Tư tưởng trị nước của các vị vua gia long, minh mệnh, thiệu trị và ý nghĩa lịch sử của nó tt tiếng anh

VIETNAM ACADEMY
OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

NGUYEN THI NGUON

THE THOUGHT ON RULING THE COUNTRY OF
EMPERORS GIA LONG, MINH MENH AND THIEU TRI
AND ITS HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

PhD THESIS
Major: Philosophy

Code: 9229001

HANOI - 2019


THE WORK IS COMPLETED AT
Graduate Academy of Social Sciences

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr LE THI LAN

Opponent 1: Prof. Dr. Do Quang Hung

Opponent 2: Prof. Dr. Le Van Quang

Opponent 3: Assoc. Prof. Dr . Nguyen Minh Hoan

The thesis is defended before the Board of Thesis Assessment at
grassroots level at

Graduate Academy of Social Science – 477 Nguyen Trai – Thanh Xuan

District– Hanoi
At .... on ... 2019

The thesis can be found in:
Library of Social Sciences


LIST OF AUTHOR'S SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH WORKS
RELATING TO THE THESIS
1. Co-author (2013), "Dialectics between the process of
industrialization and modernization and cultural development and
improvement of the spiritual life of the people", Journal of Political
Science (Vol. 2), pp.46 - 51.
2. Nguyen Thi Nguon (2015), “Understanding the thought on
ruling the country in ancient Chinese philosophy”, Journal of
Theoretical Education (Vol. 227), pp.37 - 39.
3. Nguyen Thi Nguon (2018), "The basic thought on ruling the
country of the early emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty", Journal of
Human Resources and Social Sciences (Vol. 02/57), pp.34 - 41.
4. Nguyen Thi Nguon (2018), “Achievements and limitations in
the thought on ruling the country of the early emperors of the Nguyen
Dynasty”, Journal of Human Resources and Social Sciences (Vol.
12/67), pp.57 - 65.
5. Nguyen Thi Nguon (2018), "Education policy of Nguyen
Dynasty's emperors, especially for ethnic minorities", Journal of
Education and Society (Special issue, December 2018), pp.68 - 71.

INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In history, when discussing the way of ruling the country,
Confucianists of our country also mentioned concepts such as the people, the
role of the people, the way to be the ruler, the way to be the subjects, the
relationship between the ruler and his subjects, etc. The views of Confucianists
in our country were also influenced by the views of Confucianists in China.
However, these views were built on the practical requirements of Vietnamese
people at that time. Therefore, Vietnamese Confucianists' thought also
contributed significantly to the construction of the country and was appropriate
for the development trend of the feudal society in Vietnam at that time with
very positive significance.
Up to date, there have been many studies on the sociopolitical ideology
of Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri. However, the thought on
ruling the country hasn't been mentioned, even the concept of that idea has also
not been clearly referred to and some researchers, when discussing about that
thought, said that it actually is the thought on supervising bureaucrats. In the
process of researching, we think that the thought on ruling the country is the
thought on the management, construction and development of the country, as
well as the management of the state apparatus.
Stemming from these urgent theoretical and practical issues, and on the
basis of the research results from many branches of social sciences regarding
the way of ruling the country of the early emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty, I
decide to choose: “The thought on ruling the country of Emperors Gia Long,
Minh Menh and Thieu Tri and its historical significance” as the topic for my
PhD thesis, with the desire to make a small contribution to the study of the
history of philosophy in Vietnam, as well as the career of developing and
perfecting the socialist republic rule-of-law state "of the people, by the people
and for the people" under the current leadership of the Communist Party of
Vietnam.

2. Theoretical basis and research methodology
The theoretical basis of the thesis originates from the dialectical
materialistic and historical materialistic concepts of Marxism - Leninism,
namely, the dialectical relationship between social existence and social
consciousness, the relative independence of social consciousness manifested by
its positive impact on social existence and the interaction between forms of
social consciousness.
Research methodology used includes: Method of analysis - synthesis,
method of logic-history, method of comparison, etc.
3. Research objectives and research missions
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3.1. Objectives:
To clarify the basic contents in the thought on ruling the country of the
first Emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty: Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri;
thereby point out the values, limitations and historical lessons of that thought in
the development of sociopolitical policy in our country today.
3.2. Missions:
To achieve the above objectives, the thesis focuses on accomplishing
the following missions:
First, analyze and clarify the historical context and the basic premises for
the birth of the thought on ruling the country of Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh
and Thieu Tri.
Second, present the basic content in the thought on ruling the country of
Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri.
Third, point out values, limitations and historical lessons in the thought
on ruling the country of Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri.
4. Research subject and scope of study
* Research subject: The thought on ruling the country of Emperors

Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri.
*Scope of study: The thought on ruling the country through the works
of Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri from 1802 to 1847, historical
text as well as research works on that thought of domestic and overseas scholars
to date.
5. New scientific contributions of the thesis
First, the thesis clarifies the thought on ruling the country of Emperors
Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri in the first half of the XIX century with a
philosophical analysis of the organization and perfection of the state apparatus,
as well as the construction and perfection of the law for the development of
centralized feudal state - the fundamental goal which was set up at the very
beginning of the dynasty.
Second, the thesis clarifies the values and limitations in the
management and administration in the fields of economy, politics, culture,
education, religion, etc. in the era of Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and
Thieu Tri.
Third, the thesis draws historical lessons from such values and
limitations in the thought on ruling the country of the early emperors of the
Nguyen Dynasty for the sociopolitical life in our country today.
6. Thesis structure
In addition to the introduction, conclusion and references, the thesis
consists of 4 chapters and 13 periods.
Chapter 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
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AND ISSUES RELATED TO THE THESIS
1.1. Research works on the economic, political and social context of
the Nguyen Dynasty in the first half of the XIX century.
First is the very monumental research work of Alexander Barton

Woodside: “Vietnam and the Chinese model: A comparative study of the
Nguyen and the Qing civil administrations in the first half of the XIX century”,
published in 1971 by Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts,
which was translated to Vietnamese. The contents that are most related to the
thesis are mainly in Chapter II, which refers to the central civil administrations
of the Nguyen Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. In Chapter IV, the author
discussed the education and examination regime under the Nguyen Dynasty in
Vietnam, and in Chapter V, he provided an overview of the trade during the
reign of the Nguyen Dynasty, especially in the era of Emperor Minh Menh. In
this work, the author focused on Chinese culture and its limitations on political,
literary, social and educational life in Vietnam. The author focused on the study
of Vietnamese society after 1802, a period which, according to him, was the
"recovery" period of the Nguyen Dynasty.
In his work, "Legal institutions and proceedings of the Nguyen Dynasty
(1802 - 1885"), published by Thuan Hoa Publishing House in 2016, Dr. Huynh
Cong Ba considers the Nguyen Dynasty the last one of the feudalism in our
country. Under the rule of the dynasty, our country was unified for more than
two-third of the century. After rising to power, the Nguyen royal court absorbed
and learned from the experiences of the previous dynasty regarding the
management of the country. Therefore, under the reign of the Nguyen Dynasty,
legal institutions were relatively complete. Thus, the author thinks that the
research on Vietnamese legal institutions in the Nguyen Dynasty will help
provide us with an objective view of the law enforced at that time, as well as its
contributions and values to our country's history in the current period.
In general, the above works still cause controversy regarding the merits
and crimes of the early emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty. Some authors deny
their merits, while more recent studies have had a more objective view on the
contributions of the early emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty. It can be said that,
a summary of basic research works on the economic, political and social
context of the Nguyen Dynasty in the first half of the XIX century has provided

a fairly clear picture of this period. At the same time, some authors also pointed
out the limitations in the policies of the Nguyen royal court, which had had
significant impacts on the country development at that time, thus restrained the
socioeconomic development of the country.

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1.2. Research works on the thought on ruling the country of
Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri.
“Administrative reforms under the reign of Emperor Minh Menh” by
Nguyen Minh Tuong, Social Sciences Publishing House, 1996. In this work, the
author has focused on thoroughly studying the organizational structure and
operation of the supervisory body under the reign of Emperor Minh Menh and
made a comment that in this period, the idea of rule by law was promoted. At
the same time, this idea was also very strictly implemented in order to facilitate
the efficient operation of the administrative apparatus and prevent the
corruption of the court officials. The work, however, did not provide an indepth analysis of such idea and only stopped at generalizing the political
thought of Emperor Minh Menh.
The most recent article is "The thought on ruling the country of
Emperor Gia Long" by Assoc. Prof. Le Thi Lan, PhD, which is published in the
Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 1, in 2016. . According to the author, Emperor
Gia Long was the founder of the Nguyen Dynasty. And for the first time in the
history of the nation, the Nguyen Dynasty ruled a unified and vast country
expanding from Nam Quan Pass to Ca Mau Cape. At the early stage of building
the country, the Nguyen Dynasty faced many difficulties and challenges, thus
Emperor Gia Long used a combination of Confucianism and Legalism in ruling
the country. As both a knowledgeable Confucianist and a war veteran, he
succeeded in governing the country after the civil war, laying a solid foundation
for the Nguyen Dynasty and consolidating his dominance all over the territory

of Vietnam. His thought on ruling the country was the basis for the thought on
ruling the country of the Nguyen Dynasty.
1.3. Research works on the values and limitations in the thought on
ruling the country of Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri.
In the seminar of "Nguyen Lords and the Nguyen Dynasty in the history
of Vietnam from XIV century to XIX century" held in Thanh Hoa on 18 October
2008, most scientists agreed and evaluated that the monopoly of Confucianism
under the Nguyen Dynasty has many negative and irrational impacts. They
agreed that that period is a step backward of the history; however, their onesided assessment failed to provide objective explanations for why the Nguyen
Dynasty promoted the dominance of Confucianism, as well as how such
monopoly had impacts on various aspects of social life at that time. These are
very important contents of the historical period of the Nguyen Dynasty.
Author Do Bang, in the article "Nguyen Dynasty: Institutions for power
concentration and institutions for attenuating totalitarianism" published in
Journal of Historical Studies in 2007, said that when the centralized regime
reached its peak, the totalitarianism also reached an absolute level and
transformed into an extreme absolute monarchy. In order to maintain its
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development, the Nguyen Dynasty had to apply the Eastern doctrine of ruling
the country which proposes solutions to the management mechanism of the
State. The article provided an in-depth analysis of how the Nguyen Dynasty
applied Eastern thoughts on ruling the country; however, it didn't point out the
values and effects of this application in drawing lessons for those in charge of
governance and for the contemporary society.
To date, in the discussion of merits and contributions of the Nguyen
Dynasty, due to objective conditions, the cognitive process of researchers still
reflects an inadequate perspective. Thus, historians often come up with harsh
comments, such as a "completely reactionary dynasty" or a dynasty that "invited

the snake into its home", etc. From this new perspective, it can be seen that
researchers have somewhat recognized the rather significant contributions of
Emperor Gia Long (Nguyen Anh) to the country.
1.4. Overview of research on the Nguyen Dynasty regarding the
thought on ruling the country of Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and
Thieu Tri and the issues that need to be further researched and settled in
the thesis.
Looking through the scientific works of researchers, it can be seen that
there are two main points of view.
The first is, the Nguyen Dynasty did not make any contributions to the
country, is even considered the author of "the dark picture that shadowed the
history of the nation", and the first emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty were those
who "invited the snake into its home ". In short, that viewpoint completely denies
the contributions of the Nguyen Dynasty to the country.
The second one is, contrary to the above point of view, researchers
have had a new and more objective view on the contributions of the dynasty
to the development of the way to rule the country based on the combination of
rule by benevolence and rule by law, taking territorial unification and
integrity as well as people pacification as the basic goals.
Results from the research of the scholars which we refer to in this
Chapter are the basis for us to have a philosophical approach to the thought on
ruling the country of Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri. During
the research, we will continue to study and clarify the following issues of the
thesis:
First, based on the viewpoint of historical materialism, the thesis will
research more deeply into Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri. At
the same time, it will point out the factors affecting the process of forming the
thought on ruling the country of the first emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty and
its significance for the current period.

5


Second, the thesis focuses on systematizing, analyzing and clarifying
the basic contents in the thought on ruling the country of Emperors Gia Long,
Minh Menh and Thieu Tri.
Third, the thesis assesses the positiveness and limitations in the thought
on ruling the country in the early Nguyen Dynasty. At the same time, it draws
lessons and proposes recommendations on the inheritance of positive values in
the process of building the State of Vietnam in the current period.
Conclusion of Chapter 1:
The philosophical history of the Nguyen Dynasty in general and of the
early period of the Nguyen Dynasty in particular is very rich and diverse.
According to researcher, this is the most complicated period of Vietnamese
history, leaving many imprints as well as cultural and historical works to the
country. However, researchers, experts and scientists still have many different
views on the contributions of the first emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty as well
as the early days of the Nguyen Dynasty.
On this basis, research works in some other fields will be used by the
author as scientific premises. From there, the author will approach from many
different directors to form a comprehensive system for the complete study of
the thesis.
Chapter 2: VIETNAMESE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND IN THE
EARLY XIX CENTURY AND PREMISES TO GENERATE THE
THOUGHT ON RULING THE COUNTRY OF THE FIRST EMPERORS
OF THE NGUYEN DYNASTY
2.1. Vietnamese historical background in the early XIX century.
2.1.1. Political situation.
The beginning of the XIX century is considered the most brilliant
period of the Nguyen Dynasty. Gia Long's victory over the Tay Son court had

helped the Nguyen Dynasty enjoy the sweet fruit of a unified country that
expands from Nam Quan Pass to Ca Mau Cape.
* Regarding administration and organization:
After ascending to the throne, Emperor Gia Long chose Phu Xuan as
the citadel, re-checked the old administrative units and appointed officials to
be in charge of them. In particular, Emperor Gia Long merged 11 towns of the
North into Bac Thanh province, which was headed by the imperial military
protector Nguyen Van Thanh. He also merged 5 towns of the South into Gia
Dinh province, which was headed by protectors Nguyen Van Nhân (1808 –
1812) and Le Van Duyet (1812 - 1816). Emperor Gia Long ordered the
construction of traffic roads from the central to the local, as well as stations to
send and receive documents. In order to unify the domestic administrative
units, in the 1831-1832 period, Emperor Minh Menh eliminated the two
provinces above and divided the country into 30 provinces and Thua Thien
6


city (the centrally-controlled city today). Below provinces, there are
municipalities, districts, towns and communes. Statistics available in 1840
showed that the whole country had 90 municipality, 20 sub-municipalities, 379
districts, 1742 towns and 18265 communes, villages and hamlets. This
division remained until the end of the Nguyen Dynasty.
*Regarding home affairs
Emperor Gia Long advocated the policy of “Confucianism on the
outside, Legalism on the inside”in order to develop the economy and culture,
thus stabilize the society, suppress the rise of forces rebelling against the royal
court and consolidate unification throughout the territory. One of the very
important causes leading to this policy was that the dynasty was newly
established, thus it was not strong enough to control the whole territory.
Therefore, in this period, the Emperor only had the supreme power in the

Central region.
It can be said that the Nguyen Dynasty was very well aware of the
increasing conflicts between the State and the people, which was why
Emperors Gia Long and Minh Menh ordered the execution or dismissal of
many major officials who committed acts of corruption as a deterrence.
However, it was not enough to prevent local officials from harassing people.
* Regarding the law and legal system
After ascending to the throne, Emperor Gia Long carried out a lot of
works to stabilize the country. Especially, he rebuilt the legal system of the
royal court by ordering his officials to consult Hong Duc Code and compile 15
most important laws to be enacted and disseminated among people. However,
these laws primarily referred to lawsuits and leave out other fields of social life,
thus they were unable to meet the needs of the society. In 1811, the Nguyen
Dynasty ordered Bac Thanh province protector Nguyen Van Thanh to compile
the new legal code of the royal court in order for it to preserve disciplines and
laws of the country, prevent moral degeneration and deterioration, and become
the indispensable standards of the royal court. Emperor Gia Long said: “Kings
and Emperors have long been setting up the legal system for ruling the country.
If the system is inappropriate, people will have nothing to depend on. As the
law is not determined and the legal system is not established, it is against my
desire to be respectful, merciful and wise, and trust the right persons. You
should wholeheartedly examine the legal codes of the previous dynasties as
well as consult Hong Duc code and the Great Qing legal code, carefully
consider them and compile a book of laws. I myself will review it for
promulgation” [60, pp.807 - 808].
* Regarding the military
In addition to other fields, the military was highly regarded by the
Nguyen royal court in order to consolidate its position and create a solid
7

foundation for the development and survival of the dynasty. Emperor Gia
Long built the army into 3 parts: The Emperor's guards, the Citadel's guards
and crack troops in the citadel and other localities. In addition, there are also
soldiers and guards in charge of ensuring the safety of the court officials [9,
vol.5, p.52]. During this period, the Nguyen Dynasty had a large army which
is fully armed, as well as applied a harsh military service.
However, despite gaining some achievements, the military policy of the
Nguyen Dynasty was unable to improve the army's quality; in fact, the morale
and quality of soldiers were declining day by day, thus rendering them unable
to cope with foreign invasion.
* Regarding diplomatic relations
The Nguyen Dynasty came to power in the context of lots of changes
in the world. The strong development of Western countries led to their
expansion to the market of Eastern countries. At that time, many countries in
the East either were colonized or became subordinates to Western capitalist
countries. Even China became a delicious target. In addition to maintaining
relations with other countries in the region the same way that the previous
dynasty did, it is also notable that the Nguyen Dynasty established diplomatic
relation with some Western countries, namely France, England and the US.
2.1.2. Economic situation
In the year of Ren-Xu (1802), after defeating Tay Son army, Emperor
Gia Long (Nguyen Anh) became the one to rule the country from the North to
the South. As a new chapter was turned, the Nguyen Dynasty had to face many
difficulties and challenges, especially in terms of economy.
* Regarding agricultural production
In the first half of the XIX century, people mainly relied on agricultural
production. Farmland and agriculture were considered the foundation of the
society. Promoting agricultural production was what chosen by Emperor Gia
Long as the basic economic policy to restore the agriculture that had been

depleted in the war and to stabilize social life. Under the reign of Emperor
Minh Menh, many surveys and measurements had been carried out to
established records of farmland in many communes. This was done over and
over again to help the royal court govern the public farmland across the
country.
* Regarding industry and trade
Policies on industry and trade of the Nguyen Dynasty was outdated.
The royal court controlled various lines of business such as firearm production,
minting, shipbuilding, construction of palaces and temples, etc. The royal court
also managed large workshops and forced skillful workers to work there.
Workers in such workshops were often forced labor: they were abused with
8


very hard and arduous work, yet their wages were very cheap and did not
commensurate with the efforts they spent.
Thus, in the first half of the XIX century, agriculture, industry and trade
had had certain development. However, due to the economic policy of
“promoting agriculture and limiting trade” as well as the lack of knowledge of
natural science and technology, Vietnam's economy in this period did not
change much.
2.1.3. Cultural situation
In the Nguyen Dynasty, similar to other previous eras, religions such as
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity had a great impact on the cultural and
spiritual life of the people. At the end of the XVIII century, some of the main
principles of Confucianism, such as loyalty to the ruler had been re-established
among the ranks of government officials and Confucian scholars, however it was
no longer as rigid as before. At the turn of the XIX century, the Nguyen royal
court sought all ways to strengthen the monopoly of Confucianism, such as
prohibiting people to turn into Christians, banning the construction of churches,

limiting people from building Buddhist temples. In addition, the court also
followed the step of the Le Dynasty by announcing the "Ten Articles of
Instruction" for communes and villages to explain to their people. Contents of
education and examination were also consolidated.
In summary, in the first half of the XIX century, there was a strong
development of some major religions, especially Confucianism. Confucian
thought had greatly influenced the spiritual life of the people.
2.1.4. Social situation.
Like the previous dynasties, Vietnamese society in the Nguyen
Dynasty was divided into two classes: the ruling class and the ruled class. The
ruling class consisted of the royalties, court officials, landlords and assistants
in the government system, who had many rights and privileges in the society.
Court officials often came from many different classes in the society; many of
them became opposite to the people; the exploitation and harassment of the
people often took place. However, there were still court officials that were
transparent, honest and truly cared about the life of poor people and social
stability. In the society, landlords accounted for a large number and were
powerful in villages and communes across the country. Despite the
development of our country's private land regime, there were not many big
landlord who owned lots of farmland across the country. Therefore, in
addition to being a foundation, the landlords in the Nguyen Dynasty also
needed to rely on the bullies in villages and the political power of the state to
maintain their existence.

9


2.2. Basic prerequisites for the formation of the thought on ruling the
country of the first emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty.
2.2.1. The unification of the country

In terms of internal affairs, Emperor Gia Long implemented the
strategy of "Confucianism on the outside, Legalism on the inside" in developing
the economy and culture, thus bringing people a stable social life. The
Emperor's power, in fact, was only asserted over the Central region. For the
Northern and the Southern region, it was entrusted to the military protectors.
Under the reign of Emperor Minh Menh, in order to concentrate the
power to the hands of the emperor and at the same time strengthen the
administration of the country, the seat of military protector was abolished. The
emperor directly governed the country and carried out reforms in 31 localities.
Along with inheriting the strategy of ruling the country from Emperor Gia
Long, Emperor Minh Menh also built one of the most powerful, even absolute,
feudal political institutions in the region.
2.2.2. Confucian political theory
When the Nguyen Dynasty ascended to power, Confucianism was the
ideological foundation of the royal court. However, Confucian concepts were
also used for political purposes in consistence with the ruling strategy. The
Nguyen Dynasty also strongly supported the thought of "mandate of Heaven",
which believes the king/emperor is the son of the Heaven who represents the
Heaven to rule the world. Social administration and management is the will of
the Heaven, and the Heaven’s son is only tasked with executing Heaven's
mandate. Thus, it was the mandate of Heaven that the Nguyen Dynasty rose to
power and rule the people. It can be said that the thought of "mandate of
Heaven" had strongly manipulated the lives of people. It was an invisible rope
that bound and paralyzed their resistance to injustices and harsh laws of the
Nguyen Dynasty.
2.2.3. The role in the society of Confucian scholars in the early days
of the Nguyen Dynasty
In this period, the structure of four occupations, namely scholars,
farmers, craftsmen and merchants was also reflected more and more clearly.
Confucian scholars played a very important role in this period. In order to

consolidate the power of the Nguyen Dynasty, the royal court restored the
monopoly of Confucianism and maintained the traditional way of ruling the
country. Thus, innovations and reforms could not be implemented in this
period. Scholars were Confucianists, including both those who worked as court
officials and those who did not. This class was the most prestigious and
influential in the society, as they were the pillars of feudalism. They were
considered the immediate class, the bridge between the emperor and the people.
Because of their reputation, their views were taken seriously by the emperor,
10


thus if they could be controlled, then so could the people. Because the
Confucian scholars was always highly regarded as the pillars of the feudal state,
they were also an additional resource for the bureaucracy. This class originated
from a system of education and examination that took Confucianism as the
basis.
2.3. Some information about the biography of early emperors of
the Nguyen Dynasty.
Emperor Gia Long (1762-1820), reigned from 1802 to 1820, born
Nguyen Phuc Anh, was the first emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. He defeated
the Tay Son rebellion, restored the rule of the House of Nguyen and founded
the Nguyen Dynasty. In 1806, Emperor Gia Long officially ascended to the
throne at Thai Hoa Palace. The history of the country began to turn to a new
page.
Emperor Minh Menh (1791-1841), reigned from 1820 to 1841,
born Nguyen Phuc Dam, was the fourth son of Emperor Gia Long. After
ascending to the throne and inheriting the solid foundation left by his father,
Emperor Minh Menh was determined to build a mighty dynasty. He was one
of the emperors with the most profound knowledge of Confucianism and the
most power of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Emperor Thieu Tri (1807-1847), reigned from 1841 to 1847, was
born as Nguyen Phuc Tuyen, courtesy name Mien Tong. He lost his mother
when he was still a child, thus he was raised by the side of his grandmother. His
reign lasted for only 7 years. When he ascended to the throne, due to his gentle
nature, he did not like changes, so the legacy that his grandfather and his father
left were still unchanged.
Conclusion of Chapter 2:
After more than twenty years of struggle, Nguyen Anh finally won over
the Tay Son Dynasty and founded the Nguyen Dynasty. He also ascended to the
throne as Emperor Gia Long. Since its rise to power, the Nguyen Dynasty had
inherited the fruits from the Tay Son Dynasty, which is the unification of the
whole country. However, in the early days of the Nguyen Dynasty, Emperor
Gia Long and his successors both had advantages and faced challenges in the
country as well as in the world. In the country, forces loyal to the Le Dynasty
and the Tay Son Dynasty were still strong, the consequences of power division
and a long civil war made people's lives extremely miserable. Therefore, the
task of restoring the country and social security was very urgent.
Chapter 3
BASIC CONTENTS OF THE THOUGHT ON RULING THE COUNTRY
OF EMPERORS GIA LONG, MINH MENH AND THIEU TRI
3.1. Construction of political ideology
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As we all know, before Nguyen Anh ascended to the throne as Gia
Long (1802), the country of Dai Viet experienced a period of profound
sociopolitical crisis. Although Nguyen Anh took over the basically unified
country, the risk of it being divided into realms under the control of warlords
still existed. Therefore, his thought on ruling the country was first and foremost
based on the theoretical system drawn from the history of feudal dynasties of

Vietnam as well as the region, then from the practical sociopolitical life, in
order to directly solve the problems in the most timely and reasonable way for
his reign to survive and develop. In general, it can be immediately determined
that this is the combination of rule by benevolence and rule by law, creating a
flexible way for internal, external and military affairs as well as social and
cultural development.
Before Emperor Gia Long (Nguyen Anh) passed away, he chose Prince
Dam as the heir to the throne. Therefore, after his death, Prince Dam become
the second emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty - Emperor Minh Menh. Being welleducated in Tap Thien Duong (School of Good Deeds) as well as receiving the
education from his father, he had a firm grasp of Confucian knowledge and
became an intelligent emperor with profound knowledge as both a scholar and a
warrior, as well as knowledge of social areas. Among the emperors of the
Nguyen Dynasty, he is considered the most powerful.
As a result, after ascending the throne in 1821, Emperor Minh Menh
developed Emperor Gia Long's way of ruling the country into a complete
system of sociopolitical ideology with his own imprints. It was the clever use of
rule by law combined with rule by benevolence in the ruling policy, along with
the promotion of Confucian moral values such as loyalty, filial piety and
chastity, as well as the strictest punishments for those who violate the laws.
Emperor Minh Menh's thought on ruling the country is clearly reflected
in the appreciation of morality, the emphasis on being an example for the
people, the manifestation of respect to the Heaven and the fulfillment of duties
of the son of Heaven. The key ruling policies had been implemented by him
throughout his reign and had great significance in the strategy of rule by
benevolence. Emperor Minh Menh's ruling policies on the basis of Confucian
morality are clearly reflected in the book of “Minh Menh's principal policies",
whose content can be summarized as follows:
First, about the way to be a ruler. According to Minh Menh, the ruler is
the root of customs and culture, thus he must set an example for his people: "As
the emperor of a whole country, I know deep down inside that I am the root of

customs and culture, thus I must set an example for my people" [69, p.11].
Therefore, he determined that a king/emperor needs to constantly train and
cultivate his morality. "Since my ascending to the throne, the country has been
plagued by disasters, which causes people to be less satisfied. This worries me a
12


lot. Isn't that what destined to be? But a ruler should not speak of destiny,
because it might be because of some mistakes that he made" [69, p.85].
Confucianism regards the practice of self-cultivation to become an
example as "self-education", so that as the leader of the dynasty, the Emperor
must focus on building his qualities to set an example for the court officials. He
said: "Everyone should be determined to keep his righteousness and should not
indulge anyone... Once you have pledged to be my subject, you must sacrifice
yourself for the country and put the public's interest above your own. Even if
it's your wife, your children or your relatives, you have to do what needs to be
done to keep your righteousness. Our ancestors often did not mind their own
interests while serving the public.”[69, tr.104].
Second, about the training and use of talents. Emperor Minh Menh
especially attached importance to and promoted talented people, because this
critically affects the safety of the country.
Under the reign of Emperor Thieu Tri, as a gentle man who disliked
changes, he still kept and complied with the rules set forth under Emperor
Minh Menh's reign. He also always followed what his father told him on his
deathbed. Therefore, when he was crowned Emperor, Thieu Tri made no
changes to the apparatus built by his father and still used the the old court
officials who earned the trust of his father. The Nguyen Dynasty in general
and Emperor Thieu Tri in particular were also very concerned about the
strategy to rule the country. Therefore, Emperor Thieu Tri also came up with
the advice for ruling the country, including: “respect the Heaven, honor the

ancestors, be diligent and righteous, and love the people”. He said: "Those
are the four qualities of a ruler. Just those four things that make me work hard
day and night, and also them that worry me a lot" [18, p.290].
Thus, it can be said that also the combination of rule by benevolence
and rule by law is both rigid and flexible, the first emperors of the Nguyen
Dynasty were very determined to rebuild the country left to them by their
forebears. If Emperor Gia Long was the one who laid the foundation for the rise
of the dynasty, then Emperor Minh Menh was the one to inherit and develop,
and Emperor Thieu Tri was the one who had merit in preserving those
achievements. In short, the emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty were very
determined to develop the thought on ruling the country on the basis of
Confucianism.
3.2. The thought on organizing and building the state apparatus
The thoughts on ruling the country of the previous generations along
with the forms and ways of running the state management apparatus were
inherited and learned by Emperor Gia Long. In 1802, after unifying the whole
country, Nguyen Anh crowned himself with the reign name of Gia Long, but it
was not until 1804 did he officially name our country Vietnam and ascend to
13


the throne. Confucian view of heaven's mandate was taken very seriously by
Emperor Gia Long in choosing the time to officially ascend the throne and
organizing the state apparatus. It was an important ideological premise for
Emperor Gia Long and the successive emperors in the early days of the Nguyen
Dynasty to build the centralized feudal state, in which the emperor calls himself
"son of Heaven" and is tasked by the Heaven to rule over the country in the
spirit of educating all people. Accordingly, the Emperor held full power over
the legislature, executive, supervision, justice, foreign affairs and military.
Thus, it can be said that the administrative reform under the reign of

Minh Menh was a bold step which achieved great results and well met
requirements of the model of centralized feudal monarchy. It created favorable
conditions for the feudal state of the Nguyen Dynasty to manage and unify the
country from Nam Quan Pass to Ca Mau Cape, from the remote borders of
mountains and forests to the faraway islands. The change of our country's name
from Vietnam (1804) to Dai Viet (1811) and finally Dai Nam (1838 - 1884)
proved Minh Menh's desire for our country to become an independent and
powerful nation on par with other countries in the region.
After the death of Emperor Minh Menh, Emperor Thieu Tri succeeded
to the throne and ruled the country in a rather brief period of 7 years. However,
he inherited a massive legacy of his forefathers regarding legal system and the
organization of the state apparatus from the central to the local level; at the
same time, he put a lot of efforts in overcoming some limitations in the
previous directives and institutions due to the inefficiency of those documents
which was proved in practical application.
Basically, the institutions and regulations in Dai Nam Hoi Dien Su Le
as well as the provisions of Gia Long code were barely changed during the
reign of Emperor Thieu Tri. If there were any changes, it was because these
regulations were not effective in the actual sociopolitical life, thus requiring
appropriate adjustments. For example, the Court of Judicial Review (Dai Ly tu)
was established by Emperor Minh Menh in 1823 with 29 court officials;
however, by 1842, Emperor Thieu Tri reduced its staff to 12 people in order to
increase the operational effectiveness of this agency. In his inspection, the
Emperor was assisted by the Three Departments of Law (Tam Phap ti) which
consists of the Court of Judicial Review, the Board of Justice (Hinh Bo) and the
Censorate (Do Sat vien) to deal with the complaints and lawsuits in localities.
Emperor Thieu Tri approved the inspection plan and decided a method to
receive and resolve the lawsuits of each level in order to avoid the excessive
flow of lawsuits to the central level, many of which can be resolved at the lower
ones. Regarding this, Emperor Thieu Tri gave the following direction: "Cases

of injustice and serious crimes such as robbery, corruption or murder, if
qualified, can be referred to the central level. If it is just about small matters
14


without important reasons, unlike the abovementioned, petitions must be filed
at the local juridical office so that the matter can be considered. If anyone is
stupid enough to not be afraid of the law and slander others, he must be
punished as an example for those who like to exaggerate and tell lies" [47,
p.197].
3.3. Policies to rule the country of the early emperors of the Nguyen
Dynasty
3.3.1. Economic policy
After conquering the entire territory, Emperor Gia Long continued to
implement an incentive policies for agriculture, paying special attention to
prevent farmers from leaving their fields to beg for food - if they abandon the
fields, they will lose their right to own them. "It was the first victory of the
Nguyen Dynasty in asserting the power over the land that had long been under
the reign of Trinh lords and the Le Dynasty. Because in feudal era, farmland
and money were not only valuable in terms of property, transaction and use, but
also affirmed kingship and imperialism to their subjects” [7, pp.10 -11].
An issue that needs to be addressed in the industry & trade policy of the
early emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty was tax policy. In 1807, Emperor Gia
Long decided to issue operating license to boat owners and take measurements
of the boat as a basis for imposing the tax. This measurement was redefined in
1815 and "despite being very meticulous, it lacks the scientific factor and thus
can easily be taken advantage of by the inspecting officials and the boat
owners; therefore, the royal court should come up with strict regulations on this
issue" [6, pp.51-52] and have punishments based on the degree of wrongdoing.
The collection of commodity tax was also very specifically regulated from

1812: "In markets and border gates where commodities and traders pass
through, the tax is impose with the rate of 1/40 on the quantity of packages or
boats, or the weight of the commodities" [6, p.52].
Emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty from Gia Long to Minh Menh and
Trieu Tri all paid great attention to reclamation. Under the reign of Emperor
Minh Menh, the state issued very specific and appropriate regulations on rewards
and punishments for officials at all levels regarding the work of reclamation.
Since then, plantations were established in many localities, including Tien Hai
(Thai Binh) and Kim Son (Ninh Binh) in the Northern region; An Giang, Gia
Dinh and Dinh Tuong in the Southern region.
The trade economy under the reign of Minh Menh was also paid
attention to, with the construction of transport infrastructure. In the era of Minh
Menh, the 200-mile-long Vinh Te Canal was completed, facilitating the passage
of waterway cargoes. However, Nguyen Dynasty's policies of "promoting
agriculture, limiting trade" and "closed-door" always hindered the development
of foreign trade. This situation was caused due to the Nguyen Dynasty's
15


prudence against the practical risk of foreign invasion, especially from the
West; and also because the Nguyen Dynasty's ideology was based on Confucian
political-ethical doctrine, which considered itself the absolute truth for
governing the country and the firm guarantee for every aspect of the society.
3.3.2. National defense and security policy
During the reign of Emperor Gia Long, although the country was
unified, the opposing forces still often sought to rebel against the Nguyen
royal court in many places. Therefore, in the thought on ruling the country of
Emperor Gia Long, one of the most important issues was the preservation of
social security and smashing rebel and opposing factions in order to protect
the integrity of the territory and the rule of the Nguyen Dynasty. His thought

on military was clearly reflected in the view of war, of how to use the armed
forces and of military discipline. As for the use of the armed forces, he said:
"Going to war is not what the saints want - it is only to save people from the
flames of fire" [58, p.408]. Along with the administrative institution is the
military institution, which also plays a critical role in maintaining order and
security both internally and externally. According to the Emperor, "The
military is a major political affair of the state... If our army is regulated, we
can not lose in battle. Therefore, generals that commit wrong actions must be
punished. Now the disciplines in the military have been fixed, you soldiers
and generals must respect them and do not cross the line. The state discipline
only consists of rewards and punishments. Anyone who breaks the law must
not be forgiven, even if he has merit or is your relative.”[58, p.378].
The battlefield experiences of Emperor Gia Long had been shown not
only in his knowledge of military tactics but also in the ability to subdue his
opponents when he dealt with the internal conflicts of generals in the army,
which was greatly helpful for him to identify those who had an intention to
oppose the royal court. Those experiences led him to issue important military
orders in that time.
3.3.3. Cultural and ideological policy
As he rose to power, Emperor Gia Long proceeded to build the royal
dynasty and continued to use Confucianism as the foundation of his dynasty's
ideology. Therefore, following the Later Le Dynasty, Emperor Gia Long once
again promote the monopoly of Confucianism in the field of politics. The royal
court also modified customs and practices of the people regarding some areas of
social and spiritual life in order to unify the cultural space across the country.
Clearly recognizing the position of Confucianism in the cultural and ideological
life of the dynasty, Emperor Gia Long always strictly followed the political
policies as well as the rules and rituals of Confucianism, thus gradually making it
the dominant religion in the spiritual life of the society. He was praised as
follows: "The Emperor respects Confucianism and pays great attention to rituals"

16


[58, p.724]. Because of that, right after holding the authority, Emperor Gia Long
ordered the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) to be established in many places to
pay homage to the founder of Confucianism - Confucius. Confucian ideology of
ruling the country was clearly expressed not only in the promotion of the rule by
benevolence as mentioned above, but also in the education to win people's hearts,
and it also contributed to the development and strengthening of Confucian moral
standards.
In order to make good use of people, Emperor Gia Long considered
loyalty and righteousness the most basic criteria; at the same time, he also
encouraged Confucian morality to be more developed and become more and
more popular and widespread among people. The upholding of the loyalty was
most evidently expressed in the Emperor's reaction to the sacrifices of two very
talented martial officials, Vo Tanh and Ngo Tong Chu when Binh Dinh City
was lost. He praised them as follows: "Their deaths prove their loyalty, even the
generals of the old time like Zhang Xun or Xu Yan" (two excellent and faithful
generals in the Tang Dynasty) "could not be better than that" [58, p.448]. The
loyalty of these two generals became a role model that was respected by both
the Emperor and the court officials. Emperor Gia Long also made clear his
view on using talents, that he would only use those who were absolutely loyal
to the royal court; for those who were not, he would punished them with no
hesitation no matter how talented they were.
3.3.4. Education and examination policy
In this period, along with many policies to promote the monopoly of
Confucianism nationwide, Emperor Gia Long paid special attention to training
and fostering talents for the country. He said: "Education is the comfortable
path for students, it is not expendable. A good education followed by
examinations at the royal court will produce talented people to help us.” [58,

p.527]. This thought also clearly showed that he advocated the strict
implementation of examination system in order to select the truly talented
people to support the country. Under the reign of Emperor Gia Long, our
country's education was restored after a long slumber due to many turbulences
of the history. Many of his policies such as opening up examinations, setting
rules for examinations, issuing encouraging policies for education, etc.
contributed significantly to the new page of the country's education. Therefore,
examinations which took place periodically to select talented people made
significant contributions to the construction of the country.
It also proved that the training of the next generations to succeed the
throne as well as to undertake the great mission of the royal court under the
Nguyen Dynasty in general and in the era of Emperor Minh Menh in particular
had been paid a lot of attention. Emperor Minh Menh first and foremost
focused on the virtues of people, then their professional compentency. This
17


lesson was learnt from the experiences of training princes under the reign of Le
Thanh Tong, a very decent but subjective and reckless king who left his seat to
the "Evil King" and "Pig King", thus led the Early Le Dynasty to the inevitable
fall.
3.3.5. Religious policy
It can be said that under the reign of Emperor Gia Long, Confucianism
was the red thread binding the entire cultural and spiritual life of the nation.
Perspectives of culture and education brought about many positive aspects,
creating a solid foundation for the future development of culture, education and
religion.
In terms of culture, the Nguyen Dynasty had accumulated experiences
from its previous lords in promoting Confucianism and seeing it as the doctrine
that has all the guidelines for the development of social life, especially the

spiritual life. After ascending the throne, Emperor Gia Long order a Temple of
Literature to be built in Hue and restored the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.
Confucianism affected not only the social and spiritual life, such as moral
conduct, rituals, psychology, and lifestyle, but also political life such as
education and legal system. In order to establish social order on the basis of rule
by benevolence, the Nguyen Dynasty tried all the ways for Confucian ideas to
penetrate and spread into social life. Emperor Minh Menh himself did the same
thing as Emperor Le Thanh Tong, which was giving his commandments. Le
Thanh Tong gave 24 commandments, while Minh Menh gave "Ten
commandments" and required local officials to read and explain them to people
so that they could understand and comply with. However, unlike the time of
Emperor Le Thanh Tong, the Nguyen Dynasty under the reign of Minh Menh
did not restrict the religious life of Buddhism and Taoism, but focused on
limiting Christianity. Consequently, many pagoda and temples were renovated
and built.
In fact, from 1825 to 1831, Emperor Minh Menh had began issuing
policies to limit activities of trade and missionary work of the French in our
country. The relation between Vietnam and other Western countries was also
not very positive. After the Opium Ward, the situation in the region changed
adversely to Vietnam. If our country were to maintain the "closed door" policy
in foreign relation, it would be very dangerous. Therefore, Emperor Minh Menh
sent a diplomatic delegation, led by the Officer in Charge, with Ton That
Thuong as the deputy, to France and England to negotiate and establish official
relations with these two countries. However, both countries seemed to not
welcome this due to many different reasons [82, pp.104-106]. Thus, under
the reign of Minh Menh, many orders to forbid religion had been given to no
avail, and even became an excuse for the French to intervene in our country
under the guise of "protecting missionaries and Christian followers later on."
18

With the "non-Western" foreign policy attached to the policy of opposing
Christian propagation, Emperor Gia Long and Emperor Minh Mẹnh
inadvertently created a disadvantage for their successors such as Thieu Tri and
Tu Duc. Minh Menh was considered a brilliant emperor with profound
knowledge of Confucianism and decisiveness in ruling the country, however his
choice to maintain the abovementioned foreign policy and the unwise hostile
towards Christianity caused some researchers to think of him as "a tyrant of the
Nguyen Dynasty".
3.3.6. Foreign policy
Emperor Gia Long's foreign policy was influenced by Chinese national
culture, particularly the thought of looking down on other countries. He
evidently expressed his pride for the nation, but at the same time showed
obedience to the Qing Dynasty by always duly paying tributes. For neighboring
countries such as Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, etc., Emperor Gia Long
promoted the spirit of cooperation with them, while to others that are near to us
and depend on us such as Laos and Cambodia, he provided supports and
assistances. He was also always on guard and did not establish diplomatic
relations with Western countries.
The fact that Emperor Gia Long was more tolerant towards French
merchant ships, however, is understandable: considering the whole history of
the Nguyen Dynasty and his relation to the French in the past, he was unable to
bluntly refuse them. He tried to apply a bipolar foreign policy, which aims to
harmonize and bridge the gap between Vietnamese people and the French
people present in our country at that time. His ruling strategy was completely
independent and was not dominated or influenced by the French at the court.
The political and diplomatic landscape in Gia Long period exuded a gentle yet
cautious manner. He used to warn his heir: "Be grateful to the French, but never
let them set foot in your court" [82, p.55].
In short, the thought on ruling the country of Emperor Gia Long in the

early days of building the dynasty and the country reflected his extraordinary
efforts in politics, economy, society, religion and foreign relation. In any field,
he stood for independence and autonomy in choosing the direction of country
development towards a centralized monarchy; however, there were always
flexible and appropriate inheritance and development.
After inheriting the royal court left by Emperor Minh Menh, Emperor
Thieu Tri continued to preserve and promoted the achievements of the previous
generations. For examples:
First, the policy of sending officials to mountainous areas. Previously,
in the 1827-1828 period, Emperor Minh Menh announced the dismissal of
hereditary succession of local ethnic leaders and appointed capable local people
to be in charge. These people were called Tho quan (local officials). By 1835,
19


Emperor Minh Menh dismissed the regime of local officials and replaced it
with the regime of sending officials from the lowland to the mountainous
region to coordinate with local officials to govern the land.
Second, Emperor Thieu Tri was the one who had merits of remedying
the consequences from his father's decision to eliminate dykes in the Northern
region because of its inefficiency. When Emperor Thieu Tri came to power,
realizing that the people all wished to restore the embankment, he allowed
them to build a dyke across the estuary of Cuu An River.
Third, in the field of foreign relation, Emperor Thieu Tri always tried to
maintain a peaceful relationship with Western countries. Unlike his father,
Thieu Tri was more flexible in relations with Western countries, which was
reflected in the loosening of the policy against Christianity enforced under the
reign of his father. In the early years of his ascension to the throne, he neither
gave any further instructions to capture missionaries nor urge local officials to
do so. In this regard, Nguyen Van Kiem explained as follows:

“First, Thieu Tri was inherently gentle; he saw that Minh Menh's
ordinances on religion were so clear and complete, thus he did not want to do
anything more to cause a stir in the people and worry the court.
Second, in the years of Thieu Tri's reign, the relationship between
French missionaries and the French navy in the East Sea was very intimate, and
the French navy did not bother hiding their intention to intervene by force to
protect their missionaries and for Christianity to be freely spread. Thieu Tri was
very afraid of a large armed clash, in which victory could be the French Navy's
because Vietnam was not really ready for such a conflict ”[35, p.197].
Thus, it can be said that in the short reign of Thieu Tri, he also had to
deal with many complicated issues in the country as well as in the region.
Although he did not leave many imprints in the field of law and administrative
reforms like Minh Menh, he also made some basic contributions to the reign of
the Nguyen Dynasty with his determination to preserve the legacy left by the
previous generation.
Conclusion of Chapter 3:
The thought on ruling the country of successive emperors like Minh
Menh or Thieu Tri was in consistence with the one founded by Emperor Gia
Long, which was reflected in the construction of a highly centralized monarchy
in order for the dominant power of the Nguyen Dynasty to last long, for the
country to be powerful and for the people to be well off. That consistency is
reflected in the following major areas:
First, determining Confucianism as the official ideology of the dynasty,
aiming to build a central feudal monarchy, which can be achieved by the
combination of rule by benevolence and rule by law.
20


Second, with such a way to rule the country, Gia Long sought a smart
way to deal with the French, who was his partner in the struggle to seize power

from the hand of the Tay Son dynasty. When his career was successful, he
proved his steadfastness by choosing Prince Dam (later Emperor Minh Menh)
to succeed him instead of Prince Canh. It is a signal to inform France and some
other Western countries of his consistent domestic and foreign relation policies.
Third, the domestic policy from the time of Emperor Gia Long to the
time of Emperors Minh Menh and Thieu Tri is a consistent process towards the
goal of building an absolute central feudal regime of the Nguyen Dynasty. The
Nguyen Dynasty was the first Vietnamese feudal dynasty that ruled a large and
unified territory from Nam Quan Pass to Ca Mau Cape, thus Gia Long had to
apply a decentralized model to the state apparatus.
Fourth, in the field of foreign affairs, the early emperors of the Nguyen
Dynasty implemented a "bipolar" policy based on peaceful relations with
Western countries and good relations with neighboring countries.
Chapter 4. VALUES, LIMITATIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM
THE THOUGHT ON RULING THE COUNTRY OF EMPERORS GIA
LONG, MINH MENH AND THIEU TRI FOR THE SOCIOPOLITICAL
LIFE IN OUR COUNTRY TODAY
4.1. Values and limitations in the thought on ruling the country of
the first emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty.
4.1.1. Values
After ascending the throne and founded the Nguyen Dynasty, Emperor
Gia Long advocated the construction of a unified country across the entire
territory. The process of building a central absolute monarchy that lasted from
the reign of Gia Long to the reign of Minh Menh and was completed by the
results from the reform of the administrative apparatus. That was also the
greatest achievement ever in the history of Vietnamese feudalism, which at the
same time ended the division of the country encountered by the Tay Son
dynasty. The Nguyen Dynasty's domination was of great historical significance,
as it ended the civil war that had lasted for years and unified the country from
Nam Quan Pass to Ca Mau Cape and expanded our country's territory. At that

time, the country of Dai Nam was nominally dependent on the "all-underheaven" Qing Empire, but in fact, it was completely independent and
autonomous. This was reflected in the determination of the way to rule the
country in the context of very complicated social life in Dai Nam and in the
world. The Nguyen Dynasty had to cope with both the nostalgic forces of the
Le and Tay Son dynasties, and to deal with a series of diplomatic issues
regarding the West and other countries in the region.
In addition to paying attention to education and examination regime,
the Nguyen Dynasty also paid special attention to the academic field, including
21


the recording of history. During this period, many books of history had been
completed and became extremely valuable documents. At the same time, the
recording of history that faithfully reflects each events, the assignment of
officials in charge of recording history as well as the way to compile the books
were also some of the most important achievements of the Nguyen Dynasty.
In short, the selection of Confucianism as the dominant ideology in the
course of ruling the country of the early emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty was
an inevitable choice. By ruling the country on the basis of Confucianism, it was
easy for the Nguyen emperors to prove the orthodoxy of the dynasty in
persuading scholars who were still loyal to the Le Dynasty and building the
loyalty of classes of people to the Nguyen Dynasty, thus preventing uprisings
against the royal court. Another great meaning of this was that in addition to
affirming the independence of the nation, the first emperors of the Nguyen
Dynasty also established our country's position in the region at that time.
4.1.2. Limitations
Besides some great values in choosing Confucianism as the ideology
for ruling the country, the fact that the emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty tended
to overvalue Confucianism led to a lot of consequences. This is one of the main
causes that greatly affected their goals of ruling the country and the people.

The Nguyen royal court steadfastly selected Confucianism to serve its
political purposes, which was to maintain the centralized feudal state. Thus, the
Nguyen emperors put too much emphasis on and were heavily influenced by
the thought of heaven's mandate.
To summarize, the Nguyen Dynasty was under the monopoly of
Confucianism, therefore, the culture was heavily Chinese-influenced. In
addition, the burdensome bureaucratic ideology as well as the limitations and
weaknesses of the internal and external policies had dramatically reduced all
aspects of life, from economy and politics to culture and society, etc. During
this period, the field of industry and trade was only maintained only to meet the
minimum needs of the people and the royal court. The extremely strict
regulations of the Nguyen Dynasty, which reflected the hierarchy in
consumption, limited production capacity of the people. In addition, the policy
of "promoting agriculture and limiting trade" accompanied by a harsh farmland
regime further inhibited the production.
4.2. Historical lessons learned from the thought on ruling the
country of Emperors Gia Long, Minh Menh and Thieu Tri for the
sociopolitical life in our country today
Although selecting Confucianism as the dominant religion, the early
emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty did not show disdain or oppression towards
Buddhism. Emperor Minh Menh clearly stated his view as follows: "Buddhism
uses the symbol of gods; Confucianism only refers to virtues; however, they
22