361:. With their antiquated weapons, Sổ's men were slaughtered, losing thousands. Sổ's brother and the brother of his commander Soái were captured and executed. The return of French forces helped to keep the Hòa Hảo and the Việt Minh apart, but the Hòa Hảo periodically sought vengeance on the Việt Minh by tying sympathisers of the latter together and throwing them into the river to drown. The Việt Minh were worried by Sổ's nationalist credentials and social structure, and attempted to co-opt him into a National Unified Front. It was dissolved in July 1946 after it was apparent that Sổ would not follow the Việt Minh. Sổ entered politics openly by creating the
383:, realising that Sổ would not subordinate himself to the Việt Minh, set up a trap. Sổ was caught and executed in April 1947. His body was cut into many small pieces and scattered so that his followers could not gather them and turn his remains into an object of veneration or a shrine. According to Vietnamese police documents, Huỳnh Phú Sổ was arrested and executed on December 22, 1947 by the Viet Minh in Long Xuyen.
338:, Sổ ordered the creation of armed units for campaigns against the local administration, landowners and French colonial forces. This led to the Hòa Hảo becoming less of a religious and more of a military-political movement, as people such as landowners converted in the hope that they could buy protection.
185:
to learn from a hermit who was both a mystic and a healer. After some training, Sổ made his mark during a stormy night in May 1939, having returned to his village after his master's death. While in an agitated state, Sổ appeared to have suddenly been cured of his illnesses and started to propound his
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His simplified teachings were designed to appeal primarily to the poor and the peasants. He attempted to win supporters by cutting down on ceremonies and complex doctrines, eschewing the use of temples. He won over followers by offering free consultations and performing purported miracle cures with
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kept him under protection and the
Japanese authorities rebuffed French protests and demands for extradition by saying that he was held as a "Chinese spy". He avoided accusations of being a Japanese collaborator by predicting their demise, but his contacts with them allowed his supporters to gain
227:
In early 1940, after a few weeks in retreat to compose and put on paper oracles, prayers and teachings, Sổ launched a major campaign through the Mekong Delta. He recruited tens of thousands of converts to his movement who followed him around in his travels. His reputation grew immensely after a
181:, in 1920, Sổ was the son of a moderately wealthy peasant. Plagued in his youth by illness, he was a mediocre student and graduated from high school only because of his father's influence. He was a brave child, so his father sent him to Núi Cấm in the
387:
Following his death, the Hòa Hảo's political and military power diminished as the various commanders began infighting without a centralised leadership structure and without a leader; it became basically a network of war lords, the most famous being
317:. By that time the Japanese had taken over French Indochina, but had left the French apparatus in place, intervening only when they saw fit. The Japanese intercepted the transfer of Sổ with the help of some Hòa Hảo followers and brought him back to
209:, Sổ was Vietnamese. As a result, Sổ became a nationalist icon and became a wanted man for the French colonial authorities, having gained 100,000 followers in less than a year. He predicted that politics would be the cause of his premature death.
509:
Từ điển nghiệp vụ phổ thông, trang 574, Viện nghiên cứu Khoa học Công an, Bộ Nội vụ, 1977, Hà Nội (General professional dictionary, page 574, Public
Security Science Research Institute, Ministry of Home Affairs, 1977, Hanoi, in
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The cult must stem much more from internal faith than from a pompous appearance. It is better to pray with a pure heart before the family altar than to perform gaudy ceremonies in a pagoda, clad in the robes of an unworthy
310:. The French restrictions and coercions strengthened his nationalist appeal, and Bạc Liêu soon became a place of Hòa Hảo pilgrimage, although it was far from the movement's strongholds.
58:
188:"with eloquence and erudition about the sublime dogmas of Buddhism ... The witnesses to this miracle, deeply impressed by the strange scene, became his first converts."
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In 1942, the French could no longer withstand the growing popular reactions generated by Sổ's oracular pronouncements and political instructions. They exiled him to
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357:. On 9 September 1945, a confrontation arose when a band of 15,000 Hòa Hảo, armed with hand-to-hand weapons, attacked the Việt Minh garrison at
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who were also fighting the French. The Hòa Hảo were in control of most of the Mekong Delta and was unwilling to toe the Việt Minh line from
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290:. Sổ famously succeeded in converting his psychiatrist, Dr. Tam, who became an ardent and devout supporter (Tam was later executed by the
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392:, named a "one-star general" by the French (a rank which does not exist in the French Army, so Văn Soái added a second one on his
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religious teachings, which were based on
Buddhism, on that spot. According to observers, he spoke for several hours spontaneously
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for his activities). A board of French psychiatrists declared him sane in May 1941, reporting that he was "a little
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298:, very ignorant even in Buddhist practices, but a windbag." He was exiled upon his release to the coastal town of
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197:, and preaching at street corners and canal intersections. He quickly built up a following in the southern
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in
English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the
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began battling the French, they also came into conflict with other military organizations such as the
252:". As his movement became politicised, it began to attract aspiring politicians, with the likes of
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205:, a native religion appealed to the masses who were displaying nationalist sentiment. Unlike
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the Việt Minh, with numerous betrayals and re-rallyings (five by Ba Cụt, who was eventually
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Fearing anti-French demonstrations and revolts would occur as a result of Sổ's following,
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series of his predictions came true: the outbreak of World War II, the fall of France to
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and was looked to by his disciples for guidance in their daily lifestyles. In a time of
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371:. This defiant move made him a target of the Việt Minh as relations deteriorated.
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157:(lit. Virtuous Founder (ie. Patriach) Huynh), was the founder of the
400:. To avenge the murder of So, the Hòa Hảo joined the French in their
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In 1945, as the
Japanese were defeated and Vietnam fell into a
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256:, a prominent landowner, and its future military commanders,
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and flee to the hills. The French derided him as the "mad
149:; 15 January 1920 – 16 April 1947), popularly known as
240:. His prediction of a Japanese invasion prompted many
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in the far south. His key supporters were sent to a
264:. Nguyen claimed that Sổ had cured him of illness.
120:"Đức Huỳnh Giáo Chủ" (lit. Virtuous Founder Huynh)
528:
274:decided to act. In August, Sổ was detained in the
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62:A digitally remastered photo of Huỳnh Phú Sổ.
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326:weapons. He was considered a mystic.
169:Born in the village of Hòa Hảo, near
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572:Founders of new religious movements
363:Viet Nam Democratic Socialist Party
118:"Đức Thầy" (lit. "Virtuous Master")
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286:under the reasoning that he was a
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582:People executed by the Viet Minh
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547:. New York: Praeger Publishers.
535:. New York: Praeger Publishers.
379:The southern Việt Minh leader,
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244:farmers to desert their farms
223:Proselytising and imprisonment
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597:People from An Giang province
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31:, but is often simplified to
153:(lit. "Virtuous Master") or
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531:Vietnam: A Dragon Embattled
16:Founder of Hòa Hảo religion
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592:Executed Vietnamese people
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587:20th-century executions
444:Encyclopædia Britannica
500:Buttinger, pp. 409–11.
461:Buttinger, pp. 255–57.
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269:Vichy French governor
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161:religious tradition.
441:Huỳnh Phú Sổ profile
276:psychiatric hospital
203:colonial occupation
146:[hʷɨ̀nfǔʂô]
491:Buttinger, p. 260.
470:Buttinger, p. 259.
304:concentration camp
155:Đức Huỳnh Giáo Chủ
545:The Two Viet-Nams
525:Buttinger, Joseph
482:Fall, pp. 151–53.
330:Military campaign
234:Japanese invasion
193:simple herbs and
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262:Lâm Thành Nguyên
238:French Indochina
179:French Indochina
175:Southern Vietnam
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254:Huynh Cong Bo
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199:Mekong Delta
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138:Huỳnh Phú Sổ
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128:Founding of
98:(1947-04-16)
50:Huỳnh Phú Sổ
40:
32:
28:
567:1947 deaths
562:1920 births
510:Vietnamese)
406:guillotined
381:Nguyễn Bình
272:Jean Decoux
195:acupuncture
165:Early years
142:Vietnamese:
108:Cochinchina
86:Cochinchina
556:Categories
412:References
232:, and the
104:Long Xuyên
74:1920-01-15
37:given name
347:Việt Minh
323:Kempeitai
292:Việt Minh
543:(1963).
527:(1967).
308:Nui Bara
300:Bạc Liêu
296:maniacal
280:Chợ Quán
246:en masse
171:Châu Đốc
151:Đức Thầy
82:An Giang
19:In this
577:Hòa Hảo
518:Sources
396:), and
359:Cần Thơ
351:Cao Đài
343:Hòa Hảo
341:As the
288:lunatic
159:Hòa Hảo
130:Hòa Hảo
25:surname
398:Ba Cụt
368:Dân Xã
321:. The
319:Saigon
284:Saigon
23:, the
375:Death
355:Hanoi
250:bonze
216:bonze
33:Huynh
29:Huỳnh
394:képi
349:and
315:Laos
260:and
242:rice
93:Died
68:Born
408:).
306:in
278:at
236:of
106:,
84:,
27:is
558::
475:^
450:^
420:^
177:,
173:,
41:Sổ
39:,
218:.
140:(
76:)
72:(
43:.
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