Phan Thanh Giản
Phan Thanh Giản 潘清簡 | |
|---|---|
Biên Hòa[1] | |
| Died | August 4, 1867 |
| Other names | Courtesy name (tự): Đạm Như (淡如) Pseudonym (hiệu): Lương Khê (梁溪). |
| Organization | Nguyễn dynasty |
| Notes | |
Negotiator of the Treaty of Saigon . Ambassador to France. Governor. | |
Phan Thanh Giản (November 11, 1796– August 4, 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.
Life
Treaty of Saigon
Phan Thanh Giản was one of the foremost mandarins of the Nguyễn court. He played a key role in negotiating the
Because of his role in these negotiations, Phan Thanh Giản became rather unpopular, both with the Vietnamese population, and with the court of king Tự Đức.[2]
Embassy to France (1863)
In 1863, Phan Thanh Giản was sent by the emperor on an embassy to France to visit
Through his visit to France, Phan Thanh Giản obtained a first hand understanding of the level of advancement of France compared to Vietnam, was astonished at examples of technological innovation such as
"If faithfulness and sincerity are expressed
Fierce tigers pass by,
Terrifying crocodiles swim away
Everyone listens to Nghia (conscience)"
Governorship
Upon his return, Tự Đức nominated Phan Thanh Giản governor of the remaining southern provinces.[2] When France invaded the rest of the southern territories in 1867, Phan Thanh Giản chose to avoid armed resistance and failed to defend the citadel of Vĩnh Long,[7] waiting for orders that never came, resigned from his position and took his own life through poisoning.[2]
Family
His grandfather, Phan Thanh Tap was a native of
He had three sons, Phan Hương, Phan Liêm (also known as Phan Thanh Liêm, or Phan Thanh Tòng), and Phan Tôn, of which the last two organised an armed rebellion against the French soldiers who had colonised Vĩnh Long and were later defeated. Phan Hương stayed in Vĩnh Long, lived hidden as a farmer. Phan Liêm and Phan Tôn escaped to Huế, then followed Nguyễn Tri Phương in Battle of Hanoi (1873). They were defeated and captured by the French force in this one-day battle. General Phương was heavily wounded but refused to be treated by French and began a hunger strike, dying shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, Phan Liêm and Phan Tôn were sent to France. [8][9]
In popular culture
Nowadays, Phan Thanh Giản is being venerated as a minor god in some localities in southern Vietnam.[10]
Images
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Phan Thanh Giản -
Temple of Phan Thanh Giản -
Phan Thanh Giản in Paris, France 1863.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Nguyẽn (1964), p. 227
- ^ a b c d e Jamieson, p.46
- ^ Vietnam by Jan Dodd, Mark Lewis, Ron Emmons, p.151
- ^ Chapuis, p.49: "Phan Thanh Giản agreed to cede Già Dinh, My Tho, Bien Hoa, and the Poulo Condore Island, and to pay for war reparations of 400000 silver dollars over 10 years"
- ^ Tran and Reid, p.207
- ^ Chapuis, pp.50–51
- ^ The Twenty-five Year Century by Quang Thi Lâm, p.11
- ^ Nguyẽn (1964), p. 240
- ^ "Nguyễn Dynasty famous scholar, high ranking mandarin - Phan Thanh Giản". cand.com.vn. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
- ^ "Bến Tre with historical character Phan Thanh Giản". baodongkhoi.vn. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
References
- Chapuis, Oscar (2000). The Last Emperors of Vietnam: from Tu Duc to Bao Dai. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31170-6.
- Choi, Byung Wook, Southern Vietnam Under the Reign of Minh Mạng (1820–1841): Central Policies and Local Response, SEAP Publications, 2004, ISBN 0-87727-138-0
- Jamieson, Neil L. (1995). Understanding Vietnam. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-20157-4.
- Nguyẽn, Phút Tán, A Modern History of Viet-nam (1802–1954), Nhà sách Khai-Trí, 1964
- Tran, Nhung Tuyet; Reid, Anthony (2006). Việt Nam: borderless histories. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-299-21774-4.
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