# Ly Bi's Uprising Against the Liang (541–543 CE)

URL: https://allhistories.com/vietnam/timeline/541-ly-bi-s-uprising-against-the-liang
Location: Long Bien, Red River Plain
Themes: Independence, Resistance

Ly Bi, also called Ly Bon, was a regional official of the Liang dynasty from the local Sinic elite of the Red River delta. In 541 he resigned and rebelled, gathering nobles and tribes. In the summer of 543 he won a decisive battle at Hepu and expelled the Liang. Sources disagree on dates and origins. The Wikipedia article on the Early Ly dynasty gives 541 in its infobox but 543 in the text. Vietnamese chronicles stress his northern ancestry, while Chinese histories portray him as a regional rebel. The Liang counter-attack came in 544 to 545, led by Chen Baxian. In February 544 Ly Bi proclaimed himself emperor and named the kingdom Van Xuan, meaning Eternal Spring, with a capital at Long Bien. The state lasted until 602 in its later forms, and is regarded as the first independent Vietnamese state since the Hung kings. At this point in the timeline (541 CE), Jiaozhi was a province of the Liang dynasty (502 – 544 CE). Other contemporary rulers included King Rudravarman (c. 514 – c. 550 CE).

## Why it matters
It began the first sustained independent state in Vietnamese history after Chinese rule, though sources disagree on its dates.

Ruler at the Time: [Liang dynasty rule of Jiaozhi](https://allhistories.com/vietnam/rulers/liang-dynasty-rule-of-jiaozhi)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Lý Nam Đế](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BD_Nam_%C4%90%E1%BA%BF)
- [Wikipedia — Early Lý dynasty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_L%C3%BD_dynasty)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Vietnam](https://www.britannica.com/place/Vietnam)