Minh Hương ( vi-hantu, or ) refers to descendants of
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
immigrants who settled in southern
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
during the 16th and 18th centuries. They were among the first wave of ethnic
Han who came to southern Vietnam.
History
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 Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
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 peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...
hairstyle unlike
later Han migrants to Vietnam during the Qing dynasty.
After the Qing
conquest
Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...
of
China proper
China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...
, 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, ; ''or'' ; 1655– July 18, 1735), also spelled Mok Kui, was an exile from China who founded the Principality of Hà Tiên and ruled as its first monarch. He played a role in the relations between Cambodia and the ...
,
Trần Thượng Xuyên and
Dương Ngạn Địch arrived in the
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...
where they established their own polities in
Hà Tiên,
Biên Hòa and
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 majori ...
. They later submitted to the
Nguyễn lords
The Nguyễn lords (, 主阮; 1558–1777, 1780–1802), also known as the Nguyễn clan (; ), were Nguyễn dynasty's forerunner and a feudal noble clan ruling southern Đại Việt in the Revival Lê dynasty. The Nguyễn lords were membe ...
, who provided them with noble titles and the offer of 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 Chinese characters used to refer to them 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, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...
.
[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, the ''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 the Minh Hương have adopted Vietnamese culture. Unlike later waves of Han Chinese immigration, they are regarded as Kinh people instead of Hoa people by the Vietnamese government.
In addition, they overwhelmingly self-identify solely as Kinh people.
Culture
Famous persons
*
Dương Ngạn Địch (楊彥迪): general of
Nguyễn lord, ruler of
Biên Hòa.
*
Trần Thượng Xuyên (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 majori ...
.
*
Trần Đại Định (陳大定): general of Nguyễn lord
*
Trần Đại Lực (陳大力): general of Nguyễn lord
*
Mạc Cửu
Cửu (, vi-hantu, 鄚玖, ; ''or'' ; 1655– July 18, 1735), also spelled Mok Kui, was an exile from China who founded the Principality of Hà Tiên and ruled as its first monarch. He played a role in the relations between Cambodia and the ...
(鄚玖): founding ruler of the
Principality of Hà Tiên
*
Mạc Thiên Tứ (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 (Chữ Hán, Chữ hán: 嘉隆) ( (''Hanoi, North''), (''Ho Chi Minh City, South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh (阮暎), was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynas ...
's reign
*
Ngô Nhân Tịnh (吳仁靜): mandarin and scholar during Gia Long's reign
*
Phan Thanh Giản (潘清簡): mandarin during
Tự Đức
Tự Đức (, vi-hantu, :wikt:嗣, 嗣:wikt:德, 德, , 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, and the country's la ...
's reign
*
Trần Tiễn Thành (陳踐誠): mandarin during Tự Đức's reign
See also
*
Chinese people in Vietnam
*
Peranakan
The Peranakan Chinese () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (region), Nanyang (), namely the British Empire, British, Portugu ...
*
Sangley
*
Thirty-six families from Min
References
{{Overseas Chinese
Chinese emigrants to Vietnam
Ethnic groups in Vietnam