The Vietnamese name Chợ Lớn literally means "big" (lớn) "market" (chợ). The Chinese (and original) name is 堤岸 (In Cantonese, tai4 ngon6, which is occasionally rendered in Vietnamese orthography as Thầy NgònorThì Ngòn,[4] and in Mandarin, Dī'àn),[1][2] which means "embankment" (French: quais). The Sino-Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the original Chinese name.
The city of Chợ Lớn was established by the Hoa community. The Lê dynasty which was the ruling family in the sixteenth century began to decline in power and two rival families, the Trịnh and Nguyễn families began to vie for power to fill in the void of the Lê. The Nguyễn lords were then appointed as Viceroy of the South with headquarters at Huế where they encouraged Chinese immigration to settle down into the area.[5]
In 1778, Hoa people living in Biên Hòa had to take refuge in what is now Chợ Lớn because they were retaliated against by the Tây Sơn forces for their support of the Nguyễn lords. In 1782, more than 10,000 Hoa people were again massacred by the Tây Sơn and had to rebuild.[6] They built high embankments against the flows of the river and called their new settlement Tai-Ngon (meaning "embankment" in Cantonese).
Map of Chợ Lớn in 1874Chợ Lớn Post Office in 1930, now Hong Bang Boulevard & Chau Van Liem Boulevard in District 5
Chợ Lớn was incorporated as a city in 1879, 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) from Saigon. By the 1930s, it had expanded to the city limit of Saigon. On April 27, 1931, Chợ Lớn and the neighboring city of Saigon were merged to form a single city called Saigon–Cholon. The official name, however, never entered everyday vernacular and the city continued to be referred to as Saigon. "Cholon" was dropped from the city's official name in 1956, after Vietnam gained independence from France in 1955.[7]
During the Vietnam War, soldiers and deserters from the United States Army maintained a thriving black market at Chợ Lớn, trading in various American and especially U.S. Army-issue items. This was the area, near the Quan Âm Pagoda where photojournalist Eddie Adams took his famous execution photograph.[8] Four Australian journalists were also killed in Chợ Lớn during the Tet Offensive in 1968.[9]
Gontran de Poncins - French author, aristocrat, and adventurer lived here in 1955. He resided in the Sun Wah hotel, keeping an illustrated journal that was published as From a Chinese City (published in 1957). "He chose Cho Lon, the Chinese riverbank community snuggled up to Saigon because he suspected the ancient customs of a national culture endure longer in remote colonies than in the motherland. In effect, he was studying a bit of ancient China."[12]
^Kinnard, Douglas. The War Managers: American Generals Reflect on Vietnam. Reprint ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press, 1991. ISBN0-306-80449-2
