Phan Thanh Giản had three sons, Phan Thanh Liêm, Phan Thanh Tong and Phan Thanh Hương, of which the first two organised an armed rebellion against the French soldiers who had colonised Vĩnh Long and were later captured and killed. Nowadays, Phan Thanh Giản is being venerated as a minor god among his family members and a few in southern Vietnam. Phan Thanh Giản Phan Thanh Giản (潘淸簡, November 11, 1796–1867) was a Grand Counsellor at the Nguyễn court in Vietnam. He led an embassy to France in 1863, and committed suicide when France completed the invasion of Southern Vietnam (Cochinchina) in 1867.
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