Nguyen Van Tuong

Nguyễn Văn Tường
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	Nguyễn Văn Tường
Hán-Nôm

Nguyễn Văn Tường (1824–1886) was a mandarin of the Nguyễn Dynasty in Vietnam. He is known for installing and dethroning three emperors in 1883–84: Dục Đức, Hiệp Hoà, and Kiến Phúc.

Tường was born in Quảng Trị, in central Vietnam, to a peasant family. His father had been involved in a revolt against the Nguyễn Dynasty rule, so he was barred from competing in the national examinations that were used to select mandarins and court officials. On 29 October 1848, Emperor Tự Đức ascended the throne. The imperial records do not record how Tường initially came into contact with Tự Đức, but they do show that under the emperor's protection, Tường was able to pass the national examinations with the highest honours. In 1852, Tường was assigned to serve in the ministry of justice. In accordance with Confucian tradition, following the death of his father in 1862, Tường had to retire for a five-year mourning period before resuming his administrative career.

Since 1858, France had been steadily making inroads into Vietnamese sovereignty. In 1873, Tự Đức gave Tường the responsibility of negotiating with the French. Despite his record of reaching agreements, the French regarded him as a cheat. After signing the Philastre treaty and recovering possession of Hanoi following the attack by Francis Garnier, Tường was promoted to be of Minister of Domestic and Foreign Affairs. In 1881, he became head of the cabinet.

When Tự Đức died, Tường was made regent together with Tran Van Thanh and Tôn Thất Thuyết. Thuyết and Tường dominated the court and had much more power than Thanh. The regents were not the only ones with power behind the throne. Dowager Empress Từ Dũ, the mother of Tự Đức, along with the two imperial consorts Trang Y and Học Phi formed what were known as the "Tam Cung" (or "three harems"), a triumvirate which dabbled in palace intrigue. To complicate things further, Tường was having an affair with Học Phi.

...
Wikipedia