Little-known facts about King Hàm Nghi, as revealed in a book by his fifth-generation descendant.

On November 5th, at the Duyet Thi Duong Theater ( Hue Imperial Citadel), the Hue Ancient Citadel Relics Conservation Center organized a seminar to launch the book " Ham Nghi - The Exiled Emperor, the Artist in Algiers" by author and speaker Dr. Amandine Dabat, a 5th-generation descendant of King Ham Nghi.

A book launch and discussion about King Hàm Nghi took place at Duyet Thi Duong Theatre (Hue Imperial Citadel)

The book "Ham Nghi - The Exiled Emperor, the Artist in Algiers" is a study of the life and career of King Ham Nghi, a patriotic king and a talented painter, during his exile in France and Algiers.

The book contains 71 pages of fine art, 12 pages of sculptures, and 68 pages of documentary photographs and letters translated from the original French version , *Ham Nghi – Empereur en exil, artiste à Alger*, published by Sorbonne in 2019.

To conduct this research, Dr. Amandine Dabat relied on two important collections. The first is the Ham Nghi collection, preserved by the king's descendants, comprising 2,500 documents, primarily correspondence, including letters received by the king and manuscripts written by the king during his exile. The second collection consists of documents from the Algiers government containing administrative documents and political projects of the French government related to King Ham Nghi.

After translation, the book helps Vietnamese readers discover the lesser-known artistic aspects of the emperor – one of the artists who left a special mark on modern Vietnamese art.

After reading Dr. Amandine Dabat's work, researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa (from Hue City) commented at the book launch that it offered the public new, previously unseen perspectives and revealed the mysteries of King Ham Nghi. The book is extremely interesting because during the last 50 years of King Ham Nghi's life in exile, people knew nothing about his life's secrets. This work reconstructs the entire life and achievements of King Ham Nghi from every angle.

Researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa (second from the left) gives his remarks at the book launch about King Ham Nghi.

"When King Hàm Nghi first arrived in France, he met a female writer and had a beautiful friendship with her for 17 years. This writer continuously wrote about Hàm Nghi, wrote books, composed poems in French related to the king's name, and was so devoted that she even sculpted a statue of Hàm Nghi. It can be said that she was infatuated with Hàm Nghi. Often, it was difficult to distinguish whether it was love or friendship; however, the exiled king maintained their friendship very well," researcher Nguyễn Xuân Hoa said, describing the content that impressed him after reading the book.

This is just one of the previously untold stories about King Hàm Nghi, recounted by author Amandine Dabat through the pages of her book.

Dr. Amandine Dabat introduces the book "Ham Nghi - The Exiled Emperor, Artist in Algiers".

Researchers studying Hue culture consider this to be an unprecedented work of art research in Vietnam.

According to researcher Nguyen Dac Xuan, the author of the book used many documents collected by his family, a treasure trove never before seen by the public and of high accuracy. The author is also a graduate student with in-depth knowledge of visual arts, and was able to identify who influenced King Ham Nghi in his life.

Mr. Hoang Viet Trung, Director of the Hue Ancient Citadel Conservation Center, assessed this as a research project on the life and career of King Ham Nghi as a patriotic king and a talented painter, during his exile in France and Algiers. The project explores little-known artistic aspects of the emperor, who left behind a vast artistic legacy including 91 paintings and other sculptures.

Dr. Amandine Dabat is the great-granddaughter of Princess Nhu Ly (daughter of King Ham Nghi). She holds a PhD in art history (Sorbonne University) and a Master's degree in Vietnamese studies (University of Paris 7-Diderot). In 2015, she successfully defended her doctoral thesis at the French National Institute of Art History (Paris) on King Ham Nghi, entitled "Ham Nghi - The Exiled Emperor, the Artist in Algiers".

The book "Hàm Nghi - The Exiled Emperor, the Artist in Algiers"

For many years, she has been dedicated to supporting the Hue Imperial City Relics Conservation Center in collecting photographic and painting materials and donating many important artifacts, enriching the collection of heritage about King Ham Nghi at the Hue Imperial Antiquities Museum. Through this, she has helped the public gain a deeper understanding of King Ham Nghi, not only as a patriotic king but also as a talented artist who left a special mark on modern Vietnamese art; and as the first person to lay the foundation for European art in Vietnam.

On this occasion, descendants of King Hàm Nghi also donated many precious artifacts of King Hàm Nghi to the Huế Royal Antiquities Museum, including: a mother-of-pearl inlaid wooden tray, a set of Chinese books, a pair of royal chopsticks made of seahorse ivory, and a pair of porcelain coins. These are artifacts of high cultural and historical value, contributing to enriching the collection of heritage related to King Hàm Nghi at the Huế Royal Antiquities Museum.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-dieu-chua-biet-ve-vua-ham-nghi-qua-cuon-sach-cua-hau-due-doi-thu-5-185241105133714247.htm