The Lucky Emperor Ascends the Throne
Dong Khanh (1864 -1889), whose real name was Nguyen Phuc Ung Bien, was the ninth emperor of the Nguyen dynasty in Vietnamese history. At the age of 2, he was brought into the palace as the adopted son of King Tu Duc but was not chosen as the heir. When King Tu Duc passed away, the court officials followed the will of King Ung Chan (later known as King Duc Duc) – another adopted son of the king – and placed him on the throne, but he was dethroned after less than 3 days.
Afterwards, the royal court welcomed the youngest brother of King Tu Duc to the throne, and he only held the position for 4 months before being assassinated with poison. He was succeeded by another adopted son of Tu Duc, who quickly passed away due to illness. At this point, the people thought that Ung Bien would ascend to the throne, but the court officials neglected him. Instead, they chose his younger brother Ung Lich (later known as King Ham Nghi) to inherit the throne.
In 1885, King Ham Nghi led a resistance movement against the French, establishing a base in Tuyen Hoa (Quang Binh). The Hue court and the French negotiated, and then Ung Bien was placed on the throne with the title Dong Khanh. This was considered an urgent decision in a chaotic situation, but it contradicted the royal will of King Tu Duc. In the royal will, the king described Ung Bien as follows: “Ung Bien is a weak and sickly person, with bad intentions, lacks education but is arrogant, often meddling in other people’s affairs, which is not a pure and virtuous demeanor. I am afraid that it will be difficult to control him.”
Therefore, many historians believe that Ung Bien’s ascension to the emperor’s throne was…lucky. And after ascending the throne, King Dong Khanh announced: “I am the second son of King Duc Tong Anh, facing a difficult era, sympathizing with the people, following their will and considering their sentiment, I stand up to express my great will and unite the people.
After the enthronement ceremony at Giao Mieu and the proclamation at Hoa Khiem Palace, I went to take the oath in front of Queen Mother Tu Du. The queen mother chose the auspicious date and time, and at the appointed time on the 11th day of the lunar month, I ascended to the throne at Thai Hoa Palace, using the following year, Binh Tuat, as the first year of Dong Khanh’s reign.
Upholding restoration, strengthening the people’s loyalty to the country; the peak remains, echoing the peaceful melodies. The major matters have been settled, now it is necessary to show gratitude to the people.”
Having Over 100 Wives with Many Sorrows
Right after ascending the throne, King Dong Khanh bestowed titles upon his wives according to their ranks. Historical records state that the king had over 100 concubines. They gave birth to 6 princes and 3 princesses. They all shared the duty of taking care of and serving the king. “Every day, one concubine was chosen from all ranks to serve the king. Thirty people took turns guarding around his harem, and five concubines were always by his side, taking turns taking care of him and adorning him.
They changed his clothes, trimmed his nails longer than his fingers, applied perfumed oil, tied silk kerchiefs around his head. They paid attention to every little detail around him to make it perfect. These five concubines also took turns serving him meals and water,” wrote F. Baille, a foreigner living in Hue at that time, in the article “Les Annamite.”
The names, hometowns, and origins of all the king’s wives are not mentioned in historical records. It is known that two of the concubines were honored with the titles of queen. They were Queen Duong Thi Thuc – the birth mother of Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Dao (later known as King Khai Dinh) – and Queen Nguyen Huu Thi Nhan.
Queen Nhan was renowned for her virtues and was favored by the king to manage everything in the harem with the inscription “Kiem Nhiep Luc Vien” (meaning managing the inner palace) and “Dong Khanh Sac Tu” (meaning beauty of Dong Khanh) carved on her étui. In 1886, when she was conferred the title, the king mentioned his first wife and explained why he left the position of chief custodian of the inner palace vacant.
“When I had not ascended the throne, Hoang Khao had chosen Nguyen Thi, the daughter of Nguyen Diem, as a concubine, who was my original spouse. Our children were just beginning to grow, and we were still in the prime of our love. I had just ascended the throne, but I hadn’t had a chance to confer the title when she left and disappeared, and her old sword was difficult to find again, leaving me with great sorrow.
Since then, on occasions of congratulation, while recruiting court ladies, they were chosen based on their class, but they were only given ranks of concubines. The position of chief custodian was left vacant for someone virtuous. Then, a daughter of a Cố Mệnh Lương Thần official, a Can Chinh candidate for the Đại Học Sĩ degree, Vĩnh Lai Ba Nguyen Huu Do named Nguyen Huu Thi was assigned into the court on the 13th day of this month for admittance to Dai Noi.
Therefore, the selection of the conferred titles is determined by fate, not by chance. If we follow the usual practices of favoring all equally, it will not only not console the hearts of both the Double Palace but also make the internal governance unattractive.
So conferred the title of Nguyen Huu Thi as Hoang Quy Phi. The titles were planned early, and everyone in the palace knows the ranks and respects them accordingly, and the governance tasks will be borne by someone virtuous. The meaning of the phrase “First serve the family then rule the country” is exactly like this,” clearly stated by King Dong Khanh. However, the harem was not as stable as the king had hoped. Two years later, he had to proclaim some mistakes, shortcomings, and severe measures against his wives.
After that incident, King Dong Khanh thought the harem would be peaceful, but unexpected conflicts among his wives wore him out even more. This was also the time when the French colonialists established their rule throughout Vietnam. The king could only turn a blind eye. Even the French recognized that: “Nowhere and at no time has there been a king despised by the people like King Bù Nhìn Dong Khanh.”
In 1888, King Dong Khanh passed away, leaving behind over 100 wives living in widowed sorrow and deep disappointment.
Little-Known Stories About King Dong Khanh
From Predicting the Coronation Date…
According to historical documents, the goddess Thiên Y A Na also foretold that Dong Khanh would only reign for 3 years. Therefore, after the prophecy of the coronation day became a reality, the king was always concerned about his fate. The Kể Chuyện Các Vua Nguyễn (Stories of the Nguyen Kings) record states: In order to prolong his longevity and change his destiny, King Dong Khanh enjoyed reading books about astrology, divination, and mystical knowledge. For such a young king (22 years old) at the time, this was rare! The king often went to Huệ Nam Palace to pray, replenish the ceremonial robes, and every year, two court officials were sent to worship there on his behalf…
However, destiny had been decided! Although the king was afraid of the end of his life, it still came. The goddess’s prediction was correct. After being ill for half a month, King Dong Khanh died at 10 pm on the 28th day of the first lunar month in 1889, at the age of 25. According to several accounts, the king had nightmares and was haunted by the death of Phan Đình Bình, a high-ranking official who intended to elevate Bửu Lân to the throne after Ham Nghi abdicated.
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