Need a scientific view on the portrait of King Quang Trung

Emperor Quang Trung Nguyen Hue is a special historical figure. His life was associated with the conquests against internal and external enemies, especially the resounding victory that swept 290,000 Qing troops out of the country in the Spring of the year Ky Dau 1789.

Images of King Quang Trung were published in many magazines, billboards, and posters. Photo: Internet

However, along with his premature death, the Tay Son dynasty also existed too briefly in a turbulent historical period, making the documents describing him still incomplete. Among them, there is the story of his portrait painting with an anecdote about the fake King Quang Trung and his entourage going to China to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Qing Dynasty's Emperor Qianlong.

Therefore, the publication by researcher Nguyen Duy Chinh of documents about an ancient painting, collected by researcher Tran Quang Duc at the Chinese Palace Museum, which is said to be a portrait of King Quang Trung, has attracted the attention of many people, especially those who study cultural history, although most opinions say that the portrait depicting King Quang Trung in a thin figure, much older than his 37 years of age, is unreliable.

For a long time, Vietnamese people seem to have become too familiar with the image of King Quang Trung as a heroic general. Therefore, the portrait of King Quang Trung riding a horse published in Dong Thanh magazine, issue 1, 1932 was naturally accepted by everyone. Later, this portrait appeared in the History and Geography Journal, issue 9-10, published during Tet Mau Than and was reprinted in many other publications, with the note: "Photograph ordered by Emperor Qianlong to be drawn in 1790", cited as the source from the collection "Ancient Manchu Paintings".

This portrait was officially used as the portrait of King Quang Trung, included in textbooks for students in the South before 1975, and was officially printed by designers on the 200-dong banknote of the National Bank of Vietnam (Saigon government).

Along with historical documents, this image has become an important basis for artists to create many statues of Emperor Quang Trung both at home and abroad.

Quang Trung Monument in the center of Qui Nhon city. Photo: Internet

However, the legend of “Fake King Quang Trung” has also been passed down for hundreds of years. According to historical documents, after the great victory over the Qing army on the Tet Ky Dau 1789, Ngo Thi Nham organized a delegation to Yen Kinh to return 800 prisoners and request a title. Emperor Can Long accepted but invited King Quang Trung himself to the court on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

In November, Emperor Qianlong sent an embassy to Thang Long to confer the title of King of An Nam on Nguyen Hue. Ngo Thi Nham chose someone to impersonate King Quang Trung to receive the imperial edict. In the beginning of the year Canh Tuat (1790), Emperor Quang Trung ordered Ngo Thi Nham to organize an embassy to Beijing to celebrate Emperor Qianlong's birthday. The embassy consisted of more than 150 people. The only thing was that the leader was the fake King Quang Trung (according to the book "Dai Nam Chinh Bien Liet Truyen" first volume 30 of the National History Institute of the Nguyen Dynasty, the person impersonating Quang Trung was his nephew on his wife's side - Pham Cong Tri).

Besides the fake king, there were also Nguyen Quang Thuy (son of King Quang Trung), Ngo Van So, Phan Huy Ich, Vu Huy Tan, Doan Nguyen Tuan, Nguyen Duat...

Cover of History and Geography magazine - re-taken. Photo: Internet

The portraits of King Quang Trung are said to have been created on this occasion, when King Qianlong ordered the palace painters to paint the scene of foreign envoys coming to celebrate his birthday. According to Dr. Nguyen Duy Chinh - who wrote an article introducing the documents about the bust portrait published by Mr. Tran Quang Duc, it is said to be "currently kept at the Beijing Palace Museum".

Based on the style of the crown worn by King Quang Trung in the picture, Dr. Nguyen Duy Chinh read the three seals stamped on the painting, and translated the imperial poem written by King Qianlong above the painting, and concluded that this picture is a black and white version of one of the three color busts painted by Chinese artists of King Quang Trung, and that this can be considered the most faithful portrait of this legendary king.

However, most readers and historical and cultural researchers disagree, considering it unconvincing. Because according to what was left in old books, "Nguyen Van Hue was Nhac's younger brother, his voice rang like a bell, his eyes were bright as lightning, his strategy was good at fighting, everyone was afraid of him" (Dai Nam Chinh Bien Liet Truyen). A hero with illustrious achievements, his robe stained with gunpowder, directly commanding the army to defeat 290,000 Qing troops in just a few weeks, and only 37 years old, the age of the elite who was showing off his heroic courage, could not be a decrepit old man like what the picture described.

Portrait of King Quang Trung - photo published by Tran Quang Duc.

As someone who has spent a lot of time researching King Quang Trung, researcher Nguyen Dac Xuan in Hue said that "this is actually a painting of a character impersonating King Quang Trung when he went to Beijing to celebrate Qianlong's birthday."

According to this 80-year-old cultural researcher, sharing in the Culture newspaper, “The portrait of a king who defeated 290,000 Qing troops was drawn with a thin, frail, bearded appearance, which must be questioned. The Chinese are very careful and detailed in physiognomy. Drawing such a portrait to call it King Quang Trung is an intention to look down on our country.”

He also added that previously, a Chinese researcher had published a picture that was said to be of King Quang Trung. However, he had a counter-argument and proved that it was the image of a Chinese king.

Portrait of King Quang Trung on silver paper. Photo: Internet

Quang Trung was a heroic Emperor. His career, though short, was full of miracles. For many historical reasons, documents about this Emperor have not been fully researched, including determining his portrait.

However, with the image that researcher Nguyen Duy Chinh has just published, it is necessary to consider this an opportunity for cultural and historical researchers to have extremely scientific and accurate debates to end the regrettable confusion about the illustrious Emperor - the national hero Quang Trung.