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Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
French Indochina Banque de l'Indochina (Bank of Indochina) One Piastre banknote. Image on back shows a Vietnamese fruit vendor in front of a rural scene
Ngo Dinh Diem (Vietnamese: Ngo Dinh Diem (January 3, 1901 – November 2, 1963) was the first President of South Vietnam (1955–1963). In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diem led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam.<br/><br/> Accruing considerable US support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a 1955 plebiscite that was widely considered fraudulent. Proclaiming himself the Republic's first President, he demonstrated considerable political skill in the consolidation of his power, and his rule proved authoritarian, elitist, nepotistic, and corrupt.<br/><br/> He was assassinated by an aide of ARVN General Duong Van Minh on November 2, 1963, during a coup d'état that deposed his government.
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Adverisement for Pachod Freres d'Indochine - Saigon, Hanoi, Haiphong. Saigon, and especially Rue Catinat, was known for its parfumeries.
Advertisment for L. Sarreau Pharmacie Normale, Rue Catinat, Saigon, from the French colonial era in Indochina
The Hôtel Continental is a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was named after the prestigious Hôtel Continental in Paris, and is located in District 1, the central business district of the city (Saigon). The hotel is situated by the Saigon Opera House and was built in 1880 by the French. The hotel has undergone a few refurbishments over the years, whilst still maintaining the essence of its original architecture and style.<br/><br/> The Ho Chi Minh City Hotel Continental has also been featured in the Hollywood movie The Quiet American, an adaptation of Graham Greene's novel with the same name. Another movie in which it was featured was Indochine. This film and Greene's Quiet American illustrate the central place the Continental had in the social and political life of Saigon during the French Colonial Era. It is located near the City Post Office, built in 1891, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Building (1898, formerly the Hotel De Ville) and Notre Dame Cathedral (1880).<br/><br/> Graham Greene lived in the Continental while writing 'The Quiet American' and working as a journalist during the latter days of the French Colonial period. It is located on the intersection of Le Loi street and the bustling Dong Khoi Street, Rue Catinat during the days of the French.<br/><br/> The Continental was also home to the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore (1913 Nobel Prize for Literature) and Andre Malraux (1933 Prix Goncourt for 'Man's Fate', as well as other journalists, celebrities, politicians and heads of state.
The Arc-en-Ciel was arguably Saigon's top night spot during the 1940s and 1950s. Located in Saigon's twin city of Cholon on Jaccareo Avenue - today's Tan Da - it features prominently in Graham Greene's 'The Quiet American' as the taxi dance venue where Thomas Fowler met and wooed Phuong.
The Arc-en-Ciel was arguably Saigon's top night spot during the 1940s and 1950s. Located in Saigon's twin city of Cholon on Jaccareo Avenue - today's Tan Da - it features prominently in Graham Greene's 'The Quiet American' as the taxi dance venue where Thomas Fowler met and wooed Phuong.
The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War, Anti-French War, Franco-Vietnamese War, Franco-Vietminh War, Indochina War, Dirty War in France, and Anti-French Resistance War in contemporary Vietnam) was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps, led by France and supported by Emperor Bảo Đại's Vietnamese National Army against the Việt Minh, led by Hồ Chí Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp.<br/><br/> Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in Northern Vietnam, although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Laos and Cambodia. The war ended in French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
On May 27, 1948, Nguyễn Văn Xuân, then President of the Republic of Cochinchina, became President of the rightist Provisional Central Government of Vietnam (Thủ tướng lâm thời) following the merging of the government of Cochin China and Vietnam. Nguyễn Văn Xuân later went into exile in France, where he died in 1989.
The ao dai (Vietnamese: áo dài) is a Vietnamese national costume, now most commonly for women. In its current form, it is a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over pantaloons. The word is pronounced ow-zye in the north and ow-yai in the south, and translates as 'long dress'.<br/><br/> The name áo dài was originally applied to the dress worn at the court of the Nguyễn Lords at Huế in the 18th century. This outfit evolved into the áo ngũ thân, a five-paneled aristocratic gown worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by Paris fashions, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other artists associated with Hanoi University redesigned the ngũ thân as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s.<br/><br/> The updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn (Self-Reliant Literary Group) as a national costume for the modern era. In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese women today. The dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s, frowned upon as frivolous and borgeois in the North between 1952 and 1986, but is today increasingly popular nationwide, having become once again a symbol of Vietnamese nationalism and Vietnamese female beauty.
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, better known as Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn) is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known as Prey Nokor, an important Khmer sea port prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century.<br/><br/> Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochin-china and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. In 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Hồ Chí Minh City after Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam's great wartime leader (although the name Sài Gòn is still commonly used.)<br/><br/> The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the South China Sea and 1,760 kilometers (1,090 mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
Empress Nam Phương (14 December 1914 – 16 December 1963); born Marie-Thérèse Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan; later Imperial Princess Nam Phương; was the first and primary wife of Bảo Đại; the last king of Annam and last emperor of Vietnam; from 1934 until her death. She also was the first and only empress consort (hoàng hậu) of the Nguyễn Dynasty.
Empress Nam Phương (14 December 1914 – 16 December 1963); born Marie-Thérèse Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan; later Imperial Princess Nam Phương; was the first and primary wife of Bảo Đại; the last king of Annam and last emperor of Vietnam; from 1934 until her death. She also was the first and only empress consort (hoàng hậu) of the Nguyễn Dynasty.
General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1889-1952), was a French military hero and commander in the First Indochina War.<br/><br/> Having fought in the First World War and Rif War (Second Moroccan War), the aristocratic de Tassigny (nickname: 'Roi Jean') was a hero of the Free French in World War II. Later, he commanded French troops in Indochina during the First Indochina War. He won three major victories at Vinh Yen, Mao Khe and Yen Cu Ha and successfully defended the north of the country against the Viet Minh but his only son, Bernard de Lattre de Tassigny, was killed in action during the war at the Battle for Nam Dinh.<br/><br/> In 1951, illness forced de Lattre de Tassigny to return to Paris where he later died of cancer; he was posthumously made Marechal de France.
Two Vietnamese women on elephant back represent the celebrated Trung Sisters (Hai Ba Trung) in the annual Hai Ba Trung Parade, Saigon, 26 April 1957.<br/><br/> The Trưng Sisters (c. 12 - AD 43), known in Vietnamese as Hai Bà Trưng (literally 'the two Trưng Ladies'), and individually as Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị, were two first century Vietnamese women leaders who successfully rebelled against Chinese Han-Dynasty rule for three years, and are regarded as national heroines of Vietnam.<br/><br/> The sisters were born in Northern Vietnam, the dates of their birth are unknown, but Trưng Trắc was older than Trưng Nhị. The exact date of their death is also unknown but both died in AD 43.
Studio photograph of a Vietnamese prostitute reclining on a bed with a fan, Saigon, c.1910
The leading member of a Saigon theatre troupe, c.1905. 'Annamite Theatre' owed much to Chinese influence, and was especially popular in Cholon, Saigon's Chinatown.
Cao Đài is a syncretistic, monotheistic religion, officially established in the city of Tây Ninh, southern Vietnam, in 1926.<br/><br/> During the First and Second Indochina Wars, members of Cao Dai (along with several other Vietnamese sects, such as Hoa Hao) were active in political and military struggles, both against French colonial forces and Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam.<br/><br/> Their opposition to the communist forces until 1975 was a factor in their repression after the Fall of Saigon in 1975, when the incoming communist government proscribed the practice of Cao Dai. In 1995, the Thien Tien branch of Cao Dai was granted legal recognition by the government, and two years later, in 1997, the Tay Ninh Cao Dai branch was granted legal recognition.
Photograph of an attractive unknown young woman in Saigon in the 1960s wearing an ao dai and with a 1960s hair style.
The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère) is a unique military unit in the French Army established in 1831. The legion was specifically created for foreign nationals wishing to serve in the French Armed Forces.<br/><br/> Commanded by French officers, it is also open to French citizens, who amounted to 24% of the recruits as of 2007. The purpose of the Legion was to remove disruptive elements from society and put them to use fighting the enemies of France. Recruits included failed revolutionaries from the rest of Europe, soldiers from the disbanded foreign regiments, and troublemakers in general, both foreign and French. Algeria was designated as the Legion's home.<br/><br/> The Legion was primarily used, as part of the Armée d'Afrique, to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the 19th century, but it also fought in almost all French wars including the Franco-Prussian War and both World Wars.<br/><br/> The Foreign Legion has remained an important part of the French Army, surviving three Republics, The Second French Empire, two World Wars, the rise and fall of mass conscript armies, the dismantling of the French colonial empire and the French loss of the legion's base, Algeria.
The was born in Tay Ninh Province and raised in the Cao Dai religion. He was trained in military officer school by the Japanese Kempeitai when Japan began using Cao Dai paramilitary troops. By 1945 he was an officer in the Cao Dai militia. In June 1951, The broke from the Cao Dai hierarchy and took about two thousand troops with him to form his own militia, the Lien Minh, devoted to combating both the French and the Viet Minh. The’s forces were implicated in a series of terrorist bombings in Saigon from 1951 to 1953—which were blamed on communists at the time. In 1954, United States military advisor Edward Lansdale, charged with propping up the regime of Ngo Dình Diem, negotiated with The to use his militia to back up Diem and the ARVN. On February 13, 1955, The's troops were officially integrated into the South Vietnamese army, where he assumed the rank of general. He led the Lien Minh on a triumphal march into Saigon. On May 3, 1955, while driving in an open vehicle, The was shot in the back of the head by a sniper. He features prominently in Graham Greene's 1955 novel 'The Quiet American'.
The Quiet American is an anti-war novel by British author Graham Greene, first published in United Kingdom in 1955 and in the United States in 1956. It was adapted into films in 1958 and 2002. The book draws on Greene's experiences as a war correspondent for The Times and Le Figaro in French Indochina 1951-1954. He was apparently inspired to write The Quiet American in October 1951 while driving back to Saigon from the Ben Tre province. He was accompanied by an American aid worker who lectured him about finding a 'third force in Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The character Alden Pyle, identified with the 'Quiet American', is killed by communist / nationalist assassains on 'the Bridge to Dakow', and his body thrown into the waters below. The old iron bridge shown here was replaced by a new concrete structure in the 1980s.<br/><br/> Greene spent three years writing the novel, which foreshadowed US involvement in Vietnam long before it became publicly known. The book was the initial reason for Graham Greene being under constant surveillance by US intelligence agencies from the 1950s until his death in 1991, according to documents obtained in 2002 by The Guardian newspaper under the US Freedom of Information Act.
Cholon or 'Big Market' in Vietnamese has long been the ethnic Chinese quarter of Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City, and remains so into the 21st century. In Vietnamese ethnic Chinese residents are called 'Hoa'.
Japanese prostitutes were commonplace across Southeast Asia at this time, some working as spies for the Japanese Imperial authorities. From 1895 to 1918, Japanese authorities turned a blind eye to the emigration of Japanese women to work in brothels in Southeast Asia. According to the Japanese consul in Singapore, almost all of the 450 to 600 Japanese residents of Singapore in 1895 were prostitutes and their pimps, or concubines; fewer than 20 were engaged in ‘respectable trades’.<br/><br/> Prostitutes – known locally as ‘karayuki’ – were the vanguard of what has been described as describes as a ‘karayuki-led economic advance into Southeast Asia.’ It was specifically seen by the authorities as a way to develop a Japanese economic base in the region; profits extracted from the prostitution trade were used to accumulate capital and diversify Japanese economic interests. The prostitutes, known as karayuki-san or 'Miss Gone-Abroad', served as both creditors and customers to other Japanese: they loaned out their earnings to other Japanese residents trying to start businesses, and patronised Japanese tailors, doctors, and grocery stores. In 1918, after World War I, the custom began to decline.
Conquered by France in 1859, Saigon was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings in the city reflect this, so much so that Saigon was called the 'Pearl of the Far East' or the 'Paris in the Orient'. In 1929, Saigon had a population of 123,890, which included 12,100 French.
Cartoon drawing of the former Vietnamese emperor Bao Dai (1913-1997) in exile in Hong Kong with attendant Chinese hostesses, c. 1956.<br/><br/> Bảo Đại (22 October 1913 – 30 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy, was the 13th and last ruler of the Nguyễn Dynasty. From 1926 to 1945, he served as emperor of Annam under French 'protection'. During this period Annam was a protectorate within French Indochina. Annam today covers the central two-thirds of Vietnam (Contemporary Vietnam being a merger of Annam & the former French Indochina provinces of 'Tonkin' to the north & 'Cochinchina' in the south). Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1932 at the age of 19. The Japanese ousted the French in March 1941 and then ruled through Bảo Đại. At this time, Bảo Đại renamed his country "Vietnam". He abdicated in August 1945 when Japan surrendered. He was chief of state of the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam) from 1949 until 1955. Bảo Đại was criticized as being closely associated with France and spending much of his time outside of Vietnam. Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm ousted him in a referendum held in 1955.
The Quiet American is an anti-war novel by British author Graham Greene, first published in United Kingdom in 1955 and in the United States in 1956. It was adapted into films in 1958 and 2002. The book draws on Greene's experiences as a war correspondent for The Times and Le Figaro in French Indochina 1951-1954. He was apparently inspired to write The Quiet American in October 1951 while driving back to Saigon from the Ben Tre province. He was accompanied by an American aid worker who lectured him about finding a 'third force in Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The character Alden Pyle, identified with the 'Quiet American', is killed by communist / nationalist assassains on 'the Bridge to Dakow', and his body thrown into the waters below. The old iron bridge shown here was replaced by a new concrete structure in the 1980s.<br/><br/> Greene spent three years writing the novel, which foreshadowed US involvement in Vietnam long before it became publicly known. The book was the initial reason for Graham Greene being under constant surveillance by US intelligence agencies from the 1950s until his death in 1991, according to documents obtained in 2002 by The Guardian newspaper under the US Freedom of Information Act.
The earliest description of the use of opium as a recreational drug in China comes from Xu Boling, who wrote in 1483 that opium was ‘mainly used to aid masculinity, strengthen sperm and regain vigor’, and that it ‘enhances the art of alchemists, sex and court ladies’. He described an expedition sent by the Chenghua Emperor in 1483 to procure opium for a price ‘equal to that of gold’ in Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Shaanxi where it is close to Xiyu. A century later, Li Shizhen listed standard medical uses of opium in his renowned Compendium of Materia Medica (1578), but also wrote that ‘lay people use it for the art of sex’, in particular the ability to ‘arrest seminal emission’. This association of opium with sex continued in China until the twentieth century. Opium smoking began as a privilege of the elite and remained a great luxury into the early 19th century, but by 1861, Wang Tao wrote that opium was used by rich peasants, and that even a small village without a rice store would have a shop where opium was sold.
Vietnam's independence was gradually eroded by France in a series of military conquests from 1859 until 1885 when the entire country became part of French Indochina. Significant political and cultural changes were placed on the Vietnamese people, including the propagation of Roman Catholicism. When Emperor Thanh Thai, who was opposed to French colonial rule, was exiled in 1907, the French decided to pass the throne to his son who was only seven years old, because they thought someone so young would be easily influenced and controlled. The boy emperor, Duy Tan, ruled as emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1907 to 1916 before fleeing from Hue to resist the French.
Hoa refers to a minority in Vietnam consisting of persons considered to be ethnic Chinese (Han Chinese). They are often referred to as either Chinese Vietnamese, Vietnamese Chinese, Sino-Vietnamese, or ethnic Chinese in Vietnam. Those who migrated from Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) China to Vietnam declared themselves to be Minh-huong (Míngxiāng) which means the people of the Ming Dynasty.<br/><br/> The Hoa are descended from early settlers from Guangdong province who arrived in Vietnam from the 18th to 20th centuries. The final group of mainland China migrants came during the 1940s. A large proportion of Hoa speak Cantonese as their mother tongue. The second largest group of Hoa tend to speak Teochew (Chaozhou), but may also speak Cantonese as a lingua franca. The younger generation of Hoa in Vietnam tends to speak both Vietnamese and Cantonese. According to the 1999 Vietnamese census, with 862,371 people (1.1% of the population), the Hoa are the 6th largest ethnic group in Vietnam.
Having fought in the First World War and Rif War (Second Moroccan War), the aristocratic de Tassigny (nickname: 'Roi Jean') was a hero of the Free French in World War II. Later, he commanded French troops in Indochina during the First Indochina War.<br/><br/> He won three major victories at Vinh Yen, Mao Khe and Yen Cu Ha and successfully defended the north of the country against the Viet Minh but his only son, Bernard de Lattre de Tassigny, was killed in action during the war at the Battle for Nam Dinh.<br/><br/> In 1951, illness forced de Lattre de Tassigny to return to Paris where he later died of cancer; he was posthumously made Marechal de France.
Rickshaws (or rickshas) are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons. Rickshaws are commonly made with bamboo. The word rickshaw came from Asia, where they were mainly used as means of transportation for the social elite. In recent times the use of rickshaws has been discouraged or outlawed in many countries due to concern for the welfare of rickshaw workers.<br/><br/> Runner-pulled rickshaws have mainly been replaced by cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws. The term 'rickshaw' is today commonly used for those vehicles as well.<br/><br/> The word 'rickshaw' originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha, which literally means 'human-powered vehicle'. In 1874, The word jinricksha / jinrikisha was first published in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Cochinchina is a region encompassing the southern third of Vietnam including Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City. It was a French colony from 1862 to 1948. In 1864, all French territories in southern Vietnam were declared to be the new French colony of Cochinchina, which was to be governed by Admiral Jules Marie Dupré from 1868-74. The later state of South Vietnam was created in 1954 by combining Cochinchina with southern Annam. In Vietnamese, the region is called Nam Bo.
French Indochina Banque de l'Indochina (Bank of Indochina) One Piastre banknote. Image on front shows (left to right) Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese women in traditional dress.
Rickshaws (or rickshas) are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons. Rickshaws are commonly made with bamboo. The word rickshaw came from Asia, where they were mainly used as means of transportation for the social elite.<br/><br/> In recent times the use of rickshaws has been discouraged or outlawed in many countries due to concern for the welfare of rickshaw workers. Runner-pulled rickshaws have mainly been replaced by cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws. The term rickshaw is today commonly used for those vehicles as well. The word "rickshaw" originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha (renliche in Chinese) which literally means 'human-powered vehicle'.
Having fought in the First World War and Rif War (Second Moroccan War), the aristocratic de Tassigny (nickname: 'Roi Jean') was a hero of the Free French in World War II. Later, he commanded French troops in Indochina during the First Indochina War.<br/><br/> He won three major victories at Vinh Yen, Mao Khe and Yen Cu Ha and successfully defended the north of the country against the Viet Minh but his only son, Bernard de Lattre de Tassigny, was killed in action during the war at the Battle for Nam Dinh.<br/><br/> In 1951, illness forced de Lattre de Tassigny to return to Paris where he later died of cancer; he was posthumously made Marechal de France.
Tonkin (Bắc Kỳ in Vietnamese), sometimes spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning 'Northern Region'. The name Tonkin comes from the Chinese meaning 'Eastern Capital'.
Cochinchina is a region encompassing the southern third of Vietnam including Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City. It was a French colony from 1862 to 1948. In 1864, all French territories in southern Vietnam were declared to be the new French colony of Cochinchina, which was to be governed by Admiral Jules Marie Dupré from 1868-74. The later state of South Vietnam was created in 1954 by combining Cochinchina with southern Annam. In Vietnamese, the region is called Nam Bo.
The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War, Anti-French War, Franco-Vietnamese War, Franco-Vietminh War, Indochina War, Dirty War in France, and Anti-French Resistance War in contemporary Vietnam) was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps, led by France and supported by Emperor Bảo Đại's Vietnamese National Army against the Việt Minh, led by Hồ Chí Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp. Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in Northern Vietnam, although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Laos and Cambodia. The war ended in French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
Having fought in the First World War and Rif War (Second Moroccan War), the aristocratic de Tassigny (nickname: &quot;Roi Jean&quot;) was a hero of the Free French in World War II. Later, he commanded French troops in Indochina during the First Indochina War. He won three major victories at Vinh Yen, Mao Khe and Yen Cu Ha and successfully defended the north of the country against the Viet Minh but his only son, Bernard de Lattre de Tassigny, was killed in action during the war at the Battle for Nam Dinh. In 1951, illness forced de Lattre de Tassigny to return to Paris where he later died of cancer; he was posthumously made Marechal de France.
Cochinchina, uniquely in French Indochina, was considered a colony by the French, unlike the dependencies of Annam and Tonkin.
Ngo Dinh Diem (Vietnamese: Ngo Dinh Diem (January 3, 1901 – November 2, 1963) was the first President of South Vietnam (1955–1963). In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diem led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam.<br/><br/> Accruing considerable US support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a 1955 plebiscite that was widely considered fraudulent. Proclaiming himself the Republic's first President, he demonstrated considerable political skill in the consolidation of his power, and his rule proved authoritarian, elitist, nepotistic, and corrupt.<br/><br/> He was assassinated by an aide of ARVN General Duong Van Minh on November 2, 1963, during a coup d'état that deposed his government.
A colonial view of a vampish Vietnamese woman in tight-fitting ao dai ('long dress'); she is smoking a cigarette which also betokens an easy or loose manner.
Traditional Vietnamese Royal Vessels ('Anciennes Barques Royales Annamites'), c.1910.
Hoa Hao is a religious tradition, based on Buddhism, founded in 1939 by Huynh Phu So, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. Adherents consider So to be a prophet. Hoa Hao stresses the practice of Buddhism by lay people in the home, rather than focusing primarily on temple worship and ordination. Aid to the poor is favored over pagoda-building or expensive rituals; religious and social ceremonies are ideally simple and modest, and are not to include the food offerings, divination services, and elaborate wedding and funeral customs found in some manifestations of Southeast Asian life. These are viewed as a waste of money which would be better spent helping the needy. There are around two million adherents in Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem (Vietnamese: Ngo Dinh Diem (January 3, 1901 – November 2, 1963) was the first President of South Vietnam (1955–1963). In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diem led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable US support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a 1955 plebiscite that was widely considered fraudulent. Proclaiming himself the Republic's first President, he demonstrated considerable political skill in the consolidation of his power, and his rule proved authoritarian, elitist, nepotistic, and corrupt. He was assassinated by an aide of ARVN General Duong Van Minh on November 2, 1963, during a coup d'état that deposed his government.
The leading actress in a Saigon theatre troupe, c.1905. 'Annamite Theatre' owed much to Chinese influence, and was especially popular in Cholon, Saigon's Chinatown.
French Indochina (French: Indochine française; Vietnamese: Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, frequently abbreviated to Đông Pháp) was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin (North), Annam (Central), and Cochinchina (South), as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887.<br/><br/> Laos was added in 1893 and Guangzhouwan (Kouang-Tchéou-Wan) in 1900. The capital was moved from Saigon (in Cochinchina) to Hanoi (Tonkin) in 1902.
French Indochina Banque de l'Indochina (Bank of Indochina) One Piastre banknote. Image on front shows a Vietnamese woman in traditional ao dai dress and part of the Royal Palace at Hue.
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
North Vietnam, also called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976. Following the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was partitioned at the 17th parallel. The DRV became the government of North Vietnam while the State of Vietnam retained control in the South. The Geneva Accords provided that nationwide elections would be held in 1956. Although France and the Vietminh had agreed to this provision, it was rejected by the State of Vietnam government. During the Vietnam War (1955–1975), North Vietnam fought against the military of the Republic of Vietnam government and its anti-communist allies. The two states were merged in 1976 as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Tran Le Xuan (April 15, 1924 – April 24, 2011), popularly known as Madame Nhu but more properly Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, was considered the First Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963. She was the wife of Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother and chief adviser to President Ngo Dinh Diem. As Diem was a lifelong bachelor, and because the Nhus lived in the Independence Palace, she was considered to be the First Lady.<br/><br/> Ngô Ðình Nhu (October 7, 1910 – November 2, 1963) was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Ðình Diệm. Nhu was widely regarded as the architect of the Ngô family's nepotistic and autocratic rule over South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963. Although Nhu did not hold a formal executive position, he wielded immense unofficial power, exercising personal command of both the ARVN Special Forces (a paramilitary unit which served as the Ngô family's de facto private army) and the Cần Lao Party, which served as the regime's de facto secret police.
Why 'Pariahs' and not 'Paras'? Perhaps a bitter comment on the anti-war movement in metropolitan France.<br/><br/> The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War, Anti-French War, Franco-Vietnamese War, Franco-Vietminh War, Indochina War, Dirty War in France, and Anti-French Resistance War in contemporary Vietnam) was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps, led by France and supported by Emperor Bảo Đại's Vietnamese National Army against the Việt Minh, led by Hồ Chí Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp.<br/><br/> Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in Northern Vietnam, although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Laos and Cambodia. The war ended in French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
Bảo Đại ("keeper of greatness"; 22 October 1913 – 30 July 1997); born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy; was the 13th and last ruler of the Nguyen dynasty. From 1926 to 1945; he was king (or emperor) of Annam under French 'protection'.Bảo Đại ("keeper of greatness"; 22 October 1913 – 30 July 1997); born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy; was the 13th and last ruler of the Nguyen dynasty. From 1926 to 1945; he was king (or emperor) of Annam under French 'protection'.<br/><br/> Empress Nam Phương (14 December 1914 – 16 December 1963); born Marie-Thérèse Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan; later Imperial Princess Nam Phương; was the first and primary wife of Bảo Đại; the last king of Annam and last emperor of Vietnam; from 1934 until her death. She also was the first and only empress consort (hoàng hậu) of the Nguyễn Dynasty.
The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War, Anti-French War, Franco-Vietnamese War, Franco-Vietminh War, Indochina War, Dirty War in France, and Anti-French Resistance War in contemporary Vietnam) was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps, led by France and supported by Emperor Bảo Đại's Vietnamese National Army against the Việt Minh, led by Hồ Chí Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp.<br/><br/> Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in Northern Vietnam, although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Laos and Cambodia. The war ended in French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
Bảo Đại (22 October 1913 – 30 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy, was the 13th and last ruler of the Nguyễn Dynasty. From 1926 to 1945, he served as emperor of Annam under French 'protection'. During this period Annam was a protectorate within French Indochina.<br/><br/> Annam today covers the central two-thirds of Vietnam (Contemporary Vietnam being a merger of Annam & the former French Indochina provinces of 'Tonkin' to the north & 'Cochinchina' in the south).<br/><br/> Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1932 at the age of 19. The Japanese ousted the French in March 1941 and then ruled through Bảo Đại. At this time, Bảo Đại renamed his country "Vietnam". He abdicated in August 1945 when Japan surrendered. He was chief of state of the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam) from 1949 until 1955. Bảo Đại was criticized as being closely associated with France and spending much of his time outside of Vietnam. Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm ousted him in a referendum held in 1955.
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
The ao dai (Vietnamese: áo dài) is a Vietnamese national costume, now most commonly for women. In its current form, it is a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over pantaloons. The word is pronounced ow-zye in the north and ow-yai in the south, and translates as 'long dress'.<br/><br/> The name áo dài was originally applied to the dress worn at the court of the Nguyễn Lords at Huế in the 18th century. This outfit evolved into the áo ngũ thân, a five-paneled aristocratic gown worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by Paris fashions, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other artists associated with Hanoi University redesigned the ngũ thân as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s.<br/><br/> The updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn (Self-Reliant Literary Group) as a national costume for the modern era. In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese women today. The dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s, frowned upon as frivolous and borgeois in the North between 1952 and 1986, but is today increasingly popular nationwide, having become once again a symbol of Vietnamese nationalism and Vietnamese female beauty.
The Hôtel Continental is a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was named after the prestigious Hôtel Continental in Paris, and is located in District 1, the central business district of the city (Saigon). The hotel is situated by the Saigon Opera House and was built in 1880 by the French. The hotel has undergone a few refurbishments over the years, whilst still maintaining the essence of its original architecture and style.<br/><br/> The Ho Chi Minh City Hotel Continental has also been featured in the Hollywood movie The Quiet American, an adaptation of Graham Greene's novel with the same name. Another movie in which it was featured was Indochine. This film and Greene's Quiet American illustrate the central place the Continental had in the social and political life of Saigon during the French Colonial Era. It is located near the City Post Office, built in 1891, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Building (1898, formerly the Hotel De Ville) and Notre Dame Cathedral (1880).<br/><br/> Graham Greene lived in the Continental while writing 'The Quiet American' and working as a journalist during the latter days of the French Colonial period. It is located on the intersection of Le Loi street and the bustling Dong Khoi Street, Rue Catinat during the days of the French.<br/><br/> The Continental was also home to the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore (1913 Nobel Prize for Literature) and Andre Malraux (1933 Prix Goncourt for 'Man's Fate'), as well as other journalists, celebrities, politicians and heads of state.