Biography

Prince Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Nhậm was born on 22 September 1829. He was a son of the emperor Thiệu Trị and succeeded his father as emperor of Vietnam in 1847 as Tự Đức. Family troubles, however, plagued the beginning of his reign. Thiệu Trị had passed over his more moderate eldest son Hồng Bảo, in favour of Tự Đức, known for his staunch Confucianism and opposition to foreigners and innovation. As a result and due to the repressive policies of the previous emperor, there was now a great deal of dissatisfaction with Nguyễn rule and a legitimate royal figure for opposition to rally around.

Rule

Cholera and natural disaster

In summer 1849, one year after Tu Duc's coronation, a cholera epidemic struck Vietnam and Cambodia. Around 600,000 lost their lives according to the royal archives. Military physician O'neill Barrett (1982) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (2007) estimated that a total of two million people had been affected during the pandemic. Historian Christopher Goscha suggests the overall death toll of 800,000.

Unusual heavy rainy seasons were recorded during 1847–1861, followed by a period of extremely dry and severe droughts between 1864 and 1889. Typhoons ravaged Tonkin in 1880–1881. A plague of locusts devastated Sơn Tây and Bắc Ninh provinces in 1854.

Conflict with Hồng Bảo and his descendants

As the eldest son of Thiệu Trị, Prince Hồng Bảo was resentful of his brother. He plotted rebellion against Tự Đức with a wide range of supporters: Confucians who were angered that Hồng Bảo as the eldest son had been passed over in favour of Tự Đức, Lê dynasty supporters, corrupt mandarins, Catholic missionaries and Christian converts who had been persecuted by Minh Mạng and Thiệu Trị, and peasants disgruntled with Nguyễn taxation. He never had the chance to rebel however, as he was arrested in 1854 and scheduled to be executed. The dowager empress Từ Dụ advised him against it, and Hồng Bảo killed himself in prison. He was buried simply without a funeral.

In 1866, Hồng Bảo's son Đinh Đạo rebelled against Tự Đức. The rebellion was crushed and Tự Đức ordered Đinh Đạo, his brothers and his mother to be put to death.

Religious suppression

Emperor Tự Đức continued the policies of his predecessors, shutting Vietnam off from the outside world and refusing all efforts to modernize the country. Accounts of his personal life show a gentle and educated man, but his policies brought on conflict with Europe that Vietnam could not win. He oppressed all foreigners in Vietnam, especially the Christian community, who had tried to overthrow his grandfather, such as in the Lê Văn Khôi revolt, calling their religion a "perverse doctrine". The Christian mandarin Nguyễn Trường Tộ tried to convince Tự Đức that this was a suicidal policy, but he did not listen, confident that France was too involved with the chaos in Europe in 1848 to respond, but he was mistaken.

File:Death ceremony of Jean-Louis Bonnard.jpg|Death ceremony of Jean-Louis Bonnard. The lower right corner shows his body being cast in the water, where he was retrieved by Christians. In the upper right corner, Mgr Retord comes to the ceremony.

File:St Michael HDHy.jpg|Portrait of Michael Hồ Đình Hy, Vietnamese mandarin official who was martyred for his Roman Catholic

File:Theophane Venard.jpg|Théophane Vénard, French Catholic missionary was executed by Tự Đức in 2/2/1861.

File:Martyrdom of St Augustin Schoeffler.jpg| Martyrdom of Augustin Schoeffler at Sơn Tây.

Attempts at reforms

It was quite ironic that even during the height of Tu Duc's persecution against Catholic Christians, there were always devout Catholic officials serving in his court, occupied among the high-ranking positions. Among them, Nguyễn Hữu Thơ, an accomplish priest, was sent by Tu Duc to France with another French priest, to plan the creation of a school of "Sciences, and Arts and Crafts" in Hue, but later that project was defied by Tu Duc himself who quickly lost interest in reforms. Another Catholic official, Nguyễn Trường Tộ, had attempted forty-three times to persuade the court of Tu Duc to renovate the kingdom and adopt the changing global order. In 1866 he was sent to Europe on the Vietnamese third mission to recruit technicians and teachers for a Western-style school foundation in Vietnam, but that project was also cancelled in 1867 when France annexed the rest of Cochinchina.

Nguyễn Trường Tộ launched an campaign against the established-Confucian education and thinking in Vietnam. He denounced Confucianism "the evil that has been brought on China and on our country by the Confucian way of life." Concluding "No other country in the world has so irrational a system of education," Nguyễn Trường Tộ advocated for a new, modernized education system followed the European model. Indeed, neither of his proposals was applied.

In 2018 Lê Minh Khải claimed that he found two instances where the Tự Đức Emperor had ordered the Chinese edition of several classic books on science and industry from the West to be read by the mandarins and soldiers of the country. As an example he mentioned the book "Vạn Quốc Công Pháp" (万国公法), a Chinese translation of The Elements of International Law, first published in 1836 by American lawyer Henry Wheaton, a book noted by many researchers to have made a profound contribution to the ideological transformation of the ruling elites in Qing China and Japan. It is noted that the very slow adoption of the ideas from this work in the Nguyễn dynasty showed how slowly its elites adopted Western ideas and despite learning about Western ideas they proved to be unable or unwilling adopt them or adapt to them.

Invasions by Chinese rebels and mercenaries

Tonkin or Northern Vietnam, had been ravaged by constant cholera epidemic, natural disasters, and famines in the 1840s–1850s, was left barely administrated by the court. The mountainous parts of Tonkin were territories of mainly indigenous Tai-speaking communities, and later Hmong, who were autonomous and lightly submissive in relations with the court of Hue. Rebellion and pirate activities increased. In 1857, Chinese Muslim rebels from Yunnan attacked and occupied areas near Tụ Long mines, Tuyên Quang. Tụ Long was an important mining zone for the Vietnamese economy which depended on copper coins in every transaction.

In 1860, the Chinese Muslim rebels were driven back, but the new White Flag army invaded Tonkin and laid Tụ Long abandoned by 1863, disrupting Vietnamese finance and the opium trade. Threats from the White Flags mounted as violence and anarchy escalated. In 1862, Tu Duc appointed Nguyễn Bá Nghi to fought off the White Flag rebels. The White Flags made a series of devastating raids in Hưng Hóa, Cao Bằng, Thái Nguyên, and lowland Red River Delta, made local governments there dysfunctional. In summer 1865, the White Flags ambushed Vietnamese troops at Tuyên Quang, killing three hundred soldiers. In February 1868, the White Flags seized Lục Yên and chased the Vietnamese away. Unable to defeat the White Flags in conventional warfare, the Vietnamese began to hire Chinese and Tai-Zhuang mercenaries. In 1860, He Junchang, a Chinese opium merchant, had recruited his own personal militia to protect the opium trade from the White Flags. His private army effectively drove the White Flags away from Lào Cai, the main station along Kunming-Hanoi opium trade route.

Liu Yongfu proclaimed the Kingdom of Yanling in Guangxi in 1861. In 1865, after the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Liu Yongfu fled to China-Vietnam borders and founded the Black Flag Army, consisting of Chinese and Tai-Zhuang militia. The Vietnamese immediately made an alliance with the Black Flags to fight against the White Flags. In 1868, war in Tonkin broke out between the White Flags and the Black Flags, resulting in White Flags defeat and their forces diminished. The Vietnamese now were harboring the Black Flags and benefiting from their good fighting and reputations.

New waves of Chinese rebels invaded Vietnam in form of the Yellow Flag Army, led by Wu Yazhong and later his lieutenant Pan Lunsi. In March 1868, thousands of Yellow Flags crossed the borders and attacking local Vietnamese authorities and raiding grain warehouses in Cao Bằng. The Yellow Flags occupied large territories in Tonkin, and continued their operations until 1885.

European conquest

France and Spain responded to Tự Đức's persecution with a large military expeditionary force and attacked up from southern Vietnam in 1858–1862. The Nguyễn army fought bravely for some time, but their antiquated weapons and tactics were no match for the French, who suffered more from the climate and disease than from enemy resistance. The fighting around Hanoi against the Black Flag in the 1880s pirates ended with France victorious and the Qing Empire gave up its supremacy over Vietnam and recognized France as the ruling power over the region.

Rebellions

To make matters worse, Emperor Tự Đức had to deal with renewed internal rebellions which had become commonplace for the Nguyễn dynasty. There were literally hundreds of small rebellions and uprisings against Nguyễn rule. Ineffective attempts to enforce the ban on Christian missionaries were also the biggest source of trouble, including the execution of a Spanish bishop which was used to justify the French and Spanish invasion that led to the fall of Saigon. By an order of 1848 Tự Đức commanded all Vietnamese Catholic converts to renounce their religion, otherwise they would be branded on the face with the mark of a heretic and surrender all of their rights and privileges. This rallied most of the European powers against Vietnam, and Tự Đức by doing this had given up any hope of Vietnam gaining help as a victim from the outside world.

Treaties

When further rebellions broke out as the French were advancing on the capital, Tự Đức feared that his authority was crumbling. He preferred to make a deal with the French so that he could crush the rebellion since while France may demand humiliating concessions, the rebels would most likely depose and/or kill him. He signed away the southernmost of Vietnam, Cochinchina, to be a French colony and accepted the status of a French protectorate for his country. This caused a huge uproar, and many, such as the famous mandarin Trương Định, refused to recognize the treaty and fought on in defense of their country, denouncing Tự Đức for surrendering any part of their homeland.

File:Hdieu2.jpg|Hoàng Diệu, who was the viceroy of Hanoi, committed suicide in 1882 after his defensive failure in Battle of Hanoi to France.

File:Phan Thanh Liêm.jpg|Phan Liêm, son of Phan Thanh Giản was captured by French colonel Francis Garnier in 1873 and released in 1874 after peace treaty.

File:PhamThanDuat.jpg|Phạm Thận Duật who signed the Treaty of Huế (1884) and later he joined the anti-French resistance. He was the private tutor of future emperor Dục Đức and Đồng Khánh.

File:邓黄中像图1.jpg|Đặng Huy Trứ, the reformist and the known for introduction of photography and western-model shipbuilding into Vietnam.

After the Tonkin incident (1873), Third French Republic governor of Cochinchina Marie Jules Dupré and the Hue court official Nguyễn Văn Tường signed treaty of Saigon (1874), concluding Vietnam as a vassal of France but allowing Vietnam's status quo in foreign relationships. But in 1876 Tu Duc sent a delegation to Beijing, reassessing Vietnam's tributary status for the Chinese Empire. Another Vietnamese mission in 1880 went on to pay homage to the Qing court. On 10 November 1880, the Chinese ambassador in Paris announced that Dai Nam was still a vassal of China and rejected the Franco-Vietnamese treaty of 1874. In the next year, the Qing sent an envoy to Vietnam to negotiate trade relationship.

Siam and Vietnam renewed their relationship in 1878. In 1880, Tu Duc welcomed an Italian trade delegation. Frustrated of being harassed by Tu Duc, Résident‐supérieur Rheinart France retaliated by barring Vietnam from joining the Paris International Fair, and from sending envoy to congratulate President Jules Grévy's inauguration.

By September 1882, more than 200,000 Chinese troops had been sent to Northern Vietnam (Tonkin) following Tu Duc's request of aid fighting against new French incursion.

Death

Emperor Tự Đức did not live to see the worst effects of colonialism on his country, and he was also the last Vietnamese monarch to rule independently. A case of smallpox left him impotent so he had no children despite a huge harem of wives he kept in his palace. He died in 1883 and, according to legend, cursed the French with his dying breath. His adopted son, Dục Đức, succeeded him but was deposed by court officials after a reign of three days.

image:TuDucTombeau 06.jpg|Pavilion east of the tomb

image:Xung Khiêm Tạ, Lăng Tự Đức.JPG|Pavillon and lotus pond.

File:Tu-duc empereur d'Annam mort le 17 juillet 1883.jpg| Portrait of Emperor Tu Duc in 1883

Image:Grave tu duc.jpg|Pavilion east of the tomb

Family

生平

早年生涯

嗣德帝原名阮福洪任，是绍治帝的次子，为二阶诚妃范氏姮（后被尊为慈裕太后）所生。嗣德帝还有一位同父异母的长兄，名叫阮福洪保。阮福洪保重武轻文，绍治帝非常讨厌他；而相对地，阮福洪任则聪明博学，绍治六年（1846年），绍治帝晋其生母范氏姮为一阶贵妃。绍治七年九月二十七日（1847年11月4日），绍治帝逝世，遗命阮福洪任继位。十月初三日（11月10日），阮福洪任改名阮福时并继承皇位，是为嗣德帝。

北圻的农民起义

嗣德帝刚继位不久时越南尚处于太平时期。1850年，嗣德帝派遣大学士阮知方为南圻六省经略大使，潘清简为平定、富安、庆和、平顺经略大使，阮登楷为河静、乂安、清化经略大使，前往各地巡视。但不久以后从中国南部至越南北圻一带的广大地区皆发生了罕见的洪灾。越南兴安省的文江县连续十八年发生决口，使当地民不聊生。这些生活没有著落的百姓落草为寇，最终发展成反对阮朝朝廷的起义。而在北方的中国，则因洪灾和太平天国起义，不少中国人逃入越南北部，占据山区成为强盗。

1851年，中国山贼广义堂、六胜堂、德胜堂据守北圻山区，骚扰太原一带。嗣德帝派阮登楷为北圻经略大臣前去平叛。阮登楷没有出兵镇压，而是诱使三堂贼投降。阮登楷在任期间北圻一带平安无事。但1854年阮登楷死于任上，同年北圻爆发了被成为蝗贼的农民起义。山西省农民将后黎朝皇族后裔黎维柜拥上盟主之位，以高伯适为国师，骚扰山西、河内、北宁一带。不久，叛乱被平定。

法国攻打南圻

自从明命帝以来，欧洲人的军舰经常来到越南，请求通商，但都遭到朝廷的拒绝。阮朝朝廷还禁止基督宗教的传播。1848年和1851年，嗣德帝下令处死西方传教士，流放基督教教徒。1850年、1855年和1877年，嗣德帝多次拒绝同西方国家通商。而在绍治帝和嗣德帝在位期间，禁教比明命帝更为严厉，下令驱逐甚至处死西方传教士。1847年绍治帝在位的末期，法国军舰炮击沱㶞港（今岘港），两国关系非常紧张。

1851年，嗣德帝第二次发布禁教令之后，许多法国传教士被杀，震惊了法国。1856年，法国派遣卡第纳号（Catinat）开至沱㶞，对越南杀害传教士之事进行抗议，击毁了沱㶞的炮台。不久法国再次要求同越南通商并在越南传教，但仍遭到拒绝。而法国传教士潘勒林（Pelllerin）随卡第纳号回到法国，向法国皇帝拿破仑三世报告传教士被杀一事。于是法国联合西班牙，决定对越南出兵。

1854年，阮福洪保勾结法国人，图谋夺取皇位。事泄，阮福洪保被赐死，其子阮福膺导等全部改为丁姓。

1858年，夏尔·里戈·德·热诺伊利（Charles Rigault de Genouilly，越南史料称之为「黎峨」）中将率法西联军3000人攻打沱㶞，攻占了安海、尊海两城。嗣德帝遣陶致、陈弘、黎廷理前去救援，但被联军击败，黎廷理阵亡。嗣德帝又遣阮知方、朱福明前去防御。阮知方筑莲池屯，自海洲至福宁一带都建造长垒防御。热诺伊利本欲占领沱㶞后攻取顺化，但未能冲破防线，于是率军来到南圻，自芹蒢海口攻打嘉定城（今胡志明市）。嘉定城被攻陷，护督官武维宁自杀。联军将城池夷平。嗣德帝派遣阮知方、范世显、尊室铪前往南圻防御。1860年，法西联军占领了定祥省。嗣德帝派遣户部尚书阮伯仪为钦差大臣，前去南圻经略事务。阮伯仪建议议和，但朝廷中有张登桂坚决要同法西联军开战，议和之事随搁浅。

1861年，天主教人士谢文奉在北圻举兵，自称后黎朝后裔黎维明，得到传教士和中国山贼的支持。广安的农民起兵响应，攻打海宁府。1862年，阮文盛在北宁举兵，拥立黎维褞为盟主，与谢文奉联合攻打谅江府和安勇县，包围北宁省城。而与此同时，边和、永隆两省又被法西联军攻陷，嗣德帝只得派遣潘清简、林维浃前往西贡议和。6月5日，潘清简、林维浃同法国代表路易·阿道夫·波那少将、西班牙代表卡洛斯·帕兰卡·古铁雷斯（Carlos Palanca y Gutiérrez，越南史料称之为「坡陵歌」）签订了《第一次西贡条约》。条约规定：天主教在越南为合法宗教；传教士可以在越南自由传教；越南将边和省（今同奈省、巴地头顿省）、嘉定省（今胡志明市、平阳省、西宁省）、定祥省（今前江省、隆安省）三省以及昆仑岛割让给法国；允许法国商船在湄公河流域自由航行和贸易；越南开辟土伦港（今岘港）、广安港（位于今广宁省）和巴喇港（位于红河入海口）为通商口岸；越南在十年里向法国和西班牙赔款总计四百万。与此同时，柬埔寨国王诺罗敦在法国的支持下，趁机摆脱了暹罗和越南的控制，宣告独立。

虽然南圻四省被法国占领，但南圻作为嘉隆帝的中兴之地，又是嗣德帝外祖父范登兴的故乡，因此嗣德帝一直希望收复这片土地。1863年，嗣德帝派潘清简、范富庶、魏克憻出使法国，向法国皇帝拿破仑三世提出要赎回这片土地。拿破仑三世本欲答应，但海军大臣德·夏斯卢·罗巴（de Chasseloup-Laubat）坚决反对，因此最终法国拒绝了这个要求。在这次出使途中，潘清简惊讶地发现法国科技的先进，1865年归国之时，将所见所闻报告给嗣德帝。但嗣德帝及其他朝臣都对其进行斥责。鉴于潘清简熟知法国情形，嗣德帝派潘清简前去南圻防备法国。

1867年，法国攻陷永隆、安江、河仙，潘清简自杀。南圻之地完全被法国占领。

平定北圻的叛乱

阮文盛与谢文奉联合攻打谅江府和安勇县，包围北宁省城。河内省布政使阮克述、山西省布政使黎裕、兴安省副领兵武早前去救援，击退了叛军。谢文奉又包围海阳省城，嗣德帝派张国用、陶致、阮伯仪前去解围；又派遣阮知方、潘廷选、尊室穗前去征讨阮文盛叛军。1863年，武早在宣光省擒获黎维褞，阮知方又击败北宁的阮文盛。但谢文奉势力依旧强大，占据著广安之地。谢文奉要求南圻的法军前来支援，但法国正在议和，不理会其请求。张国用在征讨之中大败被杀。1865年，阮知方遣邓陈颛、翁益谦联合清朝的钦州官员一起进攻，大破并俘获谢文奉，执送顺化处死。

1865年，中国山贼张觐邦攻陷高平省，嗣德帝遣武仲平、范芝香前去征讨。次年张觐邦向朝廷投降。阮知方、武仲平回到顺化之后，都成为朝廷重臣。

丁导之乱

1866年，嗣德帝在顺化建立万年基（即谦陵），士卒由于劳累过度，十分不满。段有徵、段有爱、段司直、张仲和、范梁等人煽动士卒造反，拥立丁导（原名阮福膺导）为主。在右军尊室菊的接应下，叛军攻入顺化皇城的左掖门，欲弑嗣德帝。掌卫胡威重新关上宫门，率军逮捕了段有徵，随后陆续逮捕了其同党。丁导及其亲属皆被绞死，段有徵被斩首，尊室菊自杀，其同党皆被处罚。

北圻的太平军馀党

1863年，太平天国运动失败。吴鲲（吴亚终）率太平军馀党来到北圻，向阮朝投降。1868年，吴鲲发动叛乱，攻占了高平省城。高平巡抚范芝香向清朝求援，清朝派谢继贵前去协助阮朝官军。范芝香战败被俘。嗣德帝又派武仲平前去征讨，清朝也派广西提督冯子才援助，于1869年收复高平城。1870年，吴鲲攻打北宁，被剿抚翁益谦用枪射死。

吴鲲死后，其弟吴鲸举家自杀，馀部分为黄旗、黑旗、白旗三军。其中黄旗军以黄崇英为首，黑旗军以刘永福为首，白旗军的首领则是盘文二、梁文利。白旗军盘踞陆安州为害一方，刘永福用计谋消灭了他，并收编其部众。随后刘永福率黑旗军攻破保胜，驱逐了山贼何均昌，以之为根据地。与其他山贼不同的是，刘永福致力于安定北圻的社会秩序，因此受到百姓的欢迎。

黄崇英与刘永福一向不和，互相攻击，北圻再次陷入混乱之中。中国山贼苏泗（苏国汉）袭破谅山省，杀死总督段寿，武仲平只身逃跑，令阮朝朝廷大为震惊。1871年，嗣德帝派黎峻、黄继炎前去讨伐。黄继炎招安了黑旗军，以抗击黄旗军；同时镇压了黄齐在广安省发动的叛乱。而中国方面也派遣冯子才、刘玉成前往越南协助剿匪。不久苏泗被诱擒，斩于广东，叛乱也旋即被平定。

改革的呼声

嗣德帝发现越南有被法国吞并的危险，经常与大臣探讨富国强兵之道。而越南的一些有识之士也前往西方游学。1866年，乂安人阮长祚、阮条以及法国传教士戈蒂埃（越南名阮德厚）上书建议效仿西方国家进行改革，其中包括购买西方武器，聘请欧洲军官训练军队，改革官制，与西方国家建交等等。嗣德帝召集群臣商议，群臣皆以为不可行。1868年，又有宁平人丁文田上书建议开发金矿、建造火车；1879年，阮协出使暹罗（即泰国）归国，建议效仿暹罗开放通商口岸与西方国家贸易，反对像中国一样闭关锁国；同年翰林院修撰潘清帘建议建立商会并出洋考察采矿技术。这些都无一例外地遭到了拒绝。

北圻变故

法国占领南圻之后，以南圻为其在远东的根据地，积极寻找去中国的通路。在一名熟知中国的商人让·迪皮伊（Jean Dupuis）的建议下，南圻的总督府派迪皮伊、米乐（Charles-Théodore Millot）前往北圻，去中国云南贩卖武器。但在黄旗军的帮助下，迪皮伊也参与了贩卖私盐。这使阮朝朝廷无法接受，向南圻的总督府提出抗议。1873年，南圻总督府派遣安邺大尉率170人前往北圻调查实情。但安邺大尉反与迪皮伊勾结，自作主张地宣布红河一带口岸向西方国家开放。驻守河内的阮知方向安邺抗议，安邺反而援引《第一次西贡条约》的条文，声称此行为了要保障法国在北圻的利益，并且帮助越南平定北圻的匪帮。安邺突袭了河内，逮捕了阮知方，欲将其送往西贡。阮知方绝食而死。安邺又袭击了宁平、南定、海阳等地，当地守军都望风而溃。当时黄继炎驻扎山西，嗣德帝命其前往抵抗，又任命黑旗军首领刘永福为山西省、兴化、宣光副提督，封为英勇将军，令其抗击法国。嗣德帝还派陈廷肃、阮仲合前去河内求和，又派黎峻、阮文祥出使西贡，向南圻总督府提出交涉。

南圻总督杜白蕾少将派民政视察专员菲拉斯特与阮文祥一起前往河内，要求安邺撤军。但行至途中安邺在纸桥被黑旗军伏击杀死，菲拉斯特十分愤怒，不欲议和，但在阮文祥的劝说下依旧写信到河内，召谕法军退兵。次年，黎峻、阮文祥作为越南方面的代表，在西贡与杜白蕾签订了《第二次西贡条约》。越南承认了法国对南圻的占领，并开放尸耐（归仁）、宁海（海防）、河内为通商口岸，允许法国在越南建立领事馆并自由传教。

法军从北圻撤退之后，北圻百姓与天主教徒的矛盾加深。1874年，乂安人陈瑨、邓如梅号召文绅举兵，屠杀教民，焚毁教堂村庄，驱逐传教士。文绅叛军攻陷河静城。嗣德帝派阮文祥、黎伯慎前去平定了叛乱。

平定北圻的山贼

由于黄旗军横行于北圻，1873年，嗣德帝遣潘仕俶、何文开、阮修出使中国，请求中国出兵协助讨伐黄旗军。

1874年，广西巡抚刘长佑也派刘玉成、赵沃出兵北圻，攻打黄旗军的根据地永祥府朱尚乡。越南方面，山西省军务赞襄官尊室说也出兵相助。中越官军联合围剿，翌年擒杀其首领黄崇英，斩获甚众。此后黄旗军逐渐瓦解。次年尊室说又平定了山西省的叛乱。1878年，越南联合中国清剿了盘踞谅山的中国山贼李扬才，将其执送中国。

为了镇抚北圻的盗贼，嗣德帝于1880年设置谅江、端雄两道。以黄继炎为靖边使；以张光憻为副使，驻扎谅江；以阮有度为副使，驻扎端雄。而中国亦加强了中越边境山贼的防范，于1872年在太平、镇安两府加强边防，以冯子才守卫边境。

改革之道

在两次与法国的战争中遭到惨败之后，嗣德帝终于意识到学习西方先进文化的重要性。1878年，法国巴黎举办万国博览会，嗣德帝遣阮诚意、阮增阭携展品前去巴黎，藉此机会派人去法国土伦港（今马赛）学习先进技术。1881年，又遣礼部侍郎范炳出使英属香港，让十二名越南少年在英国学堂中学习。还派使者出使暹罗和中国考察。法国驻越南领事未被事先告知，法国政府谴责越南违反1874年的《第二次西贡条约》。

而在外交方面，嗣德帝希望以中国为外援、黑旗军为内援抗击法国的入侵。1880年，嗣德帝派阮述、陈庆洊、阮瓘去中国进贡的时候，要求中国像西方列强一样在顺化设立招商局。1881年，清朝派唐廷庚前往顺化，商讨贸易和设立招商局之事。根据历史学家陈仲金的说法，嗣德帝此举是希望中国能更快地得知法国在越南的所作所为，以达到利用中国牵制法国的目的。

法军第二次占领北圻

虽然《第二次西贡条约》中规定外国人可以在红河流域自由贸易，但红河上游靠近中越边境一带受到黑旗军的控制，外国商人的贸易经常受到黑旗军的阻拦。1881年，法国商队在老街一带受阻，南圻总督府最终决定用武力征服北圻。

1882年，李威利上校奉命率军数百人，自西贡开赴河内，对河内总督黄耀宣称协助镇压北圻的山贼。黄耀对此颇为怀疑，遣黄有秤前去接待。但李威利却发兵攻陷了河内，黄耀战败自杀。法国人立尊室灞为傀儡掌管河内。

嗣德帝得知河内失守之后，派阮政、裴殷年率军前去，会同黄继炎一起防御。南圻总督府则派人通告嗣德帝，声称攻破河内是李威利自作主张，并非法国本意。于是嗣德帝派陈廷肃、阮有度前往河内，与李威利谈判。李威利拒绝交出河内城，并且提出条件，要求越南接受法国的保护，并且同意法国在北圻徵收税收。嗣德帝严词拒绝了这些要求，同时派遣户部尚书范慎遹前往中国天津求救。清朝派遣谢敬彪、唐景崧出兵支援，到达北宁和山西，又派广西布政使徐延旭接应。清军在越南方面的黄继炎、以及黑旗军的配合下，同法国开战。1883年，法军统帅李威利在纸桥被黑旗军击毙。同年，法国组建北圻远征队，以波滑少将（Alexandre-Eugène Bouët）为统帅，以惩治黑旗军为名义入侵北圻，拉开了北圻远征的序幕。波滑招诱了黄旗军的馀党作为自己的向导，横行于河内、南定、归仁、海防等地。孤拔少将也率一支庞大的舰队登录下龙湾，配合波滑的军事行动。

逝世

7月19日，嗣德帝病逝，享年55岁。初拟庙号成祖（）；冬十一月，建福帝下令改为翼宗（）。諡继天亨运至诚达孝体健敦仁谦恭明略睿文英皇帝（）。

嗣德帝生前没有儿子，收养了三个养子：瑞国公阮福膺禛（居于育德堂，即后来的育德帝）、坚江郡公阮福膺禟（居于正蒙堂，即后来的同庆帝）和阮福膺祜（居于养善堂，即后来的建福帝）。而根据一些西方史料的说法，嗣德帝患有天花之病，因此得了阳痿的并发症。嗣德帝共有300多名妻妾，但却没有子女。西方史料称，嗣德帝在弥留之时咒駡法国的侵略。

阮福膺禛在思想上倾向于法国，并且与法国人来往密切。嗣德帝认为阮福膺禛没有当皇帝的才能，本欲让阮福膺祜继位。但考虑到阮福膺祜年龄过于幼小，只得遗命立阮福膺禛为君，让阮文祥、尊室说、陈践诚辅政。但不久阮文祥、尊室说废黜育德帝，改立协和帝。

8月18日，孤拔乘兵于香江的入海口，炮击沿岸的炮台，同时要求阮朝朝廷议和，否则就要沿香江攻打顺化。8月25日，协和帝向法军求和，签订了《顺化条约》，承认越南是法国的保护国。而由北圻远征最终引发了中法战争。1887年，法国最终在顺化成立法属印度支那联邦，越南自此脱离了中国朝贡体系，成为法国的殖民地。

人物形象

根据阮朝大臣申仲𢤮的描述，嗣德帝相貌儒雅，是一位善良和蔼的人物。嗣德帝衣著简朴，侍母至孝。他是一位勤政之君，许多奏摺中批阅之文甚至比奏摺原文还长。

而嗣德帝也是阮朝时期最为博学的一位皇帝。他书法工整，生性好学，常读书至深夜。嗣德帝编有三本诗集，还亲自将汉文典籍译作喃字刊行，如《嗣德圣制字学解义歌》、《论语演歌》等。嗣德帝一生著有4000篇汉字文章、100篇喃字文章以及600篇诗文。

嗣德帝极为重视儒学，在位期间，在科举考试中增开雅士科和吉士科，选拔有文采的人出来做官。嗣德帝又开设集贤院和开经筵，亲自与大臣研讨典籍、作诗词或讨论国事。《钦定越史通鉴纲目》也是在他在位期间编纂完成的。

不过，由于嗣德年间的越南施行非常严厉的禁教政策，嗣德帝在西方世界的形象非常差。西方人认为他极其敌视欧洲人、不愿听到任何关于西方蛮夷之事，并且传闻他在杀害了长兄之后登上了皇位，事实上阮福洪保在其登位后仍然活著。当时西方世界的不少政治漫画，将嗣德帝描绘成一个身材肥硕魁梧、不修边幅的凶狠之人。不过这都是西方人想像出来的，没有一个西方人见过嗣德帝的长相。

后世评价

嗣德帝在位期间，法国入侵并蚕食越南的领土，此后，越南逐渐沦为法国的殖民地。因此，对嗣德帝的评价以负面居多。

• 清朝官员唐景崧如此评价嗣德帝统治下的越南：「其国政令酷虐，统治者内部斗争剧烈。国王阮时家庭构衅，苟活自娱，内乱将兴，胜于外侮」，「君臣昏愚委靡，战守绝无经营。」

• 越南历史学家陈仲金认为，嗣德帝与朝臣没有看到时局的变化，不图革新，使用老旧的儒家思想统治越南，最终导致了越南成为法国的保护国。而对于嗣德帝禁教和处死传教士之举，陈仲金也给予批评，认为当时越南势力弱小还做出如此残恶之事，给予西方国家入侵越南的藉口。陈仲金还对嗣德帝使用卖官鬻爵的手法筹集赔款进行批评。但在另一方面，陈仲金为嗣德帝辩护，认为嗣德帝深居宫中不知外面时事的发展，而朝廷大臣多是思想保守之人，因此受到蒙蔽。

• 中国学者郭振铎、张笑梅认为，嗣德帝「在位三十馀年，虽略有政绩，但阮朝已开始步入衰微，并逐渐投降法国殖民者，最终变成法国的殖民地。」所以嗣德帝在位时期，「是越南国运的转折时代。」

家族

后宫

嗣德帝的后妃名字见于史料的妃嫔如下：

养子

嗣德帝无子，收养了三个侄儿当养子，后来这三个养子先后继承了皇位。