Phan Thanh Giản
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Phan Thanh Giản ( vi-hantu, ; , November 11, 1796– August 4, 1867) was a Grand Counsellor at the
Nguyễn 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 ...
court in
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 ...
. He led an embassy to France in 1863, and committed suicide when France completed the invasion of Southern Vietnam (
Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...
) in 1867. Phan Thanh Giản's grandfather was a
Minh Hương Minh Hương ( vi-hantu, or ) refers to descendants of Ming dynasty immigrants who settled in southern Vietnam during the 16th and 18th centuries. They were among the first wave of ethnic Han Chinese, Han who came to southern Vietnam. Ming re ...
(
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
refugees, with ancestry from Haicheng.
Southern Fujian Minnan, Banlam or Minnan Golden Triangle (), refers to the coastal region in Southern Fujian Province, China, which includes the prefecture-level cities of Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. The region accounts for 40 percent of the GDP of Fujian Pro ...
Province in China), while his grandmother was a Vietnamese woman.


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 Treaty of Saigon with the French in 1862. The negotiations led to the formal cession of Vietnamese territory that the French Expeditionary Corps had occupied in 1861 (the first parts of the future colony of
Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...
): the provinces of Già Dinh,
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 ...
,
Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam and part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area and located about east of Ho Chi Minh City, to which Biên Hòa is linked by Vietnam Hi ...
, and the Poulo Condore islands were ceded, and war reparations paid to the French. 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 Tự Đức (, vi-hantu, 嗣 德, lit. "inheritance of virtues", 22 September 1829 – 19 July 1883) (personal name: Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Nhậm , also Nguyễn Phúc Thì) was the fourth emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam; he ruled ...
.


Embassy to France (1863)

In 1863, Phan Thanh Giản was sent by the emperor on an embassy to France to visit
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
, in order to negotiate the return of the territories given to the French. Phan Thanh Giản was accompanied by Michel Duc Chaigneau (the son of Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau) on this embassy.Tran and Reid
p.207
/ref> Phan Thanh Giản with a 70-strong embassy met with Napoleon III and
Empress Eugénie An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
in November 1863. Napoleon III, moved by Phan Thanh Giản's plea, accepted to return the provinces in exchange for a war indemnity, an agreement to station troops in Saigon, My Thau and
Thủ Dầu Một Thủ Dầu Một () is the capital city of Bình Dương province, Vietnam, located at around . The city has an area of 118.66 km², with a population of 417,000 (as of 2018), and is located 20 km north of downtown Ho Chi Minh City, o ...
, and recognition of French military protection. The French Navy Minister Chasseloup-Laubat however, opposed to the return of Cochinchinese territory, threatened Napoleon III with his resignation and that of the whole cabinet, forcing him to order the cancellation of the agreement in June 1864 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
steam trains A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the Tractive force#Rail vehicles, force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rar ...
, and stated on his return to Vietnam that France's "wealth and strength are beyond description". Tự Đức only responded to this warning with admonitions of moral rectitude:


Governorship

Upon his return, Tự Đức nominated Phan Thanh Giản governor of the remaining southern provinces. 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 Vĩnh Long () is a city and the capital of Vĩnh Long Province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Vĩnh Long covers and has a population of 147,039 (as of 2009). The name was spelled 永 隆 ("eternal prosperity") in the former Hán Nôm writing sys ...
, waiting for orders that never came, resigned from his position and took his own life through poisoning.Jamieson
p.46"> p.46
/ref>


Family

Phan's family was of
Sino Sino as a prefix generally refers to: * China * Chinese people * Two Chinas * Culture of China * History of China Sino may also refer to: * Sino Group, a property company in Hong Kong * ''Sino'' (Café Tacuba album), the 7th studio album by M ...
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 ...
descent. His grandfather, Phan Thanh Tap was a native of Haicheng (near modern-day
Longhai, Fujian Longhai District () is a District in Zhangzhou, in the south of Fujian province, China. Longhai spans an area of , and, as of 2016, it has a population of approximately 736,400. History Following the revocation of the sea ban (''haijin'') in the ...
) in
Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...
prefecture of Fujian province before later ultimately migrating to Vietnam due to political sentiments against the ruling Qing government. Phan Thanh Tap migrated to Vietnam in the early 18th century, along with his family and relatives and settled in the village of Hoi Trung at
Bình Định Province B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...
. Upon settling in Vietnam, he married a Vietnamese woman, Huynh Thi Ngoc, with whom his Phan's father, Thanh Ngạn was born from this union. Phan Thanh Ngạn began his career as a clerk to the Nguyễn court. In 1798, Phan Thanh Ngạn was appointed as the chief supplier for Lord Ánh's (Emperor Gia Long from 1802) navy and was sent on a diplomatic mission to
Tourane Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is o ...
, but was later shipwrecked at lost at sea.Nguyẽn (1964), p. 227 Phan's mother was also of Chinese descent; her great-great grandfather migrated to Vietnam from Fujian province during mid 17th century. 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 Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
, then followed
Nguyễn Tri Phương Nguyễn Tri Phương ( vi-hantu, 阮知方, 1800 – 1873), born Nguyễn Văn Chương, was a Nguyễn dynasty mandarin and military commander. He commanded armies against French conquest of Vietnam at the Siege of Tourane, the Siege of Sai ...
in
Battle of Hanoi (1873) The Battle of Hanoi was fought on 20 November 1873 between France and Đại Nam. A French expeditionary force composed of 140 sailors, 30 marines and 8 officers under the command of Navy Lieutenant Francis Garnier captured the provincial capital ...
. 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.


In popular culture

Nowadays, Phan Thanh Giản is being venerated as a minor god among his family members and a few in southern Vietnam.


Images

File:Ptgian.jpg, Phan Thanh Giản File:Đình thần Phan Thanh Giản.jpg, Temple of Phan Thanh Giản File:Phan Thanh Gian 2.PNG, Phan Thanh Giản in Paris, France 1863.


See also

*
France–Vietnam relations French–Vietnamese relations started as early as the 17th century with the mission of the Jesuit father Alexandre de Rhodes. Various traders would visit Vietnam during the 18th century, until the major involvement of French forces under Pignea ...


Notes


References

* * Choi, Byung Wook, ''Southern Vietnam Under the Reign of Minh Mạng (1820–1841): Central Policies and Local Response'', SEAP Publications, 2004, * * Nguyẽn, Phút Tán, ''A Modern History of Viet-nam (1802–1954)'', Nhà sách Khai-Trí, 1964 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phan, Thanh Gian 1796 births 1867 deaths Suicides in Vietnam People of the Cochinchina campaign Nguyen dynasty officials Vietnamese Confucianists Minh Hương 19th-century Vietnamese philosophers 19th-century Vietnamese calligraphers