In 1788 a large Qing army was sent south to restore L?M?n ? (L?Chi陁 Th?ng) to the Vietnamese throne. They succeeded in taking Thang Long (H?N?i; Hanoi) and putting Emperor L?Chi陁 Th?ng back on the throne.

This situation did not last long as the T鈟 Son leader; Nguy?n Hu?; launched an attack against the Qing forces while they were celebrating the Chinese New Year festival of the year 1789. The Chinese were completely defeated and Nguy?n Hu? was proclaimed Emperor Quang Trung of Vietnam; although he also agreed to pat tribute to the Qing court to avoid further invasions.

The painting is from the 'Ten Great Campaigns' series produced by Jesuit missionaries at the Qing Court including Giuseppe Castiglione; Jean-Denis Attiret; Ignace Sichelbart and Jean Damascene. The engravings were executed in Paris under the direction of Charles-Nicolas Cochin of the Acad閙ie Royal at the Court of Louis XVI and the individual engravers include Le Bas; Aliamet; Prevot; Saint-Aubin; Masquelier; Choffard; and Launay.