Thanh Thai
Encyclopedia
Emperor Thành Thái of the Vietnam
ese Nguyễn Dynasty was born Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Lân, son of Emperor Duc Duc
. He reigned for 18 years, from 1889 to 1907.
came to power, Prince Bửu Lân was put under house arrest with his mother for having connections with those who opposed him. When Đồng Khánh died however, the French colonial authorities and the high-ranking mandarins
decided that Bửu Lân was the ideal successor. After the trauma of the murder of her husband, Emperor Dục Đức, Bửu Lân's mother cried when her son was taken away, fearing that he would meet the same fate. Instead, he was enthroned as the new Vietnamese Son of Heaven
, Emperor Thành Thái.
Even at the age of 10, Thành Thái was recognized as being very intelligent and was already realizing that the French were keeping watch over him through palace spies. Also, whereas Đồng Khánh had tried to be friendly with the French, Emperor Thành Thái took a course of passive-resistance. Although he refrained from outright rebellion (which would have been political suicide), he made his feelings clear in other ways, symbolic gestures and biting remarks. He was also a man of the people, and a monarch who cared deeply for his country. The emperor would often slip out of the Forbidden Purple City (Huế
) dressed in the clothes of a commoner to talk with his people directly and see how they were being affected by government policies.
To show that he was friendly with western civilization, Thành Thái was the first Vietnamese monarch to cut his hair in western style and learn to drive a car. He encouraged French-style education, but maintained bitter feelings over their control of his country. He also supported numerous building projects and took an interest in the everyday lives of his subjects. When traveling among his people, he would hold what Americans would call "Town Hall meetings" where the Emperor sat on a mat with his subjects in a circle around him, discussing the issues of the day and hearing their point of view.
Slowly, as the emperor began to realize how thoroughly his palace had been infiltrated with French spies, he had to feign insanity to escape their constant scrutiny. With his enemies believing he was a harmless lunatic, Thành Thái was able to work more forcefully for Vietnamese autonomy while waiting for the right time to throw off colonial rule. He was on his way to join a resistance movement in China when he was arrested by French forces who declared him insane and forced the Emperor to abdicate.
In 1907, his son was installed as Emperor Duy Tân
. Thành Thái was exiled first to Vũng Tàu
in South Vietnam
and when Duy Tân rebelled against the French they were both exiled to Reunion Island in 1916.
He never gave up hope for the liberation of his country and in 1945, he was allowed to return home but was kept under house arrest
in Vũng Tàu. He died in Saigon on 24 March 1954.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese Nguyễn Dynasty was born Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Lân, son of Emperor Duc Duc
Duc Duc
Emperor Dục Đức was the fifth emperor of the Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty and reigned for the duration of three days -References:...
. He reigned for 18 years, from 1889 to 1907.
Biography
When Emperor Dong KhanhDong Khanh
Emperor Đồng Khánh was the ninth Emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty of Vietnam. He reigned three years between 1885 and 1889, and was considered one of the most despised emperors of his era.Đồng Khánh's birthname was Nguyễn Cảnh Tông...
came to power, Prince Bửu Lân was put under house arrest with his mother for having connections with those who opposed him. When Đồng Khánh died however, the French colonial authorities and the high-ranking mandarins
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
decided that Bửu Lân was the ideal successor. After the trauma of the murder of her husband, Emperor Dục Đức, Bửu Lân's mother cried when her son was taken away, fearing that he would meet the same fate. Instead, he was enthroned as the new Vietnamese Son of Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, Emperor Thành Thái.
Even at the age of 10, Thành Thái was recognized as being very intelligent and was already realizing that the French were keeping watch over him through palace spies. Also, whereas Đồng Khánh had tried to be friendly with the French, Emperor Thành Thái took a course of passive-resistance. Although he refrained from outright rebellion (which would have been political suicide), he made his feelings clear in other ways, symbolic gestures and biting remarks. He was also a man of the people, and a monarch who cared deeply for his country. The emperor would often slip out of the Forbidden Purple City (Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
) dressed in the clothes of a commoner to talk with his people directly and see how they were being affected by government policies.
To show that he was friendly with western civilization, Thành Thái was the first Vietnamese monarch to cut his hair in western style and learn to drive a car. He encouraged French-style education, but maintained bitter feelings over their control of his country. He also supported numerous building projects and took an interest in the everyday lives of his subjects. When traveling among his people, he would hold what Americans would call "Town Hall meetings" where the Emperor sat on a mat with his subjects in a circle around him, discussing the issues of the day and hearing their point of view.
Slowly, as the emperor began to realize how thoroughly his palace had been infiltrated with French spies, he had to feign insanity to escape their constant scrutiny. With his enemies believing he was a harmless lunatic, Thành Thái was able to work more forcefully for Vietnamese autonomy while waiting for the right time to throw off colonial rule. He was on his way to join a resistance movement in China when he was arrested by French forces who declared him insane and forced the Emperor to abdicate.
In 1907, his son was installed as Emperor Duy Tân
Duy Tan
Emperor Duy Tân , was a boy emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty and reigned in 9 years between 1907 and 1916. His name was Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh San and was son of the Thành Thái emperor...
. Thành Thái was exiled first to Vũng Tàu
Vung Tàu
Vũng Tàu is a city in southern Vietnam. Its population in 2005 was 240,000. The city area is including 13 urban wards and one village. It is the capital of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and is the crude oil extraction center of Vietnam. It is also known as one of the most beautiful cities of tourism...
in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
and when Duy Tân rebelled against the French they were both exiled to Reunion Island in 1916.
He never gave up hope for the liberation of his country and in 1945, he was allowed to return home but was kept under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
in Vũng Tàu. He died in Saigon on 24 March 1954.
Honours
- Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour of France - 1889
- Grand Cross of the Royal Order of CambodiaRoyal Order of CambodiaThe Royal Order of Cambodia was a French colonial chivalric order of knighthood in Colonial Cambodia, still in use in the kingdom of Cambodia.-Colonial:...
- 1889