Lê Văn Duyệt
Lê Văn Duyệt 黎文悅 | |
---|---|
Gia Định, Vietnam | |
Buried | |
Allegiance | Nguyễn lords Nguyễn dynasty |
Years of service | 1789–1832 |
Rank | General |
Battles/wars | Naval Battle of Thi Nai (1801) Battle of Quảng Nghĩa (1803) Cambodian rebellion (1811–1812) Campaign against Đá Vách (1816-1817) Cambodian rebellion (1820) |
Lê Văn Duyệt
Born into a family of peasants near
His governance greatly stabilized and helped develop the
Early life
Lê Văn Duyệt was born in either 1763
General of Nguyễn Ánh
In 1780, Duyệt became a
In 1782, the Tây Sơn attacked
In 1789, Nguyễn Ánh made Duyệt a general. From this point on, Duyệt accompanied his master on many military campaigns against the Tây Sơn. Continuous warfare then ensued, mostly centred near
In 1802, Nguyễn Ánh, who had declared himself Emperor Gia Long after capturing Phú Xuân (Huế), appointed Duyệt to the position of Khâm Sai Chưởng Tả Quân Dinh Bình Tây Tướng Quân ("Marshal of King's Left Division, Tây Sơn Pacification General") and ordered him to attack Tây Sơn-controlled northern Vietnam. In October 1802, Duyệt captured the north, and then renamed it from Bắc Hà ("Northern River") to Bắc Thành ("Northern Citadel") thus marking ultimate victory of the Nguyễn against the Tây Sơn.[10][16]
Duyệt's strategy, along with the French military tactics and technology recruited by Pigneau, played an important role in Nguyễn Ánh's success and the foundation of the Nguyễn dynasty.[9]
Mandarin of the Nguyễn dynasty
From 1802 to 1812, Duyệt served as a high-ranking general in the new imperial capital Huế in Annam (central Vietnam). In 1812, Emperor Gia Long appointed Duyệt as the viceroy of Gia Định. At this time, the viceroy of Gia Định held jurisdiction not only over Cochinchina (southern Vietnam) but also over Cambodia.[n 3]
The post of viceroy had significant powers; although no precise description of the head of Gia Định's responsibilities survives to this day, the rights of his northern counterpart included the power "...to decide lawsuits; and to appoint and dismiss officials at his own will. It is enough only to report to the court after acting at his own discretion."[18] Gia Long trusted Duyệt and his fellow southerners; all of the viceroy's lheading deputies were locally bred men, whereas many of those who ran the north were not. This allowed Duyệt and his entourage to develop a strong support base with the grassroots population and gave them more gravitas with which to rule.[19] He also tried to expand the support base for the Nguyễn in the south by appointing newly arrived Chinese refugees who had fled their homeland after the fall of the Ming dynasty as well as former rebels and bandits, to administrative posts if they were qualified, and encouraging their integration into and participation in society.[20][21] Under the system of the time, military governors such as Duyệt moved to different posts with individual units that they had commanded for years, so he could count on their fidelity.[17]
In 1812, a Siamese-supported young brother of Ang Chan, the King of Cambodia, rose up and seized the throne, which forced the incumbent to flee to Gia Định. In 1813, Duyệt, with the approval of Gia Long, entered Cambodia with an army of 10,000 troops and forced the Siamese army to retreat. He reinstated Ang Chan and built two citadels, Nam Vang and La Liem
In 1815, Emperor Gia Long summoned him back in order to suppress widespread rebellions in central Vietnam.
After pacifying central Vietnam, Duyệt was reappointed to be the viceroy of southern Vietnam and Cambodia in 1820 by Emperor Minh Mạng, Gia Long's successor.[26] The emperor further enhanced Duyệt's powers by allowing him the power to oversee all foreign trade coming into his area, and collect taxes in Cambodia and on imports and exports at his discretion. This gave Duyệt control over the vast economic resources in the fertile agricultural and lumber-rich region and most importantly, land development. The southern area had only been populated by ethnic Vietnamese in recent centuries and immigration, clearing and development of land was rapid.[18]
At the beginning of his second period as viceroy, Duyệt suppressed a revolt of the local Khmer people and enlisted ten thousand new taxpayers, thereby generating a large new revenue source for the court. He supervised the renovation of the Vĩnh Tế Canal, an important waterway in southern Vietnam. Moreover, Duyệt was successful in suppressing unrest and criminal activity, and increasing foreign trade in southern Vietnam and Cambodia .[26][28] Duyệt's works greatly stabilized and developed southern Vietnam, turning it into a wealthy and peaceful region.[29] As recognition for Duyệt's service, Minh Mạng rewarded Duyệt with a belt made of jade—a prestigious gift in the Confucian system usually given to an emperor as a tribute, or by a monarch to an official to honour a great service—and betrothed a princess to Duyệt's adopted son as a wife.[27]
Duyệt was also involved in internal palace machinations. He became involved in a bitter rivalry with General
On another hand, Duyệt was the mandarin who charged former Crown
Conflict with Minh Mạng
There was a lot of tension between Duyet and Minh Mạng. Although Gia Long had enlisted European support to claim the throne and allowed missionaries to function in Vietnam in gratitude to Pigneau,
As Crown Prince Cảnh had died of smallpox during the war against the Tây Sơn, it was assumed that Cảnh's son would succeed Gia Long, but in 1816 Nguyễn Phúc Đảm, the son of Gia Long's second wife, was appointed instead.[32] Gia Long chose him for his strong character and his deeply conservative aversion to Westerners, whereas Cảnh's lineage had converted to Catholicism and had shunned Confucian traditions such as ancestor worship.[33] Gia Long told his son to treat the Europeans—especially the French—respectfully, but not to grant them any position of preponderance.[32]
Minh Mạng disliked Duyệt because he was one of many high-ranking mandarins who opposed Gia Long's succession plan.
Minh Mạng began to place restrictions on Catholicism.[36] He enacted "edicts of interdiction of the Catholic religion" and condemned Christianity as a "heterodox doctrine".[36] He saw the Catholics as a possible source of division,[36] especially as the missionaries were arriving in Vietnam in ever-increasing numbers.[37]
Because of the role of Westerners in the war between the Nguyễn and the Tây Sơn, and Pigneau's role in recruiting European assistance, Duyệt protected Vietnamese Catholic converts and Westerners from Minh Mạng's isolationalist and Confucian policies by disobeying the emperor's orders.[38] In defense of the Christians, Duyệt wrote to Ming Mạng, "We still have between our teeth the rice which the missionaries gave us when we were starving."[39] This came in response to an imperial edict that ordered missionaries to leave their areas of operation and move to the imperial city, ostensibly because the palace needed translators, but in reality to stop the Catholics from proselytizing.[40] Whereas the government officials in central and northern Vietnam complied, Duyệt disobeyed the order and Minh Mạng was forced to bide his time.[40] In the meantime, southern Christians were still publicly identifying themselves as such and praticising their beliefs without facing any obstacles from local officials.[41] Choi said that "From the point of view of Minh Mạng and his men, the land of Gia Định was thoroughly sheltered by Lê Văn Duyệt's prestige."[41]
Duyệt's policy towards criminals and former rebels also courted conflict with Minh Mạng. In the early-19th century, the nascent years of the Nguyễn dynasty were plagued by incessant revolts, particularly in northern and central Vietnam. This resulted in a large number of rebels being captured along with common criminals and bandits. Such people were usually internally exiled to the opposite part of the country, so a large number ended up in southern Vietnam. These included many former rebels who were spared the death penalty after being defeated by Duyệt in northern and central Vietnam during his pacification campaigns in the late 1810s, and had sworn loyalty towards the general personally.[42] These men were sent south with their wives and children to remove them from potentially rebellious areas and to punish them, but another objective was to start military colonies to help develop southern Vietnam, which had only recently been acquired by ethnic Vietnamese.[43] The convicts were given equipment to work on the land and some were later pardoned.[43] Duyệt and Gia Long had employed surrendered Tây Sơn officers in positions of authority, and this policy had continued due a shortage of manpower until Minh Mạng came to power. Duyệt wanted to continue this policy and wrote to Minh Mạng for permission, but was rejected. The emperor replied that such a policy was "like releasing a monkey to climb up a tree".[44] For Minh Mạng, the placement of former convicts and rebels in positions of power was contrary to the Confucian system of order and debauched the prestige of the state, whereas Duyet was only concerned with practicality.[45]
During the 1820s, Duyệt's continued cultivated of relations with the immigrant Chinese community that had settled in southern Vietnam in large numbers brought him into conflict with Minh Mạng. The general had adopted a Chinese immigrant merchant as his son and gave him favours, including appointing him to position of the body that regulated trade. The Japanese historian Shimao concluded that Duyệt and his entourage were given financial rewards and gifts from the Chinese merchants in return for favourable treatment by government officials.[46] It was also pointed out that another of Duyet's men was himself a businessman who had a Chinese agent.[47] At the time, southern Vietnam was producing rice in plentiful quantities but export was banned by Minh Mạng, but prices in Vietnam, which were lower than those overseas, kept rising by 50–100% in various parts of the country in five years.[48][49] In the meantime, the opium supply kept on increasing. It was thought that Chinese merchants, whom Duyệt patronised, were illegally exporting rice at higher prices, and then bringing back opium during return journeys along with incoming immigrants.[48] For his part, the general disagreed with the prevailing view held by the emperor, and said that people of both races were engaging in illegal trading, as well as blaming the incoming immigrants' personal addictions rather than the Chinese merchants for bringing in opium.[47] The historian Nola Cooke said that Duyet's viewpoint was more plausible and speculated that the emperor's stance was borne more out of a fear of the consequences of a disproportionate Chinese influence on the country than the reality of illegal trading.[47] Duyệt wanted to further give tax concessions to newly arrived Chinese immigrants that were deemed to be impoverished to encourage immigration and speed up development of the region, something that the emperor was sceptical of, on the reasoning that it was difficult to genuinely determine who was in need and that the concession system was therefore open to rorting.[47][50] Nevertheless, Duyệt disobeyed Minh Mạng and tax concessions were granted. Because of their involvement in the illegal exportation of rice and importation of opium, Minh Mạng tried to ban the Chinese from engaging in sea trade in 1827,[47] but this was easily circumvented by the merchants, who exploited their contacts with Duyệt and used fraudulent registrations, often under the name of Vietnamese wives.[47][51] It was not until Duyệt died that Minh Mạng was able to crack down on fraudulent sea trade.[51]
For a time, Duyệt's attitude and stature in the south forced Minh Mạng to moderate his policies and allow the preaching of Christian missionaries. However, it also increased the tension between the pair and Minh Mạng was anxious to curtail the autonomy that his father had granted to Duyệt and the southerners. The emperor began to slowly wind back their military powers,[52] in an attempt to wear down Duyệt's power base by gradually removing the general's close aides.[53]
In 1821, Minh Mạng sent two of his aides from central Vietnam to serve as education officials in the south. One of the objectives was that they would oversee the imperial examination process and education system, which would allow them to determine who would serve in the government as mandarins and therefore fill the southern ranks with men acceptable to the court. However, their attempts were either blocked or circumvented by Duyệt's incumbent officials and they returned to the capital two years later in failure.[54] In 1823, one of Duyệt's closest subordinates Tran Nhat Vinh, was indicted by one of Minh Mạng's officials from Huế, who charged him with trading rice on the black market and operating a brothel.[53] Duyệt put a stop to the legal proceedings and angrily tried to turn the tables,[53] calling on the emperor to execute the accusing official.[55] This ended in a stalemate, but a few years later, Vinh was transferred to northern Vietnam and later imprisoned while Duyet was unable to do anything about the matter in the south; Vinh's position was taken by one of the emperor's men.[55] In 1826, Duyệt resisted the removal of a regional official by the palace, leading the emperor to criticise him in a proclamation declaring that court appointments came under the purview of Huế. The following year, Duyệt executed convicted criminals without informing the capital, leading the emperor to criticise him again, saying that "the ultimate authority to decide questions of life and death belongs to the court."[56]
In 1829, Duyet suffered another blow when
Family and personal life
Lê Văn Duyệt had a wife named Đỗ Thị Phận. Apart from Lê Văn Khôi, Duyệt had another adopted son named Lê Văn Yến who had married princess Ngoc Nghien, a daughter of Gia Long.[26]
Duyệt was typically described as a stern, hot-tempered but fair man, which made him both feared and respected by people.[58] Many lower-level bureaucrats and military officers were loath to speak to him directly, as were some higher officials.[13] Some later accounts have portrayed his strict ways in a more negative light. According to the later imperial official Phan Thuc Truc, Duyệt sometimes fatally beat dogs and beheaded senior local officials for no reason.[13] Duyệt was also regarded as an eccentric; he raised 30 members of the Montagnard hill tribes to act as servants, and kept exactly 100 chickens and 100 dogs at his home. Whenever he returned to his official residence after an assignment, he ordered a tiger and 50 dogs to march after him.[59] In 1825, Michel-Duc Chaigneau, the nephew of Gia Long's French military mandarin Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau, visited Gia Định on a government mission and said that Duyệt "has great talent both in battle and administration. People fear him, but he is heartily loved by people here because he is fair."[59]
He was also famous for his love of
George Finlayson, a representative of the British government who visited Gia Định in 1822, described Duyệt as a man who liked to dress plainly, almost in a manner similar to his peasant constituents.[59] Finlayson said that Duyệt "has an intelligent look, and may be esteemed to possess considerable activity both of mind and body: his face is round and soft, his features flabby and wrinkled; he has no beard, and bears considerable resemblance to an old woman: his voice, too, is shrill and feminine."[59]
Duyệt's informal manner caused him difficulties during Minh Mạng's administration, as the second emperor's government was more oriented towards classical Confucianism than that of his father. The younger mandarins regarded Duyệt and his southern entourage as uncultured, and the older military officials felt more uncomfortable in the court as time went by.[62] Gia Long was also seen a direct and frank man in his dealings, while Minh Mạng was seen as being vague in expressing his thoughts to his bureaucrats.[62] This was attributed to Gia Long's dependence on military officers during the war years, which required him to be blunt and assertive, whereas Minh Mạng grew up dealing with court scholars after the establishment of the Nguyễn dynasty, and was regarded as a quiet and studious monarch.[62] After a visit to the capital in 1824, Duyệt found the imperial court to be an uncomfortable surrounding and confided in a colleague:
The court recruits civil officials and wants to make a proper ruling system with them. Both of us have rise in the world from a military background. We only know straight expression and quick action, thus violating manners or official rules, sometimes. We are originally different from them. We had better give up our positions...to avoid possible mistakes.[62]
Duyệt and fellow southern general Le Chat then resigned their positions, but the emperor rejected their offers. Duyệt wanted a post in the capital, but was not given one, in part of suspicions among the court that the general could launch a palace coup, not unlike many insurrections in Vietnam's past. Duyệt was sent back to southern Vietnam, far from the royal seat.[63]
Death and legacy
On 30 July 1832, Duyệt died in the Citadel of Saigon at the age of 68. He was buried at Bình Hòa, Gia Định (present day Ho Chi Minh City). His tomb was called Lăng Ông Bà Chiểu ("Tomb of the Marshal in Ba Chieu") by the local people.[64]
Duyệt's death opened the way for Minh Mạng to apply his policies in the south, as the viceroy's subordinates lacked the influence to defy the court. The emperor also tried to reduce Duyệt's followers’ political power by abolishing the post of viceroy and putting the south under his direct rule, thus making Duyệt the last holder of the post.[56] Soon after Duyệt's death, Minh Mạng's new appointees arrived and took over the local administration. The new officials then launched an investigation and reported that Duyệt and his aides had engaged in corrupt and abusive practices.[56]
As a result,
After suppressing the revolt, which was supported by a Siamese invasion, lasted three years and briefly took control of the south, the emperor had Duyệt's tomb desecrated and had a stele with the inscription "Đây chỗ tên lại cái lộng quyền Lê Văn Duyệt chịu phép nước" ("Here lies the eunuch Lê Văn Duyệt who resisted the law") placed over the ruins.[66] The tomb remained in disrepair until the reign of next emperor, Thiệu Trị, who rehabilitated Duyệt and restored his tomb.[67] Then, Emperor Tự Đức turned the tomb into a national monument.[66]
After the establishment of the
Nevertheless, Duyệt is widely regarded by southern Vietnamese people as the most important local hero. Choi described Duyệt's popularity as follows: "No matter whether they are indigenous
In popular culture
Lê Văn Duyệt, along with
To Europeans, he has been known as "Great Eunuch."[75]
See also
- Intersex in history
- Timeline of intersex history
Notes
- Footnote
- Citations
- ^ เจ้าพระยาทิพากรวงศ์ (ขำ บุนนาค). "๒๖. เกิดเหตุเรื่องเขมรตอนที่ ๓". พระราชพงษาวดาร กรุงรัตนโกสินทร รัชกาลที่ ๒ (in Thai).
- ^ "Le Van Duyet | Vietnamese statesman". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ^ a b c Nghia M. Vo Saigon: A History – Page 46 2011
- ^ Far-sighted sovereigns in Việt Nam Thế Giới Publishers (Hanoi, Vietnam) 2004 Page 64 "Especially, when the meritorious warriors Nguyễn Văn Thành and Lê Văn Duyệt were Governors-General of Bắc Thành and Gia Định respectively, their authority went beyond the central court's control."
- ^ Jacob Ramsay Mandarins and Martyrs: The Church and the Nguyen Dynasty Page 61 2008 "Huế recognized the mission's prominence in Gia Định's power networks, notably its close ties with Lê Văn Duyệt, as part of the general threat southern parochialism posed to the primacy of the capital."
- ^ Huỳnh Minh, p. 128.
- ^ Nguyễn Khắc Thuần (1998), Việt sử giai thoại (History of Vietnam's tales), vol. 8, Vietnam Education Publishing House, p. 55
- ^ a b Huỳnh Minh, p. 129.
- ^ a b c Hall, pp. 423–429.
- ^ a b c d e f Choi, p. 52.
- ^ Mantienne, p. 522.
- ^ Mantienne, p. 520.
- ^ a b c Choi, p. 54.
- ^ Trần Trọng Kim, pp. 394–395.
- ^ a b Trần Trọng Kim, p. 395.
- ^ Huỳnh Minh, pp. 129–130.
- ^ a b c d Choi, p. 53.
- ^ a b Choi, p. 48.
- ^ Choi, pp. 48–49.
- ^ Choi, pp. 60–75.
- ^ Cooke, p. 86.
- ^ a b Trần Trọng Kim, pp. 412–413.
- ^ Huỳnh Minh, pp. 130–131.
- ^ "Lê Văn Duyệt". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ^ Ngaosīvat and Pheuiphanh Ngaosyvathn, pp. 98–101.
- ^ a b c d Huỳnh Minh, p. 131.
- ^ a b c d Choi, p. 58.
- ^ Choi, pp. 69–70.
- ^ Choi, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Buttinger, pp. 241, 311.
- ^ Buttinger, pp. 310, 262.
- ^ a b Buttinger, p. 268.
- ^ Buttinger, p. 269.
- ^ Choi, pp. 56–57.
- ^ a b c d e McLeod, p. 24.
- ^ a b c McLeod, p. 26.
- ^ McLeod, p. 27.
- ^ Choi, pp. 60–61.
- ^ Hall, p. 608.
- ^ a b McLeod, p. 28.
- ^ a b Choi, p. 83.
- ^ Choi, pp. 66–67.
- ^ a b Choi, p. 67.
- ^ Choi, pp. 68–69.
- ^ Choi, p. 69.
- ^ Choi, pp. 77–78.
- ^ a b c d e f Cooke, pp. 86–94.
- ^ a b Choi, pp. 70–75.
- ^ Cooke, p. 87.
- ^ Choi, p. 79.
- ^ a b Choi, p. 80.
- ^ McLeod, pp. 28–29.
- ^ a b c Choi, p. 84.
- ^ Choi, p. 51.
- ^ a b c Choi, p. 85.
- ^ a b c d McLeod, p. 29.
- ^ Choi, p. 86.
- ^ a b Choi, pp. 54–55.
- ^ a b c d e f Choi, p. 55.
- ^ a b Do, p. 59.
- ^ Huỳnh Minh, pp. 211–212.
- ^ a b c d Choi, p. 59.
- ^ Choi, pp. 59–60.
- ^ Huỳnh Minh, pp. 132–133.
- ^ Huỳnh Minh, p. 133.
- ^ a b Huỳnh Minh, p. 48.
- ^ a b c Taylor, p. 210.
- ^ Ray, Dragicevich, & Louis, p. 351.
- ^ Dodd & Lewis, p. 101
- ^ Hoàng Hải (2008). "Giữ được "nét xưa" nhờ trùng tu kịp thời (Keep the old things by renovating in time)" (in Vietnamese). The Thao Van Hoa Newspapers. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ H.O (2008). "Kịch "Tả quân Lê Văn Duyệt" ra nhà hát Hòa Bình ("Left Marshal Lê Văn Duyệt" play is to be performed first time in Hoa Binh theater)". Tuổi Trẻ (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 11 February 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Choi, pp. 53–54.
- ^ Huỳnh Minh, p. 124.
- ^ Lucy Nguyen-Hong-Nhiem A Dragon Child: Reflections Of A Daughter Of Annam In America 2004 Page 58 "We were asked to evacuate the neighborhood and go to Lê Văn Duyệt High School."
- ^ Doling, Tim (4 November 2015). "Notice on Historic Tombs in the Province of Gia-Dinh, 1924". HISTORIC VIETNAM. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
References
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- Cooke, Nola; Li Tana (2004). Water frontier: commerce and the Chinese in the Lower Mekong Region, 1750–1880. Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-3083-6.
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- Hall, Daniel George Edward (1964). A history of South-east Asia (2 ed.). Macmillan.
- Huỳnh Minh (2006). Gia Định Xưa (in Vietnamese). Ho Chi Minh City: Văn Hóa-Thông Tin Publishing House.
- Mantienne, Frédéric (October 2003). "The Transfer of Western Military Technology to Vietnam in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries: The Case of the Nguyen". S2CID 162778534.
- McLeod, Mark W. (1991). The Vietnamese response to French intervention, 1862–1874. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-93562-7.
- Ngaosīvat, Mayurī; Ngaosyvathn, Pheuiphanh (1998). Paths to conflagration: fifty years of diplomacy and warfare in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, 1778–1828. ISBN 978-0-87727-723-1.
- Ray, Nick; Dragicevich, Peter; Louis, Regis St. (2007). Vietnam. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74104-306-8.
- Taylor, Philip (2004). Goddess on the rise: pilgrimage and popular religion in Vietnam (illustrated ed.). University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2801-1.
- Trần Trọng Kim (2005). Việt Nam sử lược (in Vietnamese). Ho Chi Minh City: Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House.