Phạm Thận Duật

Phạm Thận Duật (, 1825–1885) was a high-ranking mandarin serving in the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam. He and Tôn Thất Phan, representing emperor Tự Đức's court, signed the Treaty of Huế with France. He participated in the anti-colonial Cần Vương resistance and died while being sent to exile in Tahiti by the French. Knowledge of his role in the resistance was hidden or lost for many decades after his death; he was thought to have been a French collaborator for having signed the treaty.

He was also a celebrated historian who was in charge of the National History Institute and the Imperial College . He was the final editor of The Imperially Ordered Annotated Text Completely Reflecting the History of Vietnam, a Chinese-language history of Vietnam commissioned by the emperor Tự Đức, and the mentor of future emperors Dục Đức and Đồng Khánh. There is now a prize for doctoral theses in History named after him, the Phạm Thận Duật Award.

Early life Phạm Thận Duật (courtesy names Quan Thành and Vọng Sơn, the latter named after a mountain in his hometown Ninh Bình) was born in Yên Mô Thượng village, Yên Mạc county, Yên Mô district, Ninh Bình, on November 3, 1825, during emperor Minh Mạng's rule. His family were poor farmers who aspired to education for their children. At the age of nine, he began studying Confucianism with Vũ Phạm Khải in a neighbor village, but it lasted only a few days before Vũ Phạm Khải went to Huế to assume a government post. Phạm Thận Duật then became a student of his uncle, Nguyễn Hữu Văn, and afterwards studied under Phạm Tư Tề, a teacher from the same village who had opened a school in Nam Định. Four years later, he returned home to study under scholar Phạm Đức Diệu in Yên Mô district who later became his father-in-law. Realizing Duật's potential, Phạm Đức Diệu recommended Duật to his close friend Phạm Văn Nghị, a retired mandarin who was staunchly anti-colonialist.

Imperial court career In 1850, Phạm Thận Duật passed the provincial exam, and took the court exam in Huế the year after but did not advance further. Still, he was appointed as an official serving the Nguyễn dynasty during emperor Tự Đức's rule. Initially, he was the Prefecture Educational Commissioner of Đoan Hùng county, then promoted to Prefect of Tuần Giáo. During this period, he composed the Hưng Hóa Gazettes under the name Quan Thành. In 1857, he was appointed Prefect of Quế Dương, and then Prefect of Lạng Giang. Afterwards he was promoted as a province official, holding posts such as Plantation Commissioner, Surveillance Commissioner, Administration Commissioner, and ultimately Governor of Bắc Ninh.

In 1870–1871, Phạm Thận Duật took part in the campaign to neutralize bandits at the midlands border. In 1873, when the French, led by Francis Garnier, attacked the Hanoi citadel (see Conquest of Cochinchina), he was designated to govern Tonkin's provinces and appoint temporary government officials, becoming Patrol of Hà Nội. In 1874, he was appointed Patrol of Bắc Ninh, executing a successful campaign to eliminate bandits in the north. In 1875, he became the assistant to Tôn Thất Thuyết, responsible for the administration of two provinces, Bắc Ninh and Thái Nguyên.

For many years afterwards, because he had signed the Treaty of Huế, Phạm Thận Duật was seen as a French collaborator and a traitor to the Vietnamese. However, in 1975, the tombstone was unearthed and his role as a leader of the resistance was rediscovered. His tombstone was re-erected, celebrating his life and work as a patriotic scholar and staunchly anti-colonialist official in emperor Tự Đức's court. another one in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, and one in downtown Ninh Bình city.

In addition, the Phạm Thận Duật Award is a prestigious prize awarded annually to the most excellent new doctoral theses in History Studies in Vietnam. From 2000 to 2024, the fund has given 125 prizes in total.