Hue's secret history

How Thai friendship and hospitality helped create a Vietnamese royal treasure

3/02/2011
Bangkok Post

During Minh Mang's reign, which coincided with that of King Rama III , competition in asserting political influence over Cambodia resulted in a 14-year war between Siam and Vietnam. The expensive conflict ended in peace talks in which both sides agreed that Siam maintained the right to elect Cambodian kings and that Cambodia must send tribute to Vietnam every three years.

Look at the map and you'll see that Bangkok and Hue, the former capital of Vietnam, aren't so far apart. But if you peep into history, you might find that the two cities were once even closer than the map suggests.

In 1785, just three years after King Rama I established Bangkok as the new Thai capital, Nguyen Anh, the dethroned feudal ruler of what is now southern Vietnam was given asylum in the Siamese royal court.

He was fleeing from his political enemies: the Trinh lords of Thang Long (known these days as Hanoi) that controlled the north, and the Tay Son revolution army which was a rising power threatening both Nguyen and the Trinhs.

Like the displaced princes and princesses of Cambodia who also took refuge in Bangkok at the time, Nguyen Anh, known by Thais as "Ong Chiang Sue", and his troops were kindly welcomed by King Rama I.

After spending two years in Siam, Nguyen Anh realised that the Thais were too busy with their wars with Burma to help him regain his power back home. He then saw the opportunity to resume the fight for his goal as the Tay Son army began their expansion to the Trinh-controlled areas in the north, thus leaving behind fewer troops in the south, his former stronghold.

Nguyen Anh returned to Gia Dinh (Saigon, or later Ho Chi Minh City) and sought help from a French missionary Pigneau de Behaine, who managed to gather for him modern firearms and other foreign aid as well as mercenaries and volunteers from France. And thanks to the knowledge in ship-building and naval warfare that these European men brought along, Nguyen Anh's armed forces became more organised and powerful enough to take on with the Tay Son, which by that time had become the dominant power.

To make a long story short, over the next two decades, Nguyen Anh and his troops fought their way to victory and finally in 1802 gained control of the entire of Vietnam.

The triumphant Nguyen Anh proclaimed himself Emperor Gia Long. The new name is said to be a symbol of the country's unification - the ''Gia'' from Gia Dinh (Saigon) in the south and the ''Long'' from Thang Long (Hanoi) in the north.

Unlike the previous Vietnamese imperial dynasties, Gia Long did not use Thang Long as the country's capital. Instead, in 1802 he chose Hue, which is located in the central part, as the political centre of his newly founded Nguyen Dynasty.

Not surprisingly, there was a good relationship between the courts of Vietnam and Siam during the times of Gia Long. However, things turned sour after his son Minh Mang took to the throne.

During Minh Mang's reign, which coincided with that of King Rama III , competition in asserting political influence over Cambodia resulted in a 14-year war between Siam and Vietnam. The expensive conflict ended in peace talks in which both sides agreed that Siam maintained the right to elect Cambodian kings and that Cambodia must send tribute to Vietnam every three years.

Under the Nguyen Dynasty, the city of Hue prospered both economically and culturally. Elaborate monuments popped up within the palace walls and outside along the Song Houng River (better known as Perfume River) which winds through the capital.

However, Vietnam later fell under the influence of France, one of the colonial powers in this part of the world. And as is already well known, the country has suffered many wars in recent times, both a civil war and with foreign forces, namely those of France, Japan and the United States of America.

During the notorious Vietnam War (1955-1975), Hue was the scene of one of the war's fiercest battles. Despite heavy damage, the remaining legacy of Nguyen Anh and the dynasty he established has been enough to earn the city's historical areas a place on Unesco's list of World Heritage sites.

These days, Hue welcomes thousands of tourists from around the world each year. The Thai hospitality, which gave Nguyen Anh a crucial timeout until he saw the chance to fight back and make all this happen, remains invisible to visitors to his imperial palace.

But now you know.