The Devoted and Loyal Revolutionary Hero Phan Dinh Phung

The great revolutionary hero Phan Dinh Phung was born in 1847 to a scholarly family in Ha Tinh Province. In the 1877 civil service examinations he earned his doctorate degree (tien si). He was well known for his great intelligence, loyalty to Vietnam and his incorruptible moral character. Because of this, he was given a position in the Imperial Censorate (Do Sat Vien), which regulated the ethics of the Emperor and the Imperial court. He never wavered in his duty to the nation, his moral principles or his loyalty to the imperial system.

The first trouble began for Phan Dinh Phung following the death of Emperor Tu Duc in 1883. The old monarch had named his virtuous nephew Kien Phuc to succeed him on the throne. However, the corrupt regents instead enthroned Duc Duc as the new emperor. Phan Dinh Phung protested against this violation of the imperial succession and refused to sanction anyone other than the rightful successor chosen by Emperor Tu Duc. For his moral refusal he was imprisoned by the regents for a short time. Later, when Emperor Duc Duc was also deposed by the regents, and eventually murdered, Phan Dinh Phung protested against such harsh treatment and was banished by the regent Ton That Thuyet.

However, Phan Dinh Phung still served one last great duty towards his country, his people and the Nguyen Dynasty. In July of 1885 the heroic Emperor Ham Nghi left the Forbidden City and issued his "Save the King" decree, which, began the ?Can Vuong? Movement to free Vietnam from French colonial rule. In his home province of Ha Tinh the noble Phan Dinh Phung responded to his Emperor?s call and organized a massive uprising against the French in his area. Phan Dinh Phung would be one of the greatest patriots and prove a most valuable and loyal follower of Emperor Ham Nghi in the struggle for freedom.

Under the ingenious leadership of Phan Dinh Phung the rebellion spread quickly throughout neighboring provinces. The people were impressed by his military skill and courage as well as his honesty and integrity and his dedicated loyalty to the Emperor. The French were unable to defeat Phan Dinh Phung in his righteous cause even though his former friends who collaborated with the French urged him to surrender. He refused to listen to them and devoted himself only to his people, his king and his country. The cruel colonial troops even desecrated the resting place of the ancestors of Phan Dinh Phung.

For ten years the heroic opposition movement under Emperor Ham Nghi continued with the support of Phan Dinh Phung. They were a major problem to colonial control despite lacking supplies, weapons, ammunition and support of every kind. However, the French were able to bribe local officials into betraying Emperor Ham Nghi and in December of 1895 Phan Dinh Phung, the heroic patriot, died of dysentery. The rebellion collapsed without its core leadership and Emperor Ham Nghi was taken prisoner and exiled to French Algeria.

Despite the treason and betrayal of the heroic Emperor Ham Nghi, his example and the great inspiration of his courageous and loyal soldier Phan Dinh Phung left a lasting

legacy for all patriotic Vietnamese. When the revolutionary leader Phan Boi Chau began organizing his own resistance movement he took his example from the Save the King Movement and began by recruiting the survivors of that campaign. The honored revolutionary Phan Chu Trinh was also a leading participant in Emperor Ham Nghi?s revolt. The memory of the devoted and loyal Phan Dinh Phung provided a shining example to light the path of those who came later to struggle for Vietnamese independence. It was those like Emperor Ham Nghi and Phan Dinh Phung who lead the way to freedom for Viet Nam.

Emperor Ham Nghi