Phan Bội Châu became a teaching text at the Tonkin Free School in Hanoi, a school run by Phan's contemporaries to promote the independence movement. However, Phan did not receive much of a reaction in terms of aid towards his independence efforts, since the book made Chinese readers worry about their own future. The book had a much better reception among Vietnamese readers. Phan and a colleague, Đặng Tử Kính, left Japan for the first time in August 1905, carrying 50 copies of the book that were to distributed throughout Vietnam, of which further copies were made inside the country. Phan's direct writing
Phan Đình Phùng consecutive generations of the Phan family had been successful mandarinate graduates. All three of Phan's brothers who lived to adulthood passed the imperial examinations and became mandarins. Early on, Phan indicated his distaste for the classical curriculum required of an aspiring mandarin. He nevertheless persevered with his studies, passing the regional exams in 1876 and then topping the metropolitan exams the following year. In his exam response, Phan cited Japan as an example of how an Asian country could make rapid military progress given sufficient willpower. Phan was never known for his scholarly abilities; it was his reputation for principled