Chapter 10 Section 3 "Ming Township People"

When talking about the history of overseas Chinese in Vietnam, you will definitely come across the term "Minh Huong" (Minh Huong), and there is also "Minh Huong Guild Hall" on the embankment. "Mingxiang" was originally called "Mingxiang". It originated from the "Mingxiangshe" organization established by some Ming survivors who did not want to submit to the Qing Dynasty and fled to Vietnam one after another after the fall of the Ming Dynasty.The purpose of the establishment of the society is to maintain the "Ming Dynasty incense".Later, more and more people came from the south, especially after Yang Yandi, Chen Shangchuan and others led the military family members of the Ming Dynasty to move to Nanqi on a large scale, the population of overseas Chinese increased sharply.When resettling these new immigrants, the Ruan Group continued to use the name "Mingxiang Society" and established a special village community for them.Soon after the Ruan Group unified the whole of Vietnam in 1802, it ordered the establishment of Mingxiang Society in North, South, and Central Vietnam to manage Chinese immigrants. In this way, Mingxiang Society appeared in many places.The members of Mingxiang Society were originally Ming Dynasty adherents who took "recovering Ming Dynasty" as their mission. With the passage of time, the rule of the Qing Dynasty became more and more consolidated. The members were gradually replaced by descendants of those adherents and new overseas Chinese who immigrated into Mingxiangshe after the Qing Dynasty.In 1826, the emperor of Nguyen Dynasty changed "Ming Xiang Society" to "Ming Xiang Society".Members of the Mingxiang Society are called Mingxiang (or Mingxiang people), who are descendants of Chinese immigrants, including Chinese-Vietnamese mixed-race.The "Mingxiang Guild Hall" on the embankment mentioned above is an association of Mingxiang people. There is a couplet in the hall: "Ming sages and ancestors were also taught in Yue; Xiangdang clans are the same as in Asia." This couplet is roughly the same. It can reflect the mentality of the early Mingxiang people. Although they settled in the "Yue Kingdom", they never forget the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and their hometown Zili, and they have never ceased to be connected with their homeland.

At that time, Vietnam divided overseas Chinese into two categories, one was new immigrants, called "Qing people", and the other was Mingxiang people.From the Nguyen feudal dynasty to the French colonial government, they all implemented special policies for Mingxiang people that were different from "Qing people".Mingxiang people can have independent village organizations and manage them independently.People in Mingxiang have a lower tax rate, and corvee labor is also reduced or exempted.Can enter the examination and apply for the examination, and become an official in the officialdom. Therefore, there are many Mingxiang people who serve as ministers (ministers) of the central government, ministers of local economic strategy, and diplomatic envoys.In terms of administrative management, Mingxiang people are not allowed to mix with ordinary overseas Chinese. In 1842, the decree stipulated that where there are more than five Ming villagers, another township society can be established, but it must have a separate household registration, and it is forbidden to shave and braid.The French colonial government treated all Mingxiang people as Vietnamese in the 1870s.Mingxiang was born and raised in Vietnam, and still maintains some Chinese customs and traditions. This group is still a distinctive part of the overseas Chinese community in Vietnam, but as time goes by, it gradually becomes more and more integrated into the local community. In society, it is also a fact.