He Xiwen (, died 1801), or Hà Hỷ Văn in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

, was a Chinese

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

throughout the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

in the late 1700s. His early life was unknown. He joined the

White Lotus The White Lotus () is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" (), i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya. As White Lotus sects developed, they appealed to many Han Chinese who found solac ...

Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, China. Later, he migrated to

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

, where he joint a pirate band that belonged to

Tiandihui The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's a ...

. His pirate fleet attacked the coast of Fujian and

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. For reasons unknown he came to

Southern Vietnam Southern Vietnam ( vi, Nam Bộ) is one of the three geographical regions of Vietnam, the other two being Northern and Central Vietnam. It includes 2 administrative regions, which in turn are divided into 19 ''First Tier units'', of which 17 a ...

, perhaps because his fleet was attacked by

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

navy. He was thought to be the same person ''Hé Qǐwén'' (何起文, ''Hà Khởi Văn''), whom was a Chinese pirate mentioned in '' Veritable Records of Qing dynasty''. In 1786, his fleet was in Pulo Condor. He came into contact with

Nguyễn Ánh Gia Long ( (''North''), (''South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unifie ...

. In the next year, Nguyễn Ánh came from

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...

back to Southern Vietnam. When Ánh arrived in

Ko Kut Ko Kut ( th, เกาะกูด, ), also known as Koh Kood, is an island in the Gulf of Thailand. The island is administrated as part of the Ko Kut District Ko Kut ( th, เกาะกูด, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Trat province, ea ...

(''Cổ Cốt''), He swore allegiance to Nguyễn Ánh. Việt Nam sử lược, quyển 2, Chương 12 In return, he received the title ''tuần hải đô dinh'' (巡海都營). '' Đại Nam chính biên liệt truyện'' stated that he had talent in naval battle. He died in 1801.

References

Chinese pirates Generals of the Nguyễn lords 1801 deaths 18th-century pirates {{Pirate-stub

See also

References