Nguyễn Nhạc ( vi-hantu, 阮岳, died 1793) was the founder 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 ...

, 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 brother proclaimed himself Emperor Quang Trung, Nguyễn Nhạc resigned his Emperor title and declared himself as King of Tây Sơn. Nguyễn Nhạc and his brothers, namely

Nguyễn Lữ Nguyễn Lữ ( vi-hantu, 阮侶; died 1787), also known by the title of Đông Định vương (東定王, "king of Eastern Conquering") in Siamese records; ''Ong Tinh Wuang'' derived from the Vietnamese word '' Ông Định vương'' ("Sir ''Đ� ...

and

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 ...

, known as the Tây Sơn Brothers, ended the centuries-long civil war between the two feudal families, 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 Vie ...

in northern Vietnam and the

Nguyễn Lords 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 ...

in southern Vietnam, seizing reigning power from these groups and 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 ...

Early life

Born in Tây Sơn District, Quy Nhơn Province (modern Bình Định Province). Vietnamese historian

Trần Trọng Kim Trần Trọng Kim (Chữ Nôm: ; 1883 – December 2, 1953), courtesy name Lệ Thần, was a Vietnamese scholar and politician who served as the Prime Minister of the short-lived Empire of Vietnam, a state established with the support of Imper ...

described him as a courageous and clever man. He had two younger brothers:

and

. Their talents are highly appreciated by their martial arts master,

Trương Văn Hiến Trương Văn Hiến (張文獻, ?–?), also called Giáo Hiến (教獻, lit. "Teacher Hiến"), was a scholar of Revival Lê dynasty, Vietnam. Born in Nghệ An, he was a retainer of Trương Văn Hạnh. Hạnh was a teacher of Nguyễn Ph ...

. Tây Sơn brothers lived by trading

betel The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plan ...

. Legend stated that Nhạc got a magical sword from barbarians, so he was respected by many people. Later, Nhạc became a tax-collector of

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 ...

. He robbed off all tax he had collected, and distributed to poor farmers. He had to flee with his brothers, and became an outlaw. Hiến encouraged Nhạc to revolt against Nguyễn lords: "The prophecy says: 'Revolt in the West, success in the North'. You are born in Tây Sơn District, you must do your best." Nhạc agreed with him.

Revolted against Nguyễn lords

At that time, the lord of

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

Nguyễn Phúc Thuần Định Vương Nguyễn Phúc Thuần (1754–1777) was one of the Nguyễn lords who ruled over the southern portion of Vietnam from the 16th–18th centuries. The collapse of the house of Nguyễn lords intensified during Thuần's reign, many ...

was young, the regent was a corrupted official, Trương Phúc Loan. Loan was so unpopular that people compared him with

Qin Hui Qin Hui or Qin Kuai (January 17, 1090 – November 18, 1155) was a Chinese politician. He was a Chancellor of the Song dynasty in Chinese history. He was a contemporary of Yue Fei during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Song. Modern historia ...

. There were rumors that Loan changed the former lord's will and throned the young prince Thuần. In 1771, Nguyễn Nhạc, Nguyễn Lữ and Nguyễn Huệ rebelled against Nguyễn lord. They took Tây Sơn District as base camp, aimed to overthrow Loan and enthrone

Nguyễn Phúc Dương Nguyễn Phúc Dương (died 18 September 1777) was one of the Nguyễn lords who ruled over the southern portion of Vietnam from the 16th-18th centuries. Duong was the first son Nguyễn Phúc Hiệu, who is the son of lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát. ...

, the eldest grandson of the former Nguyễn lord. The rebels became famous for their policy: "fair, no corruption, only looting the rich, and help the poor." Soon they were widely supported by poor people. Ethnic minorities in Cochinchina, including Montagnards,

Chams The Cham ( Cham: ''Čaṃ'') or Champa people ( Cham: , ''Urang Campa''; vi, Người Chăm or ; km, ជនជាតិចាម, ) are an Austronesian ethnic group. From the 2nd century to 1832 the Cham populated Champa, a contiguous territo ...

and Sino-Vietnamese, also took part in the rebellion. The rebels grew rapidly and government troops were unable to put down. One day, Nhạc sat in a prison van, ordered his men to take him to

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. H ...

. The governor, Nguyễn Khắc Tuyên (阮克宣), was very happy, and threw him into prison. At night, Nhạc escaped from prison and opened the city gate. Quy Nhơn was taken by Tây Sơn army, and used as the new base camp. Then Tây Sơn army marched to Quảng Nam,''

Việt Nam sử lược ( vi-hantu, 越南史略, french: Précis d'Histoire du Việt-Nam, lit. "Outline History of Vietnam"), was the first history text published in the Vietnamese and the Vietnamese alphabet. It was compiled by Vietnamese historian Trần Trọng K ...

'', Quyển 2, Tự chủ thời đại, Chương 8 Nguyễn army was defeated by the rebels. Nguyễn lord sent his main forces to Quảng Nam, but failed to drive the rebels out of this province.'' Đại Nam chính biên liệt truyện'', vol. 30

Conflict with Trịnh lords

Hearing that Cochinchina fell into chaos,

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 ...

, the lord of

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, inclu ...

, sent

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 ...

to launch attack on Nguyễn lord using the excuse that they would help Nguyễn lord to arrest the treacherous minister Trương Phúc Loan. Trịnh marched south with little resistance and soon took possession of Nguyễn's capital,

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 ...

.''

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 Vietnamese state, that was originally compiled by the royal historian Ngô Sĩ Liên unde ...

'', Basic Records, continued compilation 5 Nguyễn Phúc Thuần fled to Quảng Nam, in there he designated

as crown prince. Several months later, Tây Sơn army took Quảng Nam, Thuần had to flee to Gia Định. Not long after, from

Quảng Ngãi Quảng Ngãi () is a city in central Vietnam. It serves as the capital city of Quảng Ngãi Province. Quảng Ngãi City borders Tư Nghĩa District to the south and west, Sơn Tịnh District to the northwest and Bình Sơn District to the n ...

to Bình Thuận was occupied by Tây Sơn rebels. Trịnh army marched to Quảng Nam, and came into conflict with Tây Sơn army. They met in the battlefield in Cẩm Sa (a place in modern Hòa Vang). Nhạc ordered Tập Đình to take the lead and Lý Tài in the middle, Nhạc himself to bring up the rear. Tập Đình was raided by Trịnh cavalry and ultimately led to Tây Sơn's defeat. Nguyễn Nhạc and Lý Tài retreated to Bến Bản. Nhạc prepared for the reception of the crown prince Dương, and went to Quy Nhơn together with him. In the same time, a Nguyễn army under Tống Phước Hiệp (宋福洽) resumed Bình Thuận,

Diên Khánh Diên Khánh is a township () and capital of Diên Khánh District, Khánh Hòa Province KH may refer to: Places * Cambodia (Kampuchea, Kambuja, ''Srok Khmer''), a sovereign state with ISO 3166-2 alpha code KH ** .kh, the Internet country code t ...

and Bình Khang (modern Ninh Hòa), then recaptured Phú Yên. Tây Sơn army fell in a

two-front war According to military terminology, a two-front war occurs when opposing forces encounter on two geographically separate fronts. The forces of two or more allied parties usually simultaneously engage an opponent in order to increase their chances ...

with both Nguyễn lord and Trịnh lord. Nhạc sent an envoy to Trịnh army to sue for peace. Nhạc swore allegiance to Trịnh lord, in return, he received the position ''Tiên-phong-tướng-quân'' and ''Tây-sơn Hiệu-trưởng'' from Trịnh lord. After concluding a peace deal with Trịnh lord, Nhạc married a daughter to Nguyễn Phúc Dương, and urged him to ascend the lord throne, but Dương refused. Nhạc sent a letter to Tống Phước Hiệp. In the letter, Nhạc said he decided to swear allegiance to the crown prince Dương, and prepared to resume the capital Phú Xuân. Nhạc then ordered

to launch a raid on Nguyễn army. Hợp was defeated and fled to Vân Phong. Trịnh army marched to Quảng Ngãi, but most of soldiers died from disease, Hoàng Ngũ Phúc had to retreat. Phúc died of illness on his way back to Phú Xuân; his assistant, Bùi Thế Đạt, was appointed as the successor. Quảng Nam was reoccupied by Tây Sơn army; now, Nhạc could concentrate on fighting against Nguyễn lord. He sent

to the south.

was defeated and fled to

Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam and part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area and located about east of Ho Chi Minh City, to which Biên Hòa is linked by Vietnam Hig ...

Establishment of Tây Sơn dynasty

In 1776, Nhạc titled himself ''Tây Sơn vương'' (西山王 "king of Tây Sơn"). He used Citadel Đồ Bàn ( Vijaya) as the capital, and appointed many officials. Nguyễn Phúc Dương was imprisoned in a Buddhist temple; later, he fled to

Gia Định ''Gia'' is a 1998 American Biographical film, biographical Drama (film and television), drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelm ...

, there he was supported by Lý Tài and ascended the lord throne. In the next year, Nguyễn Nhạc was recognized as the new ruler of Cochinchina by Trịnh Sâm. He received the noble rank ''Cung-quận-công'' (恭郡公 "provincial duke Cung") from Trịnh lord. Tây Sơn army marched further south, finally, both Nguyễn Phúc Thuần and Nguyễn Phúc Dương were captured and executed by Nguyễn Huệ. In 1778, Nhạc crowned the emperor, and changed

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 "Thái Đức" (泰德), marking the establishment of

. A nephew of Thuần,

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 unifie ...

, managed to escape to

Hà Tiên Hà Tiên is a Provincial city in Kiên Giang Province, Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Its area is and the population as of 2019 is 81,576. The city borders Cambodia to the west. Hà Tiên is a tourist site of the region thanks to its beaches and la ...

then to Poulo Panjang. In late 1777, the main part of the Tây Sơn army left Saigon and marched north. Nguyễn Ánh landed in

Long Xuyên Long Xuyên () is the capital city of An Giang province, in the Mekong Delta region of south-western Vietnam. History In 1789, a group of explorers established a small outpost in the Tam Khe canal, naming it Dong Xuyen. Sooner after a marketp ...

. There, he was supported by many Nguyễn generals, and raised the flag of restoration.

Đỗ Thanh Nhơn Đỗ Thanh Nhơn (died 1781) was an 18th-century Vietnamese military commander. Early life Details of Đỗ Thanh Nhơn's early life are unknown except that he was a low-ranking naval officer of lord Nguyễn Phúc Thuần. The Dong Son army ...

, the leader of Đông Sơn army, also swore allegiance to Ánh. Nguyễn army became much more stronger, and captured many places. Ánh also made an alliance

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. However, the assassination of Đỗ Thanh Nhơn by Nguyễn Ánh causing the revolt of Đông Sơn army, thus badly weakening the Nguyễn army. Taking this opportunity, Nguyễn Nhạc and Nguyễn Huệ invaded Gia Định and finally recaptured it in 1782. Nhạc returned to Quy Nhơn. In the next year,

Châu Văn Tiếp Châu Văn Tiếp ( 朱文接, 1738–1784), born Châu Doãn Ngạnh ( 朱尹梗), was an 18th-century Vietnamese military commander, best known for his role as a general of Nguyễn Ánh. Early life Born in 1738, Châu Văn Tiếp was a ...

, a supporter of Nguyễn lord, defeated the Tây Sơn garrison in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, and invited Nguyễn Ánh to return. Nguyễn Lữ and Nguyễn Huệ were sent to Gia Định, and forced Ánh to flee to

Phú Quốc Phú Quốc () is the largest island in Vietnam. Phú Quốc and nearby islands, along with the distant Thổ Chu Islands, are part of Kiên Giang Province as Phú Quốc City, the island has a total area of and a permanent population of appro ...

. In 1785, Huệ defeated Nguyễn Ánh and Siamese navy. Ánh had to flee to Siam.

Nguyễn Huệ's overthrow of Trịnh lords

The ruler of

, Trịnh Sâm, died in 1782. His favorite son Trịnh Cán ascended the lord throne, but soon was deposed in a military coup. The mutinying soldiers installed Trịnh Khải as the new lord. Tonkin fell into chaos. In 1786, an army under

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 m ...

and Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh marched north to attack

. After the capture of Phú Xuân, Chỉnh encouraged Huệ to overthrow Trịnh lord. Huệ took his advice, marched further north without Nguyễn Nhạc's order, and finally captured

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 ...

.''

'', Quyển 2, Tự chủ thời đại, Chương 9 Nhạc did not want to take Tonkin; he sent an envoy to Phú Xuân to prevent Huệ from marching north, but Huệ had left. Then he got the message that Huệ had captured Thăng Long, and realized that Huệ was hard to be controlled. Nhạc led 2500 men and marched north to meet with Huệ and the Lê emperor. In Thăng Long, Nhạc promised that he would not take any territory of Tonkin. Then he retreated from Tonkin together with Huệ. Nguyễn Nhạc proclaimed himself as ''Trung ương Hoàng đế'' (中央皇帝 "the Central Emperor"). Nguyễn Lữ was given the title ''Đông Định vương'' (東定王 "King of Eastern Conquering"), Gia Định was his fief; Nguyễn Huệ received the title ''Bắc Bình Vương'' (北平王 "King of Northern Conquering") and lived in Phú Xuân, the area north to Hải Vân was his fief.''

'', Quyển 2, Tự chủ thời đại, Chương 10

Civil war between two brothers

Not long after, Nguyễn Nhạc came into conflict with Nguyễn Huệ. A civil war broke out, Huệ besieged Quy Nhơn for several months. The main forces of Gia Định was called back to support Nhạc, but was defeated in Phú Yên, its commander

Đặng Văn Chân Đặng Văn Chân (鄧文真, ?–?), or Đặng Văn Trấn (鄧文鎮), was an admiral of the Tây Sơn dynasty, Vietnam. Chân was an admiral, his position was ''Đô úy thủy quân'' ("Navy Commandant"). He attacked Gia Định (mord ...

surrendered to Huệ. Nhạc climbed onto the city wall, and shouted to Huệ: "How can you use the pot of skin to cook meat like that?". It is an old custom, if hunters seized a prey in the jungle without a pot, they would flay it and use its skin to cook meat. Using this metaphor, Nhạc indicated that brothers should not fight with each other. Huệ was moved to tears, and decided to retreat, and reached a peace agreement Nhạc. They chose Bến Bản as a boundary; the area north to

was Huệ's area; the area south to Thăng Bình and Điện Bàn belonged to Nhạc. From then on, they ceased fire with each other.

Final years

Later, Nguyễn Huệ marched north and put down the rebellion in Tonkin. Huệ proclaimed himself as Emperor Quang Trung in 1788, and defeated

Qing 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 ...

army in

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 i ...

. Meanwhile, the civil war of Tây Sơn brothers had provided Nguyễn Ánh with the chance to go back to Cochinchina again. Nhạc's territory was eroded by Nguyễn lord. During his final years, he only controlled three provinces: Quy Nhơn (modern Bình Định),

and Phú Yên. He was described as "an old man who is resigned to the present state of affairs" by Nguyễn Huệ. Huệ was also worried about the future of Tây Sơn dynasty. Nguyễn Huệ suddenly died in 1792. Nhạc prepared to attend Huệ's funeral, however, the road to Phú Xuân was blocked by the successor

Nguyễn Quang Toản Emperor Cảnh Thịnh ( vi-hantu, ), born Nguyễn Quang Toản ( vi-hantu, ; 1783–1802), was the third and last emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty. He followed his father Quang Trung (Nguyễn Huệ ruled 1788–1792) at the age of 9, and reig ...

, he had to return, and sent a sister to attend the funeral. In the next year, Quy Nhơn was attacked by Nguyễn lord. When Nguyễn navy reached Thị Nại Port, Nhạc ordered his crown prince Nguyễn Văn Bảo to fight against them. Tây Sơn navy suffered from a double-pronged attack, Bảo was defeated by

Tôn Thất Hội Tôn (孙) (Anglicised as Ton) is a Vietnamese surname. It is transliterated as Sun in Chinese and Son in Korean. Notable people *Tôn Đức Thắng (1888–1980), first President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam *Tôn Hiếu Anh (), Vietnam ...

(尊室會), Võ Tính,

Nguyễn Huỳnh Đức Nguyễn Huỳnh Đức ( 阮黃德; 1748–1819) was a general and official of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam. He served as a general of Nguyễn Ánh during the Nguyễn Lords' fight against the Tây Sơn rebellion. Nguyễn Ánh prevailed in ...

and Nguyễn Văn Thành, and fled back to Quy Nhơn. Nhạc had to ask for Nguyễn Quang Toản's help. 17,000 men under

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 w ...

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 in ...

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 ...

(阮文訓) and

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 ...

(黎忠) marched south to reinforce Quy Nhơn. A navy led by

was also sent there in the same time. Nguyễn army had to retreat. Hưng marched into the city, claiming that the emperor of Phú Xuân had taken over it. Nhạc was angry, and died soon after suffering from vomiting blood.''

'', Quyển 2, Tự chủ thời đại, Chương 12

The fate of his offspring

Nhạc's eldest son, Nguyễn Văn Bảo, was stripped off the position, and granted the title ''Hiếu công'' (孝公, "Duke of filial piety") by Nguyễn Quang Toản. The territory of Nhạc was annexed by Toản, Bảo only received Phù Ly (modern Phù Mỹ and Phù Cát) as his fief. In 1798, Bảo launched an unsuccessful rebellion against Toản, and was executed. Tây Sơn dynasty was overthrown by Nguyễn Ánh in 1802. Nhạc's three sons, Nguyễn Thanh (阮清), Nguyễn Hân (阮昕) and Nguyễn Dũng (阮勇), were executed together with Nguyễn Quang Toản and other princes of Tây Sơn dynasty. The tombs of Nguyễn Nhạc and Nguyễn Huệ were razed to the ground, their remains were dug out and crushed into ashes. The skulls of Nguyễn Nhạc, Nguyễn Huệ and Huệ's wife, were locked up in prison in perpetuity. It was said that Nguyễn Huệ had desecrated the tombs of Nguyễn lords before, Nguyễn Ánh did that to "revenge for the ancestors" ( 爲九世而復讎).'' Đại Nam thực lục chính biên'', kỷ 1, vol. 19 Two other sons, Nguyễn Văn Đức (阮文德), Nguyễn Văn Lương (阮文良), and grandson Nguyễn Văn Đâu (阮文兜, son of Nguyễn Văn Đức) escaped, they hid in countryside secretly. In 1831, they were found 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, ...

, and executed by

waist chop Waist chop or waist cutting (), also known as cutting in two at the waist, was a form of execution used in ancient China. As its name implies, it involved the condemned being sliced in two at the waist by an executioner. History Waist chopping ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Nhac Year of birth unknown 1793 deaths People from Bình Định province Mandarins of the Nguyễn lords Tây Sơn dynasty emperors 18th-century Vietnamese monarchs Founding monarchs