http://les-nuits-masquees.blogspot.com/200...uong-thuan.html


Tran-Duong-Thuan

Our story begins in China during 1611 when our first known TRAN family ancestor was born in the village of Ngoc-chau-thuong of the district of Long Khê, in the province of Fujian. The Middle Kingdom, or China, was then governed by the Ming emperor Wanli (1573 – 1620).


New Life in the Dai Viet


When Tran-Duong-Thuan arrived in the Dai-Viet, it was ruled by emperor Le-Thanh-Tong of the Le dynasty. While the emperor reigned as figurehead, authority was detained by the Trinh lords in the North and the Nguyen lords in the South.

Not long after his installation in the Thừa Thiên province, Duong-Thuan took a second wife. She was a Vietnamese woman from the village of Su-lo-ha.
As these were not recorded, we do not know her name, birth date or the date of her death. However she should not be confused with a purchased concubine. She was a legitimate second wife.

In the meantime, Duong-Thuan’s son Tran-Tong had joined him in the Dai-Viet.

Later, he and his wife had a son, his second, which they named Tran-Hong.

http://les-nuits-masquees.blogspot.com/2008/04/tran-vy.html

Coastal Merchant

Man Truc did what many people do to escape self-fulfilling prophecies. He changed his environment, away from negative pressure. At 17 years old, he decided to leave his family and go far away...by way of the ocean to the south of the Dai-Viet, in Gia-Dinh (Saigon).



In Gia-Dinh, Man Truc began a commercial enterprise. After saving enough capital, he invested in the construction of junks which in turn, were critical to the operation of his commercial activities.

I assume, based on what is to follow in this fairy tale account, that like his great uncle, Tran Hong, Man Truc was also well versed in traditional medicine.

I also assume that at this stage, he took the name Tran Vy. This is the name that the account uses from now on.

The story of the Tran mandarins (in my family) begins in 17th century China. They were disillusioned Ming dynasty subjects who emigrated to Vietnam following the establishment of the Qing dynasty by the Manchus. Some of the family documents, reprised in French by Yves Candeau and narrating the Tran lineage right up until the birth and childhood of my grandmother, are a treasure.

I can not fill my grandfather's shoes. For now, I will translate significant excerpts from both the Candeau genealogy and the Tran genealogy, into... English. That insipid language he understood all too well but like a good old fashion French could not resign himself to speak!
In addition, I will enrich those stories with material collected during interviews with my grandmother, Phuong Lan.

I have several motivations for embarking on this project:
1. I am after all a historian. I enjoy delving into the past. And so it will be my pleasure to post this.
2. My grandmother wants me to write about this. She is akin many older people who find delight in offering glimpses of their life with others. And so they should. In fact, we should listen more often.
3. It is a unique story which must be shared, as every person will understandeably assert when speaking of their own family background if, that is, they take pride in their background.
4. I want this story to be available to the public both as a curiosity and for education purposes.

Along the way (if you choose to come with me): love against all odds, far travels, too many sailors to name, a French naval explorer commanding an expedition to New Caledonia, a slave trador under the name of Jean-Baptiste Candeau, three recipients of the French legion of honor, mandarins of the court, foul murder and Vietnamese princes.