Phan Boi Chau
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| Phan Boi Chau | |
|---|---|
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| Vietnamese name | |
| Quốc Ngữ | Phan Bội Châu |
| Chữ Nôm | 潘佩珠 |
Phan Bội Châu (1867-1940) was a pioneer of Vietnamese twentieth century nationalism. In 1903 he formed a revolutionary organization called the Reformation Society (Duy Tân Hội).
From 1905 to 1908 he lived in Japan where he wrote political tracts calling for the liberation of Vietnam from the French colonial regime. After being forced to leave Japan, he moved to China where he was influenced by Sun Yat-Sen. He formed a new group called the Vietnamese Restoration League (Viet Nam Quang Phuc Hoi), modeled after Sun Yat-Sen's republican party. In 1925, French agents seized him in Shanghai. He was convicted of treason and spent the rest of his life under house arrest in Huế.
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[edit] Youth
Phan was born as Phan Van San on December 26, 1867 in the village of Sa Nam, in Nam Dan district of the northern central province of Nghe An.[1] His father Phan Van Pho descended from a poor family of scholars, who had always excelled academically. Sa Nam was the village of his mother Nguyen Thi Nhan, and the family moved to Dan Nhiem, the home village of his father, also in Nam Dan, when San was aged three. Until San was five, his tu tai father was teaching in other villages,[2] so his mother raised him and taught him to recite passages from the Classic of Poetry, resulting in his absorption of Confucian ethics from an early age.[3]
Aged five, San's father had returned home and he began to take his education in his father's classes, where is took him only three days to memorise all of the Three-Character Classic, a canonical text in Chinese classics.[3] As a result of his fast learning, his father decided to move him onto further Confucian texts such as the Analects, which he practiced on banana leaves. In his autobiography, San admitted that he did not understand the meaning of the text in great detail at this age, but at the age of six, he was skillful enough to write a variant of the Analects that parodied his classmates. This earnt him a caning from his father.[3][4]
At the time, the central region part of Vietnam where San lived was still under the sovereignty of Emperor Tu Duc, but the southern part of the country had gradually been colonised in the 1860s and turned into the colony of Cochinchina. In 1874, an attack on Hanoi forced Tu Duc to sign a treaty to open up the Red River for French trade.[5] In Nam Dan district, a Binh Tay (Put Down the French) movement sprung among the local scholar-gentry, and San responded at the age of seven by playing Binh Tay with his classmates, using "guns" of bamboo tubes and lychee bullets.[3] the unrest was enough to prompt the imperial court to bring in troops to quell the opposition to Hue's deal with the French.[4] San's family was not affected by the crackdown, but the movement had a deep impact on him.[4] Later in life, he recollected on his youth, noting that "I was endowed with a fiery spirit. From the days when I was a small child...every time I read the stories of those in the past who were ready to die for the righteous cause, tears would come running from my eyes, soaking the books."[6]
At the age of thirteen, San's father sent him to another teacher with a better reputation. Since the family lacked the money for San to travel far away, he studied with a local cu nhan graduate who was able to borrow a range of books from wealthier families in the area.[4][3] In 1883, the French finished the colonisation of Vietnam by conquering the northern part of Vietnam, and the country was incorporated into French Indochina.[7] San drafted an appeal for "putting down the French and retrieving the North" (Binh Tay thu Bac). He posted the anonymous appeals at intervals on the main road calling for the formation of local resistance units, but there were no responses and the proclamations were soon torn down. San realised that nobody would listen to a person without the social status ensured by passing mandarin examinations.[4][6]
In 1884, his mother died and his aging father was growing weaker, forcing San to take on more of the teaching responsibility to help support one another.[8] In 1885, the Can Vuong movement began its uprising against French rule, hoping to install the boy Emperor Ham Nghi as the ruler of an independent Vietnam by expelling colonial forces.[citation needed] The imperial entourage fled the palace in Hue and attempted to start the uprising from a military base in Nghe An.[4] The scholar gentry of the province rose up, and San attempted to rally approximately sixty classmates who were prospective examination candidates to join in the uprising. San called his new unit the "army of Loyalist Examinatin Candidates" (Si tu Can Vuong Doi) and convinced an older cu nhan graduate to act as its commander. They had just began to collect money and raw materials for making their ad hoc weapons when a French patrol attacked the village and scattered the students. San's father had to get San to seek out their leader to have the membership list destroyed to avoid French retributions.[4][6]
With his father growing weaker, San decided to keep a low profile to avoid trouble with the French colonials so that as the only son, he could support his family. He did so by teaching and writing, while still continually preparing for examinations.[9] During this time he quietly acquired books on military strategy by the likes of Sun Tzu, Dao Duy Tu, the military strategist of the Nguyễn Lords who stopped the Trinh lords with a defensive wall, and Trần Hưng Đạo, the military commander of the Trần Dynasty who repelled Mongol invasions of Vietnam in the 13th century.[10] San also cultivated a small number of his students who he identified as having abundant pro-independence sentiments. He enthusiastically received visits from Can Vuong visitors and passed on their tales to his students, particularly those concerning Phan Dinh Phung, who led the Can Vuong effort.[9]
[edit] Marriage and family
At the age of 22, Phan married to Thai' Thi. Huye^n, who was also from the same village. The union had long been arranged by their parents, who were acquaintances. Phan was the only son in the family, and his wife initially did not bear him any children, so she arranged for him to be married to a second wife so that the family line could be continued. This practice was not uncommon in Confucian families of the time. His second wife bore him a son and daughter, and his first wife later bore him another son. The two women were reported to be on good terms.[11]
When Phan passed the regional examinations in 1900, he was eligible to become a public servant. However, Phan had no intention of pursuing such a career and only wanted the qualification to increase his gravitas in rallying anti-colonial action. With his father dying in the same year, Phan had no more family obligations and decided to travel abroad to pursue his revolutionary activities. He served divorce papers on his wife so she would avoid retribution from colonial authorities for his activities.[11]
Phan only met his wife once after their nominal divorce, which was when he was pardoned and released from Hoa Lo prison more than two decades later. He was then sent to a loose form of house arrest in Hue and the train stopped at Vinh in Nghe An on the way. His wife said "I am very happy. From now on, my only wish is that you will hold to your initial aspiration. Do whatever you like, and do not worry about your wife and children."[12] While Phan was living out his final years, his children and their families came to visit him, but never his wife. When she died, she instructed her children not to tell Phan so as to not distract him.[12]
[edit] Activism in Vietnam
He started his revolutionary career in 1900 after his father died. He spent the next five years living in Huế or travelling the country trying to organise remnants of the Can Vuong movement and sympathisers with the cause.
He created the Vietnam Modernization Association (Việt Nam Duy Tân Hội) in 1904. He served as general secretary, while Cuong De led the association as its president.[13]
[edit] Ðông-Du Movement
In 1905, the Vietnam Modernization Association agreed to send Phan Bội Châu to Japan to get Japanese military assistance or weapons.
He soon realised that Japanese military aid would not be possible, and turned his attention to using Japan as a base to train and educate young Vietnamese students, by starting the Dong Du (Visit the East) Society. The number of Vietnamese students sent to Japan for training peaked at 200 in 1908. However, after pressure by the French government, Japan declared Phan to be persona non grata and expelled him in 1909.
[edit] After Ðông-Du
In 1909, after being deported from Japan, Phan Bội Châu went to Hong Kong with Cường Để. There, he made plans to raise money and bring to Thailand the Vietnamese students who had studied in Japan, but had now been dispersed. He had previously had the foresight to establish a base in Thailand.
But instead he received news of an armed uprising in Vietnam, led by Hoang Ha Tam. So he assembled his comrades in Hong Kong, and sent two people to Japan to buy 500 of the Arisaka Type 30 Rifles. But after buying the weapons to support the uprising with, they could not afford to hire a ship to smuggle the rifles into Vietnam. So in July, Phan Bội Châu went to Thailand to ask their government to help with the smuggling. The foreign minister refused, since it would be a major diplomatic incident with France if it leaked out. So he had to return to Hong Kong and wait for the money needed for smuggling.
Money never arrived, and news arrived that his fundraising organiser was dead, and that the uprising was going badly. So Phan Bội Châu donated 480 of the rifles to the forces of Sun Yat-Sen. He then tried to smuggle the remaining 20 of the rifles via Thailand, disguised as first-class luggage. This attempt failed.
He spent the first half of 1910 begging on the street, selling his books, and spending all his money getting drunk at the pub. This went on until he met a kind old woman named Chau Po-Lin, who took the entire movement into her house. Funds arrived and he planned to move to Thailand.
He arrived in Thailand in November 1910, and all his students and followers who could, took up farming there.
[edit] Vietnam Restoration League
The Wuchang Uprising occurred in China on 10 October 1911. It quickly spread and declared itself the Republic of China. This greatly inspired Phan Bội Châu, since he had many friends among the Chinese revolutionaries. He thought this new regime would fix all that was wrong with the old China, and would unite with Japan to defeat the Europeans and build a strong Asia.
Leaving the farm in the hands of more than 50 of his comrades, he went to China to visit his friends there.
The old Vietnam Modernization Association had become worthless, with all its members scattered. A new organization needed to be formed, with a new agenda inspired by the Chinese revolution. A large meeting was held in late March 1912. They agreed to form a new group, the Vietnam Restoration League. Cường Để was made president and chairman, Phan Bội Châu was made vice-president.
People voted to campaign for democracy instead of a monarchy, despite strong objections of people from southern Vietnam. The organization's sole purpose was to kick out the Westerners and establish a democratic republic. Unfortunately, they had no funds and had great difficulty getting revolutionary leaflets into Vietnam. Also, the new Chinese government was too busy and would not help the movement with anything other than allowing Vietnamese comrades into its education and training system.
The Vietnam Restoration League came up with a proposed flag design. Previously, Vietnam never had a flag, only banners to represent royalty. Their flag idea had 5 five-pointed stars, arranged in a square with a star in the middle. It symbolized the five regions of Vietnam. The national flag had red stars on a yellow background, and the military flag had a red background with white stars. The yellow represented their race, the red represented fire which represented their location to the south of China (see I Ching), and the white represented the metal of their weapons.
They also created a book on military strategy and regulations for their army. They even printed their own currency, which they agreed to honour when, or rather "if", they attained power. If they won they could easily pay people back, and if they lost it wouldn't cost them anything. The "money" was printed in a similar way to the Chinese paper notes.
They also formed an organisation called the "Association for the Revitalization of China". It was dedicated to getting support from China for independence movements in smaller Asian countries, starting with Vietnam of course. Using a medical centre as a front, and a fancy office they managed to create the false impression that they were a huge successful organisation. They got hundreds of people to join, and sold a huge amount of their made-up currency. They changed some of the leadership positions of the "Vietnam Restoration League" to allow the Chinese to take part.
However, they could not get enough money to buy more weapons until they had proved themselves with a military attack of some sort. Everyone said they needed something big and explosive because the people of Vietnam were short on patience. So Phan Bội Châu sent five people with a few grenades to the three regions of Vietnam. The grenades they sent to the North were unfortunately used on a minor target, the governor of Thái Bình province, two officers and a French restauranteur. They were meant to be used at the mandarin examinations when all the officials would be gathered. Those they sent to the centre via Thailand did not make it to Vietnam at the time, and they had to throw their grenades away. Those that they sent to the south were wasted on some Vietnamese traitors.
The attacks in the North enraged the French, and they demanded that Phan Bội Châu be arrested, but the Chinese government refused. But the value of Phan Bội Châu's special currency dropped dramatically after the failure.
They had no money, so they decided to trick a pharmaceutical company in Japan into providing lots of expensive drugs for them on credit. They then closed down their medical centre and didn't pay their debt. But their membership slowly dwindled, and the difficulty of getting into Vietnam increased. And changes in the government of their Chinese province made things difficult. And they had to close their office and send their comrades away.
[edit] Vietnam during World War I
By 1914, Phan Bội Châu was arrested by the Chinese authorities and thrown in jail on suspicion of helping rival Chinese authorities. Fortunately the intervention of the Chinese minister for the army, stopped them from killing him or handing him over to the French. But he was kept in prison for almost four years until 1917. In prison he wrote many biographies, including his own, and other books.
World War I began shortly thereafter. The country remained an enthusiastic member of the French Empire, and many Vietnamese fought in World War I (see Vietnamese Expeditionary Force). Some 50,000 Vietnamese troops and 50,000 Vietnamese workers were sent to Europe to fight for France in the war, and thousands lost their lives at Somme and Picardy, near the Belgian coast and many more in Middle East. Both Vietnamese victories and losses on World War I battlefields contribute significantly to Vietnam's national identity. At the time it was referred to Vietnam's 'Baptism of Fire'. Over 30,000 Vietnamese died during the conflict and 60,000 were wounded. The Vietnamese also endured additional heavy taxes to help pay for France's war efforts. Numerous anti-colonial revolts occurred in Vietnam during the war, all easily suppressed by the French. In May 1916, the sixteen-year-old king, Duy Tân, escaped from his palace in order to take part in an uprising of Vietnamese troops organized by Thái Phiên and Trần Cao Vân. The French were informed of the plan and the leaders arrested and executed. Duy Tân was deposed and exiled to Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. One of the most effective uprisings during this period was in the northern Vietnamese province of Thái Nguyên. Some 300 Vietnamese soldiers revolted and released 200 political prisoners, whom, in addition to several hundred local people, they armed. The rebels held the town of Thái Nguyên for several days, hoping for help from Chinese nationalists. None arrived, however, and the French retook the town and hunted down most of the rebels.
While he was in prison, he organised some of his comrades to meet with the German government in Thailand. They donated a large amount of money and promised more if a spectacular action could be done in Vietnam against the French. The comrades attempted an action but failed completely, wasting all the money.
After his release, Phan Bội Châu travelled to Beijing and to Japan, and then to various parts of China trying to get back into Vietnam. When he eventually got to the border of Yunnan Province and Vietnam, he discovered that World War I was over and his plans of using it to help defeat the French were hopeless.
He wandered around China for years after this without accomplishing anything significant. He pondered collaborating with the French, who were now ruled by the Socialist Party (France), and he wrote a booklet about why collaboration with the French would be good. He later changed his mind and blamed this thinking on Phan Ba Ngoc, who was assassinated by one of Phan Bội Châu's supporters for being a collaborator with the French.
[edit] Relations with the Socialists
At the start of 1921, Phan Bội Châu studied Socialism and the Soviet Union in the hope of gaining assistance from the Soviet Union or socialist groups. He translated a book called "An Account of the Russian Revolution", by Fuse Katsuji into Chinese. He then went to Beijing to meet with Soviet representatives, G.N. Voitinskii and Mr Lap. Mr Lap said that the Soviet Union would educate, train and pay for, any Vietnamese students Phan Bội Châu wanted to send, provided they would engage in social revolution and teach socialism in Vietnam afterwards. Mr Lap was also keen to hear more about the political situation in Vietnam, since Phan Bội Châu was the first Vietnamese revolutionary to come into contact with them. Lap requested that Phan Bội Châu write a book in English about the situation. Unfortunately, Phan Bội Châu couldn't speak English and so was unable to do so.
Phan Bội Châu wrote of the Russians: "One thing I cannot forget is how dignified, courteous, and sincere the Russians appeared to me. Their language and their expression was at times calm, at times vigorous."
[edit] Correspondence with Hồ Chí Minh
On December 11 (or November 11?), 1924, Hồ Chí Minh returned from Moscow to Canton. Hồ Chí Minh and Phan Bội Châu corresponded several times about the program of a new organisation Phan Bội Châu was trying to start up and other such things. Phan Bội Châu had been a friend of Hồ's father and had known Hồ when he was a child. They were interested in meeting each other again, but never got a chance.
[edit] Final capture
In 1925, Phan Bội Châu arrived in Shanghai on what he thought was a short trip on behalf of his movement. But as soon as he arrived he was arrested by French agents and transported back to Hanoi. Phan Bội Châu wrote about this event:
- "I did not realize that every minute of my activities was being reported to the French by Nguyen Thuong Huyen, a man who lived with me and was supported by me. When this Nguyen Thuong Huyen first arrived in Hangchow, he was with Tran Duc Quy; I was quite dubious about him. But later I heard that he was a great-nephew of Main Son (Nguyen Thung Hien), well versed in literary Chinese, the holder of a cử nhân (舉人) degree and familiar with French and quốc ngữ. Owing to his capabilities, I kept him on as my secretary without suspecting that he was an informer for the French.
- "At 12 noon on the eleventh day of the Fifth Month, my train from Hangchow arrived at the North Station Shanghai. In order to go quickly to the bank to send the money, I left my luggage at the depository and carried only a small bag with me. As soon as I came out of the train station, I saw a rather luxurious automobile and four Westerners standing by it. I did not realize that they were French, because in Shanghai there was a great mixture of Westerners and there were swarms of foreign visitors. It was quite common for cars to be used to pick up hotel guests. Little did I know that this car was there to kidnap someone! When I had gone a few steps from the station, one of the Westerners came up to me and said in Mandarin: 'This car is very nice; please get in.' I politely refused, saying 'I do not need a car.' Suddenly, one of the Westerners behind the car with a great heave pushed me inside it, the engine accelerated and we were off like a shot. In no time we had already entered the French Concession. The car drew up to the waterfront, where a French warship was docked. I now became a prisoner on this warship."
When he was transported back to Hanoi, he was held in Hỏa Lò prison. At first, the French authorities did not release his real name, in order to avoid public disturbances. But it quickly leaked out who he was. A criminal trial followed, with all the charges going back to 1913 when he had been sentenced to death in absentia. The charges included incitement to murder and supplying an offensive weapon used to commit murder in two incidents, which had resulted in the death of a Vietnamese governor on April 12, 1913, and two French majors on April 28, 1913.
In the end the court sentenced Phan Bội Châu to penal servitude for life. He was released from prison on December 24, 1925 by Governor General Alexandre Varenne, in response to huge public protests. He was placed under house arrest in a house in Huế where Nguyen Ba Trac lived. Nguyen Ba Trac was a former member of the Ðông-Du movement who had become an active collaborator with the French. Guards kept the house under surveillance, so visits by his admirers were a bit inhibited. More public protests against his house arrest caused the authorities to allow him to move to a house which had been organised by his supporters. It was a thatched house divided into three sections and had a medium-sized garden. Here he was able to meet his supporters, his children and his grandchildren.
In 1926, when Phan Chu Trinh died, Phan Bội Châu presided over a memorial service for him in Huế.
Phan Bội Châu spent his last fifteen years living a quiet life in Huế. He would often relax by taking boat trips on the Sông Hương (Fragrance River). He died on October 29, 1940, about a month after Japan invaded northern Vietnam.
[edit] Works
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Chapuis, Oscar (2000). The Last Emperors of Vietnam: From Tu Duc to Bao Dai. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31170-6.
- Chau, Phan Boi (1999). Overturned Chariot: The Autobiography of Phan Bội Châu, trans. by Vinh Sinh and Nicholas Wickenden, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1875-X.
- Lockhart, Bruce M.; William J. Duiker (2006). Historical Dictionary of Vietnam, 3rd edition, Lanham: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-5053-2.
- Marr, David G. (1970). Vietnamese anticolonialism, 1885-1925. Berkeley: University of California. ISBN 0-520-01813-3.
- Vinh, Sinh (ed.) (1988). Phan Bội Châu and the Dông-Du Movement. New Haven: Yale Center for International and Area Studies. ISBN 0-938692-36-4.
