Cen Yidong (, vi, Sầm Nghi Đống, ? – January 30, 1789) was a

Zhuang Zhuang may refer to: *Zhuang people The Zhuang (; ; za, Bouxcuengh, italic=yes; ) are a Tai-speaking ethnic group who mostly live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. Some also live in the Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, and ...

official of

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 ...

. He was the hereditary '' tǔsī'' (native chief) of Tianzhou (present day

Tianyang County Tianyang District (; Standard Zhuang: ; Youjiang Zhuang: ) is a district in western Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Baise. History Tianyang County was formed in 1935 by combining Fengyi County () ...

of Guangxi). Cen succeeded his grandfather Cen Yingqi (岑應祺) in 1746. He was granted the position "Magistrate of Tianzhou" (田州知府) by Qing dynasty. During his term, he built several schools in Tianzhou. His son Cen Zhao (岑照) cheated in

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

, and was executed in 1783. Cen led 2000 soldiers took part in the

Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa The Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa ( vi, Trận Ngọc Hồi - Đống Đa; ), also known as Victory of Kỷ Dậu ( vi, Chiến thắng Kỷ Dậu), was fought between the forces of the Vietnamese Tây Sơn dynasty and the Qing dynasty i ...

. He was ordered to guard Đống Đa Fort. On January 30, 1789 (Lunar calendar January 5 of ''Kỷ Dậu''), his army was besieged by a Tây Sơn army under general Đặng Tiến Đông. Cen committed suicide by hanging. 2000 soldiers also died in the battle. Cen was buried in

Đống Đa Mound Đống Đa Mound ( vi, Gò Đống Đa) or Đống Đa Hill is a historic tumulus-like mound in the Đống Đa Park (Công viên Đống Đa), in the Đống Đa District, Hanoi, Vietnam. Background Đống Đa Mound is said to be the place ...

together with his soldiers. His son Cen Yu (岑煜) succeeded him. To maintain a healthy relationship with Qing China, Vietnamese rulers allowed the

Chinese immigrants Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien ...

to establish a shrine dedicated to Cen at Sầm Công street (now Đào Duy Từ Street,

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

). The shrine was sarcastically described in a famous poem of

Hồ Xuân Hương Hồ Xuân Hương ( 胡春香; 1772–1822) was a Vietnamese poet born at the end of the Lê dynasty. She grew up in an era of political and social turmoil – the time of the Tây Sơn rebellion and a three-decade civil war that led to ...

.Giỗ trận Đống Đa
Báo Quảng Ngãi. 18/02/2010 :''Ghé mắt trông ngang thấy bảng treo.'' :''Kìa đền Thái thú đứng cheo leo.'' :''Ví đây đổi phận làm trai được.'' :''Thì sự anh hùng há bấy nhiêu!'' :''Turning the eyes around and seeing the signboard.'' :''Oh that's the Magistrate shrine stands so arduously.'' :''If I could change my fate and become a man.'' :''My achievements could have been not so trivial like him!''

References

{{s-end 1789 deaths People from Baise Zhuang people Qing dynasty politicians from Guangxi Qing military personnel killed in action