Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh ( vi-hantu, 阮有整, 1741–1788) was an official during the

Revival Lê dynasty The Revival Lê dynasty ( 茹黎中興; Hán-Việt: 黎中興朝 ''Lê trung hưng triều''), also called the Later Lê Restoration in historiography, officially Đại Việt (Chữ Hán: 大越), was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed between ...

in Vietnam. Chỉnh was a disciple of

Hoàng Ngũ Phúc Hoàng Ngũ Phúc ( vi-hantu, 黃五福, 1713–1776) was a general and eunuch during the Revival Lê dynasty in Vietnam. Phúc took part in putting down rebellions of Nguyễn Hữu Cầu, Hoàng Công Chất, Nguyễn Danh Phương, and L ...

. He had been sent to Tây Sơn as a diplomat.

Nguyễn Nhạc Nguyễn Nhạc ( vi-hantu, 阮岳, born 1743, 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 ...

admired him for his eloquence. Later, Chỉnh became

Hoàng Đình Bảo Huang (; zh, t=Wiktionary:黃, 黃, s=wikt:黄, 黄, c=, p=, first=t) is a Chinese surname. While ''Huáng'' is the pinyin romanization of the word, it may also be romanized as Hwang (Korean surname), Hwang, Wong (surname), Wong, Waan, Wan, Waon ...

's right hand. In 1782, Bảo was killed by

Trịnh Khải Đoan Nam Vương Trịnh Khải (chữ Hán: 鄭楷, 10 October 1763 – 23 July 1786) was one of the Trịnh lords in northern Vietnam. He fought against the armies of the infant Trịnh Cán to win leadership of the northern warlords (reigning ...

, and Chỉnh fled to Tây Sơn. In 1786, he encouraged

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), or Hồ Thơm (chữ Hán: 胡𦹳) was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dy ...

to march north. Trịnh lord was overthrown by Huệ.

Lê Hiển Tông Lê Hiển Tông (; 20 May 171710 August 1786), born Lê Duy Diêu, was the penultimate emperor of the Vietnamese Lê dynasty. He reigned from 1740 to 1786 and was succeeded by his grandson Lê Duy Kỳ.Nguyên Thi Minh Hà, Nguyên Thi Thanh B ...

, the emperor of Lê dynasty, met Huệ in the palace. Chỉnh suggested that Huệ should recognise the dominance of Lê dynasty in northern Vietnam (

Đàng Ngoài Đàng Ngoài ( vi-hantu, 唐外, lit. "Outer Land"), also known as Tonkin, Bắc Hà (北河, "North of the River") or '' Kingdom of Annam'' (安南國) by foreigners, was an area in northern Đại Việt (now Vietnam) during the 17th and 18t ...

), and marry with Princess

Lê Ngọc Hân Princess Lê Thị Ngọc Hân (chữ Hán: 黎玉昕, 1770 – 1799) also known as Ngọc Hân or Bắc Cung Hoàng Hậu (Empress of the Northern Palace), was a famous historical figure in 18th-century Vietnam. She was a princess of the Later L ...

. Huệ accepted, and Tây Sơn retreated from northern Vietnam, but Huệ regarded Chỉnh as a traitor to

Trịnh lord Trịnh is a Vietnamese family name. It exists in equivalent forms in other languages of the Sinosphere such as ( 鄭, Zheng, Cheng) in Chinese and Korean (Jeong, Chung). Families that bear the surname Trịnh are exclusively Vietnamese. The surn ...

, and left him in northern Vietnam.''

Việt Nam sử lược ( vi-hantu, 越南史略, , lit. "Outline History of Vietnam"), was the first history text published in the Vietnamese language and the Vietnamese alphabet. It was compiled by Vietnamese historian Trần Trọng Kim. It covered the period from ...

'', Quyển 2, Chương 9 Chỉnh thus had to stay in his birthland, Nghệ An Province.'' Đại Nam chính biên liệt truyện'', vol. 30''

Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư The ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' ( vi-hantu, 大越史記全書; ; ''Complete Annals of Đại Việt'') is the official national chronicle of the Đại Việt, that was originally compiled by the royal historian Ngô Sĩ Liên under ...

'' Basic Records, continued compilation 5 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 Trịnh is a Vietnamese family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly here ...

and

Trịnh Lệ Trịnh is a Vietnamese family name. It exists in equivalent forms in other languages of the Sinosphere such as ( 鄭, Zheng, Cheng) in Chinese and Korean (Jeong, Chung). Families that bear the surname Trịnh are exclusively Vietnamese. The surna ...

(鄭棣), appeared and made their claims to the lord throne. Northern Vietnam fell into chaos.

Lê Chiêu Thống Lê Chiêu Thống (1765–1793), born Lê Duy Khiêm and later Lê Duy Kỳ, was the last emperor of the Vietnamese Later Lê dynasty. He was overthrown by the Tây Sơn dynasty. He appealed to the Qing dynasty of China to help regain the th ...

, the successor of Lê Hiển Tông, asked for assistance from Chỉnh. Chỉnh led an army marching north, and easily defeated the Trinh army, forcing Trịnh Bồng to flee and capturing

Thăng Long Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the capital and second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red and Black Rivers). As a municipality, Hanoi consists of 12 urban districts, 17 rural d ...

(modern

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

). Chỉnh was elevated to '' Đại Tư Đồ'' (大司徒 ''Minister over the Masses'') and granted the title Bằng Trung công (鵬忠公 ''Duke of Bằng Trung''), and became the ''de facto'' ruler of northern Vietnam just like

Trịnh lords Trịnh is a Vietnamese family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full na ...

before.''

'', Quyển 2, Chương 10 After learning about actions of 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. Chỉnh was swiftly defeated and fled together with Lê Chiêu Thống. He was captured by Nhậm, and executed in Thăng Long.

References

1741 births 1788 deaths Mandarins of the Trịnh lords Generals of the Trịnh lords Lê dynasty generals Lê dynasty officials People of Revival Lê dynasty Tây Sơn dynasty generals Tây Sơn dynasty officials People from Nghệ An province People executed by Vietnam Executed Vietnamese people {{Vietnam-stub