Minh Mạng

Minh Mạng ([mïŋ˧ maːŋ˧˨ʔ]; 25 May 1791 – 20 January 1841), personal name Nguyễn Phúc Đảm, also known as Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu, was the second emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty in Vietnamese History. His reign lasted 21 years, from 1820 until his death in 1841.

Biography

Emperor Minh Mạng was the fourth son of Emperor Gia Long; his mother was Trần Thị Đang, second wife of Gia Long (conferred Empress Dowager Nhân Tuyên later). Three eldest son of Gia Long, Crown prince Nguyễn Phúc Cảnh, Duke of Thuận An Nguyễn Phúc Hy and prince Nguyễn Phúc Tuấn, had died before their father, so Minh Mạng was the eldest son of Gia Long at that time.

Minh Mạng is reported to have 142 children from 43 wives. He also had many concubines whose childless, and not be reported in royal pedigree. The first wife of him was Empress Consort Tá Thiên Hồ Thị Hoa, mother of Emperor Thiệu Trị, but she died after 13 days giving birth. The second wife, First-rank of Royal Concubine Hiền phi Ngô Thị Chính, was the most beloved wife of Minh Mạng, but she had not been conferred as Empress Consort.