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HIM Emperor Thanh Thai (1878-1954 1889/1907), the Emperor of Annam. Tinted vintage postcard from ca. 1905. Published by Victor Fievet, Hanoi ( Tonkin).
Unused, fine condition.
Even at the age of 10, Thành Thái was recognized as being very intelligent and was already realizing that the French were keeping watch over him through palace spies. Also, whereas ??ng Khánh had tried to be friendly with the French, Emperor Thành Thái took a course of passive-resistance. Although he refrained from outright rebellion (which would have been political suicide), he made his feelings clear in other ways, symbolic gestures and biting remarks. He was also a man of the people, and a monarch who cared deeply for his country. The Emperor would often slip out of the Forbidden Purple City (Hu?) dressed in the clothes of a commoner to talk with his people directly and see how they were being affected by government policies.
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