The Lý Dynasty (1009 - 1225)
The Lý dynasty officially Đại Cồ Việt from 1009 to 1054 and Đại Việt from 1054 to 1225, was a Vietnamese dynastythat existed from 1009 to 1225. It was established by Lý Công Uẩn when he overthrew the Anterior Lê dynasty. The dynasty ended when empress regnant Lý Chiêu Hoàng (then 8 years old) was pressured to abdicate the throne in favor of her husband,Trần Cảnhin 1225, the dynasty lasted for 216 years. During Lý Thánh Tông's reign, the official name of the state was changed from Đại Cồ Việt to Đại Việt, a name that would remain Vietnam's official name until the onset of the 19th century.
Origin and foundation
The last emperor of the Anterior Lê dynasty, the unpopular Lê Long Đĩnh, died in 1009. His crown prince son was still very young and could not take over power from his own father. Members of the imperial court, including the official Đào Cam Mộc and the Buddhist monk Vạn Hạnh, decided to install general Lý Công Uẩn to become the new emperor of Đại Cồ Việt.
The first ruler of the Lý dynasty, Lý Công Uẩn, was of Min Chinese ancestry (from Min kingdom, today's Fujian province). The identity of his birth-father is unknown; likewise, little is known about his maternal side except that his mother was surnamed Phạm. Very few direct details about his parents (unknown birth-father, mother, and adoptive father Lý Khánh Văn) are known, however, the ethnic Chinese background of Lý Công Uẩn, at least on his paternal side, had been accepted by Vietnamese historian Trần Quốc Vượng. The Lý clan of Lý Công Uẩn's adoptive father Lý Khánh Văn was a Vietic Tao-hua clan that originated from the highland regions in Feng district.
Công Uẩn himself was born in 974 CE in Cổ Pháp region, Bắc Giang circuit (now in Từ Sơn, Bắc Ninh Province, Vietnam). When he was three years old, Công Uẩn was adopted by a monk of Cổ Pháp pagoda named Lý Khánh Văn, whose surname Công Uẩn inherited. The good-looking and intelligent Công Uẩn was noted as an extraordinary child by Buddhist Zen master Vạn Hạnh. When mature, he joined the palace guard and rose through the ranks to commandership. In 1009, Công Uẩn succeeded Lê Long Đĩnh of the Lê family, thereby founding the Lý dynasty.