Tây Sơn dynasty

The Tây Sơn dynasty (təj ʂəːn, Nhà Tây Sơn (Chữ Nôm: 茹西山); Tây Sơn triều (Hán tự: 西山朝), officially Great Việt (Đại Việt; Chữ Hán: 大越), was a dynasty of Vietnam. It was founded after three Nguyễn brothers from the village of Tây Sơn rebelled against the Lê dynasty, Nguyễn lords, and Trịnh lords. The Tây Sơn were led by these three brothers, referred to by modern Vietnamese historians as the Tây Sơn brothers because of their origin in the district of Tây Sơn. The Tây Sơn was later succeeded by the Nguyễn dynasty. The Tây Sơn dynasty ended the century-long war between the Trịnh and Nguyễn families, ended the Lê dynasty, and united the country for the first time in 200 years. The Tây Sơn entered a tributary relationship with the Qing dynasty of China and gained the recognition as the official rulers of Vietnam from the Qianlong Emperor. Under the most prominent of the Tây Sơn brothers, Nguyễn Quang Bình—later the emperor Quang Trung—Vietnam experienced an age of relative peace and prosperity. However, his heir was not capable of properly ruling the country, allowing the exiled Nguyễn lord Nguyễn Ánh to retake the south of Vietnam and eventually pave the way for his own imperial dynasty, the Nguyễn dynasty. The Tây Sơn dynasty was named after the Tây Sơn District in Bình Định Province, the birthplace of the three brothers who established the dynasty. The name "Tây Sơn" means "western mountains" from Chinese 西山 Xīshān where 西 xi means west and 山 shan means mountain. Tây Sơn wars In the 18th century, Vietnam was de jure ruled by the Lê dynasty, but real power lay in the hands of two warring families, the Trịnh lords of the north who ruled from the imperial court in Thăng Long and the Nguyễn lords in the south, who ruled from their capital Huế. Both sides warred extensively for control of the country. Life for the peasants during these times were difficult: ownership of land became concentrated in the hands of a handful of landlords as time passed.