 His grandson was Chinese Nationalist Army major general Nguyễn Chấn Á who returned to Vietnam as one of the Taiwan military advisors.Nguyễn Thiện Thuật was born on March 23, 1844 in Xuân Dục village, Đường Hào district (currently is Xuân Đào village, Xuân Dục commune, Mỹ Hào town, Hưng Yên province), was the eldest child of a poor Confucian, he was a descendant of Nguyễn Trãi.His father was lecturer Nguyễn Tuy, his younger brothers were Nguyễn Thiện Dương and Nguyễn Thiện Kế, they both participated in Bãi Sậy uprising that was led by Thuật.