“According to the book ‘Nine Dynasties, Thirteen Kings of the Nguyen Dynasty’, Tu Duc is a famous king known for his literary talent in the Nguyen Dynasty. During his lifetime, the king wrote poetry, books, and composed music… Particularly, Tu Duc composed more than 3,000 poems in his collection of works.
‘Total Court Epic’ is a collection of ballads composed by King Tu Duc himself, which depicts the historical figures of Vietnam in different eras. The book was first printed in 1874, consisting of 212 poems. Each poem has a short story section to provide background information, and after each poem, there are comments from high-ranking officials.
Tu Duc was also a king who loved history. He established the Hien Vien Library and the Khai Kinh Palace, where he studied together with his officials and wrote poetry. He also directed the compilation of the monumental historical work ‘Kham Dinh Viet Su Thong Giam Cuong Muc’, covering from ancient times to the end of the Later Le Dynasty. In this work, he provided numerous comments.
King Tu Duc was famous for being a filial emperor. Throughout his 36-year reign, he regularly visited his mother, Queen Mother Tu Du, every 15th day of the month. In order to remember his mother’s teachings, King Tu Duc compiled a book called ‘Tu Huan Luc’, which contains the ethical teachings of Queen Mother Tu Du.
‘Tu Duc Thanh Che Tu Hoc Giai Nghia Ca’ is a rare book that teaches the Chinese characters using Vietnamese Nôm script, compiled by King Tu Duc himself. The book is easy to understand as it is written in a poetic form called ‘Luc Bat’ (6-8 verses). After each verse, the author provides pronunciation in Chinese and its meaning.
There was a virtuous and upright official named Vu Dinh. Once, he caught a person stealing money from the treasury, hiding it in his clothes and then fleeing to a tavern. Although the amount of money was not significant, when the incident was reported to Tu Duc, he considered it a crime of embezzlement, as if left unpunished, one day the treasury would be empty. The king composed a poem to condemn the corrupt official: ‘One day, one coin / Thousand days, thousand coins / The saw breaks the wood / Water erodes the stone / A crime cannot be pardoned / Decree to execute.’
Tu Duc is the longest-reigning king of the Nguyen Dynasty, ruling for 36 years from 1847 to 1883. Although he had 103 concubines, he did not have any biological children due to suffering from smallpox in his childhood and recurring illnesses, which affected his health.
He adopted three nephews as his adopted children: Ung Chan, Ung Duong, and Ung Dang. Ung Chan was the son of Thoai Thai Vuong Hong Y, entrusted to Queen Vu Thi Duyen Hai, the primary wife of King Tu Duc. Later, after the death of Tu Duc, Ung Chan ascended to the throne and became known as King Duc Duc.
Ung Duong (also recorded as Ung Ky or Ung Bien) was the son of Kiên Thái Vuong Hong Cai, entrusted to Queen Thien Phi Nguyen Thi Cam for nurturing.
Ung Dang was also the son of Kiên Thái Vuong, entrusted to Queen Hoc Phi Nguyen Thi Huong for care and education.”
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