Princess Thanh Ngau

On an early morning more than 600 years ago, dew still lay on the leaves in a royal garden. A little girl ran barefoot along a gravel path, her hair tied back, her eyes bright and clear. This was the palace of Đại Việt, an old name for Vietnam. The girl would grow up to become an empress. Her name was Thánh Ngẫu, and some books call her Hồ Thánh Ngâu.

To see why she stands out, it helps to begin with her parents. Her mother was Princess Huy Ninh, a daughter of Emperor Trần Minh Tông. Her father was Hồ Quý Ly, a high official at court. On her mother's side stood an emperor, and on her father's side an official. The girl carried the blood of the Trần imperial house and of the rising Hồ family. Few daughters of her time stood so exactly between two great families.

How her parents came together is also worth remembering. In 1371, Emperor Trần Nghệ Tông gave his younger sister in marriage. She was Princess Huy Ninh, and the husband was Hồ Quý Ly. Some time later a daughter was born, and she was Thánh Ngẫu.

The girl grew up in the palace and learned to treat everyone around her gently. Through all the changes of her age, she kept a kind heart. She had a soft smile, and she was as calm as a lake early in the morning.

When she came of age, Thánh Ngẫu married Emperor Trần Thuận Tông. She became the emperor's principal wife and was raised to empress, with the title Empress Khâm Thánh. The child who once ran through a garden had become a gentle mother to a whole palace.

Her greatest joy was her little son. He was born in 1396, and the histories call him Trần Thiếu Đế. It is easy to see a young mother holding her child on the palace porch, telling him old stories and teaching him to love other people. Those were peaceful, warm days for the mother and her child.

A few years later, in 1398, the little boy was raised to the throne. His mother became the empress dowager, honored by the whole court. She was still as gentle as the morning in that garden long before. The histories regard her as the last empress dowager of the Trần dynasty.

The old books say little about her. Some people in history are like a light breeze, passing by while few speak their names. Yet that very quietness makes her feel close. She stood where two dynasties met, an empress dowager who closed one age and still kept her kindness whole.

She was a daughter of two houses of her time, and she carried both in her heart. She passed through great change, and she stayed gentle.