{"id":9053,"date":"2021-09-07T11:22:55","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T03:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/?p=9053"},"modified":"2021-09-14T14:33:48","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T06:33:48","slug":"emperor-lethantong-dutch-wife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/emperor-lethantong-dutch-wife\/","title":{"rendered":"Emperor L\u00ea Th\u1ea7n T\u00f4ng: Vietnam’s First Man To Marry A Westerner 400 Years Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first Vietnamese man to marry a Westerner was an emperor<\/h2>\n
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For the past three decades, interracial marriage in Vietnam has evolved from being taboo to being widely accepted. While major stereotypes have fallen, it doesn\u2019t escape our attention that more Vietnamese women are willing to marry out of their race than Vietnamese men. If you go to big cities such as Saigon and Hanoi, you\u2019ll find most of the interracial couples out there feature mainly Western men and Vietnamese women.<\/span><\/p>\n

Times have changed, but there\u2019s no denying that marrying a Western lady remains a new notion in a society rooted in Confucian values such as Vietnam. If such a marriage can still turn a few heads these days, imagine how people must have reacted to that back in the 17th century.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the L\u00ea Dynasty, which was about 400 years ago, a man made history as the first Vietnamese man to marry a Westerner<\/strong>. Also, he was an emperor.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Emperor L\u00ea Th\u1ea7n T\u00f4ng married a lady from the West<\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: YAN<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Emperor L\u00ea Th\u1ea7n T\u00f4ng (1607-1662)<\/strong>, the 17th emperor of the L\u00ea Dynasty, had more than one wife and most of them came from foreign countries. Among those were of Thai, Chinese, Lao, and M\u01b0\u1eddng ethnicities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The queen, on the other hand, was a Vietnamese woman of the Kinh ethnicity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in the day, marrying for political purposes was pretty common. Besides, most of the emperor\u2019s concubines were from Asian countries, where the culture and ways of life were quite similar to those of Vietnam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, the emperor\u2019s decision to marry a Westerner must have caused a stir among the common people and historians.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nPhoto for illustration purposes only<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Pinterest<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The emperor\u2019s sixth wife was a Dutch woman named <\/span>Onrona San<\/b>. She was the daughter of the ambassador of Holland in Taiwan at the time, according to <\/span>Hoa Ti\u00eau<\/span><\/a>. Lady <\/span>Onrona San had one daughter with the emperor –<\/span> Princess L\u00ea Th\u1ecb Ng\u1ecdc Ng\u1ecdc.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cOnrona San was highly favored by the emperor,\u201d French historian G Dumoutier wrote in his book, according to <\/span>Hoa Ti\u00eau<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there is not much information on this mysterious lady. However, the detail about a lady from the Western world being favored by a Confucian system-educated emperor somehow reminds us of the period romance drama Anna And The King<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to historians, the emperor\u2019s wives lived with one another in harmony.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Emperor L\u00ea Th\u1ea7n T\u00f4ng ascended the throne twice<\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: VnExpress<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Aside from marrying a non-Asian, Emperor L\u00ea Th\u00e1nh T\u00f4ng also did something that made him a unique monarch in Vietnam\u2019s history.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was the only monarch in Vietnam\u2019s history to accede to the throne twice.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>In 1619, he became the emperor at the age of 12. According to historians, he was well-read, intelligent, and very handsome with a pointy nose.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nRelics of the L\u00ea Dynasty<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Ki\u1ebfn Tr\u00fac V\u00e0 \u0110\u1eddi S\u1ed1ng<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

After 24 years of ruling, he abdicated the throne to his 13-year-old son, who later on became known as Emperor L\u00ea Ch\u00e2n T\u00f4ng. However, the young emperor passed on seven years after that due to illness, and L\u00ea Th\u1ea7n T\u00f4ng had to accede to the throne once again.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Vietnam has grown into a more modern and receptive society<\/h3>\n
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For the past half-century, Vietnam has grown into a modern and more open-minded society. The great number of expats populating every part of the country is a major reflection of Vietnamese people\u2019s efforts and willingness to give global integration a try. Therefore, intermarriage has become increasingly common and well-received in Vietnamese society.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to historians, we now know that Vietnam\u2019s history of interracial marriage dates back to the 17th century. That was such a rare occurrence back in the day and would definitely make for an exciting history lesson, or a period drama.<\/span><\/p>\n

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