Dong Du Movement (dong doe) Literally, "Eastern Travel." Between 1905 and 1908, many Vietnamese students travelled to Japan to study. The name stems from the relative locations of Japan and Vietnam.

 

Ho Chi Minh: (hoe gee min) 1890-1969. Pseudonym for Nguyen Sinh Cung. Ho first learned of Marxism when he lived in London during WWI. He attended the Versailles Peace Conference, and demanded independence for Vietnam. Afterwards, Ho co-founded the French Communist Party. In 1923, Ho studied Marxism in Moscow and worked at Comintern headquarters. In 1924, he went to Guangzhou, to work with the KMT and foster communist activity in French Indochina. Ho left Guangzhou in 1927, to escape Chiang Kai-shek's repression of communists. Ho returned to south China in 1930 and formed the Vietnamese Communist Party in Hong Kong. It became the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) in October 1930. Imprisoned by the British in 1931, he was released in 1933 and went to Moscow. He spent the next few years in the USSR.In 1938, Ho visited CCP headquarters in Yan'an, then trained guerrillas in central China. In May 1941, Ho presided over the formation of the League for the Independence of Vietnam—the Viet Minh. Ho spent most of his time during WWII organizing the Viet Minh and preparing for the revolution that would come after the war.The Japanese drove the French from Vietnam on 9 March 1945; Japan's surrender on 15 August left a power void. After the Japanese withdrawal, the Viet Minh launched their attack, took Hanoi with ease, and established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on 2 September 1945. Hanoi was the capital and Ho Chi Minh was the president. After the Viet Minh's rise to power in 1945, members of the ICP and of the Viet Minh were in most of the key posts. The first National Assembly was elected in early 1946; the Assembly reaffirmed Ho as president. Shortly thereafter. Ho made a coalition with rival parties. In December 1946, negotiations with the French broke down; this led to war. After the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, an international conference on Vietnam refused to legitimize Ho's government and divided his country at the seventeenth parallel.  After 1954, Ho retained the presidency of the North but actually spent his time promoting Vietnam's interests in the international arena. Ho died of a heart attack on 3 September 1969. As the liberator of his people and the founder of the country. Ho is honored throughout Vietnam and is the symbol of the nation.

 

Hue: (hway) Located on the Song Huang (Perfume) River, Hue is in central Vietnam, and is a cultural, historical, and religious center.

 

Indochinese Communist Party: Founded in 1930 as the result of a factional split within the Vietnam Revolutionary League (VRL). Ho Chi Minh, at the instruction of Comintern, reunited the VRL and the communists under the banner of the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP).  After the Viet Minh's rise to power in 1945, members of the ICP and of the Viet Minh were placed in most of the key posts. However, Ho Chi Minh worked out a coalition with rival parties, and the ICP announced its own dissolution in November of that year, to induce noncommunist participation in the new government. In reality, the ICP merely went underground. In 1946, after the start of the war with France, the ICP reemerged to guide the resistance through its influence on both the government and the Viet Minh.

 

Nguyen Tniong To: (win trong doe) 1827- 1871- A Catholic, To had both a traditional education and French tutoring. Although a loyalist to the Vietnamese court, To was a strong advocate of reform; unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in his attempts to modernize Vietnam.

 

Phan Boi Chau: (fahng boy jao) 1876-1940. Traditionally-educated anti-colonial revolutionary. Although his many attempts to gain independence for Vietnam failed, today he is revered as a patriot.

 

Phan Chu Trinh: (fahng jew trin) 1872-1926. A nationalist who sought to modernize Vietnam; Trinh devoted himself to Vietnam's independence. Although few Vietnamese agreed with his rejection of violence, Trinh is widely respected as a patriot.

 

Viet Minh: Shortened form of Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi, literally, "Vietnam People's Independence League." Founded in 1941 by Ho Chi Minh, the Viet Minh was established as a broad political front for Vietnamese nationalism. However, the communists were the most influential faction.