Alexandre de Rhodes and Han Thuyen, the two short streets in District 1, and their environs are good places to visit in Saigon. The chances are that you will end up sitting there sipping coffee and watching the rhythm of the Saigonese life.
Roughly half a month ago, November 5, was the 419th death anniversary of Alexandre de Rhodes, the Roman Catholic French-born evangelist, who has been widely believed to be the founder of the Vietnamese alphabet now in use. Although Alexandre de Rhodes’ real role in creating the modern Vietnamese characters remains controversial and many Vietnamese scholars have still challenged what he really did in the past, the priest’s contribution to the development of the written Vietnamese language is indisputable.
In the realm of Alexandre de Rhodes’ due credit, we should let historians do their job. As far as a visitor to Saigon is concerned, some notable things in this city about the evangelist should be aware of. They are the street named after him and another just a few blocks away from the former.
Alexandre de Rhodes in District 1’s Ben Thanh Ward is not a long street. Nor is its width. It is just about 280 meters long and 20 meters wide, connecting with Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street at one end and Pham Ngoc Thach Street at the other. But the street’s length and width has nothing to do with its prestige. Alexandre de Rhodes is among the oldest streets in town.
Archives show that the street was first built almost 140 years ago, on June 2, 1871, when Saigon was under the French rule. Christened at birth as Paracels (Hoàng Sa), the disputed island off the coast of Vietnam, the street was renamed Colombert just a few months later in the same year. The street was renamed Alexandre de Rhodes on March 22, 1955 under the Saigon regime. On April 4, 1985, it became Thai Van Lung Street before regaining the former name Alexandre de Rhodes some time later.
The man the street is named after, Alexandre de Rhodes, was born in 1591 in Avignon, southern France. In 1625, as an evangelist, Alexandre de Rhodes arrived in Hoi An, central Vietnam. He soon started his Catholic preaching in the new land where Roman Catholicism remained little known. Since Catholicism was considered heresy at that time, Alexandre de Rhodes was expelled from Vietnam six times. However, he would return every time he could manage to find a chance.
The French evangelist was known as the founder of Vietnam’s modern alphabet which is based on Latin characters. Alexandre de Rhodes was also famous for his “Dictionarium Annamiticum Lustianum et Latinum” (Dictionary of Vietnamese-Portuguese and Latin), considered one of the first works on the modern written Vietnamese language.
From Alexandre de Rhodes, cross the two blocks of Ba Muoi Thang Tu, the park in front of the famous Reunification Palace, and Le Duan Boulevard, and you’ll arrive at HanThuyen Street. This street is named after Han Thuyen, born Nguyen Thuyen, a historical figure living in the 13th century under the Tran Dynasty. Born in Thanh Lam District in what is now Hai Duong Province in northern Vietnam, Han Thuyen was assigned to the post of Thng th B Hình, something like “minister of justice” nowadays.
At first glance, Han Thuyen, a Vietnamese born in the 13th century, seems to have no connections whatsoever with Alexandre de Rhodes, who was born in late 16th century in France. But history has its own reasons when the two parallel streets in front on the Reunification Palace are given the present names.
While Alexandre de Rhodes is credited with the creation of modern written Vietnamese, the name of Han Thuyen has gone down in history as a developer and advocate of ch Nôm, the old written Vietnamese language based on Chinese characters. Scholars still disagree on the time the old written Vietnamese originated—with some believing that it was formed in the 10th century when Vietnam regained her independence from China—but they all agree that the written characters represent the country’s then effort to break away from the influence of the northern neighbor.
Just as Alexandre de Rhodes, Han Thuyen as a street has a long history. Built at the same time as Alexandre de Rhodes, Han Thuyen was christened Hong Kong in 1871. Similarly, on March 22, 1955, it was renamed Han Thuyen which has been retained till the present time.
What visitors can expect of the two streets are their pleasant surroundings. Aside from the Reunification Palace, a historical and architectural landmark in Saigon at which both streets end, places of interest abound in the immediate environs—the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, the HCM City Central Post Office, the luxurious Diamond Plaza, and Dong Khoi Street, to name just a few.
Much to the delight for the street-smart Saigonese connoisseurs, Alexandre de Rhodes and Han Thuyen streets offer several coffee shops which can provide them with some of the best seats in town to watch Saigon scenes.
To the city folks, the short street of Han Thuyen is also a place in mind when they are in need of greetings cards. All the year round, card stalls on the sidewalk will be available for anybody who wants to pick their cards of choice. But the busiest time for them is undoubtedly Christmas and Lunar New Year.
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