An Dương Vương

An Dương Vương, whose personal name was Thục Phán, was the founder and sole monarch of Âu Lạc, an ancient kingdom situated in the Red River Delta. Leading the Âu Việt tribes, he overthrew the final Hùng king of Văn Lang and merged the Lạc Việt people with his own. Following a conflict with Nanyue in 179 BCE, he fled and took his own life.

Traditional Vietnamese histories trace his origins to the Shu kingdom in modern Sichuan, which fell to Qin in 316 BCE. Chronicles such as the *Records of the Outer Territories of the Jiao Province*, the *Đại Việt sử lược*, and the *Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư* describe him as a Shu prince or king. Some historians question this account, noting the chronological difficulty of a Shu ruler after the Qin conquest. Archaeological evidence does link Proto-Vietnamese culture to Yunnan, and Stephen O'Harrow suggests his origin may have been elsewhere, with the location possibly altered over time due to geographical confusion or later political motives. The *Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục* expressed doubt that a Shu prince could travel such a distance through forests and kingdoms to invade Văn Lang, though scholars Trần Văn Giáp and Đào Duy Anh argued in the 1950s that the Shu origin was genuine. Cuong T. Mai's 2022 research examines how the story was reshaped in the 15th century for political and moral purposes within Đại Việt.

A Tày oral tradition recorded in 1963, *Cẩu chủa cheng vùa*, tells of a kingdom called Nam Cương in modern Cao Bằng and Guangxi, a confederation of ten mườngs. After his father Thục Chế died, the young king's intelligence secured his throne, and all nine lords submitted. Nam Cương grew powerful as Văn Lang weakened, and he invaded, founding Âu Lạc around 257 BCE and proclaiming himself An Dương Vương. This origin is considered suspect. The story was published as a translation by Lã Văn Lô, but a 1969 archaeological investigation in Cao Bằng found no supporting evidence. It discovered that the tale was originally written by Lê Đình Sự, a Tày collector of stories, but could not confirm Lã Văn Lô's translation, as the owner of the text had died. No original Tày version survives; the title's words, except "Cẩu" (meaning "nine" in Tai languages), are Vietnamese with altered tones or spelling.

After taking power, An Dương Vương built a fortified settlement at Tây Vu called Cổ Loa, meaning "old snail," becaus