Minh Hương ( vi-hantu, or ) refers to descendants of

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

immigrants who settled in southern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during the 16th and 18th centuries. They were among the first wave of ethnic

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

who came to southern Vietnam. Ming refugees of Han ethnicity numbering 3,000 came to Vietnam at the end of the Ming dynasty. They opposed the

Qing dynasty 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-speak ...

and were fiercely loyal to the Ming dynasty. Vietnamese women married these Han refugees since most of them were soldiers and single men. Their descendants became known as Minh Hương and they strongly identified as Han despite influence from Vietnamese mothers. They did not wear the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

hairstyle unlike later Han migrants to Vietnam during the Qing dynasty. After the Qing

conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

of China proper, many Han people who refused to submit themselves to the Qing fled abroad. Ethnic Han leaders such as

Mạc Cửu Cửu (, vi-hantu, 鄚玖, vi, Mạc Cửu; km, ម៉ាក គីវ ''or'' ; 1655–1736), also spelled Mok Kui, was a Chinese exile who founded the Principality of Hà Tiên and ruled as its first monarch. He played a role in the relat ...

Trần Thượng Xuyên Trần Thượng Xuyên (Chen Shangchuan, vi-hantu, 陳上川, 1626–1720) was a Chinese exile. Trần Thượng Xuyên was born in Wuchuan, Guangdong, he was a general of Ming China, and swore allegiance to Zhu Youlang. After the execution ...

and

Dương Ngạn Địch Dương Ngạn Địch ( vi-hantu, 楊彥迪, , km, ឌួង ង៉ានឌីច, ?–1688) was a Chinese exile. Dương Ngạn Địch was a general of Ming China, native to Guangdong, and swore allegiance to Koxinga. His position was Chi ...

arrived in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

where they established their own polities in

Ha Tien Ha may refer to: Agencies and organizations * Health authority * Hells Angels Motorcycle Club * Highways Agency (now ''National Highways''), UK government body maintaining England's major roads * Homelessness Australia, peak body organisation ...

, Bien Hoa and

My Tho My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

. They later submitted to the

Nguyễn lords Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this su ...

, who provided them with noble titles and offer protection against Khmer and Siam threats. Many Minh Hương such as Trịnh Hoài Đức and Ngô Nhân Tịnh became Nguyen ministers and played important roles in the Vietnamese exploration and settlement of Mekong Delta. Originally, the Hán tự was ("those who worship Ming dynasty ancestrals"). It was changed to ("of Ming dynasty origins") in 1827 as ordered by the Minh Mạng Emperor of

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (chữ Nôm: 茹阮, vi, Nhà Nguyễn; chữ Hán: 阮朝, vi, Nguyễn triều) was the last Vietnamese dynasty, which ruled the unified Vietnamese state largely independently from 1802 to 1883. During its existence, ...

.Nguyễn Đức Hiệp
Về lịch sử người Minh Hương và người Hoa ở Nam bộ
In official records of Nguyễn dynasty, they were called ''Minh nhân'' (明人) or ''Minh Hương'' to distinguish with those ethnic Han (''Thanh nhân'' 清人) from Qing China. ''Minh Hương'' often married with local Viet (Kinh) people. Since 1829, ''Minh Hương'' were treated as Vietnamese instead of Han. They were not allowed to go to China, and also not allowed to wear the Manchu queue. In the present day, most of Minh Hương adopt Vietnamese culture. They are regarded as Kinh people instead of Hoa people by the Vietnamese government. They also recognize themselves as Kinh people.

Famous ''Minh Hương''

(楊彥迪): general of

Nguyễn lord Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rend ...

, ruler of Biên Hòa. *

(陳上川): general of Nguyễn lord, ruler of

Mỹ Tho Mỹ Tho () is a city in the Tiền Giang province in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. It has a population of approximately 169,000 in 2006 and 220,000 in 2012. It is the regional center of economics, education and technology. The majorit ...

. * Trần Đại Định (陳大定): general of Nguyễn lord * Trần Đại Lực (陳大力): general of Nguyễn lord *

(鄚玖): founding ruler of the

Principality of Hà Tiên The Principality of Hà Tiên ( vi, Hà Tiên trấn; vi-hantu, 河僊鎮 or 河仙鎮, th, เมืองพุทไธมาศ ''Mueang Phutthai Mat''), or the Hà Tiên Protectorate, was a principality ruled by Chinese refugees of the Mạ ...

Mạc Thiên Tứ Mạc Thiên Tứ ( vi-hantu, 鄚天賜, , km, ម៉ាក់ ធានទឺ, 1700–1780), also known as Mạc Thiên Tích () or Mạc Tông (, km, ម៉ាក់ តុង), was a Vietnamese leader who ruled Hà Tiên from 1736 to 177 ...

(鄚天賜): ruler of the Principality of Hà Tiên * Mạc Tử Sanh (鄚子泩): general of Nguyễn lord * Võ Trường Toản (武長纘): scholar in 18th century * Trịnh Hoài Đức (鄭懷德): mandarin and scholar during

Gia Long 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 unif ...

's reign * Ngô Nhân Tịnh (吳仁靜): mandarin and scholar during Gia Long's reign *

Phan Thanh Giản Phan Thanh Giản ( vi-hantu, ; , 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 ...

(潘清簡): mandarin during Tự Đức's reign * Trần Tiễn Thành (陳踐誠): mandarin during Tự Đức's reign

References

{{Overseas Chinese Chinese emigrants to Vietnam Ethnic groups in Vietnam

Famous ''Minh Hương''

See also

References