Ỷ Lan (chữ Hán: 倚蘭, lit: leaning on the orchid, 1044–1117) or Empress Mother Linh Nhân (Vietnamese: Linh Nhân Hoàng thái hậu, chữ Hán: 靈仁太后) was a Vietnamese concubine and regent who effectively controlled the imperial government of Vietnam for over 40 years.
A concubine of Lý Thánh Tông, the third emperor of the Lý dynasty, she is the mother of Lý Nhân Tông, the fourth emperor. Ỷ Lan twice served as regent, first during the absence of her spouse from 1066 to 1068, and then as co-regent during the reign of her son from 1073 until her death in 1117.
Being of commoner origin, Ỷ Lan was favoured by Lý Thánh Tông because she not only gave birth to his first child but also successfully acted the regency for him during his military campaign in Champa. After the death of the Emperor Lý Thánh Tông, Ỷ Lan conspired with General Lý Thường Kiệt to murder the Empress Mother Thượng Dương and took over the regency, making her a controversial figure in Vietnamese history.
Ỷ Lan is considered one of the most important figures of the early Lý era, being credited with driving the country's economic prosperity and political stability, in addition to her contributions to promoting Buddhism in Vietnam. One of the few women who held significant political power during the dynastic period of Vietnamese history, Ỷ Lan has been worshipped as a goddess while streets in cities across Vietnam have been named after her.
Life
During Lý Thánh Tông's reign
According to Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam, the birthyear of Ỷ Lan was unknown, she was born in the Thổ Lỗi (later changed to Siêu Loại) village, now Dương Xá commune, Gia Lam, Hanoi. It was said that the Emperor Lý Thánh Tông was unable to have his own child up to the age of 40, therefore he paid visit to Buddhist pagodas all over the country to pray for a child, naturally the escort of Lý Thánh Tông often attracted attention of people.
In 1063, the emperor passed the Thổ Lỗi village where he saw a girl of commoner origin leaning on an orchid tree (Vietnamese: ỷ lan) and paid no curiosity to the escort of the emperor like others, afterwards Lý Thánh Tông decided to choose the girl as his concubine with the title Lady Ỷ Lan (Ỷ Lan phu nhân).
On 25th of the first month in 1066, Lady Ỷ Lan gave birth to Lý Càn Đức, the first child of Lý Thánh Tông. Right after the birth, Lý Càn Đức was entitled crown prince of the Lý dynasty while Lady Ỷ Lan was granted the title Imperial Concubine (Nguyên phi or Thần phi). To celebrate the event that lifted the emperor's constraint of dying without issue, Lý Thánh Tông changed his era name from Chương Thánh Gia Khánh (彰聖嘉慶) to Long Chương Thiên Tự (龍章天嗣) and gave out a general amnesty for prisoners. In the second month of 1068, Ỷ Lan had a second son who was later entitled Prince Minh Nhân (Minh Nhân vương).
In the second month of 1069, Lý Thánh Tông personally led a military campaign against the kingdom of Champa and left the regentship for Ỷ Lan. Ngô Sĩ Liên in Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư recounted that after an unsuccessful period of attack, the emperor wanted to abandon the campaign but in hearing the stability of the country under the regency of the imperial concubine, Lý Thánh Tông continued to carry on his campaign, finally he was able to capture the king of Champa Rudravarman IV and fifty thousand people of Champa. During that time, Ỷ Lan accomplished her regentship by bringing the harmony to Đại Việt people and propagating Buddhism in the country, therefore Ỷ Lan was called by the name "Quan Âm".
During Lý Nhân Tông's reign
In the first month of 1072, Lý Thánh Tông died and was succeeded by the crown prince Lý Càn Đức, now called Lý Nhân Tông. After his coronation, Lý Nhân Tông gave the former empress Thượng Dương the title Empress Mother (Hoàng thái hậu) while his natural mother Ỷ Lan was granted the lower title Imperial Concubine Mother (Hoàng thái phi). Because the new emperor was only six years old, Empress Mother Thượng Dương held the regency for Lý Nhân Tông while the chancellor Lý Đạo Thành took charge in the royal court.