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XII.
The  Ly Dynasty. - 1010-1225.
Another general of the palace, LY CONG-UN, proclaimed himself king, and was afterwards known by the name of [][] THAI-TO. At this time the kingdom of Annam became known by the name of [][] Giao-chi, given by the Chinese Emperors; and the capital was established in [][] Ha-noi. Thai-to found the necessary elements for the consolidation of the royal authority, and made good use of them, giving birth to the first of the three great dynasties which ruled Annam prior to the present century. During his reign regular taxation was established upon fisheries and agriculture, such taxes being paid in rice and cash. The civil administration and the army were also re-organized; and for the first time the king received solemn investiture from the Emperor of China, thus admitting the right of sovereignty which the Chinese Empire pretends to hold over Annam. It is from this time that the Chinese claimed tribute, and later on, to enforce those claims, their armies invaded and occupied the country.
Thai-to was succeeded in 1028 by his son [][] THAI-TONG. who during his reign of twenty-eight years had to fight, only against the rebels who rose in arms in the frontier provinces. In 1036, having restored peace on the frontiers of China, he received from the Emperor the title of [][][][] Nam-binh-vuong The most important of these rebellions was that under [][] Trii-cao who, defeated in 1050, revolted again in 1052, invaded the Chinese provinces of [][] Kuang-tung and [][] Kuang-si, and with the Annamese province of [][] Quang-nguyen founded the kingdom called [][] DAI-NAM, in which he was proclaimed king by his followers under the name of [][] NHON-HUE. In the early days of his reign success attended him, and he defeated the various Chinese armies sent against him; but finally he was beaten, and his kingdom disappeared with him in 1054.
During the reign of Thai-tong, Buddhism made great progress in Annam, the king ordering in 1031 the construc-tion of nearly one thousand monasteries.
In 1055 [][], THANH-TONG, son of Thai-tong, came to power, and his first act was to change the name of the king-dom to that of [][] Dai-viet, used during the DINH Dynasty. His reign was peaceful, and in 1072 he was succeeded by his son [][] NHON-TONG, notorious for his wars against the Chinese. The Emperor [][] CHlN-TSUNG of the Northern [] Sung Dynasty had decided to conquer Annam, and to that end he sent a numerous army, which, however, did not pass the [][] Quang-nguyen frontiers. The army was detained for several months on these frontiers, and suffered great loss in every engagement it had with the Annamese, till at length peace was signed, and the invaders returned to their own country.
[][] THAN-TONG, a nephew of the last king, occupied the throne in 1128, and reigned until 1139; the only notice taken of him in the Annals was that he was mad. He was succeeded at his death by his son [][] ANH-TONG, during whose reign the port of Hai-phong was opened to trade with Siam, the Malay Peninsula, and Burmah. In 1142 a bonze called [][] THAN-LOI raised a rebellion, and was proclaimed king under the name of [][] BINH-VUONG. He was, at first, successful, collected numerous forces, and went to besiege the capital; but, routed on the way to Hanoi, he sought refuge in the mountains of Tunquin, where he was made a prisoner, taken to the capital, and decapitated.
In 1176 [][] CAO-TONG, son of Anh-tong, came to power, and ten years afterwards he received his investiture from the Emperor of China, being called for the first time [][][] An-nam Vuong, or King of Annum. He was corrupt and addicted to vice, and was dethroned by a military rebellion in 1211. His son [][] HUE-TONG, supported by his father-in-law [][] TRAN-LY, succeeded to the throne. The kingdom was in a very disturbed state: the [] Ly Dynasty had already lost the prestige acquired by its first kings, and the fear of imaginary or real dangers which surrounded the life of the king made him lose his reason and his throne. He became mad and abdi-cated in 1225 in favour of his daughter [][] CHIEU-THANH. The [] TRAN family did not lose such a good opportunity to obtain the crown; one of its members [][] TRAN-CANH married the queen, and, on her abdicating in favour of her husband, the Ly family, the true founders of the Annamese kingdom, disappeared from power.
No. 5. - Obverse:
 
 
Thuan-thien-dai-bao.
Reverse: plain.
Coin issued during the reign of [][] THAI-TO, the first king of this dynasty, (1010 to 1028).
The two following kings issued no coins.
No. 6. - Obverse:
 
Can-phu-nguyen-bao.
Reverse: plain.
This coin was issued during the reign of the Emperor [] THAI-TONG. (1028-1055.) It was during this epoch that the use of small thin cash was first introduced, on account of the great scarcity of copper then existing in the kingdom. The Chinese traders immediately took advantage of this circum-stance, and had Chinese cash recast into smaller ones, exporting them from their own country into Annam. In consequence of the abundance of coins caused by this proceeding the manufacture of cash was suspended by the Annamese govern-ment for a period of fifty years.
No. 7. - Obverse:
Thien-phu-nguyen-bao.
Reverse: plain.
Diminutive coin made during the reign of the Emperor [][] NHON-TONG in his seventh nien-hao. It is of white copper, and the character Nguyen of the obverse is written in seal characters
No. 8. - Obverse:
Dai-dinh-thong-bao.
Reverse: plain.
No. 9. - Obverse: Same as No. 8.
No rim on the Reverse.
No. 10. - Obverse: Same as No. 8, but varying in the distribution of the four characters.
Reverse: plain.
Diminutive coins made during the reign of King [] ANH-TONG (1139-1176), during his second nien-hao.
No. 11. - Obverse:
Thien-cam-thong-bao.
Reverse: plain. Diminutive coin made during the reign of the same king
in his fourth nien-hao.
No. 12. - Obverse:
Thien-tu-thong-bao.
Plain Reverse.
Diminutive coin issued by the King [][] CAO-TONG (1176-1211), in his second nien-hao.
No. 13. - Obverse:
 
Tri-binh-thong-bao.
Reverse: without rim.
Nos. 14 and 15. - Obverse:
Tri-binh-nguyen-bao. The character nguyen is written in two different forms of the tchuen or seal characters.
Reverse: No. 14 plain; No. 15 without rim. Diminutive coins issued by the former king in his fourth nien-hao.
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