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| Coming to the Defense of the Son of Heaven |
| Over the years, like traditional government everywhere, the Vietnamese monarchy and the Nguyen Dynasty have been attacked and slandered by every variety of agitator from imperialist government, racists, communists and capitalists. Due to a general lack of information about pre-war Vietnam, many loyal people are unable to combat these lies with the actual facts. In truth, the Vietnamese monarchy has a record of morality and foresight that easily stands up to either of its successor governments. Early monarchs such as Minh Mang were attacked by French imperialists in an effort to stir up the French public against the Vietnamese so as to facilitate their planned conquest. Their propoganda has painted the august Minh Mang as a bloodthirsty tyrant who gloried in the oppression of Christians. In fact, His Majesty was more scholar than soldier and a man of peace and gentlness to the depths of his soul. He believed the teachings of Khong Tu and accepted responsibility when things went wrong and always upheld the highest moral standards. Emperor Tu Duc has been similarly attacked, but every action he took against the foreign presence in Vietnam was done with ample provocation. He had no fight with the Christians until they began to participate in rebellions against his authority. Even Emperor Thieu Tri who made some of the most harsh statements about foreign involvement constantly released Christians who had been sentanced to death for fear of angering the European powers. He wanted no fight with Europe but neither did he want them ruling his country. Others like Emperors Dong Khanh and Khai Dinh are attacked for not being harsh enough with the French. No one considers that in all cases prior to their reigns, resistance to France had made their situation worse and worse. They hoped that Vietnamese prosperity and freedom could be reached by peaceful cooperation with the French. Even Emperor Bao Dai, whose reign offered such hope to Vietnam and other nations of the world, is often slandered by the ignorant and the spiteful. A major focus for the attacks against him is his abdication in 1945 and the handing-over power to the communist leader Ho Chi Minh. What is often not considered is that the Vietminh was the only viable option for those seeking freedom for their country. Many of its own members were not zealous Marxists but simply saw no other way of ridding Vietnam of their foreign oppressors once and for all. Emperor Bao Dai himself was reluctant to abdicate but said he, "would rather be a citizen of a free country than emperor of an enslaved one". The refusal of France to grant Vietnamese independence and the resulting idea that the Vietminh were the only other option forced Bao Dai to make this decision. There was also the threat of personal danger since the communists had even infiltrated the palace guard. Few people recognize it because Bao Dai was truly fond of French culture, but His Majesty yearned for freedom as much as anyone. The Nguyen Dynasty was obviously the object of great bias in the international community. When emperors like Minh Mang and Tu Duc tried to assert independence they were portrayed as cruel, murdering beasts and when those like Dong Khanh and Khai Dinh tried to be friendly with France they were also attacked as lacking courage. From all of this it is clear that many people hated the Dynasty and the imperial system because of emotions that have no basis in fact or logic. Even the heroic Emperor Ham Nghi is alternately criticized for his rebellion against the French, then for not being more involved in leading the rebellion and then for refusing to betray the mandarins who had abandoned him to the colonial authorities. In the case of Emperor Thanh Thai it is simply a matter of believing too many rumors and half-truths. In truth, the Nguyen Dynasty was on the whole a truly upstanding, thoughtful, hard-working and resourceful royal family who did what they could do in extreme situations from the begining of Gia Long's reign to the end of Bao Dai's. They never lost faith in Dai Nam and never stopped trying to make the best of the bad situation brought on by the ravages of colonialism and the culture clash between east & west. |