1. Court official

2. Revolutionary career
     Cần Vương   After Cần Vương  Downfall 

3. Legacy

4. Notes

5. References

Phan Đình Phùng ({{IPA-vi|faːn ɗîŋ̟ fûŋm|lang}}; 1847{{spaced ndash}}January 21, 1896) was a Vietnamese revolutionary who led rebel armies against French colonial forces in Vietnam. He was the most prominent of the Confucian court scholars involved in anti-French military campaigns in the 19th century and was cited after his death by 20th-century nationalists as a national hero. He was renowned for his uncompromising will and principles—on one occasion,^[1] he refused to surrender even after the French had desecrated his ancestral tombs and had arrested and threatened to kill his family.

Born into a family of mandarins from Hà Tĩnh Province, Phan continued his ancestors' traditions by placing first in the metropolitan imperial examinations in 1877. Phan quickly rose through the ranks under Emperor Tự Đức of the Nguyễn Dynasty, gaining a reputation for his integrity and uncompromising stance against corruption. Phan was appointed as the Imperial Censor, a position that allowed him to criticise his fellow mandarins and even the emperor. As the head of the censorate, Phan's investigations led to the removal of many incompetent or corrupt mandarins.

Upon Tự Đức's death, Phan almost lost his life during a power struggle in the imperial court. The regent Tôn Thất Thuyết disregarded Tự Đức's will of succession, and three emperors were deposed and killed in just over a year. Phan protested against Thuyet's activities, was stripped of his honours and briefly jailed, before being exiled to his home province. At the time, France had just conquered Vietnam and made it a part of French Indochina. Along with Thuyet, Phan organised rebel armies as part of the Cần Vương movement, which sought to expel the French and install the boy Emperor Hàm Nghi at the head of an independent Vietnam. This campaign continued for three years until 1888, when the French captured Hàm Nghi and exiled him to Algeria.

Phan and his military assistant Cao Thắng continued their guerrilla campaign, building a network of spies, bases and small weapons factories. However, Cao Thắng was killed in the process in late 1893. The decade-long campaign eventually wore Phan down, and he died from dysentery as the French surrounded his forces.

Court official

Phan was born in the village of Đông Thái in the northern central coast province of Hà Tĩnh. Đông Thái was famous for producing high-ranking mandarins and had been the home of senior imperial officials since the time of the Lê Dynasty. Twelve consecutive generations of the Phan family had been successful mandarinate graduates.^[2] All three of Phan's brothers who lived to adulthood passed the imperial examinations and became mandarins.^[2][2] Early on, Phan indicated his distaste for the classical curriculum required of an aspiring mandarin. He nevertheless persevered with his studies, passing the regional exams in 1876 and then topping the metropolitan exams the following year.^[3] In his exam response, Phan cited Japan as an example of how an Asian country could make rapid military progress given sufficient willpower.^[4]

Phan was never known for his scholarly abilities; it was his reputation for principled integrity that led to his quick rise through the ranks under the reign of Emperor Tự Đức.^[3] He was first appointed as a district mandarin in Ninh Bình Province, where he punished a Vietnamese Roman Catholic priest, who, with the tacit support of French missionaries, had harassed local non-Catholics. Amid the diplomatic controversy that followed, he avoided blaming the unpopular alliance between Vietnamese Catholics and the French on Catholicism itself, stating that the partnership had arisen out of the military and political vulnerabilities of Vietnam's imperial government.^[3] Despite this, the Huế court eventually removed Phan from this post.^[9]

Phan was transferred to the Huế court as a member of the censorate, a watchdog body that monitored the work of the mandarinate. He earned the ire of many of his colleagues, but the trust of the emperor, by revealing that the vast majority of the court mandarins were making a mockery of a royal edict to engage in regular rifle practice.^[9] Tự Đức later dispatched Phan on an inspection trip to northern Vietnam. His report led to the ousting of many officials who were deemed corrupt or incompetent, including the viceroy of the northern region.^[5] He rose to become the Ngu Su, or Imperial Censor, a position which allowed him to criticise other high officials and even the emperor for misconduct.^[12] Phan openly criticised Tôn Thất Thuyết, the foremost mandarin of the court, believing him to be rash and dishonest.^[6] Aside from his work in rooting out corruption, Phan also compiled a historical geography of Vietnam, which was published in 1883.^[7]

Despite his prominent position in the Nguyễn Dynasty, little is known about Phan's personal stance on Vietnamese relations with France, which was in the process of colonising Vietnam.^[5] France had first invaded in 1858,^[8] beginning the colonisation of southern Vietnam.^[9] Three provinces were ceded under the 1862 Treaty of Saigon,^[10][11] and a further three in 1867 to form the colony of Cochinchina.^[12][13] During the period, there was debate in the Huế court on the best strategy to regain the territory. One group advocated military means, while another believed in the use of diplomacy in addition to financial and religious concessions.^[14] By the time of Tự Đức's death in 1883, the whole of Vietnam was colonised, henceforth incorporated with Laos and Cambodia into French Indochina.^[15][16]

Upon his death in 1883, the childless Tự Đức had named his nephew, Kiến Phúc, as his successor,^[5] rather than Dục Đức, his most senior heir. Tự Đức had written in his will that Dục Đức was depraved and unworthy of ruling the country.^[17] However, led by Thuyet, the regents enthroned Dục Đức under the pressure of the ladies of the court.^[5][17] Phan protested against the violation of Tự Đức's will of succession and refused to sanction anyone other than Kien Phuc. Lucky to escape the death penalty, Phan was stripped of his positions.^[5] Later, Dục Đức was deposed and executed by Thuyet on the grounds of ignoring court etiquette, ignoring the mourning rites for Tự Đức and having affairs with the late emperor's consorts.^[17] Phan again protested the regents' actions and was briefly imprisoned by Thuyet, before being exiled to his home province.^[5]

Revolutionary career

Cần Vương