Empress dowager Duc Tu Cung, the mother of the last Emperor Bao Dai, lived a remarkable life that spanned many of the upheavals of 20th century Vietnam.
The woman who would later become the Empress Dowager was born in 1890 in Hue, with the name Hoang Thi Cuc. She came from the family of a low ranking official and in her poverty stricken adolescence; she was not able to attend school. Instead, Cuc was sent to the royal courts in Hue as a concubine, where she gave birth to the future emperor and ultimately become one of the best known and fascinating figures in Vietnamese history.
As a concubine, she was particularly favored by Lord Phuc Buu Dao. When he ascended to the throne to become Emperor Khai Dinh (1916-1925), Hoang Thi Cuc was named his second wife in 1918. When she gave birth to a son, the Crown prince Vinh Thuy, her importance instantly rose, as the boy was the next in succession for the throne.
In 1925, Emperor Khai Dinh passed away, and crown Prince Vinh Thuy, who was studying abroad in France, was summoned home to inherit the throne. Taking the name Emperor Bao Dai, he continued his studies in France until 1932, and then came back to officially rule the country. On March 25th, 1933, Emperor Bao Dai proclaimed his mother as Empress Dowager Doan Huy, who from that time on was respectfully referred as Duc Tu Cung.
Amidst the decay of a feudal dynasty, Tu Cung restlessly immersed herself in Chinese. French and Vietnamese, learning the etiquette and protocol related to daily life in the Hue Royal court. She was regarded as the sample of all principles, yet despite her noble position, Duc Tu Cung still led a simple life. She was a devoted Buddhist who defied criticism to protect the honor of the royal family of Emperor Bao Dai and Empress Nam Phuong.
After the fall of Nguyen Dynasty in 1945, while Emperor Bao Dai went into exile, Tu Cung remained and devoted herself to preserving the former capital of Hue. She sponsored the restoration of Thai Temple (where nine Pre Emperors or the nine Lords of Nguyen dynasty are worshipped) and other war torn mausoleums of Nguyen royals.
Tu Cung also maintained royal ceremonies and religious rituals in the Nguyen dynasty's mausoleums and temples. In particular, due to her nonstop efforts, the Ba Vu Band, a court music band, was maintained until the national unification in 1975. As a result, Hue was able to preserve its royal music heritage for tourist development in Thua Thien Hue Province. In 2003, Hue royal court music, or nha nhac, was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Duc Tu Cung also made numerous contributions in reviving Buddhism in Vietnam in the early 1930s. She persuaded Emperor Bao Dai to found the Buddhist Society of An Nam, and because of her intervention, the Emperor also ordained the pagodas of Tay Thien, Tuong Van and Truc Lam in Hue and Khai Hoan in buon Ma Thuot as the Great Four pagodas of the Hue court.
After Ngo Dinh Diem seized power on October 4, 1955, Duc Tu Cung was expelled from An Dinh Palace. She moved to a small house close to the palace where she set up an altar to worship Emperor Khai Dinh and other royals and to store all the treasures of the Nguyen Dynasty. According to a recent document issued by the researcher Nguyen Dac Xuan, Duc Tu Cung secretly sent two chests full of jade and jewelry of the Nguyen dynasty to the Emperor's summer home in Dalat for storage. Eventually, she entrusted these two chests to the Vietnamese state.
In 1972, at the sight of the escalating war, Duc Tu Cung hosted a remarkable sacrifice in Nam Giao Temple, Hue, with the attendance or the Nguyen Phuoc clan and authorities of Thua Thien Province to pray for peace and independence. This was the first sacrifice since the end of Nguyen dynasty, and also the last sacrifice held by an Nguyen royal.
This article written by Lanh Nguyen from Vietnam Package Tour
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