Lesson 2: Hoan Chau Uprising
-->> See Lesson 1: Mai Thuc Loan - hometown and family background 1. Time of the uprising.
1. Time of the uprising.
Regarding the year of the uprising and its failure, most previous research works recorded it in 722. Therefore, some people considered it a local uprising, only breaking out in Hoan Chau land, while others believed that the insurgents attacked the An Nam citadel but failed. The reason is that those works were all based on official historical records, first of all the three national histories Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, Dai Viet Su Ky Tien Bien, and Kham Dinh Viet Su Thong Giam Cuong Muc, all of which uniformly recorded the uprising breaking out and failing in the year Nham Tuat, the 10th year of the Khai Nguyen reign of Emperor Duong Huyen Tong, that is, the year 722.
The results of collecting, exploiting, and comparing relevant sources of documents from our country and China, especially An Nam chi luoc by Le Tac, Huong Lam Mai De ky by Chu Cat Thi, in Tan doi hieu binh Viet dien u linh of our country and Cuu Duong thu, Tan Duong thu (the real records and biographies) combined with a number of other books such as Sach phu nguyen quy, Quang Tay thong chi... in ancient Chinese documents, allow us to determine that the Hoan Chau uprising led by Mai Thuc Loan broke out in Quy Suu year, the first year of Khai Nguyen reign of King Duong Huyen Tong, that is, year 713.
Procession at the Mai King Temple Festival. Photo: Mai Hoa
Regarding the year of failure, from the above historical sources, it can be concluded that it was the year of Nham Tuat, the 10th year of the Khai Nguyen reign of King Duong Huyen Tong, or 722. This is also the result of new research concluded from the National Scientific Conference "Mai Thuc Loan and the Hoan Chau Uprising" organized by the Faculty of History of Vinh University in collaboration with the Vietnam Institute of History in 2008.
2. Causes of the uprising
Among the legends about Mai Thuc Loan, there is the legend of the cloth offering and from the oral form it has entered into Chau Van singing and poetry, quite popular in the Nghe - Tinh region, especially the Nam Dan region. It is a part of the treasure trove of folk legends whose value needs to be recognized and evaluated according to the criteria of the folk literature genre. Those legends more or less originate from history and reflect in different aspects, directly or indirectly, the past historical reality preserved or reflected through the memories of many generations.
But considering legends as history is a mistake in terms of historical perception and methodology. Some authors, when compiling textbooks or local history, national history, without researching and comparing with reliable historical documents, put the legends of Mai Thuc Loan paying tribute to the fabric into history, which is a mistake. The fabric tribute system during the Northern domination period needs to be researched and verified from historical data, first of all historical data searched and verified in ancient sources. But during the Tang Dynasty, according to the New Book of Tang (Vol. 43), Zizhi Tongjian (Vol. 250), Tongjian Tonglai (Vol. 6), the tribute fabric was taken from Lingnan, mainly from the South China Sea, and urgently transported by post horses. After that, the Tang Dynasty soaked the fabric in salt water or honey to preserve it. During the reign of Emperor Tang Yizong (860-874), there was an order to suspend the fabric tribute system (Duong Dai Chieu Lenh Tap, Vol. 86).
Thus, during the Tang Dynasty, the fabric tribute system was no longer implemented in our country and of course, we cannot rely on legends to claim that Mai Thuc Loan had ever worked as a fabric tribute service and we cannot consider the fabric tribute service as the cause, even though it was the direct cause, of the uprising.
Considering the cause of the Hoan Chau uprising, we need to emphasize its deep roots in the exploitation and oppression of the Tang Dynasty, in the economic and social situation and the conflicts between our people and the occupying government. Thus, the outbreak of the Hoan Chau uprising reflected the will for independence and self-reliance of the Vietnamese ethnic community against the domination of the Tang Dynasty and was a continuation and development of the national liberation movement of our people during the period of Chinese domination.
(To be continued)
Faculty of History - Vinh University
