Hoan Châu

Hoan Châu was an older name retained for the Nghệ An country of north-central Vietnam. Its historical landscape extended across river valleys, cultivated lowlands and approaches to the mountains. The name continued to carry a regional identity even after official administrative names changed. Local lineages preserved accounts of service and warfare through which their own history was connected to that of the kingdom.

In 1424, Lê Lợi's Lam Sơn forces moved into Nghệ An, taking the upland route and attacking Trà Lân. The campaign provided a new base from which the rebellion expanded southward in 1425 and advanced north in 1426. Later struggles to restore the Lê dynasty against the Mạc also involved families from this region. The Hoan Châu ký recounts successive generations of the Nguyễn Cảnh lineage and especially the service of Nguyễn Cảnh Hoan and Nguyễn Cảnh Quế. Composed as a historical narrative, it preserved the old regional name within a family's account of royalist allegiance and political achievement.