Princess An Thuong

At a feast in the royal palace, the emperor handed each of his daughters a piece of goat meat. The other little girls ate theirs at once, happily. One girl of about nine kept the meat in her mouth and, for a long while, would not swallow it. She was Princess An Thường, and that piece of meat was where a very special story began.

According to Vietnam's State Records and Archives Department, her real name was Nguyễn Phúc Lương Đức. As a small child she was also called Tam Xuân. She was the fourth daughter of Emperor Minh Mạng. His family, the Nguyễn dynasty, was Vietnam's last royal dynasty, and it reigned from 1802 to 1945. The princess was born in 1817. From early childhood she was known as a gentle, obedient girl who loved her father and mother.

Because of this gentle nature, her father loved her dearly. When she was a little older, he sent her to study at Trinh Minh Hall. There she learned her letters, poetry and history. She also learned the women's crafts, the skilled household work of a girl. She worked hard at her lessons and was clever, so everyone held her dear.

The feast came when she was only nine, and her mother was ill in the palace. The emperor held a feast with goat tail and goat meat, a nourishing dish, and he gave each princess a share. Her sisters ate happily, but she held the meat in her mouth and did not swallow. Her father found it strange and asked her why. She answered that her mother was ill and could not enjoy such good, strengthening food, so she wanted to save it and carry it to her. Hearing this from his young daughter, the emperor was deeply moved by her loving heart. A girl of nine, standing before a fine dish, had thought first not of herself but of her ill mother. Her love for her mother was clear and pure.

That love was not for one day only. It stayed with her all her life. When she grew up, she married Phan Văn Oánh, who became the imperial son-in-law, and she was given the title of Princess An Thường. But even with a household of her own, her heart still turned toward her father and mother.

Later her mother passed away, but the princess's love did not fade. According to the archives, one day she saw that Ý Thục Temple, where her mother was honored, had grown old and worn with the years. She felt great pity. She asked to give up her own rice allowance for three years and use it to repair the temple and make it beautiful again. Three years of her own rice was a great gift of the heart. She did this not to be praised. She only wanted the place that honored her mother to stay warm and clean. She had loved her mother while she lived, and she went on loving her the same way afterward.

Princess An Thường lived a very long life, to about the age of 75. In her last years she turned to the Buddha, lived a quiet, peaceful life, and took the Buddhist name Thanh Từ. She passed away gently one summer, leaving behind for the world a name joined to two words, filial devotion.

A piece of goat meat kept in a child's mouth for her mother. An old temple repaired by a daughter to keep it warm. Small things like these still hold their warmth after all these years.