History and culture of Vinh Long province

1. History of formation

Through historical documents and surviving artifacts, including relics in Vinh Long province such as the lake and pond relics (Vinh Xuan commune - Tra On district) and the ancient citadel relics (Trung Hiep and Trung Hieu communes, Vung Liem district), evidence of a once flourishing ancient culture in this land during the early centuries AD is evident. However, this culture later declined due to sudden geographical, ecological, and socio-economic impacts, especially after the area was submerged by water following the "sea encroachment" in the early 7th century, leaving the entire region desolate. After many centuries, many migrants from various ethnic groups came to cultivate the land, especially from the 17th century onwards, with three ethnic groups – Vietnamese, Khmer, and Chinese – settling and establishing their livelihoods.

To prepare for the establishment of the administrative apparatus, Lord Nguyen established Gia Dinh Prefecture, built Tran Bien Citadel and Phien Tran Citadel in 1698, and entrusted the implementation to General Nguyen Huu Canh. In the year of the Rat (1732), Lord Nguyen Phuc Tru established a new administrative unit south of Tran Bien Citadel and Phien Tran Citadel: Long Ho Citadel, Dinh Vien District.

The Long Hồ administrative center was located in An Bình Đông village, Kiến Đăng district, commonly known as Cái Bè (Mỹ Tho). In 1757, it was moved south of the Tiền River to Tầm Bào region, Long Hồ village (which is the area of ​​present-day Vĩnh Long city).

The territory of Long Ho Citadel encompassed the entire delta region of the Tien and Hau rivers, including the present-day provinces of Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, and An Giang .

After 1749, Long Ho Citadel was expanded, incorporating the areas of Long Xuyen, Kien Giang, Tran Di (Minh Hai), Tran Giang (Can Tho), and a vast region stretching from the East Sea to the border with Cambodia. Long Ho Citadel was located in the center of the Mekong Delta.

Le Qui Don recorded: "Dinh Vien district has over 7,000 inhabitants, over 7,000 plots of land, taxes are 4 hoc for the first class and 3 hoc for the second class. In Dinh Vien district, the land is not plowed, the weeds are cleared and then the rice is planted, one hoc of rice yields 300 hoc."

In 1779, Nguyen Phuc Anh decided to rename Long Ho Citadel to Hoang Tran Citadel. Hoang Tran Citadel comprised one district, Dinh Vien District, and three communes: Binh An, Binh Duong, and Tan An. To facilitate security and order management, the Hoang Tran administrative center was moved to Ba Lua in Cu Lao Tan Dinh (also known as Bai Hoang Tran), now part of Tan Dinh hamlet, An Phu Tan commune (Cau Ke – Tra Vinh). Just a few months later, Nguyen Phuc Anh renamed Hoang Tran Citadel to Vinh Tran. The Vinh Tran area was smaller than Long Ho Citadel (because it ceded parts of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, and Can Tho to establish Tran Dinh) and moved the Vinh Tran administrative center back to its former location in Tam Bao (present-day Vinh Long city).

In 1802, King Gia Long changed Gia Dinh Prefecture to Gia Dinh Town, then Gia Dinh Citadel (1806). Hoang Town was changed to Vinh Thanh Town, one of the five towns belonging to Gia Dinh Citadel (Phien An, Bien Hoa, Vinh Thanh, Dinh Tuong, Ha Tien). At that time, Vinh Thanh Town had a population of 37,000 people and 139,932 acres of agricultural land.

On February 22, 1813, the 12th Emperor Gia Long ordered the construction of a citadel in Binh An and Truong Xuan hamlets of Long Ho village, known as Long Ho Citadel (now Ward 1, Vinh Long City). Vinh Thanh district was bordered to the east by Kien Hoa district (Dinh Tuong), to the west by Cambodia, to the south by Kien Giang and Long Xuyen (Hau River), to the southeast by the East Sea, and to the north by My Tho. It spanned 200 miles from east to west and 350 miles from north to south, comprising 1 prefecture, 4 districts, 6 communes, and 356 villages.

In 1832, King Minh Mạng established administrative units, changing the "trấn" (district) into "tỉnh" (province). Southern Vietnam had 6 provinces (known as the Six Provinces of Southern Vietnam), and Vĩnh Thanh district became Vĩnh Long province. In 1837, Vĩnh Long province had 4 prefectures, 8 districts, 47 communes, and 408 villages.

In 1840, Con Dao Island was incorporated into Vinh Long province, and from then on, Vinh Long province maintained its position until the French invasion.

In 1875, the French separated Vinh Long province to establish Tra Vinh province; in 1899, they further separated it to establish Ben Tre province. According to the Decree of December 20, 1899, by the Governor-General of Indochina, Paul Doumer, Vinh Long province was one of the 21 provinces of Southern Vietnam. The entire province had 13 districts and 105 villages, equivalent to the boundaries of the districts of Vung Liem, Tam Binh, Long Ho, Mang Thit, Vinh Long city, and Cho Lach (now part of Ben Tre) today.

After the successful August Revolution, Vinh Long province then consisted of four districts: Chau Thanh, Tam Binh, Vung Liem, and Cho Lach. To facilitate the resistance against the French, on May 16, 1948, Vinh Long province was merged with two more districts, Cau Ke and Tra On (Can Tho), and Chau Thanh district was divided into two districts: District 1 and District 2. Therefore, Vinh Long province comprised District 1, District 2, Tam Binh, Cau Ke, Vung Liem, and Tra On, with 63 villages and 217,600 inhabitants.

In 1951, Vinh Long and Tra Vinh were merged to form Vinh Tra province, comprising 10 districts and towns: Vinh Long town, Tra Vinh town, and the districts of Vung Liem, Tam Binh, Cai Ngang, Chau Thanh, Cang Long, Tra Cu, Cau Ngang, and Duyen Hai (the Saigon government still maintained two provinces, Vinh Long and Tra Vinh). In 1954, Vinh Tra province was separated into two provinces, Vinh Long and Tra Vinh. Vinh Long province included Vinh Long town, Chau Thanh district, Cho Lach district, Tam Binh district, and Long Ho district. In 1956, Binh Minh district was established. In 1969, the two districts of Vung Liem and Tra On (Tra Vinh) were merged into Vinh Long. During the resistance war against the US, the districts of Chau Thanh, Lap Vo, Lai Vung, and Sa Dec town (now Dong Thap province) were sometimes merged into Vinh Long province, and after 1969, Cho Lach district was separated and transferred to Ben Tre. In 1976, the two provinces of Vinh Long and Tra Vinh were merged to form Cuu Long province, comprising 14 districts and towns. On December 28, 1991, Cuu Long was separated into Vinh Long and Tra Vinh provinces (officially operational on May 5, 1992).

After the province was divided, Vinh Long did not change its administrative boundaries and consisted of 7 districts and towns: Vinh Long town and the districts of Tam Binh, Binh Minh, Tra On, Vung Liem, Long Ho, and Mang Thit, with 7 wards, 6 townships, and 94 communes. On July 31, 2007 , the Government issued a Decree establishing Binh Tan district from Binh Minh district. At this time, Vinh Long had 8 districts and towns: Vinh Long town and the districts of Tam Binh, Binh Minh, Binh Tan, Tra On, Vung Liem, Long Ho, and Mang Thit. On April 10, 2009, the Government issued a Decree establishing Vinh Long city from Vinh Long town, and on December 28 , 2012 , a Resolution was issued to transform Binh Minh district into Binh Minh town. Due to adjustments in administrative boundaries to establish wards, Vinh Long currently has 8 administrative units, including 6 districts (Binh Tan, Long Ho, Mang Thit, Tam Binh, Tra On, Vung Liem), Binh Minh town and Vinh Long City, with 109 communes, wards and towns (94 communes, 5 towns and 10 wards).

2. Tradition of patriotism and resistance against foreign invasion.

Although the history of the settlement of Vinh Long province spans only about 300 years, the people of Vinh Long have had to wage 7 wars of national defense.

In September of the year Canh Dan (1770), when the Siamese invaders led by Phu Nha Tan besieged Tan Thanh town (Ha Tien) and then advanced to occupy Can Tho, Tong Phuoc Hiep, along with other generals, resolutely concentrated their forces and mobilized the people of Long Ho Dinh to lead an army to drive all the Siamese troops back to their country.

Subsequently, in June 1784, taking advantage of Nguyen Phuc Anh's plea for help from the Siamese army to fight against the Tay Son movement, the Siamese king sent Chao Tang and Chao Suang with 20,000 troops and 300 warships to invade Vietnam by land and sea. In this battle against foreign invaders, the people of Long Ho Dinh achieved a glorious victory, joining the Tay Son rebels in defeating the Siamese-Nguyen Anh coalition on October 13th, 1784 (the year of the Dragon) at the mouth of the Mang Thit River (now Tan Long Hoi commune, Mang Thit district), inflicting heavy losses on the Siamese army and severely wounding their general, Thac Si Da. Following this, the people of Long Ho Dinh continued to participate with the Tay Son army in completely defeating the Siamese forces in a land and sea battle at Rach Gam-Xoai Mut (now in Tien Giang province) in late 1784 and early 1785.

In 1833, Le Van Khoi launched an uprising against the imperial court and sought assistance from the Siamese army. The officials, soldiers, and people of Vinh Long not only drove the Siamese army out of Southern Vietnam but also pursued them all the way to Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

Besides the three victories against the Siamese army, the people of Vinh Long also successfully repelled two French invasions. In February 1859, when the French colonialists attacked Gia Dinh citadel for the first time, the people of Vinh Long and surrounding areas voluntarily contributed money and manpower to fight alongside local officials and troops. In May 1862, after conquering the three eastern provinces of Cochinchina, the French colonialists attacked Vinh Long. At this time, the imperial troops had abandoned the citadel, but in many places in the province, the people spontaneously organized militia forces (village and neighborhood residents), ready to fight the invaders and defend their villages. Thanks to this, on June 5, 1862 (corresponding to the 9th day of the 5th lunar month of the Year of the Dog), the French colonialists were forced to sign a treaty promising to return Vinh Long.

Then, on June 20, 1867, through military pressure and deceitful diplomatic tactics, the French colonialists seized Vinh Long for the second time, marking the beginning of the national liberation struggle of patriotic movements against French colonial aggression in Vinh Long in particular and Vietnam in general.

After the complete liberation of South Vietnam, instigated by hostile forces against Vietnam, Pol Pot and Ieng Sary used their army to invade the southwestern border, creating a war between Vietnam and Cambodia. During this war, the people of Vinh Long made significant contributions in terms of manpower and resources to support the Vietnamese volunteer army and provided manpower and financial assistance to Kongpongsapu province – a sister province of Cuu Long – to help restore and rebuild their homeland after the Pol Pot genocide.

3. Some aspects of the role of Vinh Long province as a "center - in the past and a bridge today" in the Southwestern region of Vietnam.

Due to geopolitical factors, during the Nguyen dynasty's expansion of the territory, an administrative unit south of the Tien River was established in 1732, with Vinh Long chosen as its capital. The establishment of Long Ho Citadel in 1732 became a particularly important historical milestone for the development of the land south of the Tien River in general, and Vinh Long in particular.

Long Ho Citadel (1732-1771) prioritized land reclamation, with agricultural production holding a central position in its economic activities. Long Ho's rice production not only satisfied the needs of the local population but also generated surpluses, supplying the central region, contributing to national reserves, and facilitating trade with other regions. Located between the two major commercial centers of the southern region, Ha Tien and My Tho, Long Ho market served as a hub for the exchange of goods and products, further strengthening its central position. It can be said that by the mid-18th century, Tam Bao (present-day Vinh Long province) was not only the capital of the southern region of the Tien River but also the main base of the Nguyen Dynasty army, responsible for national defense and playing a crucial role in the stability and development of the country.

Nguyen Cu Trinh consistently affirmed the strategic importance of Long Ho Citadel in many aspects, particularly for the entire area south of the Tien River and Southern Vietnam in general. He devised a comprehensive defense plan for the entire region by establishing military outposts along the Tien and Hau rivers and the border areas. He also established three military districts—Tan Chau, Dong Khau, and Chau Doc—under the command of the Long Ho Citadel headquarters, and organized regular communication stations to coordinate operations with General Mac Thien Tu's troops in Ha Tien when necessary. Alongside implementing national defense and security measures, Nguyen Cu Trinh also focused on socio-economic issues, especially receiving and organizing the lives of displaced people, continuing to reclaim barren land, and strengthening the strategic position of Long Ho Citadel.

In the 13th year of Minh Mạng's reign (1832), the entire Southern region was divided into 6 provinces, called the Six Provinces of Southern Vietnam, at which time Vinh Long province was established.

When the French colonialists occupied Vinh Long (1867), the boundaries and administrative organization of Vinh Long province basically remained the same as in 1851 (4 prefectures, 8 districts, including Tra Vinh province, Vinh Long province, and part of Ben Tre province). The headquarters of Phan Thanh Gian, the high-ranking official in charge of the three western provinces of Southern Vietnam, was located in Vinh Long citadel.

At that time, Vinh Long province was not only an important political, military, and cultural center of the three provinces of Southwestern Vietnam, but also a place that received refugees from the three provinces of Southeastern Vietnam during the early years of French colonial rule. The population of Vinh Long province at that time reached 210,000 people, accounting for 50% of the total provincial population of 423,000 people.

French Rear Admiral Delat de Grandierc handed over command of the three provinces of Southwestern Cochinchina to Colonel Raboul, with the command headquarters located in the provincial capital of Vinh Long. After capturing Vinh Long, the French established their headquarters there. Vinh Long province became the capital of the French colonial administration in the three provinces of Southwestern Cochinchina.

Throughout the anti-French resistance period until the end of the 19th century, including the 1940 Southern Uprising, the August Revolution of 1945, and the nine years of resistance against French colonialism, Vinh Long, although a province, experienced intense political conflicts due to its strategic importance and the revolutionary fighting spirit of its people, which the enemy sought to eliminate. Therefore, the struggle between revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces in Vinh Long was always at a high intensity.

During the anti-American war, Ngo Dinh Diem chose Cai Son (Tan Phu commune - Tam Binh district today) as a pilot area for strategic hamlets (1959). In 1961, they built a model strategic hamlet in Phuoc Nguon B hamlet, Phuoc Hau commune, Chau Thanh district (now Long Ho district) as a pilot project for the entire Western region.

On our side, Vinh Long was the second key strategic point in the region during the Tet Offensive of 1968 and the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign of 1975, with the task of cutting off enemy transportation routes from Saigon to the Mekong Delta to consolidate their forces.

The political center of Vinh Long's nature and characteristics led to corresponding opposition, turning it into a "testing ground" for the war strategies that France and the United States applied in the Mekong Delta. This is also the reason why Vinh Long gradually lost its opportunities for development in the past.

Vinh Long still proudly boasts a "land of learning" with cultural values ​​of "garden civilization" and, above all, a rich tradition of patriotism and revolutionary struggle, particularly during the two wars of resistance against France and the United States.

During the two wars of resistance against France and the United States, the people and army of Vinh Long were honored to be recognized as a Heroic Province, and three districts (Vung Liem, Tam Binh, and Tra On), 29 communes, 6 units, and 30 individuals were recognized as Heroes, notably Major General Tran Dai Nghia, Hero of Labor, Professor, and Academician; Hero of Labor Le Minh Duc; Heroes of the Armed Forces Luu Van Liet, Doan Thi Thang, Thach Thia, and Le Van Nhut; thousands of mothers were awarded the title of Heroic Vietnamese Mother, including Nguyen Thi Ngot and Mai Thi Nhi, each with 7 martyrs, and 26 mothers with 4-5 martyrs… Comrades Pham Hung, Vo Van Kiet, Phan Van Dang, Nguyen Van Cung, Nguyen Van Nhung, Nguyen Van Thiet… were outstanding sons of the Party, assigned to bear important responsibilities of the Central Committee and the province.

Vinh Long has always been a place that quickly embraced traditional cultural values ​​and other progressive civilizations. Vinh Long boasts many national cultural relics such as the Temple of Literature, Tien Chau Pagoda, Long Thanh Temple, Phuoc Hau Pagoda, Ngoc Son Quang Pagoda, Tan Hoa Temple, and the Temple of Meritorious Deities… Vinh Long also had an early artistic movement, with the creation of songs and plays by Truong Quang Huon, Tong Huu Dinh… Famous artists awarded the title of People's Artist include Pham Van Hai (Ba Du), Ut Tra On, Thanh Ton… and Meritorious Artists Thanh Loan, Thanh Huong, Le Thuy, Hoang Long… Many writers, journalists, and members of national-level music, theater, and painting associations…

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