĩ Liên
| native_name = ]]]
| image = | image =
| imagesize = | imagesize =
| alt = | alt =
| caption = | caption =
⚫ | birth_place = ], ] (Medieval ])
| birth_date = Around 1400<ref name=Reid56/>
⚫ | death_place = Đại Việt
⚫ | birth_place = ], ] (Medieval ])
| death_date = ?
⚫ | death_place = Đại Việt
| occupation = Royal historian | occupation = Royal historian
| language = ], ] | language = ], ]
| period = ] | period = ]
| genre = ] | genre = ]
| subject = | subject =
| movement = | movement =
| notableworks = '']'' | notableworks = '']''
| influences = ], ]<ref name=Taylor358/>
| influenced =
}} }}
'''Ngô Sĩ Liên''' was an historian of the ].<ref>Patricia M. Pelley ''Postcolonial Vietnam: New Histories of the National Past'' 2002 Page 151 "In the fifteenth century, Wolters explains, the Lê dynasty historian Ngô Sĩ Liên produced a new comprehensive history, which ... Lê literati such as Ngô Sĩ Liên looked back at the Trần dynasty (1225–1400) and, with some trepidation, tried to reconstruct how things had gone so disastrously awry."</ref> He is best known for being the principal compiler of the '']'', a comprehensive chronicle of the ] and the oldest official historical record of a Vietnamese dynasty that remains today. In ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'', Ngô Sĩ Liên is appreciated not only for the precision of his records but also for the innovative method of compilation, he was the first Vietnamese writer who extracted information for historical book from collections of myths and legends such as '']'' or '']''. Until now, Ngô Sĩ Liên is always considered one of the most important figures of the historiography of Vietnam. '''Ngô Sĩ Liên''' (吳士連) was a Vietnamese historian of the ].<ref>Patricia M. Pelley ''Postcolonial Vietnam: New Histories of the National Past'' 2002 Page 151 "In the fifteenth century, Wolters explains, the Lê dynasty historian Ngô Sĩ Liên produced a new comprehensive history, which ... Lê literati such as Ngô Sĩ Liên looked back at the Trần dynasty (1225–1400) and, with some trepidation, tried to reconstruct how things had gone so disastrously awry."</ref> He was the main compiler of the '']'', a chronicle of the ] and a historical record of a Vietnamese dynasty. Ngô based information for his historical book from collections of myths and legends such as {{ill|Trần Thế Pháp|lt=Trần Thế Pháp's|vi}} '']'' or '']''.<ref name="Ngô Sĩ Liên">{{cite web|publisher= vietsciences|title=Ngô Sĩ Liên|url= https://vietsciences.free.fr/vietnam/vanhoa/savants/ngosilien.htm}}</ref>


== History == == History ==
The exact dates of Ngô Sĩ Liên's birth and date are unknown but it was said that he was born in the Đan Sĩ village, Hà Đông, Hanoi.<ref name=bktt>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.bachkhoatoanthu.gov.vn/default.aspx?param=1EE1aWQ9MjA3MjQmZ3JvdXBpZD0ma2luZD0ma2V5d29yZD1OZyVjMyViNCtTJWM0JWE5K0xpJWMzJWFhbg==&page=1|work=]|title=Ngô Sĩ Liên|language=Vietnamese}}</ref> In his youth, Ngô Sĩ Liên participated in the ] of ] that led to the retreat of the ] and the foundation of the ] in Vietnam. In the 1442 ] under the rule of ], Ngô Sĩ Liên gained the title Doctorate (''Tiến sĩ'') and thus became an official in the royal court of three successive emperors Lê Thái Tông (1434–1442), ] (1442–1459) and ] (1460–1497),<ref name=Reid56>{{Harvnb|Tuyet Nhung Tran, Anthony J. S. Reid|2006|p=56}}</ref><ref name=bktt/> during the latter's reign, Ngô Sĩ Liên was appointed Director of the National Bureau for Historical Record (''Viện Quốc sử'') in 1473.<ref name=Taylor358>{{Harvnb|Taylor|1991|p=358}}</ref> According to some sources, Ngô Sĩ Liên lived up to the age of 99,<ref name=Tran1997>{{cite journal |author=Trần Bá Chí |year=1997 |title=Bia sự tích Ngô Sĩ Liên |journal= Hán Nôm Magazine |issue=4/1997 |publisher=Institute of Hán Nôm |location= ] |url=http://www.hannom.org.vn/web/tchn/data/9704v.htm |language= Vietnamese}}</ref> therefore he was likely born around 1400 and died during the late period of Lê Thánh Tông's reign.<ref name=Reid56/> Ngô Sĩ Liên was born and grew up during a turbulent period of Vietnam with the collapse of the ], the ] by the ], the Lam Sơn uprising, the coronation of Lê Lợi and several struggles in the royal family of the Lê Dynasty. Besides, Ngô Sĩ Liên also witnessed the gradual predomination of the ] over the ] in the royal court, especially during the reign of Lê Thánh Tông, it was the context in which Ngô Sĩ Liên wrote his '']''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Tuyet Nhung Tran, Anthony J. S. Reid|2006|pp=56&ndash;57}}</ref> The exact dates of Ngô Sĩ Liên's birth and death are unknown but it was said that he was born in the Đan Sĩ village, Hà Đông, Hanoi.<ref name=bktt>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.bachkhoatoanthu.gov.vn/default.aspx?param=1EE1aWQ9MjA3MjQmZ3JvdXBpZD0ma2luZD0ma2V5d29yZD1OZyVjMyViNCtTJWM0JWE5K0xpJWMzJWFhbg==&page=1|work=]|title=Ngô Sĩ Liên|language=Vietnamese}}</ref> In his youth, Ngô Sĩ Liên participated in the ] of ] that led to the retreat of the ] and the foundation of the ] in Vietnam. In the 1442 ] under the rule of ], Ngô Sĩ Liên gained the title Doctorate (''Tiến sĩ'') and thus became an official in the royal court of three successive emperors Lê Thái Tông (1434–1442), ] (1442–1459) and ] (1460–1497),{{sfn|Tran|Reid|2006|p=56}}<ref name=bktt/> during the latter's reign, Ngô Sĩ Liên was appointed Director of the National Bureau for Historical Record (''Viện Quốc sử'') in 1473.<ref name=Taylor358>{{Harvnb|Taylor|1991|p=358}}</ref> According to some sources, Ngô Sĩ Liên lived up to the age of 99,<ref name=Tran1997>{{cite journal |author=Trần Bá Chí |year=1997 |title=Bia sự tích Ngô Sĩ Liên |journal= Hán Nôm Magazine |issue=4/1997 |publisher=Institute of Hán Nôm |location= ] |url=http://www.hannom.org.vn/web/tchn/data/9704v.htm |language= Vietnamese}}</ref> so he was likely born around 1400 and died during the late period of Lê Thánh Tông's reign.{{sfn|Tran|Reid|2006|p=56}}
Ngô Sĩ Liên was born around the time of the ], the subsequent ] by the ], the Lam Sơn uprising, the coronation of Lê Lợi and several struggles in the royal family of the Lê dynasty. Besides, Ngô Sĩ Liên also witnessed the gradual predomination of the ] over the ] in the royal court, especially during the reign of Lê Thánh Tông, it was the context in which Ngô Sĩ Liên wrote his '']''.{{sfn|Tran|Reid|2006|pp=56&ndash;57}}


== Works == == Works ==
{{main|Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư}} {{main|Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư}}
] ]
Ngô Sĩ Liên's major work is the historical record '']'', a 15-volume (''quyển'') book that he compiled in revising '']'' of ] and ''Đại Việt sử ký tục biên'' of ].<ref name=Taylor358/> During the reign of Lê Thánh Tông, the emperor had commissioned his historians to write an official chronicle for the dynasty in the Quang Thuận period (1460–1469), this work was later lost but after Thánh Tông's order, Ngô Sĩ Liên, a member of the board of compilation, wrote his own version in 1479 which was finally resulted in the ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư''.<ref name=Taylor358/><ref name=Rodgers94/> The fact that Ngô Sĩ Liên decided to write his own national history despite the existence of the official records might be explained by Ngô Sĩ Liên's intention of expressing his opinions in the book just as Lê Văn Hưu did with his ''Đại Việt sử ký'' instead of satisfying with only an objective narration of the official records. Some reasoned that Ngô Sĩ Liên compiled the ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' because he felt the need to promote Cofucian ideology in the Lê Dynasty.<ref name=Reid57>{{Harvnb|Tuyet Nhung Tran, Anthony J. S. Reid|2006|p=57}}</ref> Ngô Sĩ Liên's major work is the historical record '']'', a 15-volume (''quyển'') book that he compiled in revising the '']'' and ''Đại Việt sử ký tục biên''.{{sfn|Reid|Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|p=94}} During the reign of ], the emperor had commissioned his historians to write an official chronicle for the dynasty in the Quang Thuận period (1460–1469). This work was later lost but after Thánh Tông's order, Ngô Sĩ Liên, a member of the board of compilation, wrote his own version in 1479 which was finally resulted in the ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư''.{{sfn|Reid|Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|p=94}} The fact that Ngô Sĩ Liên decided to write his own national history despite the existence of the official records might be explained by Ngô's intention of expressing his opinions in the book just as Lê Văn Hưu did with his ''Đại Việt sử ký'' instead of satisfying with only an objective narration of the official records. Some reasoned that Ngô Sĩ Liên compiled the ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' because he felt the need to promote Confucian ideology in the Lê dynasty.{{sfn|Tran|Reid|2006|p=57}}


Ngô Sĩ Liên's style of compilation showed an important influence from ], the author of the '']''. Different than his Vietnamese predecessors, Ngô Sĩ Liên did not limit his references in official documents related to history but he also extracted information from '']'' (''Compilation of the potent spirits in the Realm of Việt'') and '']'' (''Extraordinary stories of Lĩnh Nam'') which were collections of folk legend and myth but considered by the historian having some credibility about history.<ref name=Taylor358/> Another innovation of Ngô Sĩ Liên is his division of history of Vietnam into two principal periods, he placed all events that happened before the establishment of the ] in Peripheral Records (''Ngoại kỷ'') while the independent time from the Đinh Dynasty (10th century) to the creation of the Lê Dynasty in 1482 was narrated in Basic Records (''Bản kỷ'').<ref name=Taylor358/> In addition, Ngô Sĩ Liên also compiled another three records for the reigns of ], Lê Thái Tông and Lê Nhân Tông (1428–1459) in a separate volume named ''Tam triều bản kỷ'' (''Records of the Three Reigns'').<ref name=Whitmore125>{{Harvnb|Keith Weller Taylor, John K. Whitmore|1995|p=125}}</ref> Ngô Sĩ Liên's style of compilation was influenced by ], the author of the '']''. Ngô Sĩ Liên not only used official historical documents, but also extracted information from '']'' (''Compilation of the potent spirits in the Realm of Việt'') and '']'' (''Extraordinary stories of Lĩnh Nam''), which were collections of folk legends and myths but considered by the historian as having some credibility about history.{{sfn|Reid|Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|p=94}}


Ngô Sĩ Liên also divided the history of Vietnam into two principal periods. He placed all events that happened before the establishment of the ] in the Peripheral Records (''Ngoại kỷ'') while the independent time from the Đinh dynasty (10th century) to the creation of the Lê dynasty in 1482 was narrated in the Basic Records (''Bản kỷ'').{{sfn|Reid|Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|p=94}} In addition, Ngô Sĩ Liên also compiled another three records for the reigns of ], Lê Thái Tông and Lê Nhân Tông (1428–1459) in a separate volume named ''Tam triều bản kỷ'' (''Records of the Three Reigns'').{{sfn|Taylor|Whitmore|1995|p=125}}
From his extensive 72 comments in ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'',<ref name=Rodgers95>{{Harvnb|Anthony Reid, Kristine Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|p=95}}</ref> Ngô Sĩ Liên appeared to be a ] scholar.<ref name=Whitmore126>{{Harvnb|Keith Weller Taylor, John K. Whitmore|1995|p=126}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=A global history of modern historiography |author1=Georg G. Iggers |author2=Q. Edward Wang |author3=Supriya Mukherjee |year=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=0-582-09606-5 |page=57}}</ref><ref name=Reid61>{{Harvnb|Tuyet Nhung Tran, Anthony J. S. Reid|2006|p=61}}</ref> He often quoted from Cofucian literature in criticizing an event or a decision of the previous dynasties that, according to Ngô Sĩ Liên, did not follow the Confucian codes for an appropriate ruling institution.<ref name=Wolters144>{{cite book|first=O. W.|last=Wolters|authorlink=O. W. Wolters|title=History, culture, and region in Southeast Asian perspectives|year=1999|publisher=SEAP Publications|isbn=0-87727-725-7|page=144}}</ref> According to ], Ngô Sĩ Liên respected the Confucianist perspective to the extent that the highest praise he could lavish on a Vietnamese ruler was that his achievements could not be bettered by even the most famous Chinese emperors in antiquity.<ref name=Rodgers94>{{Harvnb|Anthony Reid, Kristine Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|p=94}}</ref> However, the criticism and often harsh remarks of Ngô Sĩ Liên towards previous dynasties, especially the ], could be understood as the historian's concern for the current dynasty, because the Lê Dynasty would fall into collapse unless it could avoid the mistakes that were committed by its predecessors like the Trần Dynasty.<ref name=Rodgers94>{{Harvnb|Anthony Reid, Kristine Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|pp=104–105}}</ref> Besides, the historian paid attention in defining the identity of the nation; a typical example of this intention was the existence of the ] in Peripheral Records, Ngô Sĩ Liên's introduction of this dynasty was challenged by several historians for the lack of information and the real motive of the historian in writing about Hùng kings. Some remarked that Ngô Sĩ Liên made the Hồng Bàng Dynasty the first dynasty of Vietnam only because he wanted to emphasize the identity and the independence of Vietnam from China.<ref>{{cite book |title=Viêt Nam exposé: French scholarship on twentieth-century Vietnamese society |author1=Gisèle Luce Bousquet |author2=Pierre Brocheux |year=2002 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=0-472-06805-9 |page=103}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Postcolonial Vietnam: new histories of the national past |first=Patricia M. |last=Pelley |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2002 |page=65}}</ref>


From his 72 comments in ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'',{{sfn|Reid|Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|p=95}} Ngô Sĩ Liên appeared to be a ] scholar.{{sfn|Taylor|Whitmore|1995|p=126}}<ref>{{cite book |title=A global history of modern historiography |author1=Georg G. Iggers |author2=Q. Edward Wang |author3=Supriya Mukherjee |year=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=978-0-582-09606-6 |page=57}}</ref>{{sfn|Tran|Reid|2006|p=61}} He often quoted Confucian literature in criticizing an event or a decision of the previous dynasties that he believed did not follow the Confucian codes for an appropriate ruling institution.<ref name=Wolters144>{{cite book|first=O. W.|last=Wolters|authorlink=O. W. Wolters|title=History, culture, and region in Southeast Asian perspectives|year=1999|publisher=SEAP Publications|isbn=0-87727-725-7|page=144}}</ref> According to ], Ngô Sĩ Liên respected the Confucian perspective to the extent that the highest praise he could lavish on a Vietnamese ruler (such as those of the ]) was that his achievements could not be bettered by even the most famous Chinese emperors in antiquity.{{sfn|Reid|Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|p=94}}
== Legacy ==

⚫ Today, ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' is the oldest official historical record of a Vietnamese dynasty that remains in its original form while Ngô Sĩ Liên is always considered one of the most important figures of the historiography of Vietnam.<ref name=Tran1997/> He is venerated in his native village where people, during the reign of ], erected a ] to praise the achievements of the historian.<ref name=Tran1997/> Several streets, schools and other places in Vietnam are named in honour of Ngô Sĩ Liên.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2007/05/695120/ |title=Students voice education concerns |date=2007-05-15 |publisher=Vietnamnet.vn}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2008/08/798854/ |title=Phan Thiet set for three-day festival |date=2008-08-15 |publisher=Vietnamnet.vn}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2005/10/497209/ |title=UNICEF Ambassador talks child HIV/AIDS in VN |date=2005-10-06 |publisher=Vietnamnet.vn}}</ref>
However, Ngô often criticized and made harsh remarks on previous dynasties such as the ]. Ngô was concerned about his current dynasty because the Lê dynasty would fall into collapse unless it could avoid the mistakes that were committed by its predecessors like the Lý dynasty.{{sfn|Reid|Alilunas-Rodgers|2001|pp=104–105}}

Ngô may have fabricated the existence of the fictional ] in the Peripheral Records. Ngô Sĩ Liên's introduction of this dynasty was challenged by several historians for the lack of information and the real motive of the historian in writing about Hùng kings. Some remarked that Ngô Sĩ Liên fabricated the existence of the Hồng Bàng dynasty to serve political interests or because he wanted to emphasize the independence of Vietnam from China.<ref>{{cite book |title=Viêt Nam exposé: French scholarship on twentieth-century Vietnamese society |author1=Gisèle Luce Bousquet |author2=Pierre Brocheux |year=2002 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=0-472-06805-9 |page=103}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Postcolonial Vietnam: new histories of the national past |first=Patricia M. |last=Pelley |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2002 |page=65}}</ref>

⚫ Today, ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' is an official historical record of a Vietnamese dynasty that remains in its original form.<ref name="Tran1997" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2007/05/695120/ |title=Students voice education concerns |date=2007-05-15 |publisher=Vietnamnet.vn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323213942/http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2007/05/695120/ |archive-date=2009-03-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2008/08/798854/ |title=Phan Thiet set for three-day festival |date=2008-08-15 |publisher=Vietnamnet.vn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219191251/http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2008/08/798854/ |archive-date=2008-12-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2005/10/497209/ |title=UNICEF Ambassador talks child HIV/AIDS in VN |date=2005-10-06 |publisher=Vietnamnet.vn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622144157/http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2005/10/497209/ |archive-date=2009-06-22}}</ref>


== Notes and references == == Notes and references ==


=== Notes === === Notes ===
{{reflist|4}} {{Reflist|30em}}


=== References === === References ===
* {{citation|author=National Bureau for Historical Record|authorlink=National Bureau for Historical Record (Nguyễn Dynasty)|title=]|year=1998|language=Vietnamese|publisher=Education Publishing House|location=]|ref=harv}} * {{citation|author=National Bureau for Historical Record|authorlink=National Bureau for Historical Record (Nguyễn Dynasty)|title=]|year=1998|language=Vietnamese|publisher=Education Publishing House|location=]}}
* {{citation|first=Oscar|last=Chapuis|title=A history of Vietnam: from Hong Bang to Tu Duc|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jskyi00bspcC&lpg=PA85&dq=%22tran%20anh%20tong%22&as_brr=3&hl=fr&pg=PA85#v=onepage&q=%22tran%20anh%20tong%22&f=false|year=1995|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0-313-29622-7}} * {{citation|first=Oscar|last=Chapuis|title=A history of Vietnam: from Hong Bang to Tu Duc|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jskyi00bspcC&q=%22tran+anh+tong%22&pg=PA85|year=1995|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0-313-29622-7}}
* {{citation|author=Ngô Sĩ Liên|title=]|edition=Nội các quan bản|year=1993|language=Vietnamese|publisher=Social Science Publishing House|location=]|ref=harv}} * {{citation|author=Ngô Sĩ Liên|title=]|edition=Nội các quan bản|year=1993|language=Vietnamese|publisher=Social Science Publishing House|location=]}}
* {{citation|author1=Anthony Reid |author2=Kristine Alilunas-Rodgers |title=Sojourners and settlers: histories of Southeast Asia and the Chinese|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|year=2001|isbn=0-8248-2446-6|ref=harv}} * {{citation|last=Reid|first=Anthony|last2=Alilunas-Rodgers |first2=Kristine |title=Sojourners and settlers: histories of Southeast Asia and the Chinese|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|year=2001|isbn=0-8248-2446-6}}
* {{citation|first=Keith Weller |last=Taylor|title=The Birth of Vietnam|publisher=University of California Press|year=1991|isbn=0-520-07417-3|ref=harv}} * {{citation|first=Keith Weller |last=Taylor|title=The Birth of Vietnam|publisher=University of California Press|year=1991|isbn=0-520-07417-3}}
* {{citation|author=Trần Trọng Kim|authorlink=Trần Trọng Kim|title=]|year=1971|language=Vietnamese|publisher=Center for School Materials|location=]|ref=harv}} * {{citation|author=Trần Trọng Kim|authorlink=Trần Trọng Kim|title=]|year=1971|language=Vietnamese|publisher=Center for School Materials|location=]}}
* {{citation|author1=Tuyet Nhung Tran |author2=Anthony J. S. Reid |title=Việt Nam Borderless Histories|year=2006|publisher=The University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison, Wisconsin|isbn=978-0-299-21770-9|ref=harv}} * {{citation|last=Tran|first=Tuyet Nhung|last2=Reid|first2=Anthony J. S.|title=Việt Nam Borderless Histories|year=2006|publisher=The University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison, Wisconsin|isbn=978-0-299-21770-9}}
* {{citation|author1=Keith Weller Taylor |author2=John K. Whitmore |title=Essays into Vietnamese pasts, Volume 19|publisher=SEAP Publications|year=1995|isbn=0-87727-718-4|ref=harv}} * {{citation|last1=Taylor|first1=Keith Weller|last2=Whitmore|first2=John K.|title=Essays into Vietnamese pasts, Volume 19|publisher=SEAP Publications|year=1995|isbn=0-87727-718-4}}

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Latest revision as of 08:48, 6 November 2024

Vietnamese historian (15th century)
Ngô Sĩ Liên
Native name吳士連
BornChương Đức, Hà Đông, Hà Tây, now Hà Nội, xứ Sơn Nam, Đại Việt (Medieval Vietnam)
DiedĐại Việt
OccupationRoyal historian
LanguageVietnamese, chữ Hán
PeriodLê dynasty
GenreHistoriography
Notable worksĐại Việt sử ký toàn thư

Ngô Sĩ Liên (吳士連) was a Vietnamese historian of the Lê dynasty. He was the main compiler of the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, a chronicle of the history of Vietnam and a historical record of a Vietnamese dynasty. Ngô based information for his historical book from collections of myths and legends such as Trần Thế Pháp's [vi] Lĩnh Nam chích quái or Việt điện u linh tập.

History

The exact dates of Ngô Sĩ Liên's birth and death are unknown but it was said that he was born in the Đan Sĩ village, Hà Đông, Hanoi. In his youth, Ngô Sĩ Liên participated in the Lam Sơn uprising of Lê Lợi that led to the retreat of the Ming dynasty and the foundation of the Lê dynasty in Vietnam. In the 1442 imperial examination under the rule of Lê Thái Tông, Ngô Sĩ Liên gained the title Doctorate (Tiến sĩ) and thus became an official in the royal court of three successive emperors Lê Thái Tông (1434–1442), Lê Nhân Tông (1442–1459) and Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497), during the latter's reign, Ngô Sĩ Liên was appointed Director of the National Bureau for Historical Record (Viện Quốc sử) in 1473. According to some sources, Ngô Sĩ Liên lived up to the age of 99, so he was likely born around 1400 and died during the late period of Lê Thánh Tông's reign.

Ngô Sĩ Liên was born around the time of the Trần dynasty, the subsequent Fourth Chinese domination by the Ming dynasty, the Lam Sơn uprising, the coronation of Lê Lợi and several struggles in the royal family of the Lê dynasty. Besides, Ngô Sĩ Liên also witnessed the gradual predomination of the Confucianism over the Buddhism in the royal court, especially during the reign of Lê Thánh Tông, it was the context in which Ngô Sĩ Liên wrote his Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư.

Works

Main article: Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư
Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư.

Ngô Sĩ Liên's major work is the historical record Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, a 15-volume (quyển) book that he compiled in revising the Đại Việt sử ký and Đại Việt sử ký tục biên. During the reign of Lê Thánh Tông, the emperor had commissioned his historians to write an official chronicle for the dynasty in the Quang Thuận period (1460–1469). This work was later lost but after Thánh Tông's order, Ngô Sĩ Liên, a member of the board of compilation, wrote his own version in 1479 which was finally resulted in the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư. The fact that Ngô Sĩ Liên decided to write his own national history despite the existence of the official records might be explained by Ngô's intention of expressing his opinions in the book just as Lê Văn Hưu did with his Đại Việt sử ký instead of satisfying with only an objective narration of the official records. Some reasoned that Ngô Sĩ Liên compiled the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư because he felt the need to promote Confucian ideology in the Lê dynasty.

Ngô Sĩ Liên's style of compilation was influenced by Sima Guang, the author of the Zizhi Tongjian. Ngô Sĩ Liên not only used official historical documents, but also extracted information from Việt điện u linh tập (Compilation of the potent spirits in the Realm of Việt) and Lĩnh Nam chính quái (Extraordinary stories of Lĩnh Nam), which were collections of folk legends and myths but considered by the historian as having some credibility about history.

Ngô Sĩ Liên also divided the history of Vietnam into two principal periods. He placed all events that happened before the establishment of the Đinh dynasty in the Peripheral Records (Ngoại kỷ) while the independent time from the Đinh dynasty (10th century) to the creation of the Lê dynasty in 1482 was narrated in the Basic Records (Bản kỷ). In addition, Ngô Sĩ Liên also compiled another three records for the reigns of Lê Thái Tổ, Lê Thái Tông and Lê Nhân Tông (1428–1459) in a separate volume named Tam triều bản kỷ (Records of the Three Reigns).

From his 72 comments in Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, Ngô Sĩ Liên appeared to be a Neo-Confucian scholar. He often quoted Confucian literature in criticizing an event or a decision of the previous dynasties that he believed did not follow the Confucian codes for an appropriate ruling institution. According to O. W. Wolters, Ngô Sĩ Liên respected the Confucian perspective to the extent that the highest praise he could lavish on a Vietnamese ruler (such as those of the Trần dynasty) was that his achievements could not be bettered by even the most famous Chinese emperors in antiquity.

However, Ngô often criticized and made harsh remarks on previous dynasties such as the Lý dynasty. Ngô was concerned about his current dynasty because the Lê dynasty would fall into collapse unless it could avoid the mistakes that were committed by its predecessors like the Lý dynasty.

Ngô may have fabricated the existence of the fictional Hồng Bàng dynasty in the Peripheral Records. Ngô Sĩ Liên's introduction of this dynasty was challenged by several historians for the lack of information and the real motive of the historian in writing about Hùng kings. Some remarked that Ngô Sĩ Liên fabricated the existence of the Hồng Bàng dynasty to serve political interests or because he wanted to emphasize the independence of Vietnam from China.

Today, Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư is an official historical record of a Vietnamese dynasty that remains in its original form.

Notes and references

Notes

  1. Patricia M. Pelley Postcolonial Vietnam: New Histories of the National Past 2002 Page 151 "In the fifteenth century, Wolters explains, the Lê dynasty historian Ngô Sĩ Liên produced a new comprehensive history, which ... Lê literati such as Ngô Sĩ Liên looked back at the Trần dynasty (1225–1400) and, with some trepidation, tried to reconstruct how things had gone so disastrously awry."
  2. "Ngô Sĩ Liên". vietsciences.
  3. ^ "Ngô Sĩ Liên". Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam (in Vietnamese).
  4. ^ Tran & Reid 2006, p. 56.
  5. Taylor 1991, p. 358
  6. ^ Trần Bá Chí (1997). "Bia sự tích Ngô Sĩ Liên". Hán Nôm Magazine (in Vietnamese) (4/1997). Hanoi: Institute of Hán Nôm.
  7. Tran & Reid 2006, pp. 56–57.
  8. ^ Reid & Alilunas-Rodgers 2001, p. 94.
  9. Tran & Reid 2006, p. 57.
  10. Taylor & Whitmore 1995, p. 125.
  11. Reid & Alilunas-Rodgers 2001, p. 95.
  12. Taylor & Whitmore 1995, p. 126.
  13. Georg G. Iggers; Q. Edward Wang; Supriya Mukherjee (2008). A global history of modern historiography. Pearson Education. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-582-09606-6.
  14. Tran & Reid 2006, p. 61.
  15. Wolters, O. W. (1999). History, culture, and region in Southeast Asian perspectives. SEAP Publications. p. 144. ISBN 0-87727-725-7.
  16. Reid & Alilunas-Rodgers 2001, pp. 104–105.
  17. Gisèle Luce Bousquet; Pierre Brocheux (2002). Viêt Nam exposé: French scholarship on twentieth-century Vietnamese society. University of Michigan Press. p. 103. ISBN 0-472-06805-9.
  18. Pelley, Patricia M. (2002). Postcolonial Vietnam: new histories of the national past. Duke University Press. p. 65.
  19. "Students voice education concerns". Vietnamnet.vn. 2007-05-15. Archived from the original on 2009-03-23.
  20. "Phan Thiet set for three-day festival". Vietnamnet.vn. 2008-08-15. Archived from the original on 2008-12-19.
  21. "UNICEF Ambassador talks child HIV/AIDS in VN". Vietnamnet.vn. 2005-10-06. Archived from the original on 2009-06-22.

References

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