THE LIFE OF HO NGUYEN TRUNG AS AN AN NAM PIONEER INVENTING CANNON

Abstract

Ho Nguyen Trung (1374-1446), also known as Manh Nguyen, Nam Ong or Le
Trung, was the eldest son of the Ho Quy Ly of Viet Nam. Ho Nguyen Trung held office as
Tu Do in the Tran Dynasty and Ta Tuong Quoc in the Ho Dynasty in Vietnam. In 1407, he
was kidnapped and held a political prisoner when the Ming Dynasty invaded Vietnam. It
was known as an expert in weapons in Vietnam, so he was forced to be an officer by the
Ming Dynasty in Nanjing for researching gun firearms. Originally, he held as an officer in
the Ministry of Industry, and being promoted Shang shu. He was regarded as “God of
firearms” in the Ming Dynasty. This paper is gong to discuss his life and researches in Viet
Nam and China, and how his contribution is to the firearm technology.