Emperor Ly Nhan Tong
					Ly' Nha^n To^ng was the fourth Emperor of the Ly dynasty to rule Vietnam. Ly Nhan Tong became emperor upon the death of his father, Ly Thanh Tong, when he was only seven years old. During these early years the country was ruled on his behalf by the regent Ly Dao Thanh. It was not to be an uneventful period and this mandarin would have to face some of the most pivotal events in Vietnamese history.           The first was the occasion of the very first civil service examinations to be held in the magnificant Temple of Literature, built by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong in Ha Noi. In order to train men for these arduous examinations, Ly Dao Thanh, in the name of Emperor Ly Nhan Tong, built the Quoc Tu Giam (Institute for the Sons of the State) at the Temple of Literature to prepare the potential mandarins in 1076.           However, the most crucial event of all was the out-break of yet another war with the Empire of China. The Vietnamese northern commander, General Ly Thuong Kiet suspected that China was planning an invasion, so in 1075 he launched a two-front preemptive strike against the Chinese, one over land and one by sea. China, under the rule of the Sung dynasty, responded with terrible force and counter-attacked with an invasion of the Red River delta.
	Fortunately, Ly Thuong Kiet was able to meet the threat. The Vietnamese fought with fierce determination and finally halted the Chinese advance north of Thanh Long (Ha Noi). Eventually, the Chinese Emperor was obliged to make peace. It was not to be entirely peaceful however, as sporadic fighting continued on the southern border with the Kingdom of Champa, the ever present rival of Vietnamese power and expansion in Indochina.        Throughout the reign of Emperor Ly Nhan Tong, Vietnam continued to grow and prosper. A strong system of Confucian monarchist government was established with well educated mandarins earning their places of authority, however, the power of the land owning nobles continued to grow as well. Yet, if there was one distinct facet of Vietnam at this time it was the power of the Buddhist religion. Temples owned vast estates and Buddhist monks rose to places of great influence at court. Vietnam was becoming renowned as a respectable empire, Confucian in structure and Buddhist at heart. In all, the reign of Emperor Ly Nhan Tong was a successful one. The Chinese had been defeated, government structure was strengthened and projected into the future and the people prospered. Emperor Ly Nhan Tong died in 1127 after a reign of 56 years.