Lê Chiêu Thống (1765–1793), born Lê Duy Khiêm and later Lê Duy Kỳ, was the last emperor of the Vietnamese

Later Lê dynasty Later may refer to: * Future, the time after the present Television * ''Later'' (talk show), a 1988–2001 American talk show * '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a British music programme since 1992 * ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', or ...

. He was overthrown by the

Tây Sơn dynasty The Tây Sơn dynasty (, vi, Nhà Tây Sơn (Chữ Nôm: 茹西山); vi, Tây Sơn triều ( Hán tự: 西山朝) was a ruling dynasty of Vietnam, founded in the wake of a rebellion against both the Nguyễn lords and the Trịnh lords befor ...

. He appealed to the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

of China to help regain the throne but failed after losing the

Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa The Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa ( vi, Trận Ngọc Hồi - Đống Đa; ), also known as Victory of Kỷ Dậu ( vi, Chiến thắng Kỷ Dậu), was fought between the forces of the Vietnamese Tây Sơn dynasty and the Qing dynasty in ...

. Afterwards, he no longer received support from the Qing

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

, relatives of the Later Lê imperial family were imprisoned in Vietnam, and he died in China. Furthermore, the Qianlong emperor banished the remaining members of the Lê family to border regions of the Qing dynasty such as Xinjiang and Heilongjiang.

Early life

Lê Duy Khiêm was the eldest son of

Lê Duy Vĩ Le is a romanization of several rare East Asian surnames and a common Vietnamese surname. It is a fairly common surname in the United States, ranked 975th during the 1990 census and 368th during the 2000 census. In 2000, it was the eighth-most-co ...

who was the first crown prince of emperor Lê Hiển Tông.Dang Viet Thuy & Dang Thanh Trung, p. 248. After Khiêm's father was killed by the ninth Trịnh lord

Trịnh Sâm Trịnh Sâm (, 9 February 1739 – 13 September 1782) ruled northern Vietnam from 1767 to 1782 AD. He ruled with the title "Tĩnh Đô Vương" () and was one of the last of the powerful Trịnh lords. Trịnh Sâm defeated the ancient enemy of t ...

in 1771, he was jailed. In 1783, lord Trịnh Khải deposed crown prince Lê Duy Cận and made Lê Duy Khiêm crown prince of the

Lê dynasty The Lê dynasty, also known as Later Lê dynasty ( vi, Hậu Lê triều, chữ Hán: 後黎朝 or vi, nhà Hậu Lê, link=no, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), was the longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, ruling Đại Việt from 1428 to 1789. The Lê ...

Succession and reign

Chinese officials receiving depossed Vietnamese Emperor Le Chieu Thong

In 1786, the Tây Sơn general

Nguyễn Huệ Emperor Quang Trung ( vi-hantu, 光中, 1753 – 16 September 1792) or Nguyễn Huệ ( vi-hantu, 阮惠), also known as Nguyễn Quang Bình ( vi-hantu, 阮光平), was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1788 until 17 ...

led his force to northern Vietnam and destroyed the house of the

Trịnh lords The Trịnh lords ( vi, Chúa Trịnh; Chữ Nôm: 主鄭; 1545–1787), formal title Trịnh Viceroy (; ), also known as Trịnh clan (鄭氏, ''Trịnh thị'') or the House of Trịnh, were a noble feudal clan who de facto ruled Northern Viet ...

. The next year, 1787, the Lê emperor Lê Hiển Tông died of natural causes, and Nguyễn Huệ installed Lê Duy Khiêm on the throne as emperor Lê Chiêu Thống and then he withdrew almost all his troops to

Phú Xuân Phú Xuân (富春) was the historic capital of the Nguyễn lords, the Tây Sơn dynasty, and later became the Nguyễn dynasty's capital (renamed Huế). History In 1306, the King of Champa Chế Mân offered Vietnam two Chăm prefectures, Ô ...

. Trịnh Lords members took advantage of Nguyễn Huệ's absence. Two Trinh heirs,

Trịnh Bồng Án Đô Vương Trịnh Bồng ( (25 August 1749 – 13 February 1791); reigned 1786–1787) was the last of the Trịnh lords. He succeeded Trịnh Khải, before southern Tây Sơn rebel leader and future emperor Nguyễn Huệ's 1788 final def ...

and

Trịnh Lệ Trịnh is a Vietnamese family name, which is also common in some countries such as Korea (Jung, Jeong). A considerable portion of families that bear the surname Trinh are ethnically Vietnamese. Notable people *Trịnh Như Khuê, First Cardin ...

, appeared and made their claims to the lord throne. emperor Lê Chiêu Thống appointed Trinh Bong as the next Trịnh lord which triggered Trịnh Lệ to revolt. After suppressing Trịnh Lệ forces, Trịnh Bồng became the most powerful man in north Vietnam but his leadership was bad. The entirety of north Vietnam sank into chaos, thus forcing King Lê Chiêu Thống to ask for assistance from

Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh ( vi-hantu, 阮有整, 1741–1788) was an official during the Revival Lê dynasty in Vietnam. Chỉnh was a disciple of Hoàng Ngũ Phúc. He had been sent to Tây Sơn as a diplomat. Nguyễn Nhạc admired him for ...

, Tây Sơn governor of Nghệ An. Nguyen Huu Chinh led an army marched north, easily defeated Trinh army, forced Trinh Bong to flee and captured Thăng Long.Chapuis, p. 151. After pacifying the region, Nguyen Huu Chinh abused power for his own interests, thus impinging Nguyễn Huệ's political status.Tucker, pp. 17-18. After learning about actions of Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh, Nguyễn Huệ sent north a general named

Vũ Văn Nhậm Vũ Văn Nhậm (武文任, ?–1788) was a general of Tây Sơn dynasty. At first Nhậm was a low-ranking officer of Nguyễn lord. Later, he committed a crime and had to join Tây Sơn army. Nguyễn Nhạc appreciated his bravery, and mar ...

with an army to attack

Thăng Long Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

(now Hanoi). Vu Van Nham swiftly defeated and killed Nguyen Huu Chinh and occupied Thăng Long, but then he took the power himself. Nguyễn Huệ sent two other generals to suppress Vu Van Nham and recaptured Thăng Long. Meanwhile, Lê Chiêu Thống fled to the furthest north of Vietnam and refused Nguyễn Huệ's invitations to return. He gathered a small army of Lê dynasty loyalists and sent his family to China to seek aid from the

of the

Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. The Qianlong Emperor agreed and sent a massive army to north Vietnam. Under the banner of the Lê king, the large Qing army easily drove Tây Sơn out of north Vietnam and took over Thăng Long.Chapuis, p. 154. After the Qing occupation of northern Vietnam, the Qing viceroy

Sun Shiyi Sun Shiyi (, Vietnamese: Tôn Sĩ Nghị; 1720 – 1796), courtesy name Zhizhi (), pseudonym Bushan (), was an official of the Qing dynasty who served as the Viceroy of Liangguang and of Liangjiang during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. A ...

reinstalled Lê Chiêu Thống as a puppet ruler.Dutton, pp. 106-107. Although Lê Chiêu Thống did not have much ruling power, he began taking a bloody revenge on Tây Sơn supporters and forced people to supply him food in spite of war and famine. The actions of Lê Chiêu Thống and the Qing invasion gave Nguyễn Huệ a good chance to officially take the throne and gain popularity among northern Vietnamese people. On 22 December 1788, Nguyễn Huệ proclaimed himself emperor

Quang Trung Emperor Quang Trung ( vi-hantu, 光中, 1753 – 16 September 1792) or Nguyễn Huệ ( vi-hantu, 阮惠), also known as Nguyễn Quang Bình ( vi-hantu, 阮光平), was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1788 until 17 ...

and formally declared that the Lê dynasty had ended. He then led an army march north. Although the Tây Sơn army was smaller, they defeated the unprepared Qing troops in a series of battles during the 1789

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named " Chinese New Year" becau ...

celebration and forced the rest of Qing army to flee in confusion.Dutton, p. 107. Lê Chiêu Thống fled to China which marked the end of the

.Ooi, p. 780. Lê Chiêu Thống and high ranking Lê loyalists fled Vietnam for asylum in Qing China and went to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Lê Chiêu Thống was appointed a Chinese mandarin of the fourth rank in the Han Yellow Bordered Banner, while lower ranking loyalists were sent to cultivate government land and join the

Green Standard Army The Green Standard Army (; Manchu: ''niowanggiyan turun i kūwaran'') was the name of a category of military units under the control of Qing dynasty in China. It was made up mostly of ethnic Han soldiers and operated concurrently with the Manchu- ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

and

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

. They adopted Qing clothing and adopt the queue hairstyle, effectively becoming naturalized subjects of the Qing dynasty affording them protection against Vietnamese demands for extradition. Modern descendants of the Lê monarch live in southern Vietnam. Chieu Thong Thong Bao

Exile and death

After the war, Nguyễn Huệ sent a request of recognition to China and it was accepted with conditions. The Qing Empire recognized Nguyễn Huệ as a new ruler of Vietnam and gave him the traditional title "An Nam Quốc Vương" (King of Pacified South).Dutton, p. 108. From this point on, Lê Chiêu Thống did not receive any more support from the

of China . He spent the rest of his life in China, and died in 1793. In 1802, when envoys of the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (chữ Nôm: 茹阮, vi, Nhà Nguyễn; chữ Hán: 阮朝, vi, Nguyễn triều) was the last Vietnamese dynasty, which ruled the unified Vietnamese state largely independently from 1802 to 1883. During its existence, ...

visited China, Lê dynasty loyalists requested that the

Jiaqing Emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, born Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, fro ...

let them bring Lê Chiêu Thống's remains back to Vietnam and the emperor agreed. The Jiaqing Emperor also freed all the followers of Lê Chiêu Thống who were imprisoned in China. Lê Chiêu Thống's remains are buried in Bàn Thạch village,

Thanh Hóa Thanh Hóa () is the capital of Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City. Thanh ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

.Trần Trọng Kim, pp. 372-373. He was posthumously given the title Mẫn Đế (愍帝).

Notes

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 孫士毅.

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

: ''Tôn Sĩ Nghị''.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Le, Chieu Thong 1765 births 1793 deaths M 18th-century Vietnamese monarchs Han Chinese Bordered Yellow Bannermen Vietnamese monarchs