Imperial Succession Poem
Minh Mạng had many wives and children, he decided to name his descendants (Nguyễn Phước or Nguyễn Phúc: all members of the Nguyễn Dynasty) by choosing the Middle name following the words of the Imperial succession poem to avoid confusion. For boys, the following poem is shown in Chữ Quốc Ngữ (modern Vietnamese script) and in chữ nôm:
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The meaning of each name is roughly given as follows:
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Miên | respecting above all the rules of life, such as meeting and parting, life and death (trường cửu phước duyên trên hết) |
| Hồng | building a harmonious family (oai hùng đúc kết thế gia) |
| Ưng | establishing a prosperous country (nên danh xây dựng sơn hà) |
| Bửu | being helpful and caring toward the common people (bối bâu lợi tha quần chúng) |
| Vĩnh | having a good reputation (bền khí hùng ca anh tụng) |
| Bảo | being courageous (ôm lòng khí dũng bình sanh) |
| Quý | being elegant (cao sang vinh hạnh công thành) |
| Định | being decisive (tiền quyết thi hành oanh liệt) |
| Long | having a typically royal appearance (vương tướng rồng tiên nối nghiệp) |
| Trường | being long-lasting (Vĩnh cửu nối nghiệp nối dòng) |
| Hiền | being humane (tài đức phúc âm soi sáng) |
| Năng | being talented (gương soi khuôn phép bờ cõi) |
| Kham | being hard-working and versatile (đảm đương mọi cơ cấu giỏi) |
| Kế | being well-organized (hoạch sách mây khói cân phân) |
| Thuật | being truthful in speech (biên chép lời đúng ý dân) |
| Thế | being faithful to the family (mãi thọ cận thân gia tộc) |
| Thoại | being wealthy (ngọc quý tha hồ phước tộc) |
| Quốc | (dân phục nhắm gốc giang sanc) |
| Gia | being well-established (muôn nhà Nguyễn vẫn huy hoàng) |
| Xương | bringing prosperity to the world (Phồn thịnh bình an thiên hạ) |
Girls receive also a different name on each generation, for example: Công-Chúa, Công-Nữ, Công Tôn-Nữ, Công-Huyền Tôn-Nữ, Lai-Huyền Tôn-Nữ.
Read more about this topic: Minh Mang
Famous quotes containing the words imperial, succession and/or poem:
“Fair tresses man’s imperial race ensnare,
And beauty draws us with a single hair.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“We then entered another swamp, at a necessarily slow pace, where the walking was worse than ever, not only on account of the water, but the fallen timber, which often obliterated the indistinct trail entirely. The fallen trees were so numerous, that for long distances the route was through a succession of small yards, where we climbed over fences as high as our heads, down into water often up to our knees, and then over another fence into a second yard, and so on.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“This is the poem of the air,
Slowly in silent syllables recorded;
This is the secret of despair,
Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded,
Now whispered and revealed
To wood and field.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1809–1882)