Nguyễn Thiện Thuật (阮善述, 1844–1926),
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...
Mạnh Hiếu, was a
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 ...
revolutionary leader, who commanded armed forces during the anti-colonial struggle.
As a high-ranking official under the
Nguyễn dynasty, he governed
Hải Dương,
Hải Phòng, and
Quảng Ninh.
When
Hà Nội
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 ...
surrendered to the French in 1883, the Nguyễn regime signed the
Treaty of Huế (also known as the Harmand treaty) and acknowledged the French protectorate over the northern and central parts of the Vietnam.
When he was ordered to stop fighting, Nguyễn resigned from his post and retreated to
Đông Triều, where he organized and continued armed resistance against the French.
He also joined forces with the
Black Flag Army
The Black Flag Army (; , chữ Nôm: 軍旗𬹙) was a splinter remnant of a bandit group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background, who crossed the border in 1865 from Guangxi, China into northern Vietnam, then during the N ...
led by
Lưu Vĩnh Phúc.
A nine-year revolt (from 1883 to 1892) ensued in the swampy area of
Bãi Sậy.
Due to constant attacks from the French, the resistance was weakened. Nguyễn left for China, with the hope of reviving the revolution at a later time, but died in
Guangxi in 1926.
His grandson was Chinese Nationalist Army major general Nguyễn Chấn Á who returned to Vietnam as one of the Taiwan military advisors.
Early years
Nguyễn Thiện Thuật was born on March 23, 1844, in Xuân Dục village, Đường Hào district (currently is Xuân Đào village, Xuân Dục commune, Mỹ Hào town, Hưng Yên province), was the eldest child of a poor Confucian, he was a descendant of
Nguyễn Trãi
Nguyễn Trãi (阮廌), pen name Ức Trai (抑齋); (1380–1442) was an illustrious Vietnamese Confucian scholar, a noted poet, a skilled politician and a master strategist. He was at times attributed with being capable of almost miraculous o ...
. His father was lecturer Nguyễn Tuy. His younger brothers were Nguyễn Thiện Dương and Nguyễn Thiện Kế, they both participated in Bãi Sậy uprising that was led by Tán Thuật.
In 1870, he graduated
tú tài (秀才 junior bachelor). In 1874, he was appointed to ''Bang biện'' due to his merit in fighting the enemy in
Kinh Môn, Hải Dương province. In 1876, he continued to take part in Confucianism examination and got
cử nhân (舉人 senior bachelor) degree. After that, he was promoted to (Prefect) of Từ Sơn
fu , Bắc Ninh province.
Revolutionary career
Legacy
The first Main Force unit in
Quảng Trị province of
Vietnam Liberation Army was named after Nguyễn Thiện Thuật in
August Revolution
The August Revolution ( vi, Cách-mạng tháng Tám), also known as the August General Uprising (), was a revolution launched by the Việt Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam) against the Empire of Vietnam and the Empire of Japan in ...
.
A commune of
Kiến Xương district,
Thái Bình province
Cài () is a Chinese-language surname that derives from the name of the ancient Cai state. In 2019 it was the 38th most common surname in China, but the 9th most common in Taiwan (as of 2018), where it is usually romanized as "Tsai" (based on ...
was named after Tán Thuật from 1947 to 2002.
Notes
References
1841 births
1926 deaths
People from Hưng Yên Province
Vietnamese revolutionaries
Vietnamese nationalists
Tonkin campaign
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