Học phi Nguyễn Thị Hương

Nguyễn Thị Hương (阮氏香), also known as Học phi (學妃; lit. Concubine of Learnedness), was a wife of Emperor Tự Đức of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam and adoptive mother of Emperor Kiến Phúc.[1] Following Kiến Phúc's accession to the throne, Hương was elevated to the position of one of the Tam Cung (三宮), three most powerful palace women[note 1] who played a significant role in the enthronement and dethronement of Nguyễn Emperors Kiến Phúc, and Hàm Nghi.

After Emperor Kiến Phúc's unexpected death in 1884, there were spreading rumors of her involvement in the incident. According to A. Delvaux,[2] Hương had an affair with Nguyễn Văn Tường - a regent that Tự Đức had appointed to guide his successors.[3][4] She and Tường were caught together by Emperor Kiến Phúc, who vowed to kill them. On that same night, Học Phi slipped poison into Kiến Phúc's medicine, resulting in the emperor's death.[5][6] These rumors however, have never been validated by any official document.

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Notes

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  1. ^ The other two are Grand Empress Mother Từ Dụ and Empress Mother Trang Ý, mother and first wife of Emperor Tự Đức, respectively.

Sources

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  1. ^ vivantes (France), École des langues orientales (1895). Centenaire de l'École des langues orientales vivantes 1795-1895 (in French). Imprimerie nationale.
  2. ^ A. Delvaux (1941). Bulletin des Amis du Vieux Huế (in French). Huế.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Trần, Mathilde Tuyết. Dấu Xưa - Tản Mạn Lịch Sử Nhà Nguyễn (in Vietnamese). NXB Trẻ.
  4. ^ Đặng, Duy Phúc (1996). Thăng Long, Đông Kinh, Hà Nội, quê hương và nơi hội tụ nhân tài (in Vietnamese). Nhà xuá̂t bản Hà Nội.
  5. ^ The History of Vietnam - Page 23 Justin Corfield - 2008 "poisoned with a mixture of opium and vinegar. He chose the last and ... Soon afterward, palace rumors revealed that one night Kien Phuc found his adoptive mother, Hoc Phi, with her lover Regent Nguyen Van Tuong. Although he vowed to get ..."
  6. ^ Encyclopaedia of Southeast Asian dynasties - Volume 2 - Page 100 Shiv Shanker Tiwary - 2008 "He was never given this opportunity, for that same night, Hoc Phi put poison in his medication and Kien Phuc died at dawn on August 1, 1884. "