Tran Thanh Tong

Tran Thanh Tong (1240 – 1290) was a Vietnamese king during the Tran Dynasty.

Tran Thanh Tong's given name was Tran Hoang. He was born in 1240, Vietnam, and was the eldest son of King Tran Thai Tong (1218-1277). He ascended the throne in 1258. A wise and outstanding strategist, he selected and promoted people of ability to positions of high authority without regard to origin and background, and was the first to rely on the common people as the principal line of national defense. He helped organize the Dien Hong conference, bringing together all the nation’s elders to ask for their advice on how to deal with a national security threat from the North. Because of this action, he had the whole nation united behind him. He and his son Tran Nhan Tong led the nation in the successful defense against the two Mongolian invasions of 1284 and 1287. Once the country regained peace, he abdicated and devoted the rest of his life to the practice of Buddhism and writing. An outstanding poet, he combined the high style of Chinese poetry with the popular rhythm of the folk lyric, creating poems of exquisite sensibility imbued with the equanimity and profundity of a Zen master. His works were lost, except for seven poems.