Abstract
Queen Ỷ Lan is an important woman character in the history of Vietnam. She was said to be a commoner, yet she became a king s concubine and mother of the successor to the throne.
She actively participated on the policy of two Vietnamese kings, she was a devoted Buddhist. After death she was worshipped as an incarnation of the bodisattva Guanyin.
After some time, her cult had gradually merged with broader worshipping of partially Buddhist Holy mothers. Since the beginning of 50 s in the last century, the approach to Ỷ Lan has undergone some changes.
Vietnamese have started to present her as exceptionally skilled person committed to active policy - as one of the first representatives of women emancipation. In this article I focus on particular elements that construct "the legacy of Ỷ Lan".
I prove that the modern discourse is based on the interpretation of historical facts more then on the facts themselves. The particular aspects of this person have undergone changes and have influenced each other over time and traditions. Ỷ Lan is an interesting example of mutual influence between historical facts and fictional traditions.