The most famous 'foreign language prodigy' in feudal history

The person mentioned is King Chieu Van Tran Nhat Duat (1255-1330), the sixth son of King Tran Thai Tong, younger brother of King Tran Thanh Tong. He was a famous general of the Tran Dynasty with great contributions in the resistance war against the Mongol-Yuan invaders for the second (1285) and third (1287-1288).

Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu records that in the year of Ky Hoi (1239), King Tran Thai Tong went on a tour through Thien Truong Palace and met a young girl named Vu Thi Vuong, with an extraordinary beauty, famous throughout the region for her beauty and virtue. Seeing that the girl was intelligent, knowledgeable, and good at farming, the King was very fond of her. The King held a ceremony, welcomed Vu Thi Vuong to the palace, and established her as the fifth concubine, named Vu Phi. She was the mother of King Chieu Van Tran Nhat Duat.

One night, Vu Phi dreamed of a big star falling from the sky onto her bed, and from then on she became pregnant. At noon on April 10, At Mao year (1255), she gave birth to a prince with an unusual appearance and four words "Chieu Van Dong Tu" on his hand. King Tran Thai Tong took that to name him Tran Nhat Duat and also gave him the title of Chieu Van Vuong.

King Chieu Van Tran Nhat Duat. (Illustration)

Since childhood, Tran Nhat Duat was famous for being intelligent, studious, knowledgeable, well-versed in many foreign languages and the customs and practices of neighboring countries.

According to historical records, King Chieu Van was fluent in at least four languages, including: Song (Chinese), Siamese (Thai), Champa (Cambodia), and Sach Ma Tich (Singaporean). Therefore, when he was only 20 years old, the royal court assigned him to be in charge of related ethnic affairs.

Once, when meeting with a Yuan envoy, he happily and naturally chatted all day, making the Yuan envoy think that Nhat Duat was a Han Chinese from Chan Dinh (old Trieu country) who was working as an official in Dai Viet.

During the reign of King Tran Nhan Tong, an envoy from the country of Sach Ma Tich (ancient name of Singapore) came to pay tribute, but the court could not find an interpreter. In the entire Thang Long citadel, only Tran Nhat Duat could translate and converse fluently in the strange language with the envoy from the neighboring country.

Tran Nhat Duat's foreign language talent made King Nhan Tong very impressed. Once, the king even joked: "Chieu Van Vuong is probably not Vietnamese but a descendant of Phien and Man" (referring to neighboring ethnic groups in Southeast Asia at that time).

Also thanks to his foreign language skills, Tran Nhat Duat once subdued the rebel leader Trinh Giac Mat in Da Giang, and gathered many Song (Chinese) exiles in Dai Viet to volunteer to fight under his command when the second war against the Yuan-Mongol army broke out.

Regarding Tran Nhat Duat's foreign language talent, the book Famous Generals of Vietnam wrote: "Tran Nhat Duat was famous for his wide knowledge. In addition to being fluent in many foreign languages, he also had a deep understanding of neighboring countries. Having studied Song and Champa languages, Nhat Duat not only used those languages fluently but also learned many aspects of those countries. With the ethnic groups in the country, Nhat Duat not only understood the languages but also understood the minds of others."

He was also the commander of the Tran army that defeated Toa Do's army at Ham Tu gate in 1285. According to Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, "in defeating the Yuan invaders, Nhat Duat achieved the most success."

Not only was he a talented military general and good at foreign languages, Tran Nhat Duat was also passionate about music. He composed many pieces of music, lyrics, and dances. The book "Lich Trieu Hien Chuong Loai Chi" recorded: "He was a noble prince, an official who served four kings, and three times held the position of head of major towns. There was not a day in his house that did not have singing. People compared him to Quach Tu Nghi of the Tang Dynasty."

Serving four Tran kings: Thanh Tong, Nhan Tong, Anh Tong and Minh Tong, Tran Nhat Duat was crowned Dai Vuong in 1329. He died in 1330 at the age of 75. The talent, virtue, strictness and uprightness of Tran Nhat Duat as well as the civil and military generals in the Tran family contributed significantly to the existence and prosperity of Dai Viet at that time.

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Source: https://vtcnews.vn/than-dong-ngoai-ngu-noi-danh-nhat-nhi-lich-su-phong-kien-ar952474.html