Person
Trieu Da
A Qin officer in Lingnan who later took the kingly title, founded Nam Viet and seized Au Lac. The oldest text calls him by his old office: Commandant Da.
At a glance
- Also known as
- The oldest text calls him by his old office, the Nam Viet king Commandant Da; the Viet su luoc calls him Emperor Vu12
- Dates
- The Su ky places the submission after the death of Empress Lu, that is after 180 BC — nearly thirty years later than the 208 BC of the Complete Annals; the Viet su luoc places the fall of Au Lac after he had already taken the kingly title342
Life
The old chronicles say
The Chinese records give him a role and a date quite unlike the legend. The Su ky says that after the death of Empress Lu — that is, after 180 BC — Trieu Da used the weight of his arms and gifts of goods to bring Man Viet, Tay Au and Lac into submission. Read that way, the passing of Au Lac to the Trieu happens nearly thirty years later than the 208 BC of the Complete Annals. The Viet su luoc does not follow the Complete Annals either: it places the fall after Trieu Da had already taken the kingly title.342
In the crossbow story he is the side that cannot win. The oldest text calls him by his old office — the Nam Viet king, Commandant Da — and says that seeing he could not win, he pulled his army back to Vu Ninh district; then Nam Viet sent its crown prince, named Thuy, to submit and serve the king as a vassal. The Viet su luoc calls him Emperor Vu and changes the son's standing: he sends Thuy as a hostage, asking for friendly relations. When the crossbow broke, Nam Viet advanced, and the country passed to the Trieu.12
Archaeology finds
The archaeology at Co Loa leaves open a possibility that concerns his kingdom. The 2010 team writes that the material evidence lends support to the possible existence of an Au Lac polity but does not prove it unequivocally, and then raises another possibility: that Nam Viet, after taking the place around the early second century BC, may itself have added to those ramparts. Part of the earth at Co Loa, in other words, may be the work of the winning side rather than the losing one.5
Mentioned in
- Episode 1Trieu Da takes Au Lac9 min
- Episode 2Thuc Phan and the country of Au Lac10 min
- Episode 2Trieu Da founds Nam Viet8 min
- Episode 4The magic crossbow, My Chau and Trong Thuy11 min
Sources for this page
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