China, Japan, Korea (Korean Peninsula), Vietnam and Ryukyu are the five countries in the Han Cultural Circle . Among them, China belongs to the core of the Han Cultural Circle, and the ancient Chinese emperors were called "emperors"; Japan did not have a stable tributary relationship with China in ancient times. Also called "Emperor" or "Emperor"; while Korea, Vietnam and Ryukyu are vassals of China, their heads can only be called "King" but not "Emperor".
However, Vietnam is more thoughtful. Vietnam has adopted the method of "king outside and emperor within", that is, it calls itself emperor at home, but only king when dealing with China. This method was also used in Nanyue, Xixia, and Dali. Among the five countries in the Han cultural circle, apart from Japan, Vietnam’s royal family was actually the last to be abolished.
Some people may be wondering: After the Sino-French War in 1885, didn’t Vietnam completely become a French colony? This is true, but the French retained the Vietnamese royal family. At that time, the Vietnamese emperor was still theoretically the head of state in central and northern Vietnam (the south was directly ceded to France), but the real power was completely controlled by the French colonial agencies. The officials of the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty were actually civil servants of the French colonial government. The reason why the French did this was to reduce resistance to rule. After all, Vietnam is also a country with a history of thousands of years, and there is still national consciousness, which is different from tribes in Africa and other places.
As a result, Vietnam's emperor system continued like this for more than 70 years, and it existed until World War II (after all, Vichy France was Japan's ally), until March 11, 1945, when the Japanese instigated Emperor Bao Dai Nguyen Phuc Ho It gained "independence" from France (France had been liberated by the Allies at that time) and changed its name to the Empire of Vietnam.
The national emblem of the Vietnam Empire
However, Japan was also finished soon, and the "Vietnam Empire" was naturally invalidated. On August 30, 1945, under the impact of the revolutionary wave, Emperor Bao Dai abdicated and handed over the national seal and sword, which symbolized power, to representatives of the Viet Minh.
We also know the following history. Vietnam fell into chaos, the French and Americans came one after another, and the civil war between North and South Vietnam lasted for 30 years.
You may have questions: Where is the Vietnamese Emperor at this time?
In 1945, Emperor Bao Dai of Vietnam was only 32 years old.
His political career was certainly not over. On September 2, 1945, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was established, and Bao Dai became the "first citizen" of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. However, the imperialist government certainly could not tolerate this situation. The British army assisted the French in returning to southern Vietnam, and the Chinese army (National Army) also entered northern Vietnam. The Vietnamese side was forced to make concessions. On November 10, Bao Dai was announced as the "Supreme Advisor" of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. On January 6, 1946, a national congressional election was held to establish a provisional coalition government. Bao Dai was elected as a representative of the Vietnamese Congress.
In 1922, a photo of Emperor Bao Dai with his father when he was a child in France.
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam naturally treated Emperor Bao Dai so favorably because of its important "united front value". Emperor Bao Dai was also a shrewd man. He knew that Vietnam was now a place of right and wrong. , you can’t stay long, you have to run away quickly. On March 16, 1946, Bao Dai visited Chongqing, China with the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he fled to China and eventually Hong Kong.
However, Emperor Bao Dai’s dream of protecting his own life did not last long. In addition to the Viet Cong wanting to use him, the imperialists also knew his value. Both the French and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ( North Vietnam ) who occupied southern Vietnam began to win over Emperor Bao Dai. At first, Baoda did not want to offend either side or get involved, but in the autumn of 1947, Baoda decided to side with France.
On December 7, 1947, Bao Dai and French representative Émile Bollaert reached the "Halong Bay Agreement". France recognized Vietnam's "independent" status as a member of the French Confederation, while Vietnam had the freedom to practice its unification.
In 1950, Emperor Bao Dai inspected Lang Son.
Obviously this was a failure. Regardless of whether they were pro-communist or anti-communist in Vietnam, anyone with some national sentiments regarded this matter as treason. Emperor Bao Dai’s move was considered a mistake - he I still want to use the power of the French to regain some of the power.
Baoda was willing to be a puppet of France. On March 8, 1949, Baoda signed an agreement with French President Vincent Auriol. Baoda established an autonomous government within the French Federation, and France would no longer hinder Nanqi (the French directly viewed The southern part of Vietnam (which was a territory rather than a colony) was annexed to Vietnam. On June 14, Emperor Bao Dai became the head of state of the Provisional Government of Vietnam and hoped to obtain the title of "Emperor". On June 20, Emperor Bao Dai concurrently assumed the post of prime minister. On July 1, the provisional government of Vietnam was formally established, and Emperor Bao Dai was awarded the title of "Chief of State".
The next step was the division of North and South Vietnam and the Franco-Vietnamese War. It was not until the Battle of Dien Bien Phu that North Vietnam defeated the main force of the French army, and the 1954 Geneva Agreement officially determined the boundaries between North and South Vietnam. However, Emperor Bao Dai apparently brought it upon himself. Bao Dai originally remained the South Vietnamese governor and appointed the nationalist Ngo Dinh Diem as prime minister. But even within South Vietnam, nationalists were very dissatisfied with it. On October 26, 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem organized a referendum. As a result, 98% of the people supported the abolition of Bao Dai's throne, and Emperor Bao Dai was deposed.
At this time, Emperor Baoda was considered politically out of the game, so he fled to France to spend the rest of his life.
Bao Dai was now disillusioned. After that, he almost ignored political affairs, but there were a few exceptions. For example, in 1972, he publicly called on North and South Vietnam not to "brotherly fight each other." Baoda passed away on July 30, 1997 and was buried in Passi Cemetery. There is no temple name, posthumous name or mausoleum name.
The Mausoleum of Emperor Bao Dai
Although Emperor Bao Dai had little actual influence, it had great symbolic significance and was an important figure in the modern history of Vietnam. Emperor Bao Dai had national sentiments. In 1945, he rejected the Japanese army's proposal to suppress the Viet Minh, saying, "I don't want foreign troops to kill my people." When he abdicated in 1945, he also expressed his willingness to serve as an independent nation for the people. , not to be a slave emperor; when he refused the French to ask him to go to South Vietnam to preside over the situation in early 1947, he also said: "The so-called plan to protect the country is just a French plan." During the Vietnam War, he publicly stated his opposition to the deployment of U.S. troops to South Vietnam's territory, and also criticized South Vietnam. The regime of President Nguyen Van Thieu .
However, Baoda still had his own political ambitions, and he made the mistake of choosing to cooperate with France, which greatly damaged his reputation. He himself knew that this mistake could not be undone, so he continued to reject North Vietnam's invitation to join the coalition government.
But the Vietnamese royal family actually still exists, and the Vietnamese royal family is very prosperous. There are even strange groups such as the "Vietnam Constitutional Monarchy Alliance" overseas that strive to restore the constitutional monarchy. Interestingly, Nguyen Phuc Bao Long, the former crown prince of Emperor Bao Dai, has always drawn a clear line from such organizations, and works peacefully in France as an ordinary person.
These organizations have almost no influence in Vietnam or internationally, but sometimes some special news can cause some fluctuations. For example, in 2012, the heir to the head of the Nguyen family, the third brother Nguyen Phu Bao Long (Nguyen Phu Bao Long had no children, his second brother inherited the position of patriarch, died after 2017, and was succeeded by the third brother, who was still the heir in 2012) suddenly Got a pair of twin grandchildren.
Vietnam’s imperial era has long passed.
This is interesting because in Vietnamese folklore, it is of great significance for the emperor to have twins (the twins born by the emperor, Danan Tianming). The Vietnamese government became anxious and said that these two were test-tube babies (actually, they said that these two violated the laws of nature and cannot be regarded as the fulfillment of the legend).
Author: Yunfan
