The Golden Age of Vietnam

China ruled Vietnam for a thousand years, yet by the fifteenth century AD Vietnam had demonstrated that it could repel Chinese aggression. What were the factors which enabled Vietnam to resist the Chinese so successfully?

            When people talk about the history of Vietnam, most of them will mention the Chinese rule in Vietnam for more ten centuries. The Chinese became the masters of the Vietnamese in 111 B.C during the Chinese Han dynasty. After the conquest of Vietnam, there was a Sinicization in Vietnam. Vietnamese institutions were replaced by Chinese, and Chinese customs and rites were imposed by force. Even Chinese clothing and hairdress were made obligatory, much to the annoyance of the local population. Together with their language, which replaced the local speech in all official dealings, the Chinese also spread Taoist religious concepts and strict Confucian learning.[1]

           The Chinese domination in Vietnam allowed the Chinese to head the governmental post in Vietnam, and their rule over the Vietnamese was harsh and repressive, such as heavy taxation on the Vietnamese, but most importantly, many Vietnamese were angry that the Chinese forced them to accept the Chinese way. As a result, it led to different rebellions against the Chinese. The most famous rebellions were led by The Trung sisters in the 1^st century and Ly Bon around the 6^th century. However, both rebellions failed to overthrow the Chinese domination in Vietnam.          

In 907 A.D., the powerful Tang dynasty in China fell apart, and it provided a golden opportunity for the Vietnamese to lead a successful revolt against the Chinese. The Vietnam finally regained independence in 939 after Ngo Quyen defeated the Chinese and established the Ngo dynasty. However, the Ngo dynasty did not last long because the Vietnamese society and politics were still in turmoil. From 939 to 1009, there were three different dynasties in Vietnam.[2]

A last change for the better came about under the next two dynasties from 1009 to 1407, the Ly and the Tran. These two dynasties provided four centuries of stability and progress to Vietnam by carrying out different economic and agricultural reforms to Vietnam. However, although the Ly and the Tran dynasties made some changes for Vietnam, such as the agrarian reforms, the dynasties were weak and corrupt, and they were bothered by internal turmoil, such as peasant uprising and the conflicts with the Champs in the middle part of Vietnam.[3] Therefore, Vietnam finally fell apart again when the Tran regent Ho Qui Ly led the usurper against the Tran dynasty in 1400. After his usurper in 1400, Vietnam was deeply divided. A substantial part of the people were unwilling to rally to their country’s defense, and many even sided with the enemy.[4] As a result, the Ming dynasty in China finally reconquered Vietnam again in 1407.

It is true that the Ly dynasty and the Tran dynasty brought a four hundred years of independence for Vietnam, but the time when the Vietnamese could completely repel the Chinese agression was when Le Loi in 1418 led a successful military movement against the Chinese. After he established the late Le Dynasty in 1428, he and his successor were able to strengthen Vietnam by reforming the Vietnamese politics, economy and agriculture, and society. Although some reforms were similar to those carried out by the Ly and the Tran dynasty, the late Le dynasty did better than its predecessors.

Therefore, this paper will elaborate how the policies and the reforms carried out by the late Le dynasty helped the Vietnamese to completely repel the Chinese aggression.

First of all, the end of the Chinese aggression in Vietnam started with a successful military campaigne led by Lei Loi, a land-owner of Lam Son. Different from the previous rebellions and insurrections against the Chinese, the ten year of Lam Son insurrection and the War of Independence led by Le Loi was a successful one. The insurrection was successful because Le Loi had a good plan for his tactics against the Chinese, and Le Loi had some good advisers such as Nguyen Trai for his military campainge. Moreover, in the past, although the Trung sisters and Ly Bon also led similar revolts against the Chinese, it had been argued that the uprising of the Trung sisters failed because it was a movement restricted to the local aristocracy, unsupported by masses of the peasants.[5] However, since Le Loi was a popular land-owner of Lam Son, he was able to gain support from the local people and peasants in Vietnam. For example, before starting the rebellion against the Ming, he had about 1,000 followers. Because of the courage of the men, the resolve of the leaders, and the devotion of the cadres, the Vietnamese finally to remove the Chinese domination again by the end of 1427 and the late Le Dynasty was established by Le Loi in 1428.

The War of independence was significant to strengthen and stabilizeVietnam. During the insurrection against the Chinese, the movement had expanded, gradually creating powerful bases and forces, and eventually destroyed big enemy armies. Le Loi, sprung from the land-owning class opposed to the latifundia-holding aristocracy, and Nguyen Trai, a Confucian scholar with an encyclopedic mind, had succeeded in bringing about national union and arousing patriotism, and had shown resolve and wisdom in critical or decisive movements. The war was both national and popular in character and conducted with appropriate strategy and tactics. Never again did the Ming try to reconquer Vietnam.[6]

The insurrection led by Le Loi shows the strong military, good military strategies, and the bravery of the Vietnamese. However, the stability of a nation could not barely relied on bravery and military force, and Le Loi and his successors realized this principle, so they continued to enforce different policies to strengthen the central power of the government and the economy of Vietnam. Moreover, during Le Thanh Tong regime, his reforms and the military expansion also brought extra strength and stability to Vietnam, and it was the golden age of Vietnam as well.

The late Le dynasty was successful to removed the power of the large local landlords, so it could prevent the growth of regional power, which could became the threat to the central government. At the same time, the late Le dynasty was able to revitalize the centralization and bureaucracy of the government.

During the Ly dyansty and the Tran dynasty, the Vietnamese feudal system was characterised by the existence of large estates. The existence of the large estates definitely brought instabilities and problems to the dynasties. First of all, when the local landlords grew strong, they would be deviant toward the kings. Besides that, when the local landlords grew strong and became able to raise military force, sometimes their conflicts with the other big landlords could lead to civil wars. Moreover, it was true that there were lots of spontaneous peasant uprisings against the powerful landlords and the royal families because the peasants were exploited by them.

In order to eliminate the power of the feudal landlords, Le Loi ordered the confiscation of all lands belonging to Ming functionaries, to traitors, and to Tran princes and dignitaries who had died or gone away. State lands were partly exploited by the administration itself, partly distributed to dignitaries and mandarins, and the recipient mandarins could only collect land rent.[7] As a result, the new policy prevented the growing threat of the local landlord toward the central government, so it could avoid conflict and civil war, and brought political stability to the nation.

With the disappearance of the large estates, administrative centralization reached a peak. In order to consolidate the throne of the emperor, the first generation of the Le emperors established a bureaucractic system in order to eliminate opposition. For example, although Le Loi public achievement were outstanding, he was involved in court intrigues and killed two of his old followers and for having sequestered Nguyen Trai, because he believed that these people were the threat to his throne. Besides that, Le Loi’s successor Le Thai Tong would dismiss or execute those who disagreed with him.[8] Due to the fear created by the emperors, the officials would became loyal to the emperors in order to keep themselves safe, but on the other hand, it consolidate the power of the emperors and prevent any usurper and political instability that could lead to the intervention of foreigners like the Chinese.

The Le kings continued the tradition of their predecessors by carrying out similar policies and reforms to strengthen the country. For example, the Le kings continued the old confucianism examinations in order for the nation to choose elites to run the government. However, the reforms carried out by the late Le dynasty was more succesful than its predecessors.

The Le kings paid great attention to the development of agricultural production. Lands left fallow during the years of war were quickly put under cultivation, while the State diligently set up State farms on uncultivated lands. Dykes were kept in good repair and, in case of emergency, students as well as armymen were mobilized to put them back in good shape.[9]

Although the Ly dynasty and the Tran dynasty also carried out agricultural reforms, they could not prevent continuous famine and drought. However, the late Le policy greatly encouraged agricultural production, and no serious famines broke out during the whole 15^th century, so the people did not have to suffer when they had enough to eat, and it prevented peasant uprising that could bring social turmoil.

The late Le dynasty became even more powerful and stable when the third king Le Thanh Tong came to power. He continued the reforms enforced by his predecessors, but he was more ambitious and determined to make the country better and stronger to resist foreign invasion. His determination could be shown by his attitude on the agriculture policy, because Le Thanh Tong streesed that the nation should concentrate the forces on agriculture and increase potential of the nation.

Besides enforcing reforms to strengthen the agriculture and economy of the nation, Le Thanh Tong brought a very good legal code to Vietnam. The Viet rules did not call for punitive justice on the basis of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but rather sought rehabilitation through more humane treatment. Besides that, Le Thanh Tong focused on the protection of trade, and he was concerned with the social condition of the oppressed classes, of women, peasants, and slaves. Moreover, land ownership was limited for government officers, and those found with extra property were severely disciplined.[10] Peasants made up the large percentage of the population, and when Le Thanh Tong showed so much concern on the right of the peasants and erased all the unfairness of the society, he eventually gained support by the peasants and it made the Le dynasty respectable. Hence the Vietnamese became more patriotic.

During the regime of Le Thanh Tong, his military achievements on expanding the territory of the Le dyansty, including the submission of Laos and the complete conquest of Champa, made Vietnam stronger and more stable.

The population of the late Le dynasty kept increasing since the dynasty was found in 1428. In order to gain new land, the Le rulers of the fifteenth century inaugurated the policy of systematic territorial expansion. Le Thanh Tong made a great push of the “March to the South” in order to conquer the area of Champa in the middle of Vietnam. By 1471, Champa was entirely wiped out and became part of the Le dynasty.[11] The complete conquest of Champa brought lots of benefits to the late Le dynasty, because the land of Champa provided new land for the landless peasants in the north. Besides that, the land of Champa was fertile for agriculture, and it could bring enormous agricultural production to the Vietnames. Most importantly, the conquest of Champa brought political stability to Vietnam, because the predecedents of the late Le dynasty were suffered from endless wars with the Chams that led to the downfall of the dynasties. Therefore, after the late Le dynasty resolved the problems of the Champs, the dangerous threat toward the dynasty was finally removed, and political stability in Vietnam was ensured.

Thanks to the policies and the reforms carried out by the late Le kings, Vietnam could develop its own strong agriculture, economy, and military. By the end of the 15^th century, Vietnam was no longer a semi-savage nation, and the Vietnamese were able to survive by themselves. The regime of Le Thanh Tong just brought Vietnam to the golden age. He paid a great attention on internal development, and he made Vietnam a mature nation when he introduce a new justice system. With the expansion of the territories and his complete conquest of Champa, it just made Vietnam a powerful kingdom in Indochina, but more importantly, it ended the internal political turmoil in Vietnam, which could prevent Chinese intervention. Because of the brilliant rule of Le Thanh Tong, the Le dynasty became powerful and stable. His brilliant rule received support from the masses that helped to bring the Vietnamese together, and along with the strong backbone of the country, Vietnam was finally able to resist Chinese aggression.

In the 16^th century, the Ming dynasty in China entered the age of decline, because the Ming dynasty was bothered by internal turmoil. There were different peasant uprisings in the whole country and piracy on the east coast, and the eunuch controlled the politics of China finally brought the destruction to the Ming dynasty. With the decline of the Ming dynasty, the most dangerous threat of Vietnam was finally removed. As a result, when Vietnam grew strong and China declined since the l6^th century, Vietnam was finally freed from the Chinese aggression that had lasted for more than a thousand year.

Bibliography

Buttinger, Joseph. A Dragon Defiant A short History of Vietnam.

New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972

Chapuis, Oscar. A History of Vietnam From Hong Bang To Tu Duc.

London: Greenwood Press, 1995

Chesneaux, Jean. The Vietnamese Nation.

Sydney: Rurrent Book Distributors, 1966

Nguyen, Khac Vien. Vietnam A Long History

Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1987