page_title: Trần dynasty
section_title: Performing arts
hierarchical_section_title: Trần dynasty / Culture / Performing arts
caption_attribution_description: English: Lion figure. Terracotta, Trần-Hồ dynasty, 14th-15th century. Nghệ An province, central Vietnam. Architectural decoration. National Museum of Vietnamese History, Hanoi.
context_page_description: The Trần dynasty of Vietnam ruled over the Kingdom of Đại Việt from 1225 to 1400. The dynasty was founded when emperor Trần Thái Tông ascended to the throne after his uncle Trần Thủ Độ orchestrated the overthrow of the Lý dynasty. The final emperor of the dynasty was Thiếu Đế, who at the age of five years was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of his maternal grandfather, Hồ Quý Ly. The Trần dynasty defeated three Mongol invasions, most notably in the decisive Battle of Bạch Đằng River in 1288.
  The Tran improved Chinese gunpowder enabling them to expand southward to defeat and vassalize the Champa. They also started using paper money for the first time in Vietnam.
  The Tran dynasty was considered a golden age in Vietnamese language, arts, and culture; with the first pieces of Chữ Nôm literature written during this period, and first-time introduction of the vernacular Vietnamese language into the court, alongside Chinese. This laid the foundation for the further development and solidifying of Vietnamese language and identity.
context_section_description: The Trần dynasty was considered a golden age for music and culture. Although it was still seen as a shameful pleasure at that time, theatre rapidly developed towards the end of the Trần dynasty with the role of Lý Nguyên Cát (Li Yuan Ki), a captured Chinese soldier who was granted a pardon for his talent in theatre. Lý Nguyên Cát imported many features of Chinese theatre (also see 话剧) in the performing arts of Đại Việt such as stories, costumes, roles, and acrobatics. For that reason, Lý Nguyên Cát was traditionally considered the founder of the art of hát tuồng in Vietnam. However this is nowadays a challenged hypothesis because hát tuồng and Beijing opera differed in the way of using painted faces, costumes, or theatrical conventions. The art of theatre was introduced to the royal court by Trần Dụ Tông and eventually the emperor even decided to cede the throne to Dương Nhật Lễ who was born to a couple of hát tuồng performers.
  To celebrate the victory over the 1288 Mongol invasion, Trần Quang Khải and Trần Nhật Duật created the Múa bài bông (dance of flowers) for a major three-day festival in Thăng Long. This dance has been handed down to the present and is still performed at local festivals in the northern region.
caption: Lion figure. Terracotta, Trần-Hồ dynasty, 14th–15th century. Nghệ An province, central Vietnam. Architectural decoration. National Museum of Vietnamese History, Hanoi.
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