Đồng Khánh

Đồng Khánh ( 同慶 )
Prince name	Nguyễn Phúc Ưng Kỷ ( 阮 福 膺 祺 )
Personal name	Nguyễn Phúc Biện ( 阮 福 昪 )
Born	February 19, 1864
Died	January 28, 1889
Term of office	September 19, 1885 to January 28, 1889
Ara designation	Đồng Khánh ( 同慶 )
Temple name	Cảnh Tông ( 景宗 )
Posthumous name	Thuần Hoàng Đế ( 純 皇帝 )
Resting place	Tư Lăng ( 思 陵 )
Era period	November 7, 1885 to February 1, 1889

Emperor Đồng Khánh ( Hán tự : 同慶 ; born February 19, 1864 in Huế ; † January 28, 1889 ibid) was the ninth emperor of the Vietnamese Nguyễn dynasty . On September 19, 1885, he was enthroned as emperor and held this office until his death. His real name was Nguyễn Phúc Ưng Kỷ, also Nguyễn Phúc Biện, he chose "Đồng Khánh" as an ara designation . His era under this motto began on November 7, 1885 and ended on February 1, 1889.

Đồng Khánh is one of the most despised emperors of the time. Little is known of him, probably because Vietnamese historians were too ashamed to write down the details of his reign.

biography

Nguyễn Phúc Ưng Kỷ was a son of Prince Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Cai. Since his uncle, Emperor Tự Đức , had no children, he was adopted and made Duke of Kiên Giang . Nevertheless, after his uncle's death in 1883, Ưng Kỷ did not succeed him to the throne, but first Dục Đức (deposed after three days), then Hiệp Hòa (poisoned after four months), then Kiến Phúc (poisoned after eight months) and finally Hàm Nghi .

On July 4, 1885, however, the regent Tôn Thất Thuyết kidnapped the young emperor Hàm Nghi from the Forbidden City and brought him to the mountains as a symbol of a resistance movement against the French . In order to withdraw Hàm Nghi's legitimacy, the French enthroned Phúc Ưng Kỷ as the new emperor instead of his Nguyễn on September 19, 1885, when he chose the ng Khánh era name.

Đồng Khánh was completely under the control of the French and relied on their benevolence. This was immediately apparent: the new emperor personally went to the representative of France to thank him for the throne. It was a contemptible act for the Vietnamese, shameful, especially because of its symbolic character. For one thing, the “sublime Yellow Emperor” never had to go to anyone himself; People always had to come to him, otherwise it seemed like they were bigger than the emperor. On the other hand, it was a shame for the “son of heaven ” to thank someone (a foreigner even) for having made him emperor - after all, the only source of his authority was the “cloak of heaven” and he was none other than heaven responsible.

The French praised Đồng Khánh for his cooperation, the Vietnamese condemned him as a collaborator . His troops brutally supported the suppression of the freedom movement of Hàm Nghi, his policy gave the foundation of the French Union of Indochina the legitimacy, which enabled the French to have even stronger control over Vietnam.

When Đồng Khánh made a trip through the country at the behest of the French to promote cooperation and obedience, his procession was attacked and he had to flee. The French arranged an armed fleet of junks for his return to Huế . They have kept him isolated ever since. Đồng Khanh, however, agreed to this order, since he was much more concerned with his personal comfort than with the welfare of his people. Eventually he got sick, had visions, and died in 1889.

After Đồng Khanh's death, the French did not choose any of his very young children as successors; the next two emperors were descendants of Emperor Dục Đức - but they turned out to be uncooperative. The next two emperors, Khải Định and Bảo Đại , were son and grandson of Đồng Khanh. Both emperors also cooperated willingly with the French.

The First Lady of South Vietnam , Madame Nhu ( Trần Lệ Xuân (1924–2011), sister-in-law Ngô Đình Diệms , Mrs. Ngô Đình Nhus ), was a great-granddaughter of Đồng Khanh.

Web links

Commons : Emperor Đồng Khánh  - collection of images