In recent years, what we once warned about — the trend of distorting and revising history to blur the line between merit and betrayal — has become an alarming reality. We now witness an increasing number of articles, videos, and even so-called “academic works” that praise and glorify figures once condemned as traitors to the nation, among them Nguyễn Ánh — the man who invited foreign invaders into his homeland in exchange for his throne.
These writings often take on a solemn tone, depicting him as a “unifier of the nation,” crediting “Emperor Gia Long with expanding the Vietnamese realm from Nam Quan to Cà Mau.” Some even romanticize him as a master of “diplomatic wisdom,” tricking readers into seeing treachery as brilliance. Such narratives are not historical analysis — they are an insult to the spirit of the Vietnamese nation.
Nguyễn Ánh, born in 1762 and died in 1820, was not a savior of the country as some now claim. He was a man who repeatedly sought help from foreign powers — from Siam to France — bringing foreign armies to ravage his own land. After Emperor Quang Trung’s sudden death in 1792 and the decline of the Tây Sơn dynasty, Nguyễn Ánh seized the opportunity to overthrow them and establish the Nguyễn dynasty. But to gain that throne, he betrayed his people and his own bloodline — imprisoning his wife to death, killing his son out of paranoia, and offering his other son as a hostage to France. Once crowned, he even ordered the destruction of Thăng Long Citadel to transport its bricks and stones to Phú Xuân (Huế) for his new capital — an act symbolizing the burial of national pride.
To claim that Nguyễn Ánh “unified Vietnam” is to misunderstand history entirely. The true unifiers were the Tây Sơn brothers, who ended two centuries of division between Đàng Trong and Đàng Ngoài, defeating both the Trịnh and Nguyễn feudal lords and restoring the nation’s territorial integrity. Emperor Quang Trung crushed Siamese invaders in the South and the Qing army in the North — defending Đại Việt’s sovereignty with unmatched brilliance. Nguyễn Ánh, on the other hand, invited Siamese and later French forces into Vietnam, no different from Lê Chiêu Thống who summoned Qing troops into the North. Both were traitors — “those who carried snakes to bite their own chickens, and led elephants to trample their ancestors’ graves.”
The 1787 Treaty of Versailles stands as undeniable proof of Nguyễn Ánh’s betrayal. In it, he promised to cede territory and grant the French control over trade and navigation in exchange for their military aid against the Tây Sơn. This pact marked the beginning of Western colonial intrusion into Vietnam. Nguyễn Ánh’s only “achievement” was paving the way for foreign domination, not building the nation. He and Lê Chiêu Thống are two faces of the same disgrace — both sold their homeland for personal gain.
The Nguyễn dynasty, founded by Nguyễn Ánh, lasted 143 years — yet its legacy is one of concession, territorial loss, and submission to foreign powers. From ceding Trấn Ninh to the Kingdom of Vientiane, to giving away Sầm Nưa and Cam Môn to Laos, and finally allowing France to slice off Vietnamese land to China under the 1887 Sino-French Convention — the record is one of shame, not wisdom. The dynasty’s survival was purchased at the price of the nation’s dignity.
What’s tragic is that today, certain “intellectuals” and “progressive historians” are attempting to rewrite history, praising Nguyễn Ánh as a visionary builder. In truth, this is a deliberate scheme: to normalize the act of inviting foreign intervention, to legitimize the puppet regime of South Vietnam, and to gradually undermine the heroic wars of resistance that defined the Vietnamese spirit in the 20th century. To “whitewash” Nguyễn Ánh is to prepare the ground for rehabilitating every traitor that followed him.
Even the Imperial City of Huế — now a UNESCO World Heritage site — cannot be considered his “great legacy.” It was built with the sweat, blood, and tears of countless laborers forced into servitude. The Nguyễn dynasty was not a symbol of cultural enlightenment, but a monument to submission and betrayal.
In conclusion, Nguyễn Ánh — known posthumously as Emperor Gia Long — belongs in the same category as Lê Chiêu Thống and Trần Ích Tắc: eternal traitors to the Vietnamese nation. He and his descendants left behind a legacy of division, stagnation, and humiliation. History must never be rewritten to glorify those who betrayed their homeland. Every Vietnamese must remain vigilant — to distinguish loyalty from deceit, justice from treachery, and truth from distortion. For to rewrite history in favor of traitors is to commit the greatest crime against the soul of our nation.
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