The Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family

544 Pages·1999·34.48 MB·English

by  Duong Van Mai Elliott

The Sacred Willow
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The
Sacred
Willow
Four Generations
in the Life
of a Vietnamese Family
Duong Van Mai Elliott
New York Oxford
Oxford University Press
1999
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York
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Copyright © 1999 by Duong Van Mai Elliott
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All. rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
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without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Elliott, Duong Van Mai, 1941
The sacred willow : four generations in the life of a Vietnamese family / by Duong Van Mai Elliott.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-512434-0
1. Vietnam-History-19th century. 2. Vietnam—History--20th century.
3. Elliott, Duong Van Mai, 1941- Family. 4. Duong family.
5. Van Dinh (Vietnam)—Genealogy. 6. Vietnam-Genealogy.
I. Title.
DS556.8. E44 1999
959.704-dc21
98-14204
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
Dedicated to my family
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THE LEGEND OF THE SACRED WILLOW
Long ago, a king's son became sick
and fell unconscious. A holy man
from India broke off a branch from
the Duong willow tree, dipped it
in water, and sprinkled the water
on the prince, who immediately
revived and was cured. From then
on, the Duong willow was said to
be a sacred tree.
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Contents
Preface, xi
Acknowledgments, xv
Maps, xvii
Family Tree, xx
1. A Burial in the Night, 3
2. Shut Gate and High Walls, 35
3. The Silk Merchant, 53
4. French Veneer, Confucian Soul, 69
5. Taxes, Floods, and Robbers, 83
6. The Third Month in the Year of the Famine, 103
7. The Head on the Roof, 137
8. Into the Resistance Zone, 157
9. Poison and Bribes, 189
10. The Fall of a Border Garrison, 215
11. Sifting Through the Rubble, 243
12. The New Mecca, 273
13. Just Cause, 301
14. Short Peace, Long War, 337
15. Flying into the Unknown, 373
16. The Spoils of Victory, 405
17. The Hours of Gold and Jade, 433
Epilogue: Across the Four Seas, 463
Bibliography, 475
Index, 481