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Tay Son Period (1786-1802)
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Ban Mountain, where Nguyen Hue was announced to be crowned Emperor (December 22, 1788)
In Vietnamese history, the Tay Son dynasty lasted for 30 years, but this dynasty left an epic page in the nation's history.
Ban Mountain, where Nguyen Hue was announced to be crowned Emperor (December 22, 1788)
Introduction:

In the history of Vietnam, the Tay Son dynasty existed for a relatively short time, from the time when the Tay Son dynasty revolted against the Nguyen royal government in Dang Trong in 1771, to the end in 1801, the Tay Son dynasty existed only 30 years. But it is recorded that this dynasty only really started in 1788, when Nguyen Hue has crowned Emperor in Phu Xuan, to 1801, when the court of Canh Thinh withdrew from here to flee to the North, that is, within 14 years. Although short-lived, this dynasty has left a brilliant page in the history of the nation.

The land of Phu Xuan - Thua Thien Hue has been attached to the Tay Son dynasty since very early when Nguyen Hue liberated Thuan Hoa - Phu Xuan (1786). It was here that the Tay Son uprising developed to its peak under King Quang Trung (1788 - 1792). 
 

Highlight:

Thua Thien Hue and the development of the Tay Son uprising

Grasping a favorable opportunity to defeat Thuan Hoa, on May 25, 1786, the Tay Son army under the leadership of Nguyen Hue set out to Thuan Hoa. On June 20, 1786, the Tay Son army attacked Phu Xuan citadel, the deputy town keeper Hoang Dinh Can was defeated and committed suicide. General of Trinh Pham Ngo Cau bound himself to give his life to be spared but was later put to death in Quy Nhon. Hearing of the defeat in Phu Xuan, the Trinh army who held the garrisons of Dinh Cat (Quang Tri), Dong Hai (Dong Hoi, Quang Binh) all left the garrison to escape. This glorious victory created an important premise for the cause of abolishing the boundary dividing the two regions and unifying the country.

After escaping from the clutches of the Trinh generals, the people of Thuan Hoa began to rebuild their homeland, and joined forces to support the Tay Son uprising, carrying swords and spears to join the army of "cloth armor and red flag" to continue the long march to protect the country. Many documents (writings, artifacts) found on Thua Thien Hue land today such as village logs have declared the number of people participating in the Tay Son uprising. Xuan Hoa village register declared that all the people joined the army, Da Le Thuong village register (Huong Thuy) recorded 255 soldiers and officials of the court out of a total of 295 people...

Thanks to the righteousness and popular consensus, the Tay Son uprising has strongly attracted the participation of the masses, including the very positive response of the people of Thuan Hoa – Phu Xuan. 

Some features of Thua Thien Hue in the Tay Son period (1786 - 1801)

In the history of Vietnam, the Tay Son dynasty existed for a relatively short time, if from the time when the Tay Son dynasty revolted against the Nguyen royal government in Dang Trong in 1771, to the end in 1801, the Tay Son dynasty existed only for 30 years. But it is recorded that this dynasty only really started from 1788, when Nguyen Hue was crowned Emperor in Phu Xuan, to 1801, when the court of Canh Thinh withdrew from here to flee to the North, that is, within 14 years. Although short-lived, this dynasty has left a brilliant page in the history of the nation.

The land of Phu Xuan - Thua Thien Hue has been attached to the Tay Son dynasty since very early, when Nguyen Hue liberated Thuan Hoa - Phu Xuan (1786). It was here that the Tay Son uprising developed to its peak under King Quang Trung (1788 - 1792).

Phu Xuan - Capital of Dai Viet under Tay Son dynasty

After the liberation of Thuan Hoa - Phu Xuan, Nguyen Hue continued to march to the North to support the Le dynasty exterminating Trinh. On his return, Nguyen Hue was named as Bac Binh Vuong by Nguyen Nhac, responsible for direct management of the area from Hai Van Pass back.

In the context of the country at that time, in the south, Nguyen Phuc Anh's forces rose up, in the north, King Le asked for help from the Thanh Dynasty to strengthen the throne. Taking advantage of that demand, the Qing Dynasty sent Ton Sy Nghi to lead 29,000 troops into the North (11/1788). Faced with that situation, there must be "legitimacy" to lead the army to the North, Bac Binh Vuong Nguyen Hue officially ascended to the throne of Emperor.

On December 12, 1788, Nguyen Hue celebrated the Heavenly Ceremony at Mount Ban, announced the projection of the throne, took the era name Quang Trung, and went to the North.

Phu Xuan became the capital of the Tay Son dynasty, where the ideas, guidelines, and policies towards building a unified country were derived, and reformed in the political, economic, cultural and educational aspects, bearing the national cultural identity and inheriting the essence of the ancient ancestors.

The appearance of Phu Xuan capital under Tay Son is not much different from when it was the capital of Nguyen Lords. The Tay Son dynasty mainly restored and repaired old palaces without focusing on new ones.

After Quang Trung died (September (16, 1792), Nguyen Quang Toan ascended to the throne taking the era name of Canh Thinh. He was an educated man, but lacked the talent of a "ruler", so he left the court affairs to the mandarins. This is the reason for the Tay Son dynasty to weaken and go to destruction.

The political, economic, and social situation of Thua Thien Hue in the Tay Son period

The Tay Son Dynasty experienced the two dynasties of Quang Trung and Canh Thinh, but most of the policies to build the country were outlined and initially implemented by King Quang Trung, unfortunately because the reign was too short, the effect was not clear.

Regarding administration, King Quang Trung built a new administrative system and bureaucracy, although there are no documents detailing this administrative system and bureaucracy, but through a number of documents and artifacts that still exist in villages and houses in Thua Thien Hue can record some titles of officials in the Tay Son dynasty such as Academy of the An Duong Tai regime, Secretary of Hao Duc Tai, Admiral, Military Guard, Commander, Lieutenant, Grand Admiral,...

In economic terms, the economic policy of the Tay Son Dynasty is still built on the basis of "agriculture", encouraging agricultural development but in land management is not specific. The geography of the Tay Son period is very sketchy, the state only understands the overall area of the field, regardless of good or bad, to supplement the year tax, and the specific details, the actual distribution is the internal affairs of the village.

Regarding education, the Tay Son dynasty has a number of educational reforms, issuing a study promotion program. King Quang Trung organized the school up to the commune level, using the Nom word in dispatches and scientific dispatches. Renovation of the Temple of Literature and the Old Palace of Lord Nguyen in Long Ho. Opened the examination to choose talents (opened a faculty in 1789).

In terms of culture, the most special cultural policy under the Tay Son was the policy towards Buddhism. The Tay Son Dynasty advocates sanctions against Buddhism to limit the number of temples and monks.

In terms of health, King Quang Trung basically retains the old organizational structure of the Nguyen dynasty, referring to the organization and administration of the Le dynasty. The specialized health care agencies of the kings and people of the Tay Son period include the Royal Court (including Thai Y Thu), Dieu Ho Ty, Nam Duoc Cuc and a number of related departments, contributing to completing the organizational system of a court at the end of the 18th century. Medical achievements of this period must be mentioned in the volume Nam Duoc Ca in Nom Luc Bat poetry, analyzing the characteristics and features of 500 special medicines of our country.

The Tay Son dynasty is very serious about the military, determined to build a strong military force to protect the country. Therefore, the state strictly manages the population, taking one soldier for every three men. For ease of control, each resident is given a card "Thien ha dai tin", stating their name, hometown and point of reference of the person carrying the card.

With positive measures, King Quang Trung tried to revive the country after a long period of serious decline. Thanks to the mobilization of people to circulate, and promote reclamation and restoration, society gradually stabilizes, people's lives gradually improve. Of course, the situation of Thuan Hoa - Phu Xuan is no exception. The people here are very excited to respond to the Tay Son movement from the beginning and actively participate in the construction of the homeland, hard work, and the expansion of the garden. After a few years, the situation of social life has shown signs of progress, daily life and business is getting better.

After Quang Trung died, Quang Toan ascended the throne, he could not solve all the immediate as well as long-term difficulties, the life of the people of the country in general, the people of Thuan Hoa - Phu Xuan, in particular, fell into difficulties.

Decline of the Tay Son dynasty

King Quang Trung is the soul of the Tay Son dynasty, with the power to completely dominate the mandarins and generals to protect and build the country. But after his death, the new king, Quang Toan, did not have enough prestige and talent to maintain the country, in court, Thai Su Bui Dac Tuyen seize power, and the internal Tay Son dynasty was deeply divided and conflicted. Disputes and factional conflicts have weakened the Tay Son dynasty, discouraging people from heading to Tay Son anymore.

In the context of the chaos of the central court, the fighting spirit of the Tay Son army also declined rapidly, leading to the defeat by Nguyen Phuc Anh's attack (Nguyen lord line) to restore his ancestral career.

On June 11, 1801 (May 1, the year Tan Dau), the Nguyen army attacked the mouth of Tu Dung beach (Tu Hien), the Tay Son army lost the battle, the Nguyen army quickly advanced to the mouth of Eo (Hoa Duan). On June 13, 1801 (May 3, the year of Tan Dau), King Canh Thinh (Quang Toan) and his officials ran to the North to change the era name of Bao Hung, and together with Nguyen Quang Thuy plotted to restore, but ultimately could not be salvaged.

The dynasty built by the hero of Nguyen Hue, the glorious one suddenly collapsed because of the inferior successor, the group of generals and mandarins divided the faction to tear each other apart.

Geography of Thua Thien Hue - History Section