Item number: A3065

Year: AD 1509-1516

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.7 x 23.7 x 1.1 mm

Weight: 2.65 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a bronze coin cast and circulated under the reign of Emperor Lê Tương Dực of the Later Lê dynasty, bearing the reign title “Hồng Thuận,” which spanned from AD 1509 to 1516.

The coin follows the traditional Han cultural form of a round coin with a square hole at the centre. The obverse inscription “Hồng Thuận Thông Bảo” is written in regular script and is read from top to bottom, right to left. The characters are relatively large in size. The strokes of the character “Hồng” are all angular; the right radical of “Thông” also bears angular turns, and the left-side radical (辶) of “Thông” begins with an angular dot. The final strokes of the characters “Thuận” and “Bảo” are similarly angled, imparting a semi-cursive calligraphic style. None of the four characters are joined across the hole but are encircled by a continuous outer rim. A crescent-shaped crack is present on the lower left quadrant of the coin. The coin’s reverse is plain and without inscription. The rim is slightly off-centre, tilted toward the upper left, and the inner rim is somewhat broader.

Emperor Lê Tương Dực, personal name Lê Tuấn and also known as Lê Trừu, was the ninth sovereign of the Later Lê dynasty, reigning from AD 1509 to 1516. He was a paternal cousin of Emperor Lê Uy Mục. In AD 1509, while holding the title Duke of Giản Tu, he launched a coup to overthrow the cruel and murderous Uy Mục and proclaimed himself emperor, adopting the reign title “Hồng Thuận” in the same year. At the beginning of his reign, he implemented a number of administrative reforms in an attempt to continue the governing principles established by his grandfather, Emperor Lê Thánh Tông. However, he soon became immersed in sensual pleasures and indulgence, undertaking excessive construction of palaces and gardens, which exhausted public labour and state finances, leading to administrative decay and widespread suffering among the populace.

In the third year of Hồng Thuận (AD 1511), Trần Xuyên, a grandson of a minister from the era of Lê Thánh Tông, rebelled and advanced upon the capital, though the uprising was eventually suppressed. In the fourth year (AD 1512), a rebellion broke out in Nghệ An. In the fifth year (AD 1513), Emperor Zhengde of Ming China dispatched envoys to Vietnam, conferring upon Lê Tương Dực the title “King of Annam.” According to Vietnamese historical sources, after meeting the emperor, the envoy Phan Hy remarked that Lê Tương Dực was “beautiful in appearance but weak in bearing,” referring to him derisively as the “Pig King.”

In the seventh year of Hồng Thuận (AD 1515), rebellions occurred in Sơn Tây (now the western part of Hanoi) and Thanh Hoa. In the eighth year (AD 1516), An Lãng rebelled. In the same year, Trần Cảo, an official from Thủy Đường, raised an armed rebellion. Trịnh Duy Sản, a minister who had supported Lê Tương Dực since his time as Duke of Giản Tu and had repeatedly helped suppress uprisings, was eventually caned and, together with the imperial guards, killed Lê Tương Dực as he attempted to flee the capital. Trịnh Duy Sản then installed Lê Quang Trị as emperor, who was soon murdered, and subsequently enthroned Lê Y, who became known as Emperor Lê Chiêu Tông.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Trần Cảo captured the imperial capital Thăng Long. Trịnh Duy Sản later led forces against Trần Cảo, was defeated, captured, and executed. After the death of Lê Tương Dực, the political situation fell into irreversible decline. The powerful court official Mạc Đăng Dung, who rose to prominence under the pretext of restoring royal authority, eventually deposed Emperor Lê Chiêu Tông, installed Lê Cung Hoàng, and later usurped the throne, becoming the founding emperor Mạc Thái Tổ of the Mạc dynasty.

物件編號: A3065

年代: 公元 1509-1516 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.7 x 23.7 x 1.1 mm

重量: 2.65 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚由黎襄翼帝黎瀠，於年號洪順元年至洪順八年間(公元1509-1516年)，所鑄行之「洪順通寶」，青銅質。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢文「洪順通寶」楷書，由上而下、由右至左對讀，字體較大。「洪」字各點均折筆；「通」字「マ」旁折筆；「通」字「辶」旁首點折筆。「順、寶」字末點均折筆，有行書意。四字均未接穿而連輪。左下角地章有一月形裂縫。錢幕光素無文，輪廓稍微向左上偏軸，內廓稍寬。

黎襄翼帝(Lê Tương Dực)，名黎瀠(Lê Tuấn)，又名黎晭(Lê Trừu)，後黎朝第九位皇帝，公元1509年至1516年在位。其為黎威穆帝之堂弟。公元1509年，時任簡修公的他發動政變，推翻暴虐好殺的威穆帝，自立為帝，是年改元洪順。初期實行若干整頓政令，試圖延續祖父黎聖宗的治國方針，但很快便沉迷於聲色與享樂，大興土木，建造諸多宮殿與園林，勞民傷財，導致朝政敗壞，民不聊生。洪順三年(公元1511年)，黎聖宗年間尚書之孫陳珣叛亂，進逼京城，後平。洪順四年(公元1512年)，乂安叛。洪順五年(公元1513年)，明武宗遣使越南，封安南國王。面見襄翼帝後，據越南方史料載，使者潘希評論襄翼帝「貌美而身傾」，是為「豬王」。洪順七年(公元1515年)，山西(今河內西部)、淸花叛。洪順八年(公元1516年)，安朗叛，同年，水棠官員陳暠(Trần Cảo)起兵反叛，自簡修公時追隨至此、數次平亂的大臣鄭惟㦃(Trịnh Duy Sản)，最終因被杖責而夥禁軍殺襄翼帝，立黎光治，被劫殺，後又立黎椅，是為黎昭宗。陳暠則乘隙攻破國都昇龍。鄭惟㦃後進兵陳暠，兵敗身俘被殺。襄翼帝後政治衰敗再不可遏，後勤王得勢的權臣莫登庸(Mạc Thái Tổ)廢黎昭宗，立黎恭皇，後受禪，是為莫朝莫太祖。