History - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 982

Vietnamese Expansion
The Chinese seized control of Vietnam once more in the early 15th century, carting off the
national archives and some of the country's intellectuals to China - this was an irreparable
loss to Vietnamese civilisation. The poet Nguyen Trai (1380-1442) wrote of this period:
'Were the water of the Eastern Sea to be exhausted, the stain of their ignominy could not be
washed away; all the bamboo of the Southern Mountains would not suffice to provide the
paper for recording all their crimes.'
In 1418, wealthy philanthropist Le Loi rallied the people against the Chinese. Upon vic-
tory in 1428, Le Loi declared himself Emperor Le Thai To, the first in the long line of the
Le dynasty. To this day, Le Loi is highly revered as one of the country's all-time national
heroes. Le Loi and his successors launched a campaign to take over Cham lands to the
south, wiping the kingdom of Champa from the map, and parts of eastern Laos were forced
to kowtow to the might of the Vietnamese.