Phan Boi Chau

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Phan Boi Chau
Vietnamese name
Quốc Ngữ	Phan Bội Châu
Chữ Nôm	潘佩珠

Phan Bội Châu (1867- October 29 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 Bội Châu was born on 26 December, 1867, in Sa Nam village, Ðông-liệt District, in the region between Mount Hùng and the Lam River. His father was Phan Van Phô and his mother was Nguyễn Thị Nha. His family had been scholars for generations.

When he was three, he and his family moved to nearby Ðan Nhiễm. When he was five, he attended private school and learnt Chinese characters.

In 1883, when he was sixteen, Phan Bội Châu wrote an appeal for "putting down the French and retrieving the North" which he put up along the streets. It didn't receive any response.

In 1885, when the Cần Vương movement caused parts of the scholar-gentry class to rise up against the French, Phan Bội Châu organised sixty fellow students into an "Army of Loyalist Examination Candidates". However, they were unable to organise funds or weapons and were quickly crushed by the French.

He spent the next 15 years studying for examinations, and supporting his family with teaching and writings.

He married Thái Thị Huyên, in an arranged marriage, when he was 22 years old. They had no children so he later married a second wife. The second wife gave him one son and a daughter, and his first wife later gave him a son.

He kept a low profile to keep his parents out of trouble, until his father died in 1900. Then he divorced his wives to keep them out of trouble.

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 Cần Vương movement and sympathisers with the cause.

He created the Vietnam Modernization Association (Việt Nam Duy Tân Hội) in 1904.

Ðông-Du Movement

(See pg 74- of his autobiography)

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.

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.

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 organisation'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.

But they couldn't 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 5 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 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.

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 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."

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.

His 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 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 29 October, 1940, about a month after Japan invaded northern Vietnam.

External links

• Phan Bội Châu and the Dông-Du Movement edited by Vinh Sinh of Yale University (PDF).
• Overturned Chariot: Phan Bội Châu's Autobiography

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