Nguyễn Bặc and the Nguyễn
The first known ancestor of the Nguyễn-phúc Clan (Nguyễn-phúc Tộc) was Nguyễn Bặc, who was born in 924 A.D. and raised in Hoa-Lư, a village between Thanh-Hóa and Hà-Nội. Hoa-Lư was also the birthplace of Đinh Bộ Lĩnh, the founder of Vietnam’s first post-independence dynasty. As a youngster growing up in Hoa-Lư Nguyễn Bặc befriended Đinh Bộ Lĩnh, and eventually they and another village kid named Đinh Điền, following the tradition of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Tam Quốc Chí ), swore to be loyal Brothers of the Peace Orchard (Đào Viên Kết-Nghĩa).
In their early teenage years the three sworn-brothers and children of neighboring villages achieved notoriety for constantly playing war-games. As time passed, the power of the Đinh Bộ Lĩnh’s gang in Hoa-lư became legendary. In the early 960s Vietnam was thrust into chaos due to the petty wars of the Twelve Feudal-Warlords (Thập-nhị Sứ-quân). Naturally, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh and his peasant-warriors were compelled to involve themselves in the struggle. Because of their weaknesses Đinh Bộ Lĩnh decided to lead his followers into an alliance with an ethnic Chinese named Trần Lăm, the feudal warlord who had control of Bố-hải Port, the commercial center of the kingdom.
The alliance, formed in 963 A.D., turned out to be Đinh Bộ Lĩnh’s wisest move. Đinh Bộ Lĩnh soon transformed his Hoa-Lư warriors and Trần Lăm’s mercenaries into a force to be reckon. With his sworn-brothers, Nguyễn Bặc and Đinh Điền, as his most trusted commanders and advisers, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh began setting out conquering the other eleven feudal warlords to unite the kingdom. Trần Lăm, who was more concerned with the commercial prospects of the conquest than with the unification of Vietnam, gladly and financial supported Đinh Bộ Lĩnh’s ambitious plan. As Đinh Bộ Lĩnh’s highly disciplined army crushed one warlord after another, people began referring to the three sworn-brothers and four other of Đinh Bo Lĩnh's assistants as the Seven Heroes of Giao-châu (Giao-châu Thất Hùng).
After conquering ten of the eleven warlords Đinh Bộ Lĩnh then proclaimed himself emperor in 968 A.D. To deal with the last warlord Emperor Đinh Bộ Lĩnh assigned Nguyễn Bặc the task, for it was this obstinate warlord, Nguyễn Thủ-Tiệp, that had killed Nguyện Bặc’s older and only brother, Nguyễn Bồ. After three or four battles Nguyễn Bặc rooted Nguyễn Thủ-Tiệp out of his stronghold at Tiên-Du, the old provincial heartland of the kingdom. Nguyễn Thủ-Tiệp fled south to Diễn Province near the Cham frontier and died there a few months later. Nguyễn Bặc then returned in triumph to the newly established capital at Hoa-Lư.
As emperor, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh quickly rewarded his long time followers. He placed Nguyễn Bặc at the head of the nobility with the title Nation-Establishing Duke (Định-Quốc Công) and officially adopted Nguyễn Bặc into the newly established royal family. Like Emperor Định Bộ Lĩnh, Nguyễn Bặc had risen from the peasantry class to become one of the most powerful figures in the kingdom of Great Việt (Đại-Cồ-Vỉệt), as Vietnam was named under the Đinh.
When Emperor Đinh Bộ Lĩnh and his heir apparent fell victims to an imperial attendant’s sword in 979 A.D., the shocked and furious Nguyễn Bặc beheaded Đơ Thích, the assassin, then had the corpse ground up for consumption by the people of Hoa-Lư. The people of Hoa-Lư, enraged at the assassin for killing their greatest local hero, did not decline the bizarre offering. Nguyễn Bặc and his only surviving sworn-brother, Đinh Điền, installed the dead emperor’s last son, who was only five-years-old, as emperor.
Be that as it may, the discovery of a secret affair between the child-emperor’s mother and the ambitious Lê Hoàn, whom the late Emperor Đinh Bộ Lĩnh had made the General of the Ten Circuits (Thập-Đạo Tướng-Quân), marked the end of the Đinh dynasty. With the Queen-Mother’s support Lê Hoàn quickly declared himself Viceroy (Nhiếp-Chính), and began plotting a coup d’état. Upon receiving news of the plot, Nguyễn Bặc and Đinh Điền, both were in Ái Province (Thanh-Hóa) at the time, promptly returned to court with their forces. Lê Hoàn sent out messengers to convince Nguyễn Bặc to cooperate in the establishment of a new dynasty. Naturally, the disgusted Nguyễn Bặc and his sworn-brother, Đinh Điền, declined and civil war once again erupted.
The ensuing civil war did not last long. Lê Hoàn, as commander-in-chief of the main imperial army, easily crushed the Đinh loyalists headed by Nguyễn Bặc. Nguyễn Bặc was captured and executed on the bank of the Chanh River outside the citadel of Hoa-lư on 8 November 979 A.D. (October 15 of the lunar calendar). Đinh Điền and his wife escaped capture and then died mysteriously a month later. In a period of three months the three sworn-brothers died treacherously at the hands of individuals whom they had employed and trusted most.
After the death of Nguyễn Bặc Lê Hoàn declared himself emperor and founded a new dynasty in 980 A.D. The Sung dynasty of China refused to recognize Lê Hoàn and launched an invasion of Vietnam the following year. However, Lê Hoàn refused to submit and rallied the great army that Đinh Bộ Lĩnh had built to face the Chinese expeditionary forces. The Vietnamese fought and won another decisive war against the intruding Chinese. The trap laid out by the defending Vietnamese not only killed the Chinese commander-in-chief but also captured his two top commanders. News of the routing of the land forces compelled the Chinese invading fleet to flee back to China. The successes of Lê Hoàn’s campaign were due largely to the great military machine that Đinh Bộ Lĩnh, Nguyễn Bặc and Đinh Điễn had wholehearted nurtured and formed since the days they played innocent war-games in the village of Hoa-Lư.
People throughout the kingdom of Great-Việt, especially the villagers around the Hoa-Lư region who knew Emperor Đinh Bộ Lĩnh, Nguyễn Bặc and Đinh Điền best, grieved at their tragic deaths. To remember their virtues and loyalty, the Vietnamese villagers deified the three sworn-brothers like Liu Bei (Lưu Bị), Guan Yu (Quan Vũ) and Zhang Fei (Trương Phi) of China and had temples built in their names. In Đại Hữu village near Hoa-Lư a temple for the three local heroes still stands today. A statue of Nguyễn Bặc still exists at his temple in Ngô-Hạ hamlet, Hoa-Lư District. Nguyễn Bặc’s descendants, including the Nguyễn-Phúc Clan, still pay their respects annually at the tomb built for him by the Đại-Hữu villagers in 979 A.D.
Nguyễn Bặc's son Nguyễn Đê survived the tragedy of 979 A.D. and later became a battle-buddy of a commander of the Imperial Guards (Điện Tiền Chị Huy Sứ) named Lư Công Uản. With Nguyễn Đê's support Lư Công Uản deposed the unpopular Emperor Lê Ngọa Triều, and ascended the throne as the first emperor of the Lư dynasty. Following their forebearer's footsteps Nguyễn Đê and his sons remained loyal servants of the Lư dynasty.
Furthermore, many of Nguyễn Bặc's successors also gave their lives trying to protect or serve their emperors. Nguyễn Phụng, Nguyễn Bặc's great-grandson, was killed in 1150 for attempting to destroy the usurper Đỗ Anh Vũ. General Nguyễn Nạp Ḥa, a descendent of Nguyễn Bặc and Nguyễn Phụng, was killed along with Emperor Trần Duệ Tông in 1377 while engaging in battle with the famous Cham king, Chế Bồng Nga.
Nguyễn Công Luật, General Nguyễn Nạp Ḥa's son, also died with Emperor Trần Phế Đế under the hands of the usurper Hồ Qúy Ly in 1388. Nguyễn Công Duẫn, Nguyễn Công Luật's great-grandson, became Lê Lợi's commander of the Tống Sơn region (Thanh Hóa) during the war of liberation. After forcing the Ming Chinese to withdraw from Vietnam Lê Lợi proclaimed himself emperor and adopted Nguyễn Công Duẫn into the Lê royal family.
Nguyễn Bặc's descendants through Nguyễn Công Duẫn's line continued their family's tradition of excellent national service. When the capital Đông Đô fell into the hands of Trần Cao, it was Nguyễn Văn Lựu, Nguyễn Công Duẫn's grandson, who recaptured the capital and restored Emperor Lê Tương Dực to the throne. Likewise, when Mặc Đăng Dung killed Emperor Lê Cung Hoàng in 1527 and proclaimed himself emperor, it was Nguyễn Cam (or Kim) who took refuge in Laos and campaigned to restore the Lê dynasty. Emperor Lê Cung Hoàng's son was finally discovered and was then made emperor by Nguyễn Cam. Lê's forces under Nguyễn Cam was beginning to gain momentum when Dương Chấp Nhất, a general for the Mac's, fatally poisoned Nguyễn Cam.
The history of the Nguyễn family began to change drastically after the death of Nguyễn Cam in 1545. After the death of Nguyễn Cam his two sons, Nguyễn Uông and Nguyễn Hoàng, continued to fight the Mạc for the Lê dynasty. However, it was Nguyễn Cam's son-in-law, Trịnh Kiểm, that triggered the event that changed the whole history of Vietnam.
When Trịnh Kiểm, out of envy, poisoned Nguyễn Uông, the younger Nguyễn Hoàng feared for his life and began looking for a place to flee to. Accordingly he sent a messenger to Trạng Tŕnh Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, the Vietnamese Nostradamus, for advices. The prophet, gazing at the miniature mountain scene (ḥn long bộ) in his garden at the moment that the messenger arrived, is said to have replied: "The end of the Hoành Mountain Chain provides a great refuge for ten-thousands generations" (Hoành Sơn Nhất Đái, Vạn Đại Dung Thân). Nguyễn Hoàng interpreted the message as a great sign. The Hoành Mountains point to the south, so Nguyễn Hoàng, with the help of his sister, the wife of Trịnh Kiểm, begged Trịnh Kiểm to allow him to govern the distant south. Trịnh Kiểm, wanting to distant Nguyễn Hoàng from the politcal center of Thăng Long (Hà Nội), gladly approved of the plan.
When Nguyễn Hoàng made his journey south to govern Thuận-Hóa (Thừa-Thiên) thousands of his relatives and followers joined in the exodus. In a relatively short period of time Nguyễn Hoàng transformed Thuận-Hóa into a prosperous region. He conquered more lands from the weakened kingdom of Champa in the south, and ruled the south like an independent kingdom. People in the south referred to him as Lord Nguyễn (Chúa Nguyễn) and considered him as their beloved ruler. His successors, the Nguyễn Lords, maintained their independence by repulsing numerous invasions from the Trịnh. As the Nguyễn battled the Trịnh in the north, they continued their march to the south. By 1692 they had completely annexed all of Champa's territory, and began occupying the lands of the Khmer (Cambodia) further south. In 1735 Vietnamese troops had reached the Gulf of Siam, and the kingdom of the Nguyễn took on a shape corresponding roughly to the modern shape of South Vietnam.
Nguyễn Phúc Anh, a descendant of the Nguyễn Lords, united both north and south Vietnam in 1802. He named his united Vietnamese kingdom Viet-Nam, and came up with a yellow banner with three red-stripes as the national flag. The banner later became the national flag of the former Republic of South Vietnam. Under the Nguyễn Emperors (1802-1945) Vietnam also extended its empire to include Cambodia and part of Laos. The Nguyễn Emperors built a magnificient capital at Huế and ruled the country until Emperor Bảo-Đại, the last emperor, abdicated in 1945.
Besides these great male descendants of Nguyễn Bặc, there were also other royal descendants of his through the female lines. Nguyễn Công Duẫn's grand-daughter, Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Hằng (daughter of Nguyễn Đức Trung), married Emperor Lê Thánh Tông and then gave birth to a prince who later became Emperor Lê Hiền Tông (1497-1504). Hence, Emperor Lê Hiến Tông and his subsequent royal descendants all had Nguyễn Bặc's blood in them. Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Bảo, the older sister of Lord Nguyễn Hoàng, was married to Trịnh Khiểm and later gave birth to Trịnh Khiểm's immediate successor, Lord Trịnh Tùng. Hence, Trịnh's royal family from Trịnh Tùng down all carried Nguyễn Bặc's blood.
Nguyễn princesses were also married to non-Vietnamese rulers as well. In 1620 Princess Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Vạn, daughter Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên, became the wife of Chey-Chetta II of the Khmer Empire. King Chey Chetta II granted Princess Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Vạn's wish and allowed Vietnamese natives to settle in Mô Xoài (Ba Rîa). Finally, prior to the complete conquest of Champa, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên also betrothed his daughter, Nguyễn Phúc Ngọc Khoa, to King Pôrômê of Champa in 1631.
HUY TÔN-THẤT, M.A. History
The author belongs to the 4th House of the 5th Generation (Đệ-Ngũ Hệ Đệ-Tứ Pḥng) of the Nguyễn Lords, direct descendants of Nguyễn Bặc who founded an independent kingdom in the late 16th century and conquered a territory corresponding to most of what is now South Vietnam from the kingdoms of Champa and Khmer.