SEJARAH MIGRASI DAN DASAR PEMERINTAHAN GIA LONG DAN MINH MANH KE ATAS MASYARAKAT MINH HUONG DI HOI AN, 1820-1840 (HISTORY OF MIGRATION POLICY TOWARD THE MINH HUONG COMMUNITY IN HOI AN DURING GIA LONG AND MINH MANH’S REIGN, 1820-1840)

Abstract

 The Minh Huong are a Chinese community who emigrated to Vietnam from China in the late 17th century. The group fled to the south into Vietnam as a temporary refuge after the failure of the Sanfan Zhi Luan rebellion (Revolt of Three Feudatories, 1673-1681) which was aimed at restoring the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) in China. The group finally decided to remain in Vietnam after the Manchu succeeded in establishing the Qing Dynasty (1368 – 1911) in China. Hence, this paper attempts to trace the history of the formation of the Minh Huong society in Vietnam by examining factors contributing to the emigration of the community. In addition, the paper will study the steps taken by Emperor Gia Long and Emperor Minh Huong against the waves of Minh Huong society migration to Vietnam during the reign of both emperors. The study utilizes the qualitative approach by emphasizing on analyzing official documents from the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam and Qing Dynasty in China. The findings of this study shows that Emperor Gia Long and Minh Mang had to accept and to recognize the Ming Huong society by giving them equal status much like the Vietnamese (Kinh) for the viability and political stability in Vietnam during 19th century.