Emperor Cảnh Thịnh ( vi-hantu, ), born Nguyễn Quang Toản ( vi-hantu, ; 1783–1802), was the third and last emperor of 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 followed his father Quang Trung (

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 ...

ruled 1788–1792) at the age of 9, and reigned for 10 years.Anh Thư Hà, Hò̂ng Đức Trà̂n ''A brief chronology of Vietnam's history'' 2000 p. 174 "Emperor Cảnh Thịnh (1793–1802): Being the eldest son of Quang Trung, Nguyễn Quang Toản succeeded his father at the age of ten (1793) icunder the reigning name of Cảnh Thịnh. Quang Toản appointed Bùi Đắc Tuyên, a brother of his ..." Cảnh Thịnh was defeated by

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, ...

in 1802. He was taken, along with a number of his royalties, officials and generals, 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 ...

. There, he was executed by

Gia Long Gia Long ( (''North''), ('' South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unif ...

, first emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty.

Biography

Nguyễn Quang Toản was the eldest son of

(Emperor Quang Trung). According to '' Đại Nam chính biên liệt truyện'', he was born to the Empress Consort Phạm Thị Liên. After Nguyễn Huệ crowned the emperor, Nguyễn Quang Toản was designated as

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

. In 1790, Toản received the title ''An Nam quốc vương thế tử'' ("Crown Prince of Annam") from China. The title indicated that his heirship was also recognized by China. Quang Trung died in 1792. On the deathbed, Quang Trung described Nguyễn Quang Toản as "a clever boy but too young". Toản ascended the throne and changed the

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...

to "Cảnh Thịnh" () in the same year, when he was only nine years old. He granted his stepmother

Bùi Thị Nhạn Bùi Thị Nhạn (裴氏雁, ? – 10 July 1802) was a general and then an Empress of Tây Sơn dynasty. Born in Tuy Viễn District (mordern Tây Sơn District), Bình Định Province. She was a daughter of Bùi Đức Lương, and also ...

the title Empress dowager. Bùi Đắc Tuyên was granted the position ''thái sư'' ("Grand Preceptor"). Bùi Đắc Tuyên was favoured by the young emperor, and became the ''de facto'' ruler of the country. Tuyên banished one of important ministers, Trần Văn Kỷ (), from the capital

(mordern

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

). His behavior had aroused the anger of many ministers and generals. In 1793,

Nguyễn Nhạc Nguyễn Nhạc ( vi-hantu, 阮岳, died 1793) was the founder of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1778 to 1788. From 1778 to 1788, Nguyễn Nhạc proclaimed himself Emperor Thái Đức ( vi-hantu, 泰德). In 1788 after his younger bro ...

was attacked by

Nguyễn lord Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

, asked for Nguyễn Quang Toản's help. Toản repulsed the attack, then annexed Nhạc's territory. Nhạc died soon after suffering from vomiting blood. Nhạc's eldest son,

Nguyễn Văn Bảo Nguyễn Văn Bảo (阮文寶, 1776–1798) or Nguyễn Bảo (阮寶), was a prince of Tây Sơn dynasty, Vietnam. Bảo was the eldest son of Nguyễn Nhạc. His mother was Trần Thị Huệ. After Nguyễn Nhạc ascended the throne, ...

, was granted the title ''Hiếu công'' by Toản. Bùi Đắc Trụ () and

Nguyễn Văn Huấn Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

() were left in

Quy Nhơn Quy Nhon ( vi, Quy Nhơn ) is a coastal city in Bình Định province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of . Quy Nhon is the capital of Bình Định province. As of 2019 its population was 457,400. His ...

to watch Bảo. Tây Sơn launched a powerful offensive in 1794. Two Tây Sơn generals, Trần Viết Kết () and Nguyễn Văn Huấn, laid siege to

Diên Khánh Diên Khánh is a Commune-level town (Vietnam), township () and capital of Diên Khánh District, Khánh Hòa Province, Vietnam. It was established in 1981. References

Communes of Khánh Hòa province Populated places in Khánh Hòa provinc ...

. in 1794, but Nguyễn lord's forces were able to keep them out. Several months later, Trần Quang Diệu and Nguyễn Văn Tứ () were sent to attack Diên Khánh again. However, a ''coup d'état'' occurred in the next year, forcing Diệu to withdraw. One night, Nguyễn Quang Toản was in Bùi Đắc Tuyên's house. Vũ Văn Dũng,

Phạm Công Hưng Phạm Công Hưng (范公興, ?–1795) or Phạm Văn Hưng (范文興), was a general of Tây Sơn dynasty, Vietnam. Phạm Công Hưng was a brother of Phạm Văn Tham and Phạm Ngạn. He also had a sister Phạm Thị Liên, whom wa ...

and Nguyễn Văn Huấn, besieged house, forcing Cảnh Thịnh to hand over Tuyên. Later, Tuyên was executed together with Bùi Đắc Trụ and his right hand

Ngô Văn Sở Ngô Văn Sở (, died 1795) was a general of the Tây Sơn dynasty. Born in Tuy Viễn District (modern Tây Sơn District), Bình Định Province, he joined the Tây Sơn army at an early age. In 1787, Vũ Văn Nhậm led an army north into ...

. Toản could do nothing but weep. As a niece-in-law of Tuyên, general Trần Quang Diệu was not trusted by the three generals. Diệu quickly marched north and stayed at An Cựu. In the same time, an army under Vũ Văn Dũng and Nguyễn Văn Danh () also marched there. A civil war might break out at any moment, which made the young emperor afraid. Finally, Diệu was reconciled with the three generals. Nguyễn Quang Toản started to rule the country directly; he appointed Trần Quang Diệu, Vũ Văn Dũng, Nguyễn Văn Huấn, Nguyễn Văn Danh (or Nguyễn Văn Tứ) as his assistants. This arrangement proved to be unsatisfactory. Not long after, Diệu was removed from military leadership. Diệu was fearful and anxious, from then on, he refused to attend the imperial court. The power struggle destabilized the regime, which provided Nguyễn lord an opportunity to launch an offensive attack in 1797. What was worse,

occupied

and planned to surrender to Nguyễn lord. Fortunately, the rebellion was put down in 1798. However, many ministers were accused of getting involved in the incident, including

Lê Trung 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 ...

() and

. They were arrested and executed. Tây Sơn generals felt themselves imperilled, they were at odds with the emperor. In 1799, Quy Nhơn was besieged by Nguyễn Ánh. Trần Quang Diệu and Vũ Văn Dũng was sent to reinforce, but was ambushed by Nguyễn army in Thạch Tân. Hearing the news of defeat, governor

Lê Văn Thanh 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 ...

() surrendered to Nguyễn Ánh. Quy Nhơn was captured by Nguyễn lord, its name was changed to Bình Định. Trần Viết Kết and Hồ Công Diệu (), spoke evil of Trần Quang Diệu. Nguyễn Quang Toản ordered Dũng to kill Diệu. But, Dũng showed the letter to Trần Quang Diệu. Trần Quang Diệu marched to Phú Xuân. Hồ Công Diệu was chosen as scapegoat; he was arrested and transferred to Trần Quang Diệu. In 1800, Trần Quang Diệu and Vũ Văn Dũng were sent south to besiege Quy Nhơn.

Nguyễn Ánh Gia Long ( (''North''), ('' South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unif ...

led a large number of army to reinforce Bình Định. However,

Võ Tánh Võ Tánh ( 武性, ?—1801) was an 18th-century Vietnamese military commander, best known for his role as a general of Nguyễn Ánh, who unified modern-day Vietnam and ruled as Emperor Gia Long. Early life Võ Tánh was born in Phước Tinh ...

, the governor of Bình Định, suggested that he would pin the main Tây Sơn force down there so that Nguyễn Ánh could attack their capital Phú Xuân. Ánh agreed, and then he marched north. In this time, Nguyễn Quang Toản had to deal with several internal rebellions. Hà Công Thái (), a

Degar Montagnard () is an umbrella term for the various indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands (Vietnam), Central Highlands of Vietnam. The French language, French term () signifies a mountain dweller, and is a carryover from the French Indochi ...

leader, revolted in Thanh Hóa Province and pledged loyalty to Nguyễn lord; a Christian-inspired revolt broke out in

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...

. To make matters worse,

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

and

Muang Phuan Meuang Phuan ( Lao: ເມືອງພວນ; Country of Phuan) or Xieng Khouang (Lao: ຊຽງຂວາງ), also known historically to the Vietnamese as Trấn Ninh ( Hán Việt: 鎮寧; lit. "securement of peace"), was a historical principal ...

attacked Nghệ An Province, cooperating with Nguyễn forces. Nguyễn Quang Toản had to ask Nguyễn Thiếp for advice. Thiếp said it was impossible to deal with current affairs; however, if the capital could be relocated in '' Phượng Hoàng trung đô'' (, in present-day

Vinh Vinh () is the biggest city and economic and cultural center of north-central Vietnam. Vinh is the capital of Nghệ An Province, and is a key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The city is ...

), the lifetime of the dynasty might be prolonged. Toản vacillated for too long and the opportunity to accept was lost. In 1801, Nguyễn Ánh's army reached Tư Dung estuary (present-day Tư Hiền estuary), defeated Nguyễn Văn Trị in Quy Sơn Hill. A naval battle broke out in Nộn estuary (present-day Thuận An estuary); both Nguyễn Quang Toản and Nguyễn Ánh directed the battle personally. Many

Chinese pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

were hired by Tây Sơn to fight against Nguyễn lord. In Nguyễn lord side, several Western adventurers joined the battle, including

Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau (1769–1832) was a French Navy sailor and an adventurer who played an important role in Vietnam in the 19th century. He served the Nguyễn dynasty from 1794 to 1819, and 1821 to 1826,Tran, p. 206. and took the Vietna ...

Philippe Vannier Philippe Vannier (Vietnamese name: Nguyễn Văn Chấn / 阮文震, 1762–1842)Tran and Reid, p.206 was a French Navy officer and an adventurer who went into the service of Nguyễn Ánh, the future emperor Gia Long of Vietnam. Life Vann ...

and Laurent André Barisy. Chaigneau described that it was the fiercest battle between Tây Sơn dynasty and Nguyễn lord. The battle ended with a near annihilation of both Tây Sơn navy and Chinese pirates. Three famous pirates,

Mo Guanfu Mo Guanfu ( or; Vietnamese: ''Mạc Quan Phù'', ?–1801) was a powerful Chinese pirate throughout the South China Sea in the late 1700s. Mo was born to a woodsman's family in Suixi County, Guangdong. He was kidnapped by the pirates in 1787. ...

Liang Wengeng Liang may refer to: Chinese history * Liang (state) (梁) (8th century BC – 641 BC), a Spring and Autumn period state * Wei (state) (403–225 BC), a Warring States period state, also known as Liang (梁) after moving its capital to Daliang * ...

(, ''Lương Văn Canh'') and

Fan Wencai Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

( ''Phàn Văn Tài''), were captured by Nguyễn lord. Nguyễn army soon occupied the capital

. Nguyễn Quang Toản fled to

Đồng Hới Đồng Hới () is the capital city of Quảng Bình Province in the north central coast of Vietnam. The city's area is . Population as per the 2017 census was 119,222. It is served by National Highway 1A, the Đồng Hới Railway Station, ...

, with a dozen men, then to

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 ...

. In there, he was supported by his brother

Nguyễn Quang Thùy Nguyễn Quang Thùy () was a Vietnamese prince alive during the Tây Sơn dynasty. Background A son of Nguyễn Huệ, Thùy was also a half-brother of Nguyễn Quang Toản. After Toản ascended the throne in 1792, Thùy was granted the roya ...

. Nguyễn Quang Toản changed the

to "Bảo Hưng" (). He made efforts to gain popularity among Northern Vietnamese. In foreign affairs, he sent an envoy to seek aid from 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 ...

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu people, Manchu-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin (1616–1636), La ...

. Meanwhile, Nguyễn Ánh also sent an envoy, extraditing Mo Guanfu, Liang Wengeng and Fan Wencai to China. Three pirates confessed that they were supported by Tây Sơn dynasty. It proved that Tây Sơn dynasty had shielded many Chinese pirates. Before this incident, Chinese government had captured two pirates Wang Guili (, ''Vương Quý Lợi'') and Fan Guangxi (, ''Phạm Quang Hỉ''); in their vessels, Chinese found two Tây Sơn

official seal A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interference with ...

s. The irate Jiaqing rejected to help Nguyễn Quang Toản, and deported his envoy.''

Draft History of Qing The ''Draft History of Qing'' () is a draft of the official history of the Qing dynasty compiled and written by a team of over 100 historians led by Zhao Erxun who were hired by the Beiyang government of the Republic of China. The draft was publis ...

'', vol. 527 In 1802, Nguyễn Quang Thùy was sent to attack Lũy Thầy (in present-day Quảng Bình Province). Later, Nguyễn Quang Toản led 30 thousand men marched to Linh River (modern

Gianh River The Gianh River ( vi, Sông Gianh) is a river in the Quảng Bình Province of Vietnam's North Central Coast (Bắc Trung Bộ). The river is in length. It was the border between ruling families during the partition of Vietnam following the Tr� ...

) to attack Nguyễn Ánh. Both of their army were utterly beaten. Toản fled to Nghệ An, in there he met Nguyễn Quang Thùy. They fled back to Thăng Long together. Nguyễn Ánh's army marched further north. In June, they captured Thăng Long. Nguyễn Quang Toản fled across the Nhị River (present day Red River) along with Nguyễn Quang Thùy, Nguyễn Quang Thùy, Nguyễn Quang Thiệu (), Nguyễn Văn Dụng (), Nguyễn Văn Tứ and the Empress dowager

. In Phượng Nhãn ( Lạng Giang), They were captured alive by local villagers. Nguyễn Quang Thùy and Bùi Thị Nhạn committed suicide; the others were transferred to

, and executed by Nguyễn Ánh. According to ''Đại Nam thực lục'', Nguyễn Quang Toản and his three brothers, Nguyễn Quang Duy (), Nguyễn Quang Thiệu and Nguyễn Quang Bàn (), were executed by

slow slicing ''Lingchi'' (; ), translated variously as the slow process, the lingering death, or slow slicing, and also known as death by a thousand cuts, was a form of torture and execution used in China from roughly 900 CE up until the practice ended aro ...

, then their bodies were dismembered by having five elephants pull the limbs and head ().'' Đại Nam thực lục chính biên'', kỷ 1, vol. 19

References

* * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Quang Toan Tây Sơn dynasty emperors 1783 births 1802 deaths Child rulers from Asia 18th-century Vietnamese monarchs 19th-century Vietnamese monarchs People executed by Vietnam Executed Vietnamese people Vietnamese monarchs