Ming and the later Le Dynasty: Different Dynasties Same History

The history between China and Vietnam is a long and complicated one that spans

more than a thousand years from the Qin invasion of the Red River Delta in Northern

Vietnam to the present day. Oftentimes, the relationship between these two countries can be

described as antagonistic and hostile with China frequently invading and subjugating their

southern neighbor, however their relationship was not always hostile with long periods of

time where both countries would be at peace, sometimes even with a more equal footing,

with one another. One such period would be during the Chinese Ming dynasty. Despite the

precarious relationship between the two countries during this time period due to the recent

Ming conquest of Vietnam and their expulsion by the Later Le, Vietnam did not sever their

relationships with China due to the immense benefits of continued trade with China.

The timeline of this paper is from 1407- 1644 AD. This timeline would be further

subdivided into two from 1407- 1427 AD (the period of Ming annexation of Vietnam) and

1427- 1644 AD (the period of Ming dynasty and Later Le dynasty). This timeline covers the

history of the Ming’s relationship of Vietnam starting from their conquest of it to the end of

their relationship when the Ming were conquered and replaced by the Manchu Qing. This

time period was chosen for two reasons. First is because it was during the Ming dynasty

when there was a huge increase in the interaction with their southern neighbors. Second is

because of the change in the relationship of China and Vietnam during the first period and the

second period. During the first period of this timeline the relationship between the two states

can be described as Strong China/ Weak Vietnam while during the second period the

relationship can be described as Strong China/ Strong Vietnam.

An important aspect in the relationship between China and Vietnam (and other

countries that were part of the Chinese tributary system) was the tributary system. The
tributary system defined the relationship between the different Chinese dynasties and the

different periphery states they interacted with. The mode on how this relationship work is that

[i]n brief, the Chinese emperor conferred upon neighboring rulers’ official titles and
ranks, providing a form of legitimacy. In return, the foreigners adopted a posture of
subjugation, thereby confirming the superiority of Chinese civilization and the
legitimacy of the Chinese emperor (The Tributary System… 489- 490).

During the first half of the timelines this relationship

- Country Profile

o Vietnam

 Even before the Qin and Han invasion of Northern Vietnam, native

kingdoms and civilizations already existed within the country. The

most perceivable evidence for this would be the large fortress of Co

Loa which could only have been built if the perquisite large scale

agriculture and political organization have been already present. While

quite impressive the true importance of the citadel lies in that it bears

to the “ability of the PVN economy to produce the agricultural surplus

and to release the manpower necessary for its accomplishment over a

relatively short span of time. Reinforced with guard towers and

defensive works, the walls attain a” (O’Harrow 143).

o China

 Immideately after overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty in China the Yongle

Emperor, the Ming dynasty founder, created the department of t

During these long periods of peace both trade in material goods and culture flourished. In

this paper I would be analyzing how the complicated history of Vietnam and China has

influenced the relationship between the Chinese Ming dynasty and their contemporary the
later Le of Vietnam. The reason for choosing this time period is because their relationship

would start out antagonistic with one another and it would only be later where their

relationship would improve.

The Ming Dynasty was the last native Chinese dynasty to rule China and arose after its first

emperor Ming overthrew the last Yuan emperor. The Ming Dynastyies at its start was a verey

energetic EMPIRE WHICH sought terriotiral expansion and trade with its southern

neighobrs. Both

Since I am going to focus on the relationship between Ming China and later Le Vietnam the

timeline of this paper would run from the Foundation of the Ming Dynasty to its end. The

later Le Dynasty as the longest running Vietnamese dynasty would outlast the Ming for 200

years until it was in turn conquered by the French.

Due to its long length I would be dividing the history of Chinese-Vietnamese relationship

into three broad periods

[f]irst, before the third century BC, when contacts were random and without government

sanction; the second, from the third century BC to the tenth century AD when the area was

gradually incorporated into and regarded as a part of southern China; and the third, from the

tenth to the nineteenth century AD, the period of Vietnam's independence (Coughlin 240-

241).

Before looking into the relationship of the Ming and the Han, we have to establish the

history of Vietnam pre-Chinese contacts and the two other periods of the relationship with its

history with China. Traditional Chinese histography and colonial histography tends to show

that Vietnam was a passive recipient of Chinese culture and Vietnam was a simply a product

of Chinese domination.
 However, even before contacts with the Chinese civilization was established there

were already local thriving civilizations and cultures present in Vietnam. Evidence of this can

be found in the citadel of Co-loa which was constructed by the Proto-Vietnamese (PVN). The

citadel located in Northern Vietnam near the Hoang River is an impressive site containing

three ramparts with its outermost rampart being some 8km in circumference, defensive walls,

guard towers, and “an extensive series of moat like ditches that directly lead to the river

Hoang” (O’Harrow 142). Another local civilization that existed alongside the (PVN) of Co-

loa is the Dong Son culture an Austronesian people that practiced shamanism, slash and burn

agriculture and whose society was more matriarchal and egalitarian in comparison to the

patriarchal and highly stratified society of Confuciansist China.

Before the first Chinese domination of Vietnam occurred, the chief contact between

China and Vietnam was through traders and artisans. During this time China was mired in the

Warring States Era and the boundaries of China did not yet reach up to its present day

southern provinces south of the Yangzi. The peoples of these provinces were not Han

Chinese and referred to in the Chinese records as the Hundred Yue. The Chinese considered

the PVN and Hundred Yue to be the same people. However, due to the sparse records and

the tendency of the Chinese historians misclassify the neighboring people it is unclear if the

two were the same people or even if the two were related. According to the records the

Hundred Yue had a kingdom called Nan Yue, which might have been located in modern-day

Canton city, and extended up to the fertile Red River Delta of northern Vietnam.

Beginning in 200 AD following the Qin unification of China, the Chinese started to

push south towards their modern boundaries. They conquered kingdom of Nan Yue which

brought Northern Vietnam under their control. The process of Chinese colonization of

northern Vietnam included the “conscious imposition by Chinese administrators of Chinese

standards of dress, hair style, religious observances” and intermarriage between Chinese
immigrants and locals (Coughlin 241). This process continued into the Han dynasty until the

Chinese general Cha ‘to broke-off from the Han dynasty and established the independent

kingdom of Nam-Viet. Chinese rule of Vietnam would not resume until the Tang dynasty

would its rule in the country.