This year, our Emperor celebrates his fortieth birthday. He has decreed that an additional examination be held, which fills the scholars hearts with j oy.
We, licentiates, bachelors and candidates of Nghe Tinh province, publish this circular letter:
This year, our Emperor celebrates his fortieth birthday. He has decreed that an additional examination be held, which fills the scholars hearts with j oy.
For centuries, our country, however, has never lacked people of talent, our national territory is by no means of small size, and our military science is not at all a low level; why then did we all of a sudden concede three provinces to the Western bandits, grant them the right to build churches and give them a free hand to harm our Fatherland? What will become of our Fatherland, the royal Palaces, and the Tombs of our Emperors? What will become of us of our people and of the tombs of our ancestors?
Many time, we have petitioned the Emperor to fight the Westerners, but he has not given his consent.
On the contrary, the Emperor wrote a comment on the margin of our petition to the effect that scholars in the South and in the North lacked virtue. It is truly difficult for us to know his real intentions.
Now the community of scholars in our province has achieved unity of action, in the ministries where they work as well as in the villages where they live. We have elected a leadership composed of nearly 100 licentiates, bachelors and candidates, collected 20,050 teals of silver, and made weapons; we have sent appeal to the Emperor but he does not seem to have a good grasp of the situation; we have appealed to the mandarins but they have not even said a word in our support, do th ey think we are rebels or heretics?
At present, our cruel enemies are resorting to the most dangerous tricks; they insidiously spread poison; they assassinate our soldiers and mandarins; are we to live under the same sky as those enemies who are bent on annihilating us?
For this reason, we call on all provinces to unite all their scholars, to be of one mind and to muster their forces, and to alert all their populations should enemy forces seek to infiltrate into their territory or propagate the Christian faith. We must gather our forces to annihilate the enemy without pity.
In this way, we shall not be unworthy of the education lavished upon us by the Emperor, and we can face our fathers and mothers without shame. Our movement follows the right path indicated by the law of Heaven and mens hearts. Anyone showing disobedience or professing hostile ideas will be punished.
Done this third day of the fourth month of the twenty-first year of Tu Dus reign (1868).
The Community of Scholars of Nghe Tinh province - Bureau for the Fight against Western Invaders.
According to Medical Doctor Nguyen Khac Vien
Vietnams foreign language publishing house in 1964