Nguyen Phuc Anh was the only survivor of the ruling Nguyen family in the South. All of his family was killed by the Tay Son Rebellion leader Nguyen Hue in the late 18th century. During his early career as a leader, he met defeat after defeat and was hunted around like a duck. However, a very determined, opportunistic, and ruthless person, he took advantage of a weakened Tay Son Dynasty by internal rivalry and managed to unite Vietnam in 1802.

Nguyen Phuc Anh was a very selfish person. He would do anything to bring back his family's dynastic rule. For example, in 1784 he asked the Siamese to help him fight the Tay Son. He also seeked help from France, on the condition that he would give up Faifo (Hoi An), a very important sea port, and several islands. He also sent foods to the Ching armies when they invaded North Vietnam in 1788. He did not care much about the country or the people, just himself. Later on, after he became emperor, he killed several of his comrade in arms, who helped him since the beginning. He was also a very narrow-minded person. He isolated Vietnam from the out side world and did not allow any trading with other European countries. He also modeled everything after China, from clothing to custom to code of laws. Out of a rating system from 0-10, I would only give him a 3.