Nguyễn Dynasty
From Wikinfo
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Nguyễn Dynasty (Vietnamese: Nhà Nguyễn or Nguyễn triều) was the last ruling family of Vietnam. Their rule began in 1802 when Emperor Gia Long ascended the throne after defeating the Tây Sơn Dynasty and ended in 1945 when Bảo Đại abdicated the throne and transferred power to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, ruling for a total of 143 years. During the reign of Emperor Gia Long, the nation officially became known as Việt Nam, but from the reign of emperor Minh Mạng on, the nation was renamed Đại Nam (literally "Great South"). Their rule was marked by the increasing influence of French colonialism; the nation was eventually partitioned into three, Cochinchina became a French colony while Annam and Tonkin became protectorates which were independent in name only.
Contents |
History
- For more background information, see Nguyễn Lords and Trịnh Lords
The Nguyễn family had been one of the major families in Vietnamese history, dating back to the days of the Hero–Emperor Lê Lợi. Due to a civil war and the weakness of the Later Lê Dynasty, the Nguyễn and the Trịnh (another of the major families) joined together in opposition to the Mạc. Nguyễn Kim, the leader of this alliance, was assassinated in 1545 by a servant of the Mạc. Kim's son-in-law Trịnh Kiểm, took over the alliance because Kim's sons were too young. In 1558, Nguyễn Hoàng, the eldest son of Nguyễn Kim was given lordship over the southern, newly conquered provinces of Vietnam. He ruled from the city of Huế for the rest of his life and established the dominion of the Nguyễn Lords in the southern part of the country. While the Nguyễn Lords, like the Trịnh, paid tribute to the Lê Emperor, the reality was they ruled, not the king. Nguyễn Hòang and his successors continually expanded their territory by making Kampuchea a protectorate, and by invading Laos, Champa and many small countries in the area. The Nguyễn lords styled themselves as lord (Chúa in Vietnamese).
It was Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên (or Lord Sãi), Nguyễn Hoàng's son, who started the Nguyễn Phúc family name. 200 years later, Nguyễn Phúc Khoát was the first ruler of the line who styled himself King (Vương in Vietnamese), as the Trịnh Lords began to do so in the North.
Nguyễn Phúc Ánh finally united Vietnam for the second time in 300 years. He started a dynasty and styled himself Emperor (Viet: Hoàng Đế) Gia Long. After Gia Long, other rulers of the dynasty would soon run into problems with Catholic missionaries and, subsequently, the involvement of Europeans in Indochina.
Emperors Minh Mạng, Thiệu Trị, Tự Đức and Hiệp Hoà, were opposed to French involvement in the country and tried to reduce the growing Catholic community in Vietnam at that time. Their persecution of missionaries was the primary pretext for the French to invade and occupy Indochina. Much like what had occurred in Qing China, there were also numerous incidents involving other nations (European) during the 19th century.
The last Nguyễn Emperor to rule with complete independence was Tự Đức. After his death there was a succession crisis which allowed the French to take direct control of the country and eventually gain complete control of the monarchy. All emperors since Đồng Khánh were chosen by the French and had only a symbolic position.
The nominal reign of the Nguyen Dynasty firmly came to an end in 1945, when the Communists or Việt Minh under Ho Chi Minh staged a revolt, after the Japanese surrender. After receiving a "request" for his resignation, the last emperor, Bảo Đại, abdicated the throne and handed power over to the government of President Ho Chi Minh; in return, Emperor Bao Dai was then named "Supreme Counselor" to the new government. Bao Dai left shortly afterward since he did not agree with the policies of the Viet Minh and went into exile in Hong Kong.
In 1948, the French persuaded Bao Dai to return as "Chief of State" (Viet: Quốc Trưởng) of the "State of Vietnam" (Viet: Quốc Gia Việt Nam) set up by France in areas over which it had regained control, while a bloody war with the Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh continued. Bao Dai spent much of his time during that conflict enjoying a good life either at his luxurious home in Dalat (in the Vietnamese Highlands) or in Paris, France. This came to end with the French defeat at Điện Biên Phủ in 1954.
After Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam, the South Vietnamese prime minister Ngô Đình Diệm, in a referendum claimed by many as to have been manipulated, overthrew Bao Dai in 1956. Diem then assumed the position of President of the Republic of Vietnam (Việt Nam Cộng Hòa), once more ending Bao Dai's involvement in Vietnamese affairs — this time permanently.
Bao Dai went into exile in France, where he died in 1997 and was buried in Cimetière de Passy. Crown Prince Bảo Long succeeded on the death of his father Emperor Bao Dai as Head of the Imperial House of Vietnam, July 31, 1997.
Nguyễn Dynasty Emperors of Vietnam
The following list is the Emperors' era names, which have meaning in Vietnamese. For example, the first ruler's era name, Gia Long, is the combination of the old names for Saigon (Gia Định) and Hanoi (Thăng Long) to show the new unity of the country; the fourth, Tự Đức, means "Inheritance of Virtues"; the ninth, Đồng Khánh, means "Collective Celebration".
| Temple name | Posthumous Name | Personal Name | Reign | Era name | Royal Tomb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thế Tổ | Khai Thiên Hoằng Đạo Lập Kỷ Thùy Thống Thần Văn Thánh Vũ Tuấn Đức Long Công Chí Nhân Đại Hiếu Cao Hoàng Đế | Nguyễn Phúc Ánh | 1802–1820 | 1802–1820 Gia Long | Thiên Thọ Lăng |
| Thánh Tổ | Thể Thiên Xương Vận Chí Hiếu Thuần Đức Văn Vũ Minh Đoán Sáng Thuật Đại Thành Hậu Trạch Phong Công Nhân Hoàng Đế | Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu | 1820–1841 | 1820–1841 Minh Mang (Minh Mạng) | Hiếu Lăng |
| Hiến Tổ | Thiệu Thiên Long Vận Chí Thiện Thuần Hiếu Khoan Minh Duệ Đoán Văn Trị Vũ Công Thánh Triết Chượng Chương Hoàng Đế | Nguyễn Phúc Tuyền | 1841–1847 | 1841–1847 Thieu Tri (Thiệu Trị) | Xương Lăng |
| Dực Tông | Thể Thiên Hanh Vận Chí Thành Đạt Hiếu Thể Kiện Đôn Nhân Khiêm Cung Minh Lược Duệ Văn Anh Hoàng Đế | Nguyễn Phúc Thì | 1847–1883 | 1847–1883 Tu Duc (Tự Đức) | Khiêm Lăng |
| Cung Tông | Huệ Hoàng Đế | — — | 1883 | 1883 Duc Duc (Dục Đức) | An Lăng |
| — | — | Nguyễn Phúc Thăng | 1883 | 1883 Hiep Hoa (Hiệp Hòa) | — |
| Giản Tông | Thiệu Đức Chí Hiếu Uyên Duệ Nghị Hoàng Đế | Nguyễn Phúc Hạo | 1883–1884 | 1883–1884 Kien Phuc (Kiến Phúc) | — |
| — | — | Nguyễn Phúc Minh | 1884–1885 | 1884–1885 Ham Nghi (Hàm Nghi) | — |
| Cảnh Tông | Hoằng Liệt Thống Thiết Mẫn Huệ Thuần Hoàng Đế | Nguyễn Phúc Biện | 1885–1889 | 1885–1889 Dong Khanh (Đồng Khánh) | Tư Lăng |
| — | — | Nguyễn Phúc Chiêu | 1889–1907 | 1889–1907 Thanh Thai (Thành Thái) | — |
| — | — | Nguyễn Phúc Hoảng | 1907–1916 | 1907–1916 Duy Tan (Duy Tân) | — |
| Hoằng Tông | Tự Đại Gia Vận Thánh Minh Thần Trí Nhân Hiếu Thành Kính Di Mô Thừa Liệt Tuyên Hoàng Đế | Nguyễn Phúc Tuấn | 1916–1925 | 1916–1925 Khai Dinh (Khải Định) | Ứng Lăng |
| — | — | Nguyễn Phúc Thiển² | 1926–1945 | 1926–1945 Bao Dai (Bảo Đại) | — |
- Following the death of Emperor Tu Duc, and according to his will, this Emperor ascended to the throne on 19 July 1883. However, he was dethroned and imprisoned three days later, after being accused of deleting one paragraph from Tu Duc's will. He had no time to announce his dynastic title (era name); hence his was named after his residential palace as Duc Duc (Viet: Dục Đức).
- Crown Prince Bao Long (Viet: Bảo Long) succeeded on the death of his father, Emperor Bao Dai, as Head of the Imperial House of Vietnam on 31 July 1997.
- Prince Bảo Thắng following the death of his brother, Crown Prince Bảo Long, succeeded as head of the Nguyễn Dynasty on July 28, 2007.
Lineage
| 1 Gia Long 1802–1819 | |||||||||||||
| 2 Minh Mạng 1820–1840 | |||||||||||||
| 3 Thiệu Trị 1841–1847 | |||||||||||||
| 4 Tự Đức 1847–1883 | Thoại Thái Vương | Kiên Thái Vương | 6 Hiệp Hoà 1883 | ||||||||||
| 5 Dục Đức 1883 | 9 Đồng Khánh 1885–1889 | 8 Hàm Nghi 1884–1885 | 7 Kiến Phúc 1883–1884 | ||||||||||
| 10 Thành Thái 1889–1907 | 12 Khải Định 1916–1925 | ||||||||||||
| 11 Duy Tân 1907–1916 | 13 Bảo Đại 1926–1945 | ||||||||||||
Note: Years in the table are their reigning years.
| Preceded by Tây Sơn Dynasty | Dynasty of Vietnam 1802-1945 | Succeeded by Empire of Vietnam |
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Nguyễn Dynasty" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_Dynasty April 19, 2008
