Đông Du

Đông Du (Saigon: [ɗəwŋm ju], Hanoi: [ɗəwŋm zu], Journey To The East; Japanese: 東遊) was a Vietnamese political movement founded by Phan Bội Châu at the start of the 20th century that encouraged young Vietnamese to go east to Japan to study, in the hope of training a new era of revolutionary independent activists to rise against French colonial rule.^[1] Other notable proponents of Dong Du include Phan Châu Trinh and Prince Cường Để of Nguyễn house.^[2] In 1906 there were only 20 students in Japan, but October 1907, there were over 100 students in Japan, more than half from the South.^[3][4]

At the beginning of the 20th century, France had violently suppressed almost all revolutionary movements within Vietnam fighting for independence. The Yên Thế uprising lead by Hoàng Hoa Thám one of the few remaining at the time, was by that stage operating on a small scale, and even so by 1913 had been crushed.

In 1903, Phan Bội Châu, a patriotic scholar from Nghệ An traveled through the entire country to contact other patriot scholars to establish a revolutionary party, which later be known as Duy Tân Hội the (Association for Modernization). Its aim was "defeat the French invaders, restore the Vietnam state, and establish an independent government"

In early 1904, after coming back from French Cochinchina, on April 4th, Phan Bội Châu, together with Marquis Cường Để (a royal relative of the Nguyễn dynasty and fifth generation descendant of Prince Nguyễn Phúc Cảnh) and around 20 other nationalists met at scholar Nguyễn Thành's house, located in Quảng Nam to establish Duy Tân Hội, (Association for Modernization) a secret revolutionary movement.

Marquis Cường Để as a member of the royal family was invited to be the head of the association, in order to win the people’s confidence, rally patriotic scholars, and gain sympathy and support from the populace whom supported the monarchy. Meanwhile, scholars such as Nguyễn Hàm, Trình Hiền, Lê Võ, Đặng Tử Kính, Đặng Thái Thân were key members in charge of carrying out all of its activities.

After discussions, the founding conference of the association set out three immediate tasks:

• To expand and develop the association’s strength in terms of both manpower and finances.
• To promote preparations for an uprising and other work after the uprising began.
• To determine the guiding principle and policy of going abroad to seek foreign aid, and how to proceed.

The first two tasks were assigned to all members, while the third was entrusted only to Nguyễn Thành and Phan Bội Châu, who were to discuss it privately and carry it out; the other members were not informed.

Scholar Nguyễn Hàm strongly supported the idea of seeking aid from Japan,

“In China, Its national prestige is so weakened, that its struggling to save itself, much less save others. But look eastward! Japan, the only country among the yellow race that has modernized, they have crushed Russia and shown the world that even among the yellow race can rise! their ambitions are still strong. Should we sit in chains while they march forward? No! If we go there with clear purpose, laying bare our cause for freedom and our destiny, they will surely stand with us. And even if their armies cannot march with ours, then with their support we shall secure provisions, we shall purchase weapons, and we shall return to carve the path to freedom!”

Thus, the opinion of going to Japan to seek aid was strongly supported by many members.

On February 23rd 1905, Phan Bội Châu, Đặng Tử Kính, and Tăng Bạt Hổ (a former member of the Cần Vương movement, acting as guide) boarded a steamer at Hải Phòng, secretly traveling by sea through Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Shanghai before arriving in Yokohama, Japan.

Once there, Phan Bội Châu sent a letter requesting a meeting with Liang Qichao, a Chinese revolutionary. In their written exchange, Liang Qichao advised Phan Bội Châu not to seek foreign military intervention especially not to bring Japanese troops into Vietnam in order to regain independence, but instead to focus on education, and awakening the people at home first. When the right opportunity came, everyone would then already be prepared for an uprising.

Afterward, Liang Qichao introduced Phan Bội Châu to two important politicians of Japan’s ruling Progressive Party Kensei Hontō, Marquess and former prime minister Ōkuma Shigenobu and statesmen and future prime minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, to ask the Japanese government to help give support and military aid to drive out the French. The pair refused, explaining that the time was not yet suitable for Japan to directly support such a cause, and wanted to avoid hurting foreign relations with France. Instead, Ōkuma and Inukai advised them to have Marquis Cường Để, a symbolic heir of the Nguyễn dynasty, travel to Japan, and they should use literature and journalism to rally Vietnamese public opinion at home and abroad. Although this fell short of his initial hopes, Phan Bội Châu understood, and had already expected long prior that receiving immediate aid was unrealistic. So he used the opportunity to secure what was possible, after discussion he received permission for Vietnamese youth to study in Japan under the Đông Du (Journey to the East) movement.

After Japan refused to provide military aid to the association and revolutionary cause, Phan Bội Châu shifted his strategy from “seeking foreign aid” to “seeking learning.” Encouraging and recruiting many patriotic youth who have a strong desire for independence to study and learn in Japan, and bring their knowledge back to educate and lead the populace in a future uprising.

In June 1906, Phan Bội Châu and Đặng Tử Kính secretly smuggled back to Vietnam copies of the book Việt Nam Vong Quốc Sử (History of the Loss of Vietnam).

Phan Bội Châu, together with the core members of the Duy Tân Hội, after discussions, proposed establishing agricultural, industrial, and commercial associations, both to unite and rally forces for public support in Vietnam, and to create a financial base to support the Đông Du movement based in Japan. Alongside these activities, members of the movement also composed many patriotic poems and works such as: Hải ngoại huyết thư (Phan Bội Châu), Việt Nam quốc sử khảo, Tân Việt Nam, Sùng bái giai nhân (Phan Bội Châu), Viễn hải quy hồng (Nguyễn Thượng Hiền), Kính cáo toàn quốc (Cường Để), etc., which were sent back to the country to propagate and encourage the people to support the movement.

As a result, after it was launched, the Đông Du movement was widely supported by many people in all three regions of the country, especially in Cochinchina.

In Cochinchina, the Đông Du movement received very active support from District Chief and activist Gilbert Trần Chánh Chiếu. Chiếu using to his advantage his French citizenship, job as a attorney, positions as the editor-in-chief of two Saigon newspapers Lục Tỉnh Tân Văn and Nông Cổ Mín Đàm as a cover to hide behind the fact that he was an secret agent of Duy Tan Hoi. He established the Nam Trung Hotel as a meeting place for patriots, and created the Minh Tân Industrial Society to both promote industry and commerce and to raise funds for the Đông Du movement. In addition, as editor-in-chief, he published articles expressing anti-French sentiments. Many other intellectuals there also actively participated and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the common cause, such as Đặng Thúc Liêng, Nguyễn Thần Hiến, Nguyễn An Khương, Bùi Chí Nhuận, Đặng Minh Chương.

In October 1905, Phan Bội Châu returned to Japan with three young men (Nguyễn Thức Canh, Nguyễn Điền, Lê Khiết). Later, five more people came (including brothers Lương Ngọc Quyến and Lương Nhị Khanh, and Nguyễn Văn Điến).

In 1906, Cường Để travelled to Japan, where he was enrolled together with member Lương Ngọc Quyến in Đông Kinh Chấn Võ Học Hiệu (Tokyo Shinbu Gakko), a private military school. Many Vietnamese students in the Đông Du movement received military education there.

From then until 1908, the number of Vietnamese students sent to study in Japan rose to about 200, most of whom attended the Đông Á Đồng Văn Thư viện (East Asia Common Culture Academy) – a Japanese school in Japan’s concession in Shanghai (China), living and studying together in a well-organized group called the Cống hiến hội (“Contribution Association”).

At the Chấn Võ School in Tokyo and the Đông Á Đồng Văn Thư viện in Shanghai, Vietnamese students were not only given academic instruction but were also carefully organized into specialized departments by the association, reflecting both the military discipline and modern administrative methods that Phan Bội Châu hoped to instill in them. Mornings were devoted to cultural and general education — history, literature, and political thought — while afternoons focused on military sciences, drilling, and training on the parade ground. The aim was to produce a generation of educated revolutionaries who combined intellectual knowledge with martial discipline, capable of both leading and fighting in the struggle for independence.

By mid-1907, in order to improve organization and prevent the students from scattering or losing direction, Phan Bội Châu formally established the Vietnam Contribution Association (Việt Nam Cống hiến hội), usually shortened to Cống hiến hội. Cường Để, with his royal lineage, was appointed as the nominal leader to provide legitimacy and attract wider support from monarchist sympathizers, while Phan Bội Châu acted as the chairman, holding the true authority and overseeing all operations.

The Association was divided into four main departments

• Finance Department – managed all income and expenditure, fundraising, and overseas remittances; members included. Đặng Tử Kính, Đặng Bỉnh Thành, and Phạm Chấn Yêm. Their task was vital, since the movement relied heavily on donations from patriots and overseas Vietnamese communities.
• Disciplinary Department – monitored student behavior, enforced rules, and applied rewards and punishments. It was led by Đàm Kỳ Sinh, Phan Bá Ngọc, and Hoàng Quang Thành. The existence of this department showed how seriously the movement treated discipline, reflecting the belief that future revolutionaries had to be morally upright and militarily obedient.
• Diplomatic Department – handled contact with Japanese supporters, as well as escorting new arrivals from Vietnam. Its members, including Phan Thế Mỹ, Nguyễn Thái Bạt, and Lâm Quảng Trung, acted as the bridge between the Vietnamese students and foreign allies.
• Secretariat Department – responsible for drafting, issuing, and archiving documents, including manifestos, letters, and propaganda writings. Staffed by Hoàng Trọng Mậu, Đặng Ngô Lân, and Hoàng Hưng, this office preserved the intellectual foundation of the movement, ensuring that revolutionary ideas were communicated clearly both at home and abroad.

To prevent corruption or misuse of power, an Inspection Bureau was also created, composed of Lương Nhập Nham, Trần Hữu Công, and Nguyễn Diễn. Its role was to oversee the functioning of all other departments, making sure that funds were used properly and that no department strayed from its revolutionary mission.

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