Born as Prince Nguyen Phuc Anh in 1761, Gia Long was to become the first emperor of the Nguyen dynasty as well as the founding father of the modern nation of Vietnam. However, despite spending his later years as the Son of Heaven, Gia Long spent most of his early life in struggle and hardship, being hunted down by the Tay Son people of the west and other rivals attempting to wipe out the Nguyen clan. Still, through skill and cunning Gia Long always seemed to stay one step ahead of his enemies and was once saved by a French Catholic missionary. He felt indebted to this man and as a result would later begin Vietnam's official relationship with France. In 1787 a treaty was negotiated by way of Bishop Pierre Pigneau de Behaine between Gia Long and France. In return for commercial rights, allowing Catholic missionaries into the country, the city of Da Nang and the island of Con Son France would give military aid to Gia Long in his war against the Tay Son.
However, Gia Long ultimately succeeded without help from France and defeated the Tay Son which was evidence that he had gained the Mandate of Heaven and in 1802 he became Emperor Gia Long. He took his name to symbolize the new unity of his empire. Gia came from the word Gia Dinh which was Saigon and Long from Thang Long which was Hanoi, thus showing the unity between north and south. For the first time in hundreds of years the nation was united and free of outside control. Emperor Gia Long also gave the country it's modern name, Vietnam, and moved the capitol from Hanoi to the imperial city of Hue which he built up to be the ruling city of a united north and south empire. In design it was modeled after the Forbidden City of Ming China on a smaller scale. Gia Long was a devoted follower of the teachings of Confucius and was a great admirer of Chinese culture. The Chinese Ming and Qing dynasties were major influences on the growing Vietnamese culture, as well as education and government. Emperor Gia Long gained recognition from the Chinese and adopted their characters as the official written language style of Vietnam.
Emperor Gia Long is remembered most as a brave soldier, a man who had very talented lieutenants and was able to take sound advice. He is the founding father of the Vietnamese nation. The Emperor was very conservative and a devoted follower of traditional Asian beliefs while also being tolerant of other religions. He promoted good relations with the west but was not happy with France's growing influence on his country. He rightly felt that he had paid back any debt he owed the French for their assistance in his earlier struggle. Emperor Gia Long reigned from 1802 until his death in 1820 when he was succeeded by his son, Emperor Minh Mang. |
