Given a chance, I often visit worship house of the Bui family at Xuan Hoa hamlet, Binh Phu commune, Tay Son district, to burn incense in commemoration of female General Bui Thi Xuan. It’s small house located on a narrow area in the hamlet. It is said that the worship house was built on the old ground of her father’s house. Through ups and downs, it was rebuilt several times and now is solitary and gloomy.
The keeper of the worship house is a great-great-great generation descendant of the Bui in Tay Son. In his vague memory, he just knows that in this very land, a fine heroine was born and brought up. She goes down into Vietnamese history as a bright star of the country in the late 18th century.
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Statue of female General Bui Thi Xuan at Quang Trung Museum |
In such visits, I had chances to meet Van Trong Hung, Director of Binh Dinh Province Department of Culture - Information (present-day Department of Culture-Sport and Tourism), confiding with him my concern about the worship house in commemoration of the renown female General Bui Thi Xuan. Surely, at Quang Trung Museum, a solemn place has been already set aside to worship her and her husband, Tran Quang Dieu, one of the three highest-ranking literary mandarins. Yet, in the eyes of visitors, the worship house which is dedicated the worship of Bui Thi Xuan looks so solitary and temporary that it isn’t fit to the place to worship such a talented heroine of the country.
Last year, on occasion of 220th celebration of Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da Victory (1789-2009), a temple to commemorate the female Commander-in-chief Bui Thi Xuan was approved to be built at her very homeland. That’s also wishes of people who always respect and consider her saint.
With great respect for the heroine of Tay Son land, I forage for information about her in historical books and family annals of the Bui but fail to find any new information. Vile revenge of the Nguyen emperors whose origin is at Gia Mieu (Thanh Hoa Province) and ruling reign lasts for over 140 years probably extirpates all things about famous mandarins and military leaders of Tay Son Dynasty.
The history books just in all state that “Bui Thi Xuan (…?-1802), from Xuan Hoa hamlet, Binh Phu commune, Binh Khe district (present-day Tay Son district), Binh Dinh province. Have unknown parents. Descendant of Grand Chancellor Bui Dac Tuyen. Wife of the high-raking literary Tran Quang Dieu. Study martial arts with General Ngo Manh.”
Posterity hands down orally that she was a charming lady who was good at martial arts, particularly double broadswords. Her portrait displayed at the Bui family worship house is seemingly inaccurate.
Studying about female Commander-in-chief Bui Thi Xuan, all researchers acknowledge that she is a brave general, a good strategist, a loyal subject to Quang Trung Emperor, a faithful wife who gave herself to her husband’s body and soul, sharing burdens of military affairs with her husband, a fearless valiant in confrontation with enemies, regarding her own life as light as goose feather when facing her execution.
The couple Bui Thi Xuan and Trang Quang Dieu was clearly given credit for devotion to the just cause of Tay Son Dynasty in historical books. What makes people surprised at her is the fact that she was not only good at military strategy and martial arts but also talented at taming elephants as strong force to frighten the enemies many times. Vestige of the elephant training fields and martial arts training halls still remain now. It was said that before enlist in the army of Commander Nguyen Hue, she had nominated herself title of “Tay Son Woman General” and led a troop of female warriors with a herd of war elephants. The Bui at Xuan Hoa in the past was probably a big family of good reputation. In his work “Story about a fine heroine”, Nguyen Ba Huan told that martial arts Master Ngo Manh, who taught Bui Thi Xuan the arts, had been used to a general of the Nguyen Lords. Being harmed by the usurper Truong Phuc Loan, he took his nephew Ngo Van So to flee. When they were experiencing runaway hunger and coldness, they met father of Bui Thi Xuan, and were then protected and helped to settle down at the Bui family’s house. Ngo Manh taught Bui Thi Xuan. As soon as she became a martial arts talent, he passed away. Ngo Van So kept on living with the Bui family and then served Tay Son Dynasty.
In her book “Nhan than co: Literary mandarins and military generals of Emperor Quang Trung – Nguyen Hue”, author Tran Thi Huyen Trang mentioned a non-imperial court story: In 1777, among the marching troops of Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu to Gia Dinh Citadel, there were the couple Tran Quang Dieu and Bui Thi Xuan. Tay Son troops won battle against the Nguyen Lords’ enemies, killing many royal people in kinship of the Nguyen family, including Nguyen Lord grandson Phuc Dong (elder brother of Nguyen Anh). Nguyen Anh, 15 at that time, was running away with a group of people and accidentally confronted with troops of the female General Bui Thi Xuan. Some in the troops recognized Nguyen Anh and reported that to Bui Thi Xuan. She captured Nguyen Anh but then released because she was touched with pity that Nguyen Anh was still so young. If the detail had been correct, it would have been actually a big karmic retribution to Tay Son Dynasty and Bui Thi Xuan’s family later. The female general didn’t expect 25 years later, Tay Son Dynasty lost the war into the enemies. It was the person whom she had given the quarter that savagely executed her, her husband and her only daughter Tran Bich Xuan, who was just at the age of 15.
According to books written in 1807 by the French priest and missionary De La Bissachère, the bloody execution happened as follows: Bui Thi Xuan witnessed tragic death of her husband Tran Quang Dieu and her only 15-year-old daughter, she knew that she would be the next. “Now it comes to her turn. She courageously moves towards the elephants to provoke them. When she approaches the elephants, she is asked to knee down so that it will be easier for the elephants to throw her against the ground to death. She ignores, keeping on moving towards on her feet. Although the elephants are frenetically provoked, they won’t throw her to the ground until they are forced so much to do so. They seemingly recognize her, their old trainer. Before the execution, the brave woman asked to bring her pieces of silk cloth. She tightly wrapped the cloth around her feet and her body to the belly so that she avoids being naked like other executed women before.
It is said that 3 persons don’t change their countenance in the face of the death – Bui Thi Xuan, her husband and younger brother of Tay Son Emperor (Nguyen Lu).”
The death of the couple Bui Thi Xuan – Tran Quang Dieu makes them immortal. The dignified death causes them – mandarins and generals of Tay Son Dynasty – recognized as saints. On the contrary, the vileness of Nguyen Anh demonstrates a coward and cruel personality. Let’s hear response of female General Bui Thi Xuan to Nguyen Anh when she was captured to see the uprightness and pride of the deserved brave general of Tay Son: “If there were another female general like me, Nhat Le seaport wouldn’t be invaded. Thou would find hard to move to the northern region.”
What the heroine of age!
· Source: Gia Lai Newspaper Online | 
