Why is there a large gathering of Minh Huong people in Thu Xa ancient town in Quang Ngai? Who are they and which country did they come to Vietnam from?

Thu Xa is home to Cuu Minh Huong commune and Tan Thuoc Minh Huong commune, two Minh Huong gangs along with four Chinese gangs in Quang Ngai.

Because it is a guild, it does not have administrative boundaries. However, in Vietnam, there are still a few Minh Huong commune guilds with specific administrative boundaries such as Minh Huong commune in Quang Nam, or Minh Huong commune (Thanh Ha street) in Thua Thien - Hue. Calling Cuu Minh Huong commune means the guild of the old Minh Huong people; Tan Thuoc Minh Huong commune means the guild of the newly immigrated Minh Huong people.

In Thu Xa, there are also four Chinese gangs: Trieu Chau, Quang Dong, Hai Nam and Phuc Kien that are allowed to operate. These are four Chinese gangs that are allowed by the Central government to operate in Quang Ngai as well as Central Vietnam.

In Central Vietnam, there were only four active states, unlike in the South, which had five states: Chaozhou, Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian and Hakka.

Thu Xa Street was established on the land of Thu Sa commune and Ha Khe village, Nghia Ha commune, Chuong Nghia district, Tu Nghia prefecture. It is very possible that Thu Sa commune was renamed from Tang Sai commune (1813) of Ha Bac, Chuong Nghia district, Tu Nghia prefecture, the time of change was from 1813 to 1875; Ha Khe village was renamed from Ngoi Tom village (1813), Ha commune, Chuong Nghia district, Tu Nghia prefecture, the time of change was in 1824, in the document "Minh Mang's proposal".

Thu Xa Ancient Town is the Vietnamese name for the ancient streets located on the border of Thu Sa and Ha Khe. Later, when the French established the urban area in 1932, they also called it Thu-xa, but to the Chinese, it is called Tan An Street.

King Bao Dai visited the Hainan Assembly Hall in 1933 in Thu Xa ancient town, Quang Ngai province. (Source: L'Association des Amis du Vieux Hue)

According to the 1887 description of Binh Dinh Consul Charles Lemire when he passed Thu Xa Street: “The Chinese city of Tan An: The Co Luy River, which was soon renamed Ve Giang, leads to the Chinese city of Tan An in one hour.

A road running along the left bank joins the official road and continues on, leading to the citadel in two and a half hours. The town is made up of two long streets perpendicular to each other, lined with brick and tile shops, some of which have storeys. A large number of junks are moored in front of the Chinatown, where 200 owners come from all four states.”

C. Lemire's description shows that Thu Xa Street is called Tan An, consisting of two perpendicular streets, the houses are built of bricks and tiles and some have storeys. Along the Chinatown, there are a large number of junks anchored and the population is about 200 people from four states: Chaozhou, Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan. In the next description, he also said that Thu Xa has trade relations with Singapore, Hainan and Hong Kong.

The warehouses contained sugar, gasoline, cotton, indigo, coconut oil... the main products in Quang Ngai at that time. In addition, he also said that the city had a population of about 5,000, which was very crowded at that time. Besides, he also described the house of the Deputy Governor Nguyen Than, who was in command of the Nghia Dinh Son Phong force (managing Truong Luy): "The Grand Mandarin Than had a majestic two-story house built in the middle of the city and made of elaborately carved wood.

The soldiers were garrisoned in the pagodas, armed with piston rifles and carbines, they were strong and well equipped.”

Before that, in 1886, Camile Paris, a French telegraph officer, had the opportunity to visit and briefly describe Thu Xa street: “I returned to the city via Tan An, a city that was mostly Chinese, and was the province’s warehouse. This city was similar to Pho Yen.

In 1886, the Annamite whom I asked for the name of the region said it was Thu Xa, a second and a third also confirmed this name. But the city called Tan An includes within its area many villages which still retain their ancient names.

And when I asked the locals, I was in one of those villages. So it should be called Tan An, not Thu Xa.

Local products were brought to this city by Chinese merchants to trade or mortgage their harvests, what I said about Tan Quan in northern Binh Dinh can also be applied to Tan An. This city brings in a significant source of tax revenue.”

He still confirmed that Thu Xa must be officially called Tan An city, even though all native Annamese people call it Thu Xa.

In 1932, the Resident of Central Vietnam issued a decree on January 16, 1932 on the establishment of Thu Xa urban area on the territory of Thu Xa and Ha Khe. This decree was approved by the Governor-General of Indochina according to the decree on February 13, 1932. At this time, Thu Xa ancient town was officially called an urban area and was managed as an urban area in Quang Ngai.

On September 19, 1932, the Quang Ngai Consul issued a decision on the urban management regulations of Thu Xa, mainly focusing on regulations on urban order management.

In 1933, Quang Ngai Governor Nguyen Ba Trac described Thu Xa Street as a trading center for Chinese people, mainly trading sugar as follows: "In the past, Thu Xa city had a very prosperous trade because the main export product in Quang Ngai was sugar, the sugar traders were the residents, and most of the traders in Thu Xa were residents.

Thu Xa has convenient waterways, the coastal "roads" of Tra Khuc River and Ve River can all be transported to Thu Xa, and if you want to transport sugar for export, you must also use Thu Xa to transport it to Co Luy gate. Thu Xa city is located 9 kilometers from the provincial city, the number of residents is more than 500 owners.

At this time, the number of Chinese people had increased to 500 shop owners. If a family of 6 people is considered, the population of Thu Xa city would be about 3,000 Chinese people, the rest would be Vietnamese.

Through the above information, we can see a part of Thu Xa ancient town, an urban area in the early development period in Quang Ngai, which was one of the major trading centers of the Central region and of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty and French colonial period.

Source: https://danviet.vn/pho-co-thu-xa-o-quang-ngai-sao-lai-tu-tap-dong-nguoi-minh-huong-ho-la-ai-den-viet-nam-tu-nuoc-nao-20240704004647986.htm