Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Nowadays , Phan Thanh Giá # n is being venerated as a minor god among some people in southern Vietnam .
Simplified: Phan Thanh Giá # n or Phan Thanh Jan ( æ 1\/2 æ ç , 1796 - 1867 ) was a Vietnamese politician , diplomat and historian . He was Vietnam 's diplomat in France , the war .