Trương Minh Giảng ( vi-hantu, 張明講, 1792 – 1841) was a general and official of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

during the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

Early life

Trương-Minh Giảng was born in

Gia Định ''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Eliza ...

(modern

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

). He came from an important aristocratic family of southern Vietnam, the Trương-Minh family from which also comes the scholar Trương Minh Ký (1855-1900). His father, Trương-Minh Thành was the minister of ceremony (Lễ bộ Thượng thư) of Emperor

Gia Long Gia Long (Chữ Hán, Chữ hán: 嘉隆) ( (''Hanoi, North''), (''Ho Chi Minh City, South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh (阮暎), was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynas ...

. Giảng passed the triennial exam with the grade of '' hương cống'' in 1819. He became a military mandarin in the service of Emperor Minh-Mang and was appointed major general.

Career

A rebellion was launched by Lê Văn Khôi in Gia Định in 1833. This was an important revolt in southern Vietnam, Giảng was sent to put down the rebellion together with Tống Phúc Lương, Nguyễn Xuân, Phan Văn Thúy and Trần Văn Năng. Two

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

ese generals,

Bodindecha ''Chao Phraya'' Bodindecha (, , 13 January 1776 – 24 June 1849), personal name Sing Sinhaseni (), was a prominent military figure of the early Rattanakosin Kingdom period during the reign of King Rama III. Bodindecha hold the post of ''Samuh ...

and Phra Klang, led troops to attack the Vietnamese provinces of

Hà Tiên Hà Tiên is a Provincial city (Vietnam), provincial city in Kiên Giang Province, Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Its area is and the population as of 2019 is 81,576. The city borders Cambodia to the west. Hà Tiên is a tourist site of the region th ...

and

An Giang An Giang is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the Mekong Delta, in the country's southwestern part. Geography An Giang is located in the upper reaches of the Mekong Delta. The Hậu Giang and Tiền Giang branches of the Mekong River ...

and Vietnamese imperial forces in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

. Giảng and his 10,000 soldiers defeated the Siamese army in Cambodia, and installed Ang Chan II as a client king of Cambodia. Giảng was appointed Governor-General of Cambodia and stayed in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

to watch the king. In 1835 Ang Chan II died without heir. Giảng installed

Ang Mey Ang Mey ( ; 1815 – December 1874) was a monarch of Cambodia. Her official title was Samdech Preah Mahā Rājinī Ang Mey. She was one of the few female rulers in Cambodia's history, and the first one since Queen Tey. Installed on the Cambodi ...

as a client queen. He ordered all Cambodian women to wear Vietnamese-style pyjamas instead of the khmer

sampot A ''sampot'' ( /sɑmpʊət/ ), a traditional dress in Cambodia. The traditional dress is similar to the dhoti of Southern Asia. It is also worn in the neighboring countries of Laos and Thailand where it is known as pha nung ( ). Origins The sa ...

(similar to the

sarong A sarong or a sarung (, ) is a large tube or length of textile, fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often ...

), grow their hair long in Vietnamese style. Phnom Penh was renamed with a Vietnamese name: ''Trấn Tây Thành'' (鎮西城), or "Western Commandery". Many

Wat A wat (, ; , ; , ; ; , ) is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Etymology The word ''wat'' is borrowed from the Sanskrit ''v ...

s (temples) were destroyed during this period,Cambodian people by Sipar, p. 29 and numerous ethnic Vietnamese came to Cambodia. Cambodia became a part of Vietnam in 1841, and Ang Mey was deposed and exiled to Gia Định. Many Cambodian were infuriated, and revolted against the Vietnamese rule. Seizing the opportunity, Siam invaded Cambodia in an attempt to install

Ang Duong Ang Duong ( ; 12 June 1796 – 18 October 1860) was the King of Cambodia from 1848 to his death in 1860. Formally invested in 1848, his rule benefited a kingdom that had suffered from several centuries of royal dissent and decline. His politics f ...

on the throne as their own puppet, triggering the Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–45). Giảng tried to resist but failed. The new emperor

Thiệu Trị Thiệu Trị (, vi-hantu, wikt:紹, 紹wikt:治, 治, lit. "inheritance of prosperity"; 6 June 1807 – 4 November 1847), personal name Nguyễn Phúc Miên Tông or Nguyễn Phúc Tuyền, was the third emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty. He was th ...

suddenly decided to withdraw all Vietnamese troops from Cambodia following the advice of Tạ Quang Cự. Giảng died suddenly on his way back to

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

. Sources stated that he committed suicide by taking poison together with other two senior generals to avoid punishment from the emperor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truong, Minh Giang Nguyen dynasty officials Nguyen dynasty generals 1841 deaths Military personnel from Ho Chi Minh City