Everything about Phan Boi Chau totally explained
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.
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. 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, 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.
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.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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. The imperial entourage fled the palace in Hue and attempted to start the uprising from a military base in Nghe An. 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. 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.
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'll hold to your initial aspiration. Do whatever you like, and don't worry about your wife and children."
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.
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 wouldn't 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.
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 couldn't 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'd 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.
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'd 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 organisation's sole purpose was to kick out the Westerners and establish a democratic republic. Unfortunately, they'd no funds and had great difficulty getting revolutionary leaflets into Vietnam. Also, the new Chinese government was too busy and wouldn't 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 couldn't get enough money to buy more weapons until they'd 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 didn't make it to Vietnam at the time, and they'd 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'd to close their office and send their comrades away.
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.
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'd 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 can't forget is how dignified, courteous, and sincere the Russians appeared to me. Their language and their expression was at times calm, at times vigorous."
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.
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 didn't 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 didn't 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'd 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 don't 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'd 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 didn't 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'd 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.
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