(Vietnamplus, 28/06/2010)

The Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA) granted citizenship certificates to Ly Xuong Can, the 31 st generation descendant of King Ly Thai To and the 26 th generation descendant of Prince Ly Tong Tuong at a ceremony in Hanoi on June 26.

On the occasion, the National Political Publishing House announced the reprint of by a Korea author on Prince Ly Long Tuong, who moved to the Republic of Korea in the 13 th century as a publication to mark the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

According to documentations in Vietnam and the Republic of Korea, where the prince’s descendants are living today, Prince Ly Long Tuong, born in 1174, was the seventh son of King Ly Anh Tong who reigned from 1138-1175, the brother of King Ly Cao Tong and the uncle of King Ly Hue Tong.

He grew up when the Ly dynasty was coming to an end. As the Ly was replaced with the Tran dynasty in 1226, Prince Ly Long Tuong fled on boat with several hundreds of his followers northwards to the RoK.

The Prince became a general under the Korean King and helped the king successfully defeat two Mongol invasions.

Based on these documentations, RoK author Kang Moo Hak wrote the 500-page “Prince Ly Long Tuong” novel, featuring a volatile period of the Vietnamese history as well as the life full of ups and downs of a historical figure whose name has not yet recorded in the country’s history – Prince Ly Long Tuong.

The 23-chapter book was translated into Vietnamese and first published by the National Political Publishing House in 1996./.

Ly Kings’ overseas descendants receive Vietnamese citizenship