Yết Kiêu, whose real name was Phạm Hữu Thế, was born into a poor family in a village. When he was eight years old, his father suddenly passed away. From then on, he and his mother toiled to support each other. His mother sold tea by the ferry dock, while he fished using nets.
The legend says that at the age of 16, one quiet night while carrying water from the river, he saw two white buffaloes fiercely fighting. Thinking that if he didn’t stop them, one might die, he used his shoulder pole to intervene. The buffaloes then ran into the river and disappeared, leaving behind two white hairs on his pole. Strangely, when he stirred the water with the pole, the hairs sparkled with an aura. Believing it to be a divine sign, he swallowed them. After that, his body became muscular, solid, and extraordinarily strong. Notably, he developed the ability to move underwater as if walking on land.
In 1258, when the northern Mongol invaders threatened the nation, the young Phạm Hữu Thế left his village eagerly to join the army in defense of the country.
At the time, the Trần court held competitions to recruit talented individuals. In Vạn Kiếp, there was a champion wrestler named Đô Châu, a servant of Prince Trần Ích Tắc, who had no worthy opponents. Upon hearing this, the recruit Phạm Hữu Thế volunteered to compete. Initially, Đô Châu mocked the young man and charged at him. Unexpectedly, Phạm Hữu Thế calmly lifted and slammed him to the ground, defeating him. The crowd erupted in applause, and Đô Châu admitted defeat. After that contest, Trần Hưng Đạo invited Phạm Hữu Thế to become his personal retainer and later promoted him to a skilled naval general. It was Trần Hưng Đạo who gave him the name Yết Kiêu, after a giant sea creature known as a “kình ngư.”
At night, Yết Kiêu led his troops underwater to enemy ships, quietly drilling holes in their hulls. He plugged each hole with rags connected by ropes. When the enemy soldiers were sound asleep, he gave the order to pull the ropes, removing the plugs and causing the ships to slowly sink. Then, the Vietnamese navy moved in to annihilate the enemy. The enemy forces were terrified of Yết Kiêu’s strategy.
On one occasion, while drilling a ship, Yết Kiêu was captured by the enemy. However, with his wits, he escaped the pursuit of the enemy general Phạm Nhan. According to legend, when Yết Kiêu was tied to the mast of a ship, he heard a crane’s call from the sky and responded, “Here I am!” Surprised, Phạm Nhan asked why he answered a bird. Yết Kiêu replied, “That’s my brother calling me.” Phạm Nhan mocked him and challenged, “Call your brother here and I’ll reward you.” Yết Kiêu calmly responded, “Untie me and prepare a feast—my brother won’t come if I’m tied up like this. If he sees me bound, your lives are forfeit.” Curious and hoping to catch another talented general, Phạm Nhan untied him. Instantly, Yết Kiêu sprang up, grabbed Phạm Nhan, and dove into the river, later delivering the enemy general to Trần Hưng Đạo for punishment.
After the country’s victorious triumph, Emperor Trần held a grand celebration and rewarded the meritorious generals. Yết Kiêu was honored with the title First Admiral of the Navy and granted noble rank and riches. However, he declined all honors. Instead, he petitioned the emperor to grant the villagers of Hạ Bì—his birthplace—three meters of land on both riverbanks for drying nets and to exempt them from taxes. He also requested that local officials not interfere. The emperor praised his care for the people and approved the request.
Because of his great service to the nation and the people, the villagers revered Yết Kiêu as the village deity. Thanks to him, the local fishing industry thrived, and the people lived in prosperity. They respected him not only for his intelligence and talent but also for his deep loyalty and love.
A faithful lover
Yết Kiêu once rejected marriage proposals from three princesses to stay faithful to Vân, a ferryman’s daughter he loved at Bạch Đằng River in Quảng Ninh. It’s said that while fighting alongside Trần Hưng Đạo in the war, Yết Kiêu met a ferryman who owned a map leading to an area rich in iron and zinc. Using this resource, Yết Kiêu ordered the soldiers to reinforce stakes with metal tips to destroy enemy ships.
The ferryman had a daughter of beauty and talent. She and Yết Kiêu developed deep affection for each other, though never verbally expressed. During an ambush, she sacrificed herself by shielding Yết Kiêu from an enemy arrow and died in his arms. Perhaps because of this deep love, he refused even royal proposals.
Princesses An Tư and Đinh Lan admired Yết Kiêu’s virtue and sought to marry him. Đinh Lan even requested he change his surname from Phạm to Trần to marry within the royal lineage (as Trần law allowed marriage only between those with the same surname). But Yết Kiêu declared he’d rather be executed than change his name or marry a princess. Despite this, Đinh Lan again proposed later, but he firmly refused once more, saying he would rather die than change his surname or marry under duress. After that, Đinh Lan was extremely angry and asked the king to behead Yết Kiêu 🤣
Before An Tư was sent away to marry a foreign prince for diplomacy, she only asked to see Yết Kiêu once. After becoming a consort in the enemy land, Princess An Tư frequently sent intelligence back to Đại Việt, with Yết Kiêu being the receiver. On one occasion, he was captured, but An Tư cleverly created a distraction, allowing him to escape.
Later, when Yết Kiêu was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Ming Dynasty, his dignified and handsome appearance captivated many officials. Princess Ngọc Hoa, daughter of the Ming emperor, fell deeply in love with him. The Ming emperor tried to persuade Yết Kiêu to stay, but he replied that only Emperor Trần could decide his fate. Using that excuse, he returned to Đại Việt and never came back.
When he did not return for a long time, Princess Ngọc Hoa left the palace and traveled to Việt Nam in search of him. Upon arriving in Móng Cái, she was told that Yết Kiêu had “ascended to heaven” (passed away). Heartbroken, she built an altar to worship him for seven days and nights. During her prayer, she said, “If we cannot be together in this world, I vow to follow him forever,” and then she threw herself into the river. Following her, nine maids and two court officials also jumped in.
A wooden statue of Princess Ngọc Hoa was later found at the site where she died. The villagers worship her out of respect for her unwavering love for Yết Kiêu and as a symbol of good relations between Đại Việt and the northern kingdom.
Dã Tượng and Yết Kiêu
During the battle at Bãi Tân, Trần Hưng Đạo (Prince Hưng Đạo) went into battle by boat and assigned Yết Kiêu to stay behind to guard the ship while Dã Tượng accompanied him as a bodyguard. However, due to the enemy’s overwhelming force, the Trần army couldn’t withstand the fierce assault. The navy stationed at Bãi Tân also scattered in disarray.
As Trần Hưng Đạo was planning to retreat through the forest to Vạn Kiếp, Dã Tượng told him:
“Yết Kiêu will not abandon the ship without seeing Your Highness first.”
Hưng Đạo turned back to Bãi Tân and, indeed, saw Yết Kiêu still at the ship, waiting steadfastly despite the danger. Moved and joyful, Hưng Đạo exclaimed:
“A Hồng Hộc bird that wishes to soar high must rely on the six main bones of its wings. Without those bones, it is just an ordinary bird.”
In 1288, on the way to the historic Bạch Đằng battle, the elephant carrying Trần Hưng Đạo got stuck in the mud and began to sink. Despite various efforts, the beloved war elephant of the Prince continued to sink. Both Dã Tượng and Hưng Đạo watched in sorrow as their longtime companion was about to be lost. Dã Tượng knelt before the prince and begged him to mount a horse and continue leading the army. Dã Tượng stayed behind and later caught up.
In that battle, Dã Tượng led a division on Tràng Kênh mountain, defeating Phàn Tiếp’s army. The river turned red with enemy blood. Dã Tượng fought like a phantom, striking fear into Phàn Tiếp, who abandoned his troops, dove into the river with arrows still in his body, and tried to flee, but was eventually captured by Trần forces.
The decisive victory at Bạch Đằng resulted in the annihilation of the entire invading army, buried beneath the river waves. The third resistance war of Đại Việt ended in resounding triumph, and the Mongol Yuan invaders abandoned their ambition to conquer the nation.
At that time, war elephants were a unique and vital part of Đại Việt’s military. During the resistance against the Mongol Yuan, Dã Tượng commanded the elephant corps and personally led them into battle.
Trần Liễu, the father of Trần Hưng Đạo, harbored a grudge against Emperor Trần Thái Tông. Before dying, he made a final request:
“If you do not reclaim the throne for me, I will not be able to rest in peace in the afterlife!”
Though Trần Hưng Đạo did not consider this a righteous wish, he carried it heavily in his heart. When the Mongols invaded and the nation’s fate hung in the balance, Trần Hưng Đạo was entrusted with supreme military command. At one point, he confided this dilemma to his household and two loyal retainers: Dã Tượng and Yết Kiêu.
While his son urged him to fulfill his father’s dying wish, both Dã Tượng and Yết Kiêu strongly opposed it.
According to the woodblocks of the Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục, Volume 8, carvings 32 and 33, they advised:
“If you follow through with this plan, you may gain wealth and power for a moment, but the shame will last for a thousand generations. Aren’t you already rich and powerful now? We would rather live as aging servants than commit acts of disloyalty and filial disrespect in exchange for a position.”
Hearing their words, Trần Hưng Đạo was deeply moved to tears and praised them for their loyalty and integrity.
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