| BIOGRAPHY |
| Ho Chi minh is one of the most well known Vietnamese because of his leading role in the war between North and South Vietnam, commonly known as the Vietnam War (1954-1975), as well as the spiritual leader of the current Vietnamese Communist regime. Despite his reputation, very few people know the truth behind his past. Ho's name given at birth was Nguyan Tat Thanh. He also had another name- Nguyan Van Ba. Ho used this name when he worked as a steward on a ship, the La Touche Treville, on his overseas trips from Saigon (Vietnam) to France. He changed his name back to Nguyan Tat Thanh, when he reached Paris. Contrary to Ho's official biography, he could not write very well in French (According to Nguyan the Truyan, to the owner of Kanh Ky Photo shop, Paris, and to a classmate from Moscow.) One of Ho's alias' was Nguyan Ai Quoc, but after turning Phan Boi Chau into the authorities for Hong Kong $10,000, he discarded it.. (Phan was a well-known Vietnamese activist in the early half of the 20th century who struggled for the independence of Vietnam.) He had many alias' but the one we know him by today was actually the name of a chinese beggar. After the real Ho's death all that was left was his identification card so Nguyan Tat Tanh bought his documents. Using identification of the dead was quite common in Chinese outlaw society. When Ho was arrested by the Chinese Kuomintang, he used this name - Ho Chi Minh. Nghiem Ke To broke the news of Ho's imprisonment to a vietnamese nationalist leader, Nguyan Hai Than. Than contributed greatly to the kuomintang government and won respect from Chinese leaders like Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek. Right away Then asked Shek to relaese Ho. After his release Ho stilled used the beggar's name to work with the American OSS (Office of Strategic Services) in Kunming, capital of the Yunnan province, China. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the commmunist takeover of Vietnam in 1975, in honor of the place were Ho set out for his revolutionary cause. The definitive biography of Ho Chi Minh, in my opinion, is Ho Chi Minh; A Life by William J. Duiker (2000, Hyperion Publishers). Check it out at your local library or see it on barnesandnoble.com (bn.com). |
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