Dragon of Annam
Encyclopedia
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese city of Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
, by Emperor Đồng Khánh of the Imperial House of Annam, upon the "recommendation" of the President of France as a jointly awarded French colonial order. During this period (particularly during the era of Đồng Khánh), Vietnam was ruled by the French.
The Order was originally created to reward and acknowledge those outstanding individuals who had performed both military and non-military services to the Nguyễn Dynasty.
Throughout its entire history, the Order was also bestowed by the French Colonial Government. However, the Order always was, and to this day remains the real, personal and dynastic property of the Imperial House. When French colonial rule over Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
ended, the Order of the Dragon of Annam was abolished and replaced by the National Order of Vietnam
National Order of Vietnam
The National Order of Vietnam was a combined military-civilian decoration of South Vietnam and was considered the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an individual by the Republic of Vietnam government....
which was later retained and revised by the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
). The ribbon
Ribbon
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. Cloth ribbons, most commonly silk, are often used in connection with clothing, but are also applied for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes...
of the Dragon of Annam was retained for this award, but it was (belatedly) recognized that a colonial order had no place in the new regime as the order was always historically associated with the period of French rule. Even the name of "Annam" in the title of the order was a point of dishonor as the name comes from the old Chinese term for Vietnam, which means "the peaceful south".
Prince Bảo Vang
Bao Vang
Prince Bảo Vang of Vietnam, also known as Yves Claude Vinh-San, is the illegitimate son of Emperor Duy Tân. He was born in Saint-Denis, Reunion Island, April 8, 1934.-Nguyễn dynasty:...
of Vietnam, son of Emperor Duy Tân
Duy Tan
Emperor Duy Tân , was a boy emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty and reigned in 9 years between 1907 and 1916. His name was Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh San and was son of the Thành Thái emperor...
, was appointed by the late Crown Prince Bảo Long to serve as the Grand Master of the Order http://www.emering.com/orderOfDragon/index.html in 2005, and currently serves under the authority of Prince Bảo Thắng of Vietnam, the Crown Prince's brother and successor as Head of the Imperial Nguyễn Dynasty. The focus of the order is on humanitarian, educational, and cultural endeavours of the people of Vietnam. Additionally, Prince Bảo Vang serves on the Executive Committee of the "Hội Ðồng Hoàng Tộc
Nguyễn Phước Hải Ngoại", or Vietnamese Imperial Family Overseas Council.
The Chancellor of the Order is Prince Nguyen-Phuoc Quy Jean-Luc.
Classes and insignia
In its classes and insignia, the Order is obviously modelled on the French Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. The Emperor (currently Head of the Nguyễn Dynasty) as Grand Master of the Order is the only one allowed to wear both the Grand Cross and the Knight's badge in tandem. The five classes of the Order are:
- Grand Collar (created by Crown Prince Bảo Long for emeritus Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors)
- Grand Cordon
- Grand Officer
- Commander
- Officer
- Knight
Goal of the Order
The Order will henceforth focus on humanitarian, educational, and cultural endeavors rather than political goals. The Imperial Family wishes to remain out of the political fray and expects that Order will focus on efforts to aid the poor and disenfranchised people in Vietnam as well as outside the country, with particular emphasis given to children, the elderly, and the disabled. http://www.wokm.co.uk/Distinguished knights and dames
The Order currently has over 150 members in India, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Malta, Japan, the United States, Canada and Mexico. Some members include:- Mohamed Said, born in Pondicherry of French India [1884-1945] was a philanthropist and a famous Businessman of French Vietnam - Indochina.
- King Kigeli V of Rwanda
- King Norodom SihanoukNorodom SihanoukNorodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
of Cambodia - Archduke Andreas Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany
- Dom Duarte Pio of PortugalDuarte Pio, Duke of BraganzaDom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza , is the 24th Duke of Braganza and a pretender to the throne of Portugal.-Birth and education:...
, Duke of Bragança - Dona Isabel de Castro Curvelo de Herédia, Isabel, Duchess of Braganza
- Infante Dom Miguel of Portugal, Duke of ViseuDuke of ViseuDuke of Viseu was a Portuguese Royal Dukedom created in 1415 by King John I of Portugal for his third male child, Prince Henry the Navigator, following the conquest of Ceuta....
- Infante Dom Henrique of Portugal
- Crown Prince Nicholas, Prince of Montenegro
- Don Jorge Bagration de Moukhrani of Georgia (also Jorge de Bagration) (d. 2007)
- Don Irakly Bagration de Moukhrani of Georgia
- Don Ugo Bagration de Moukhrani of Georgia
- Don David Bagration of MukhraniDavid Bagration of MukhraniDavid Bagrationi of Moukhrani, David Bagration de Moukhrani y de Zornoza, or Davit' Bagration-Mukhraneli is a claimant to the headship of the Royal House of Georgia and to the historical thrones of Georgia, succeeding on the death of his father Jorge de Bagration on January 16, 2008.-Early...
of Georgia - Prince Mangkra SouvannaphoumaMangkra SouvannaphoumaPrince Mangkra Souvannaphouma of the Kingdom of Laos is the son of Prince Khampeng Souvannaphouma.-Biography:Since 1975, he has been living in exile in Paris, France...
of Laos - Prince Osman Rifat Ibrahim of Egypt
- Sultan Ghalib bin Awadh al-Quaiti
- Don Francisco de Borbón y Escasany, Duke of Seville, Grand Master Emeritus of the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem
- Doña Maria de los Angeles Vargas-Zuñiga y de Juanes, Duchess of Seville
- Don Carlos Gereda y de Borbon, Marquis de Almazàn, Grand Master of the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem
- Doña Maria de las Nieves de Castellano y Barón, Marquise de Almazàn
- Paul Underwood KelloggPaul Underwood KelloggPaul Underwood Kellogg was an American journalist and social reformer.He was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1879. After working as a journalist he moved to New York City to study at Columbia University....
, editor and social reformer - D. Filipe Folque de Mendoça, Count of Rio Grande, President, Royal Commission of Portugal and Brazil, Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint GeorgeSacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint GeorgeThe Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George is a Roman Catholic order of chivalry. It was fictively established by Constantine the Great, though in reality it was founded between 1520 and 1545 by two brothers of the Angeli Comneni family. Members of the Angeli Comneni family remained...
(Kingdom of the Two SiciliesKingdom of the Two SiciliesThe Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, commonly known as the Two Sicilies even before formally coming into being, was the largest and wealthiest of the Italian states before Italian unification...
) - Mme. Eliza Bloch, artist (1884),
- Marquis de Grasse des Princes d' Antibes (grandson of French admiral François Joseph Paul de GrasseFrançois Joseph Paul de GrasseLieutenant Général des Armées Navales François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse was a French admiral. He is best known for his command of the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, which led directly to the British surrender at Yorktown...
, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse)(1880s) - Walter R. Harris, FSA (Lond.) correspondent for The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
- General Secretary of the Philippines (1890s)
- Don Diego, Duke of Vargas Machuca, Vice President, International Commission for Orders of Chivalry
- Prof. Dr. Pier Felice degli Uberti, President, International Commission for Orders of Chivalry
- Dr. Maria Loredana Pinotti degli Uberti, Secretary General, International Commission for Orders of Chivalry
- D. Alfonso de Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Marquis of La Floresta, Cronista de Armas (Spain)
- Sir Conrad Marshall SwanConrad SwanSir Conrad Marshall John Fisher Swan, was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Having been first appointed to work at the College in 1962, he rose to the office of Garter Principal King of Arms in 1992, a position he held until 1995...
, KCVO, former Garter Principal King of Arms (UK) - Fr. J. Guilbert Mariani, SOLT, Chaplain to the Royal Family of Portugal
- John Gvozdenović Kennedy, Grand Chancellor of the Royal Montenegrin Orders
- Don José Maria de Montells y Galán, Viscount of Portadei, heraldic scholar and author
- Don Alfredo Escudero y Díaz-Madroñero, Marquis of Gori, heraldic scholar and author
- Professed Brother Dr. Carl Edwin Lindgren, former Chancellor of the Order, professor, American Military University and Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science
- Dr. Hendrik P.N. Muller (1859–1941), Envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Antoine Fossey, Chief Engineer aboard the French merchant Vessel Canton, 1895
Note
A political organization called the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam created by Chanh Buu of Chicago, Illinois - alias Nguyễn Phúc Bửu ChánhNguyen Phuc Buu Chanh
Nguyễn Bửu Chánh , a self-styled member of Vietnam's Nguyễn Dynasty, was born in Huế, Vietnam. He is heavily influenced by Mohandas Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence.-Education:...
- a self-styled "prince" and "Regent of the Imperial Nguyễn Dynasty", enjoys no recognition or sanction from Prince Bảo Thắng of Vietnam, Head of the Imperial Nguyễn Dynasty, from the Vietnamese Imperial Family Overseas Council http://www.nguyenphuochaingoai.com/index.html, or affiliation with the Vietnamese Imperial Family in any form.
On 17 December 2004, the late Crown Prince Bảo Long, Head of the Imperial Nguyễn Dynasty, issued a statement saying that this person was unknown to him.
See World Orders of Knighthood and Merit published by Burke's Peerage and Gentry (2006) for full details.
External links
- The Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam A Brief History
- Official Website of the Vietnamese Imperial Family Overseas Council "Hội Ðồng Hoàng Tộc Nguyễn Phước Hải Ngoại", Westminster, CA
- Order of the Dragon of Annam, Order and Medals of Merit by Edward J. Emering
- THE IMPERIAL ORDER of the DRAGON OF ANNAM Der Kaiserliche Orden vom Drachen von Annam
- Vietnam: The Nguyen Phuoc Dynasty GENEALOGY by Christopher Buyers
- BLOCH, MME. ELISA, Women in the Fine Arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. ... by Clara Erskine Clement (1834–1916)