About: Minh Hương

Minh Hương (Hán tự: 明鄉 or 明香) refers to descendants of Ming dynasty immigrants who settled in southern Vietnam during the 16th and 18th centuries. They were among the first wave of ethnic Chinese who came to southern Vietnam. Han Chinese Ming dynasty refugees numbering 3,000 came to Vietnam at the end of the Ming dynasty. They opposed the Qing dynasty and were fiercely loyal to the Ming dynasty. Vietnamese women married these Han Chinese refugees since most of them were soldiers and single men. Their descendants became known as Minh Hương and they strongly identified as Chinese despite influence from Vietnamese mothers. They did not wear Manchu hairstyle unlike later Chinese migrants to Vietnam during the Qing dynasty. After Manchu conquest of China, many Han Chinese people who refused to submit themselves to Manchu people fled abroad. Ethnic Chinese leaders such as Mạc Cửu, Trần Thượng Xuyên and Dương Ngạn Địch, arrived in Mekong Delta where they established their own polities in Ha Tien, Bien Hoa and My Tho. They later submitted to the Nguyễn lords, who provided them with noble titles and offer protection against Khmer and Siam threats. Many Minh Hương such as and became Nguyen ministers and played important roles in the Vietnamese exploration and settlement of Mekong Delta. At first the Hán tự was 明香 (“those who worship Ming dynasty ancestrals”). It was changed to 明鄉 (“of Ming dynasty origins”) in 1827 as ordered by emperor Minh Mạng of Nguyễn dynasty. In official records of Nguyễn dynasty, they were called Minh nhân (明人) or Minh Hương to distinguish with those ethnic Chinese (Thanh nhân 清人) from Qing China. Minh Hương often married with local Viet (Kinh) people. Since 1829, Minh Hương were treated as Vietnamese instead of Chinese. They were not allowed to go to China, and also not allowed to wear the Manchu queue. In the present day, most of Minh Hương adopt Vietnamese culture. They are regarded as Kinh people instead of Hoa people by the Vietnamese government. They also recognize themselves as Kinh people.

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