Contents
Capital Huế
Language(s) Vietnamese
Government Imperial Monarchy
Emperor Bảo Đại
Prime Minister Trần Trọng Kim
Historical era World War II
- Established 11 March 1945
- Disestablished 23 August 1945
History of Vietnam
Hồng Bàng Dynasty prior to 257 BC
Thục Dynasty 257–207 BC
First Chinese domination 207 BC – 39 AD
• Triệu Dynasty 207–111 BC
Trưng Sisters 40–43
Second Chinese domination 43–544
• Lady Triệu's Rebellion 248
Early Lý Dynasty 544–602
• Triệu Việt Vương
Third Chinese domination 602–905
• Mai Hắc Đế 722
• Phùng Hưng 791–798
Autonomy 905–938
• Khúc Family 906–930
• Dương Đình Nghệ 931–937
• Kiều Công Tiễn 937–938
Ngô Dynasty 939–967
• The 12 Lords Rebellion 966–968
Đinh Dynasty 968–980
Early Lê Dynasty 980–1009
Lý Dynasty 1009–1225
Trần Dynasty 1225–1400
Hồ Dynasty 1400–1407
Fourth Chinese domination 1407–1427
• Later Trần Dynasty 1407–1413
• Lam Sơn Rebellion 1418–1427
Later Lê Dynasty 1428–1788
• Early Lê 1428–1527
• Restored Lê 1533–1788
• Mạc Dynasty 1527–1592
• Southern and
Northern Dynasties 1533–1592
• Trịnh-Nguyễn War 1627–1673
Tây Sơn Dynasty 1778–1802
Nguyễn Dynasty 1802–1945
• Western imperialism 1887–1945
• Empire of Vietnam 1945
Indochina Wars 1945–1975
Partition of Vietnam 1954
• Democratic Republic
of Vietnam 1945–1976
• State of Vietnam 1949–1955
• Republic of Vietnam 1955–1975
• Provisional Revolutionary
Government 1975–1976
Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 1976
Related topics
Champa Dynasties 192–1832
List of Vietnamese monarchs
Economic history of Vietnam
Prehistoric cultures of Vietnam
The Empire of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Đế quốc Việt Nam, or Việt Nam Đế quốc) was a short-lived puppet state of Imperial Japan governing the whole of Vietnam between March 11 and August 23, 1945.
History
During the Second World war, after the fall of France and establishment of the French State, the French had lost practical control in French Indochina to the Japanese, but Japan stayed in the background while giving the Vichy French administrators nominal control. This changed on 9 March 1945 when Japan officially took over. To gain the support of the Vietnamese people, Imperial Japan declared it would return sovereignty to Vietnam. Emperor Bảo Đại declared the treaty made with France in 1884 void. Trần Trọng Kim, a renowned historian and scholar, was chosen to lead the government as prime minister.[1]
Policies
Constitutional issues
Kim and his ministers spent a substantial amount of time on constitutional matters at their first meeting in Huế on 4 May 1945. One of their first resolutions was to alter the national name to Việt Nam. This was seen as a significant and urgent task. It implied territorial unity; "Việt Nam" had been Emperor Gia Long's choice for the name of the country since he unified the modern territory of Việt Nam in 1802. Furthermore, this was the first time that Vietnamese nationalists in the northern, central and southern regions of the country officially recognized this name. In March, activists in the North always mentioned Đại Việt (Great Việt), the name used prior to the 15th century used by the Lê Dynasty and its predecessors, while those in the South used Vietnam, and the central leaders used An Nam (Peaceful South) or Đại Nam (Great South, which was used by the Nguyễn Lords). Kim also renamed the three regions of the country-the northern (former Tonkin or Bắc Kỳ) became Bắc Bộ, the central region (former Annam or Trung Kỳ) became Trung Bộ, and the southern areas (former Cochinchina or Nam Kỳ) became Nam Bộ. Kim did this even though at the time the Japanese had only given him direct authority over the northern and central regions of Vietnam. When France had finished its conquest of Vietnam in 1885, only southern Vietnam was made a direct colony under the name of Cochinchina, while the northern and central regions were designated as protectorates as Tonkin and Annam. When the Empire of Vietnam was proclaimed, the Japanese retained direct control of Cochinchina, in the same way as their French predecessors.[2]
Thuan Hoa, the pre-colonial name for Hue, was restored. Kim's officials also worked to find a French substitute for the word "Annamite", which was used to denote Vietnamese people and their characteristics as described in French literature and official use. "Annamite" was considered to be derogatory and it was replaced with “Vietnamien” (Vietnamese). Apart from Thuan Hoa, these terms have been internationally accepted since Kim ordered the changes. Given that the French colonial authorities emphatically distinguished the three regions of "Tonkin”, "Annam", and "Cochinchina" as separate entities, implying a lack of national culture or political integration, Kim's first acts were seen not only as symbolic but the end of generations of frustration among Vietnamese intelligentsia and revolutionaries.
On 12 June 1945, Kim selected a new national flag-a yellow, rectangular banner with three horizontal red stripes modeled after the Li Kwai in the Book of Changes - and a new national anthem, the old hymn Dang Dan Cung (The King Mounts His Throne). This decision ended a three-month-long period of speculation concerning a new flag for Vietnam.[2]
Educational reform
Kim's government strongly emphasised educational reform, focusing on the development of technical training, particularly the use of romanised script (quoc ngu) as the primary language of instruction. After less than two months in power, Kim organized the first primary examinations in Vietnamese and intended to use Vietnamese in the advanced tests. Education minister Hoang Xuan Han strove hard to Vietnamise public secondary education. The planned sweeping reforms required more than four months to achieve their full results, but were regarded as having been a major stepping stone which prepared the groundwork for the successor Vietminh government to launch its compulsory mass education program. In July, when the Japanese decided to grant Vietnam full independence and territorial unification, Kim's government was on the verge of a new round of reform, beginning with the creation of a national committee responsible for the creation of a new national education system.[3]
Judicial reform
The Justice minister Trinh Dinh Thao launched an attempt at judicial reform. In May 1945, he created the Committee for the Reform and Unification of Laws in Hue, which he headed. His ministry reevaluated the sentences of political prisoners, releasing a number of anti-French activists and restoring the civil rights of others. This led to the release of a number of Communist cadres who returned to their former cells, and actively participated in the destruction of Kim's government.[3]
Encouragement of mass political participation
One of the most notable changes implemented by Kim’s government was the encouragement of mass political participation. In memorial ceremonies, Kim honoured all national heroes, ranging from the legendary national founders, the Hung kings to slain anti-French revolutionaries such as Nguyen Thai Hoc, the leader of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party (Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang) who was executed with twelve comrades in 1930 in the aftermath of the Yen Bai mutiny.[3]
A committee was organised to select a list of national heroes for induction into the Temple of Martyrs (Nghia Liet Tu). City streets were renamed. In Hue, Jules Ferry was replaced on the signboards of a main thoroughfare by Le Loi, the founder of the Le Dynasty who expelled the Chinese in 1427. General Tran Hung Dao, who twice repelled Mongol invasions in the 1200s, replaced Paul Bert. On August 1, the new mayor of Hanoi, Tran Van Lai, ordered the demolition of French built statues in the city parks in his campaign to Wipe Out Humiliating Remnants. Similar campaigns were enacted in southern Vietnam in late August. Meanwhile, the freedom of the press was instituted, resulting in the publication of the pieces of anti-French movements and critical essays on French collaborators. Heavy criticism was even extended to Nguyen Huu Do, the great grandfather of Bao Dai who was notable in assisting the French conquest of Dai Nam in the 1880s.[3]
Kim put particular emphasis on the mobilisation of youth. Youth Minster Phan Anh, attempted to centralise and heavily regulate all youth organizations, which had proliferated immediately after the Japanese coup. On May 25, an imperial order decreed an inclusive, hierarchical structure for youth organizations. At the apex was the National Youth Council, a consultative body, which advised the minister. Similar councils were to be organised down to the district level. Meanwhile, young people were asked to join the local squads or groups, from provincial to communal levels. They were given physical training and were charged with maintaining security in their communes. Each provincial town had a training centre, where month-long paramilitary courses were on offer.[3]
The government also established a national center for the Advanced Front Youth (Thanh nien tien tuyen) in Hue. It was inaugurated on June 2, with the intention of being the centrepiece for future officer training. In late July, regional social youth centers were established in Hanoi, Hue, and Saigon. In Hanoi, the General Association of Students and Youth (Tong Hoi Sinh vien va Thanh Nien) was animated by the fervor of independence. The City University in Hanoi became a focal point of political agitation. By May and June, there was evidence that communist Cadres of the Vietminh front, had infiltrated the university’s youth and famine relief associations. In the face of the rising Vietminh front, the Japanese attempted to contact its leaders, but their messengers were killed by the Vietminh. The Kempeitai retaliated, arresting hundreds of pro-communist Vietnamese youths in late June.[4]
Territorial unification
The most notable achievement of Kim's Empire of Vietnam was the successful negotiation with Japan for the territorial unification of the nation. The French had subdivided Vietnam into three separate regions: Cochinchina (in 1862) and Annam and Tonkin (both in 1884). Cochinchina was placed under direct rule while the latter two were officially designated as protectorates. Immediately after the coup which terminated French rule, the Japanese authorities were not enthusiastic about the territorial unification of Vietnam. However, after the formation of Kim's cabinet in April, Japan quickly agreed to return what was then Tonkin and Annam to Kim's authority, although it retained control of the cities of Hanoi, Haiphong, and Da Nang. Meanwhile, southern Vietnam remained under direct Japanese control, just as Cochinchina had been under French rule.[4]
Beginning in May 1945, Foreign Minister Tran Van Chuong entered into negotiations with the Japanese in Hanoi for the return of the three cities to Vietnamese rule, but the Japanese stalled because Hanoi and Haiphong were seen as strategic points in their war defense. It was only in June and July that the Japanese allow the process of national unification to be take place. On June 16, Bao Dai issued a decree proclaiming the impending reunification of Vietnam. On June 29, General Tsuchihashi signed a series of decrees transferring some of the duties of the government general-including customs, information, youth and sports- to the governments of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, effective July 1. This was followed by Bao Dai's issuing of four imperial orders: establishment of the National Consultative Committee (Hoi dong Tu van Quoc Gia); a committee of fifteen to work on the creation of a constitution; a fifteen-member committee to examine administrative reform, legislation, and finance; and a committee for educational reform. For the first time, leaders from southern regions were invited to join these committees.[4]