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A GLIMPSE OF VIETNAM'S HISTORY
The history of Viet Nam has evolved through diverse fortunes, sometimes
progressing, sometimes not, like that of other nations. In seeking a historical
constant, one might say that Viet Nam, in its progressive expansions southward,
has always been conscious of pressure from her powerful neighbor to the north,
China.
The Quasi-Legendary Epoch
Like any other old nation in the world, Viet Nam has her own legends
concerning the origins of the race in the dawn of time.
According to the National Annals, illustrious King Lac Long, of the Hong Bang
Dynasty and grandson of The God of the Seas, married an immortal called Au Co, a
descendant of the angels of the mountains. From this union, one hundred boys
were hatched from one hundred eggs carried in a pouch by Au Co; and all the sons
were handsome and stalwart. Then, the King and the fairy, conscious of the
transitory nature of human existence, and the elusiveness of human happiness,
decided to part. Au Co went up to the mountains along with fifty of her sons,
and Lac Long went down to the sea with the others. From this separation, the
kingdom of One Hundred Principalities(Bach Viet) came into being, including a
vast zone adjacent to the Yang-tse-Kiang in the North, the Champa in the south,
the China sea in the east, and the Tseu Chouan in the west.
Of these principalities, the most powerful and best organized was the Lac
Viet, or Van Lang - literally, the country of the lettered - the area of which
included present-day North Viet Nam, and the northern part of Central Viet Nam.
This Kingdom supposedly endured from 2879 B.C. until 258 B.C., and had 18 kings.
Thus, the 18 Hung Vuong kings of the Hong Bang Dynasty reigned for some 2622
years - which would mean an average of 150 years each. So we must assume that
there must have been many lesser kings whose names were forgotten long before
the period of recorded history.
Somewhere in the northern part of Viet Nam, meanwhile, there was a Kingdom
known as Thuc ruled by the Thuc Dynasty. King Thuc Vuong had asked the southern
King, Hung Vuong XVIII, for his daughter's hand in marriage. When the Thuc
King's request was refused, he became enraged and a feud developed between the
two family dynasties. One of King Thuc Vuong's nephews, Thuc Vuong Phan,
profited from the degeneracy and debauchery of Hung Vuong XVIII to invade and
conquer the Van Lang Kingdom in 257, B.C., thus ending the Hong Bang dynasty.
The combined kingdoms were then known as Au Lac, and were ruled by Phan, who
assumed the name of An Duong Vuong.
King An Duong sought to protect his reign by constructing a spiral-shaped
citadel, which was called Loa Thanh, or The City of Shell. In this endeavor, the
King was said to have received the divine help of the Gold Turtle, who equipped
the King with a supernatural cross bow which made him invincible. This weapon
derived its magic from an attached claw offered by the Gold Turtle himself. The
remaining ruins of The City of Shell still exist in the village of Co Loa, in
Phuc-An province, North Viet Nam.
To the north, however, the powerful Chinese King, Shih Hwang-ti, of the Ch'in
Dynasty, sent his General, Do Thu, on a mission to conquer the lands to the
south; and the Tan dynasty then divided into three parts, the conquered lands,
including the Kingdom of Au Lac which King An Duong Vuong had been forced to
surrender.
One of these three regions came to be governed by the Chinese general, Trieu
Da.
Capitalizing on the decay of the Tan dynasty, Trieu Da killed all the Chinese
who were still loyal to the Emperor, and expanded the territories under his
control. Trieu Da, who had by this time adopted the customs of the Viets,
married his son Trong Thuy to the princess My Chau, daughter of King An Duong.
In the year 208, the fiftieth year of An Duong Vuong's reign, the princess
connived in a plot with her husband, so the story goes, and the pair managed to
make off with the magic crossbow which had heretofore made her father, King An
Duong Vuong, invincible. Thus it was that Trieu Da was able to benefit by his
son's marriage to conquer and annex the Kingdom of Au Lac. Unfortunately, his
daughter-in-law, the princess, was beheaded by her father, who drowned himself
in the sea before the invaders could reach his citadel.
Trieu Da reigned as absolute monarch under the royal name of Trieu Vu Vuong,
and his new, enlarged kingdom was renamed Nam Viet. This dynasty lasted for 70
years, from 208 B.C. until the beginning of the Chinese domination.
During the years of the Trieu Dynasty, Nam Viet had come gradually into the
sphere of Chinese influence. In return for payment of tribute to the Court of
the Han Emperor, the kingdom of Nam Viet received protection from and exchanged
envoys with, the Chinese. Prince Anh Te, heir-apparent to the Nam Viet throne,
was sent in his father's stead to pay the tribute demanded by the Chinese. When
Anh Te returned in 125 B.C. to succeed his deceased father as king, he brought
his Chinese concubine with him and named her as his Queen. Anh Te, who ruled
under the name of Trieu Minh Vuong, died after a rule of twelve years, and was
succeeded by his young son.
The Chinese, desiring more complete control, sent an envoy to win over the
young king. The Chinese Queen Mother, who had been this envoy's lover before she
was taken as Prince Anh Te's concubine, conspired with the envoy to bring her
son, the child king, to the side of the Chinese. Just in time, the plot was
uncovered, and the top mandarin of the Nam Viet Court exposed the plan and
denounced the betrayal. The other Court officials rushed in to help, killing the
plotters and the young king, and pro-claiming the eldest son of Trieu Minh
Vuong(Anh Te) as king, since this son was born of a Vietnamese woman.
These developments, of course, did not please the Chinese. Less than a year
later, in 111 B.C., the Chinese King, Vu De, sent two generals and five
regiments to invade the territory of Nam Viet. The mandarins, powerless against
such a force, were captured along with the new king, and all were killed.
Thus began the era of Chinese domination, which lasted for some ten centuries
with only brief interruptions.
The Period of Chinese Domination
After the overthrow of the Trieu in 111B.C., Nam Viet was made a Chinese
province and was known as Giao Chi.
Two of the Imperial Commissioners who were sent to govern Giao Chi were
well-loved by the governed peoples. Tich Quang, who arrived in 2 or 3 A.D.,
devoted himself to bringing civilization and teaching morality, and thus won the
respect of the people. Nhan Dien, who came to govern in about 29 A.D., became
famous as a generous man, who taught the art of cultivation to the people, who
had previously lived by hunting and fishing.
Nhan Dien 's successor, To Dinh arrived in 34 A.D., and was a harsh and cruel
governor. In the year 40, he executed Thi Sach, one of his subjects, thus
provoking the revolt led by Thi Sach's wife, Trung Trac, and her sister, Trung
Nhi. The two sisters raised an army to fight against To Dinh, and they were soon
joined by volunteers from other districts. The sisters declared themselves the
Queens of the restored territory, but their reign was short-lived. The next
year, China sent her finest generals and troops to reclaim the territory, and
the sisters were defeated in the year 43. Cornered by the pursuing Chinese
troops, the two famous heroines committed suicide by jumping into the Hat River,
at the point where the Day and Red Rivers meet.
Following the defeat of the Trung sisters, the second period of Chinese
domination lasted from the year 44 until 543, and the country was administered
as a Chinese province.
The period of the second Chinese domination is sometimes known as the period
of the Chinese civilizing governors. In the course of these five centuries plus
one year, life in the province of Giao Chi, as it was then known (later, it was
called Giao Chau),was completely patterned after the Chinese model.
It was also in this period that the nucleus of the future Champa kingdom,
called Len Yi, was formed; and the period was characterized by Chinese campaigns
against the Champa.
A cruel Imperial Commissioner again provided the cause for revolt against the
Chinese A scholarly man of Chinese origin, Ly Bon, raised an army and defeated
the Chinese in 541. After crushing a subsequent Chinese raid in 543, Ly Bon
proclaimed himself king in 544, and renamed the territory Van Xuan. In 545,
however, the Chinese reestablished their rule.
The following years were marked by a see-saw battle between the Chinese and
the Viets: periods of Chinese domination alternated with insurrections which
permitted the founding of several short-lived Vietnamese dynasties, including
the early Ly, the later Trieu, and the later Ly. This confused and chaotic
period ended in 602 with the consolidation of power in China under the Tuy
Dynasty. The last Ly king, Ly Phat Tu, was forced to acquiesce to Chinese
demands and yield up the country to a third period of Chinese domination.
The third period of Chinese domination, which lasted from 603 until 938, was
characterized by even more intense efforts to implant the Chinese civilization.
During this period, the country was divided and renamed An Nam Do Ho Phu
(Protectorate of An Nam) and Tran Nam Do Ho Phu (Protectorate of Tran Nam)
Under the Chinese Tang Dynasties (618-690 and 923-936), the country was ruled
through the Kao P'ing government (Cao Bien), which founded the Dai La citadel
and initiated a strong administrative structure. However, the period was marked
by several insurrections. In general, the Chinese domination was the long night
of Viet Nam's history - a night ten centuries long, during which Chinese
civilization became deeply rooted in the country
The Great National Dynasties
The long Chinese domination was brought to an end in the Tenth Century. In
the battle of Bach Dang, which has become famous in Vietnamese history, Ngo
Quyen led the troops which routed the Chinese invaders from the country and
subsequently founded the first national dynasty in 939. For ten centuries in
succession, eight dynasties took turns in reigning over the Vietnamese dominion,
all continually devoted to the task of building and expanding the kingdom.
The Ngo Dynasty, 939-967, established the first capital of the country at Co
Loa, on the ancient site of the City of Shell. Upon the death of Ngo Quyen in
967, the kingdom fell into chaos, and was partitioned into twelve fiefs, thus
beginning the era of the Twelve Su Quan , or the Twelve Feudal lords.
From this anarchic era, the first independent Viet Nam emerged. Faced once
more with the threat of a powerful China, the protege of one of the twelve
lords, Dinh Bo Linh, was able to reunify the country.
Under the name of Dien Hoang De, he founded the Dinh Dynasty, 968-980, and
called his kingdom Dai Co Viet. By means of an agreement with China, Dinh Bo
Linh was able to obtain the acceptance of the country's independence in return
for a triennial payment of tribute. This arrangement with China continued until
the 19th Century and the advent of French colonization.
In 980, Dinh was assassinated by a mad visionary, and was succeeded by his
six-year old son. A general of the Le family managed to gain control, however,
by killing all of his opponents in the Court, and entering into illicit
relations with the Queen Mother. In the meantime, the Chinese Emperor sought to
profit from the weakness of the young King by sending an army to annex Dai Co
Viet. In this crisis the general Le Hoan dispossessed the child of Dinh , and
proclaimed himself King.
This so-called Early Le Dynasty lasted from 980 to 1009. Le Hanh repulsed the
Chinese, but offered to continue the payment of tribute in order to maintain
friendly relations with China. The first Le king died in 1005, and after seven
months of fighting among the princes, the king's third son assumed the throne.
This son had ruled for only three days when he was assassinated by his younger
brother, whose reign of torture and terror lasted for four years. The last Le
king died in 1009, thus ending the Early Le Dynasty which had been marked by a
series of battles against China in the North, and against the Champa in the
South.
The Early Le Dynasty was followed by the Great Ly Dynasty, 1010-1225, which
numbered nine kings. The first Ly king was Ly Cong Uan, whose early history is
obscure. According to legend, his mother conceived him by a genie while on her
way to the pagoda. When he was three, she gave him to a Buddhist monk of the
pagoda, who adopted him. After the death of the last Leking, several high
officials of the Court joined in a plot with a number of Buddhist monks to bring
Ly Cong Uan to the throne, thus establishing the Ly Dynasty.
While still a prince, the last Ly king had been forced into exile, during
which time he married the pretty daughter of a rich fisherman named Tran, who
provided lodging for the exiled prince. When the prince managed to return to
power and became king, he made his wife the official Queen. The Queen, however,
used her new influence to increase the power of her own family, which soon grew
to be an independent military power, and, in effect, ruled the country. Weak,
and becoming insane, the king became a bonze after ruling for fourteen years,
and abdicated his throne in favor of his little seven year old daughter. The
real power was held by the Queen mother, however, and by her cousin, Tran Thu
Do, who was the highest ranking member of the powerful Tran family at that time.
Thus, Tran Thu Do managed to marry the little Queen to his eight year old
nephew. The young Queen then abdicated in favor of her eight year old husband,
thus ending the Ly Dynasty.
After Tran Thu Do managed to make his nephew the king, he proceeded to secure
the rule of the Tran by murdering the members of the Ly royal family, and
compelling all Vietnamese who bore the family name of Ly to change their names
to Nguyen. The Tran Dynasty, which was thus established in 1225)endured until
1400. The efforts to unify and organize the country continued during this
period. Buddhism retained its former privileged position, although it was
considerably altered in this period through contacts with other beliefs and
customs. In particular, the influence of Confucianism expanded greatly during
the rule of the Tran. The examination system for the recruitment of officials,
which was introduced during the first period of Chinese domination, was revived.
Also, the custom of joint rule by the king and the heir-apparent was begun
during the Tran Dynasty in order to prevent a recurrence of the bloody feuds
which had frequently arisen over earlier succession disputes.
Externally, this dynasty was marked by conflicts with the Mongol Dynasty in
China, and with the Champa Kingdom in the South. The Mongols, under Kublai Khan,
had defeated the Tong Dynasty in China and established the Nguyen Dynasty in its
place. Seeking to attack the Champa, they demanded the right to cross the
Vietnamese territory. When the Vietnamese refused, the Mongols attacked the
vastly outnumbered Vietnamese. The great Mongol army, numbering some 500,000
men, was repulsed by the whole-hearted efforts of the Vietnamese, led by the
king's brother, Tran Hung Dao, who is considered one of Viet Nam's great
military heroes, Without pausing to recuperate from the ravages of the battles
with the mongols, the Tran turned southward. The Tran king married his sister to
the King of Champa in 1307 in order to extend the Tran territory. But the Champa
king died the next year, and a series of wars with the Champa ensued.
The Tran Dynasty, which had begun with ambitious educational, agricultural
and dike-building programs, was by now paying for its policy of over-extension
and continual warfare. The rice paddies, long neglected in wartime, were no
longer able to produce sufficient food, and the peasants were suffering acutely
under the increasing burdens of war, famine and insecurity. The new Chinese
dynasty of the Ming to the North was also a potential danger for the declining
power of the Tran.
As the Tran Dynasty continued to decline, another leader emerged to assume
increasing authority and influence. This man was Le Qui Ly, a minister to the
Court. Le Qui Ly was a descendant of the Chinese family of Ho; but the name had
been changed when one of Le Qui Ly's ancestors was adopted into a Vietnamese
family by the name of Le.
Through the marriage of his aunt to the King, Le Qui Ly was able to further
consolidate his position, until he had gained effective control over the
ever-weakening Tran kingdom. While the Tran were still the nominal rulers of the
country, Le Qui Ly began to implement his own policies of fiscal, educational
and administrative re-forms. All the coins in the realm were called in, a paper
currency issued, and restrictions were placed on the amount of land which one
family could own. In the administrative field, Le Qui Ly altered the Confucian
system of competitive exams, and appointed his loyal followers to office in
order to increase his power.
When the Tran king abdicated in favor of his three year old son, Le Qui Ly
had the former king hanged, and assumed the regency himself.
The practice of enthroning heirs before the king's death, which had been
adopted by the Tran in order to assure a smooth succession, created a duality of
influence which ultimately caused the downfall of the dynasty. The last Tran
king, however, was the son of Le Qui Ly's own daughter; so, rather than killing
his grandson, Ly simply dethroned him.
Having usurped the throne in 1400, Ly reverted to using his ancestral family
name of Ho, and established the Ho Dynasty. After changing his own name, he
changed the name of the country from An Nam to Dai Ngu. After a reign of only
one year, Ly followed the custom of the Tran and abdicated in favor of his son,
although Ly continued to exercise power himself and energetically advanced his
programs of re-form. The army was reorganized and enlarged ; and Ly is credited
with the invention of a kind of galley for the use of his fleet. Taxes were
revised, and the ports were opened to trading vessels, which were also subject
to taxation. The examination system was again modified to require more practical
knowledge of peasant life, mathematics, and current events, in addition to the
Confucian classics which had previously been required. Legal reforms were begun,
and a medical service was established.
Externally, however, the Ho Dynasty was encountering difficulties in its
relations with the Champa, and with the Chinese Ming Dynasty. Before Ly's
far-sighted policy could take root, the Ming invaded. Ly's son had been granted
recognition as King by the Chinese, who were deceived by the lie that there were
no remaining descendants of the Tran. The Chinese quickly discovered the ruse,
and immediately established liaison with those who were still loyal to the Tran.
The Chinese promised to restore the Tran Dynasty, and the loyalists were soon
joined by large numbers of aristocrats, whose interests were being threatened by
Ly's reforms.
The Chinese invaded in 1406 with 5,000 men, along with a son of the last Tran
king. The Chinese were defeated and the Tran king's son beheaded; however, the
Chinese used this as an excuse to launch a larger invasion on the pretext of
restoring the rightful Dynasty of the Tran. It is said that the Ho forces did
not fight enthusiastically, because the people felt that the Ho Dynasty had
usurped power from the Tran unfairly. Furthermore, the expense of continual
war-fare against the Champa, and the taxation levied on holders of public lands
had undermined the people's support for the Ho regime ; and the limitation of
land holdings which Ly had instituted in order to further increase the power of
the state made the regime as unpopular with the rich as it was with the poor,
Realizing this, the Chinese marked bits of wood with messages proclaiming
their intention to restore the Tran, and threw these weapons of psychological
warfare into the river. Carried by the current, the Chinese message was widely
distributed, and served to increase the dissention of the people. The next year,
the Ho were defeated, and the dynasty ended in 1407, having lasted for only
seven years.
As the Chinese moved in, they sought to reestablish their former protectorate
of Giao Chi. The Chinese victory, however, was premised on the assumption that
the Tran Dynasty would be restored ; and it was for this reason alone that the
Chinese had been supported by the Tran royal family, and by those members of the
ruling class who expected their privileges to be restored with the return of the
Tran. When the Chinese claimed their right to reestablish a protectorate on the
grounds that no descendant of the Tran existed, they immediately found
themselves confronted with a dangerous movement of popular dissidence. Having
resorted to foreign assistance and gambled their nation's independence in order
to regain their personal interests, the Tran learned a bitter lesson about
treachery.
An attempt to wrest back power from the Chinese was made by a prince of the
Tran family, who raised an army and rallied the people for a time, proclaiming
himself Emperor Gian Dinh in 1407. In 1408, Gian Dinh won a spectacular victory
over a far superior force of Chinese. But his success was short-lived. Gian Dinh
beheaded two generals who had objected to his over-enthusiastic zeal in desiring
to launch another attack without waiting for reinforcements. This act resulted
in a considerable loss of support for Gian Dinh. Although the resistance was
kept up for several more years, it was eventually washed away in blood, and the
country was again placed under direct Chinese administration,
Under the Ming domination, the people were subjected to the worst
exploitation and suffering of their entire history. The Chinese attempted, at
the same time, to denationalize the local population. The great literary and
historical works were removed to China, and Chinese classics were substituted
for instruction in the schools. Vietnamese women forced to wear the Chinese
fashion of vest and pantalons, and men had to wear their hair long, in the
Chinese style. In fact, all the old customs - even the chewing of betel -were
forbidden, and local religious rites were replaced by Chinese.
Forced labor was used to extract all manner of riches from the earth and sea
for shipment to China. In addition, the Chinese, as well as those local
officials who cooperated with them, profited by levying exorbitant taxes on
everything from salt to silk-worm cocoons.
The oppressed people, determined to end the harsh Chinese rule, found a
leader in a man named Le Loi. Le Loi came from a famous and wealthy family of
aristocratic landowners, and was known for his courage, honesty and generosity.
In 1418, Le Loi organized a resistance in his own village of Lam Son, in Thanh
Hoa Province. Styling himself as the Prince of Pacification , Le Loi launched a
guerrilla war against the Chinese which was to last for over ten years.
Three times, Le Loi was forced to return to the mountains, which were his
safe rear base . Once, when cornered, Le Loi was saved only because one of his
lieutenants sacrificed his own life by making the Ming believe he was Le Loi.
After killing the lieutenant, the Ming withdrew, only to be attacked again by
the true Le Loi. By following Tran Hung Dao's guerrilla tactic of attacking the
weakest targets, and with-drawing before a stronger force, Le Loi's resistance
forces gradually eroded the power of the Chinese. Le Loi pioneered another
precept of guerrilla warfare as well: his forces maintained the strictest
discipline, even when they were starving, and were absolutely forbidden to
plunder the villages they occupied. Thus, Le Loi was able to win the support of
the population, while the Chinese found themselves in hostile territory.
Le Loi was not lacking in the skills of psychological warfare, either. Nguyen
Trai, a scholar and patriot, sought out the new leader. With his clever
propaganda and stir-ring writings, he contributed greatly to making Le Loi
something of a legendary hero in his own time.
The population was by this time in a state of general rebellion, and revolts
broke out throughout the North in support of Le Loi. Le Loi thus had time to
consolidate his forces while the Chinese were occupied with quelling these
rebellions ; and the subsequent campaigns against the Chinese were successful.
Finally, using the policy of employing ruse when confronted with superior
strength; Le Loi organized a mock defeat to fool the Chinese reinforcements.
Lured into the trap, the Chinese general was ambushed and beheaded, and the rest
of his army was defeated in later battles of the same year, 1427.
According to the peace terms, the remaining Chinese troops were evacuated in
1428.But in order to save face, the Chinese exerted pressure to have some
descendant of the Tran Dynasty put on the throne, since restoration of the Tran
had been the pretext for the Chinese invasion. During the negotiations, Le Loi
attended to the formality of reestablishing the Tran Dynasty; and Tran Cao was
chosen to act as nominal ruler. King Tran Cao was well aware that he was to Be a
puppet, however, and that he would be dishonored by not being permitted to
exercise the authority due a king. Therefore, King Tran Cao attempted to flee.
Pursued, captured and returned, King Tran Cao was made to drink poison,
whereupon he died.
Le Loi then became king under the name of Le Thai To. The Le Dynasty was
thereby founded in 1428, and the name of the country was changed from An Nam to
Dai Viet, or the Great Viet.
It was during this period that Christianity was first introduced to the
country. The romanized Quoc Ngu script was developed by the Jesuit missionary,
Alexandre deRhodes; and this form of writing later supplanted the then-current
Chinese-type Nom characters.
In the peace accord, it was agreed that the custom of paying a triennial
tribute to China would be retained, but in practice the Le ruled independently.
Immediately, Le Thai To (Le Loi) devoted himself to the task of reconstructing
the war-devastated country. The army was cut from 250,000 to 100,000 men, and a
rotational system was established to allow four-fifths of the men at a time to
return to their fields, thus alleviating the serious problem of food shortages.
The judicial system and penal code were reorganized to promote the national
austerity campaign designed to overcome the conditions of social and economic
chaos resulting from the war. To develop a corps of able administrators, the
College of National Sons was founded, which admitted students on the basis of
merit, thus permitting gifted children from poor families to receive advanced
training.
Le Thai To died in 1433 at the age of 49, and was succeeded by his eleven
year old son, Le Thai Tong. Quickly disposing of his Regent, Le Thai Tong
governed ably despite the hardship of several natural disasters which led to
poor harvests. On a visit to Nguyen Trai, the scholar and former propagandist
for Le Loi, the young king was overwhelmed by the writer's beautiful concubine,
and took her with him. Shortly there-after, the king died of poisoning, and was
succeeded by his two year old son, Le Nhan Tong. The writer, Nguyen Trai, was
suspected of having poisoned the king in revenge for the loss of his concubine.
Nguyen Trai and three generations of his family were killed.
The Queen Mother acted as Regent for the child king, and under her rule new
regulations for private ricelands were issued, a large canal was dug, and a
successful campaign against the Champa was waged.
But the intrigues of the royal Court pre-vented the national development
which had seemed assured with the removal of Chinese domination. The Queen
Mother and the child King, Le Nhan Tong, were murdered by Le Nhan Tong's elder
brother, Nghi Dan, who had formerly been the heir-apparent. But although he was
the son of the Queen, Nghi Dan was not the son of the King, and when this became
known, Nghi Dan was replaced as heir-apparent by Le Nhan Tong. Nghi Dan ruled
for eight months after usurping the throne when he was killed by officials of
the Court, who established the number four son as king.
The new king, Le Thanh Tong, reigned for thirty-six years, during which the
country enjoyed an outstanding period of prosperity. While revising the tax
system and promoting agriculture, Le Thanh Tong was primarily concerned with
customs and morals. He ordered the people to cease spending large sums of money
on building pagodas and carrying out the marriage and death rites, and to spend
their money in more useful ways.
A great author and poet himself, Le Thanh Tong commissioned the writing of a
national history, and was an enthusiastic promoter of education. The king also
considered it his responsibility to concern himself with the morality of the
people. To this end, He ordered that twenty-four articles governing personal
conduct be read before each public gathering. For the most part, these rules
dealt with duties of family members toward one another, prohibitions against
letting young girls and boys associate with each other, the requirement for
wives to be kind to their husband's concubines, and the necessity of being
generous, honest, industrious, virtuous, and thrifty.
The reorganized military forces were also placed under strict discipline. A
successful campaign against the Champa in 1471 pro-vided relief for the problems
of insufficient availability of land and increased population pressure, paving
the way for the southern migrations. Often, this expansion was accomplished by
the soldier-farmers who set up militarized agricultural communities. The
security of their rice fields thus assured, the Vietnamese established their
culture as they moved south, and the Champa were gradually assimilated.
Le Thanh Tong died in 1497, and was followed by two competent but short-lived
kings. The next king, Le Uy Muc, had apparently not studied the moral teachings
of his grandfather, Le Thanh Tong. Muc began by murdering his grandmother and
two of his ministers, and continued to reign with extravagant cruelty for five
years.
Overthrown by his cousin, Muc died -either by suicide or murder, it is not
clear which. Revolts were widespread, and the equally corrupt cousin fared no
better than his predecessor. A court official raised an army, claiming he was
going off to repress the revolts; but instead, he used the army to invade the
palace and kill the king. The king's son was installed as the new ruler, but had
reigned for only three days when he, too, was murdered - this time by the
brother of the official who had led the revolt.
The next king, suspicious of the feuding officials, placed his trust in a
fisherman by the name of Mac Dang Dung, who had fought his way up to the Court.
As was the case with Ho Qui Ly 130 years before, Mac Dang Dung was able to
exploit the weakness of the decaying dynasty to increase his own power. The
worried king resorted to plotting the overthrow of his advisor , and fled the
palace by night in order to seek the help of one of his generals. While the
general was making up his mind, however, Mac Dang Dung attacked, killing the
general and capturing the king, whom he later killed. Three years later, in
1527, Mac Dang Dung established the Mac Dynasty, forcing the Le officials to
recognize it, and murdering the royal family and all of the officials who
remained loyal to the Le. Many mandarins committed suicide, but many others
joined in the organization of a resistance movement.
The Le loyalists appealed to the Chinese to restore the Le Dynasty. China
prepared for an invasion, while at the same time demanding that Mac Dang Dung
offer his submission. Mac Dang Dung rushed forth to meet the Chinese - with
gifts. Dung and his entourage, moreover, had tied themselves with ropes as a
gesture of subservience. The Chinese were favorably impressed, and agreed to the
continuation of the Mac Dynasty - for a price.
The Le did not give up easily, however, and the resistance forces regrouped
under the leadership of Nguyen Kim, son of a former Le general. Further support
was en-listed for the cause when Nguyen Kim married his daughter to another
general by the name of Trinh Kiem. Having proclaimed a Le descendant as Emperor,
the two generals sallied forth to battle the Mac, and after a series of
victories, the Western capital was retaken in 1543. But two years later, Nguyen
Kim was murdered by a Mac officer, who surrendered himself to the enemy in order
to poison their leader at the first opportunity. The Le's military power then
passed into the hands of Kim's son-in-law, Trinh Kiem. Trinh Kiem withdrew to
Thanh Hoa, at the edge of the Red River delta, and established the Southern
Court in the name of the Le. With the Mac still in control of the Northern
Court, the country was divided into rival and warring states by 1545.
By this time, the power of the Southern Court was completely in the hands of
the Trinh, although the Le remained the nominal rulers for reasons of
expediency. Nguyen Kim, the late founder of the revolution which had brought the
Trinh to power, had two sons. Wary of the possible power of these two, Trinh
Kiem killed one of them in a move designed to assure his own authority. The
remaining son, Nguyen Hoang, fearing the same fate, pretended insanity for a
while. Then, in 1588, he obtained permission from the Trinh to leave the North,
and was later(1566) made Governor of the troublesome southern provinces of Thanh
Hoa and Quang Nam.
When Trinh Kiem died in 1570, the military command of the Southern Court was
assumed by his elder son, the inept and debauched Trinh Coi. Trinh Coi's younger
brother, Trinh Tung, wasted no time in plotting to overthrow his brother; and
the Mac took advantage of this squabble to launch another attack. Trinh Coi
surrendered to the Mac, which allowed the military power of the Southern Court
to fall into the hands of his brother, Trinh Tung. Trinh Tung then had the Le
king killed, and en-throned another Le who was more to his liking; after which,
Trinh Tung returned to the business of the war with the Mac.
The wars between the two continued indecisively until the Northern Emperor,
Mac Mau Hop, was captured by the Trinh and beheaded after three days of public
torture. The Mac Dynasty is usually reckoned as having ended with Mac Mau Hop's
death in 1592, after lasting for 65 years, although the Mac retained control of
a small area, the province of Cao Bang, in the Northern frontier region.
Benefitting from China's earlier recognition of the Mac Dynasty which was
still in force, the Macs continued to enjoy a kind of privileged position under
the Ming, and, after 1644, the Manchu Dynasty in China. When the Mac supported a
disloyal governor in southeast China, however, the Manchu Emperor withdrew his
protection, and in 1667, the country was finally reunited with the agreement of
China's new Thanh Dynasty.
After the death of Mac Mau Hop in 1592, the remaining son of Nguyen Kim,
Nguyen Hoang, had left his southern refuge to aid the Trinh in the struggle
against the Mac remnants, despite the mistrust which had arisen between the
Nguyen and the Trinh. But, when revolts broke out against the Trinh in 1600,
Nguyen Hoang returned to his southern residence. The North continued to be torn
by wars and intrigues under the tyrannical rule of the Trinh; and an abortive
plot by the Le king and one of Trinh Tung's sons against the Trinh ended in
Trinh Tung's killing his disloyal son as well as the Le king. Power then passed
to Trinh Tung's eldest son, who ruled on behalf of the figurehead Le king who
was subsequently installed.
Meanwhile, the South prospered under the increasingly independent rule of
Nguyen Hoang, who enjoyed the support of the militarized agricultural colonies
which had been settled in the southern region.
When Nguyen Hoang died in 1613, his son, Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, assumed control
and ruled with absolute authority under the name of Lord Sai. Thus, the country
was again divided, and the Nguyen family became masters of the country to the
South of the Song Giang River, which is located slightly above the 17th Parallel
that defines the present division of Viet Nam. Both the Nguyen and the Trinh,
however, claimed allegiance to the Le Dynasty. the Vietnamese expansion, and the
new lands provided a solution to the Nguyen's problems of population pressure.
The Trinh tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the Nguyen in 1620, after which
the Nguyen ceased paying taxes to Hanoi's Trinh rulers. When the Nguyen twice
disobeyed the Trinh's summons to come and explain this action, war broke out.
Between 1627 and 1672, the Trinh sent seven expeditions against the Nguyen. But
the Nguyen had built two great walls across the narrow central corridor, thus
defending themselves against invasions from the North's superior forces, which
were being aided by the Dutch. Portuguese aid, however, made the Nguyen stronger
in armaments; and the failure of all seven campaigns left the North considerably
weakened. In 1672, the Trinh finally agreed to a division of the two territories
at the boundary of the Linh River. After fifty years of civil war, the Trinh and
the Nguyen settled down to a period of peaceful coexistence, which lasted for
slightly more than 100 years.
During this time, the Trinh reorganized their administration to promote
honesty and efficiency, requiring all officials to take periodic examinations
and weeding out incompetents. Unhappily, this well-intentioned program ended
when money was needed to quell revolts, and the practice of selling
administrative posts was instituted.
The penal code, too, was altered by the Trinh, and the punishments of bodily
mutilation were abolished. In the past, a thief was sometimes punished by
cutting off a finger or two, or - in the case of more serious offenses - by
chopping off one or both hands.
A more uniform taxation system was de-vised, and minted coins were used as
the standard currency in the northern kingdom.
The cruel reign of Trinh Giang (1729-1740),however, resulted in the outbreak
of more riots and revolts, thus preventing the continuation of earlier
progressive policies.
In the South, meanwhile, the administration was also reorganized, and
officials we regrouped according to functional categories. Taxes were determined
according to the quality of the land as well as quantity
The greatest significance of this period, however, is that it marked the
opening up and settlement of the vast rich lands of the Mekong River delta. The
Cambodian population in the area provided little resistance to
The South readily absorbed, too, the influx of refugees who left the
insecurity and tyranny of the Trinh in the North, as well as numerous Chinese
immigrants. The Chinese were especially active in trading, and by 1700,
commercial trading was well-established' and flourishing.
With the system of a highly centralized government, however, local autonomy
was extremely strong; and this pattern was rein-forced by the relative isolation
of independent local economies. Thus, the enormous expansion of territory was
not matched by the economy, which remained static, and village-oriented. Despite
these conditions, though, the Vietnamese managed to survive as a single people.
Their unity of customs and traditions was preserved intact by the stability of
the village system, and the peasants' way of life, which was the same in all
regions.
Laws for the protection of the peasants were ineffective both in the North
and in the South, and the lot of the peasant grew progressively worse.
Rebellions erupted with increasing frequency ; but more importantly, the
insurrections were coming to be dominated by peasant elements, rather than by
aristocratic political dissidents. As contacts with the West increased,
moreover, the just-emerging forces of popular revolution in the West added
impetus to the Vietnamese movement which was already underway.
The Tay Son brothers came up from the masses, and profited by the occasion of
internal disorders to raise the colors of liberation. They routed both the lords
of the Nguyen and Trinh by 1777, and put the last sovereign of the Le line to
flight. One of the brothers, Nguyen Hue, became Emperor under the title of Quang
Trung, and thanks to him, the national unity as finally restored for a brief
time. Unfortunately, he died in 1792 without being able to assure the
continuation of his dynasty.
 Meanwhile, in the South, Nguyen Anh - the
successor of the Nguyen lords - resumed the attack against the Tay Son, who
became weaker and weaker. Nguyen Anh succeeded in reunifying the country in
1801, after a 27 year struggle. In this endeavor, Nguyen Anh enlisted the
support of the French missionary, Monseigneur Pigneau de Behaine, the Bishop of
Adran. The Bishop negotiated a treaty with France, which would have brought
French military aid to Nguyen Anh in exchange for certain territorial and
trading rights. The promise of aid was withdrawn later, but the Bishop of Adran
proceeded on his own to raise troops and money. With the help of these recruits,
Nguyen Anh's army was trained in the use of Western military techniques. The
Bishop died in 1799 and Nguyen Anh continued his campaign without the advice of
his trusted and loyal friend.
In 1802, Nguyen Anh completed his military victory over the Tay Son with the
seizure of Hanoi, and proclaimed himself Emperor, assuming the royal name of Gia
Dinh. The country was then known as Viet Nam.
The Nguyen Dynasty, founded by Gia Dinh, embarked on a massive reconstruction
program. For a time, things went very well, since Europe was then preoccupied
with the Napoleonic wars, and Gia Long concluded that a policy of
non-involvement with the West was not only desirable, but practicable.
King Tu Duc
Gia Long was succeeded by his son, Minh Mang, who was known to be hostile to
Western influence, on the grounds that it undermined the traditional Confucian
social order. External conditions, however, had changed, and the ultimate
confrontation with the West was unavoidable.
The French Colonization.
King Dong Khanh
Hostility against the West increased. The Nguyen emperors issued stronger and
stronger edicts against the incursion of foreigners, and especially against
Christian missionaries ; but all of these injunctions went unheeded. Any actions
taken to enforce the edicts served only to incite the West. French admirals
attempted to interfere in the policy of the Nguyen governments and subsequent
invasions and military operations finally led to the signing of two treaties, in
1862 and 1874, which made Viet Nam part of the French Empire. The kingdom of the
late Emperor Gia Long thus became part of a geographical entity called French
Indo-china, which included two other nations Cambodia and Laos.
Due to the methods of French administration, Viet Nam was partitioned into
three regions: Tonkin in the North, Anna in the Center, and Cochinchina in the
South. While the latter was administered directly, the others, Tonkin and Anna
became French protectorates with a kind of autonomy under an emperor of Nguyen
descent, whose power was mainly symbolic.
The introduction of Western civilization and the demands of the French
colonial economy did indeed undermine the traditional order, as Minh Mang had
predicted it would. The class structure and the educational systems were
drastically altered. The upheaval and instability created by the attempts to
transform a traditional society, coupled with the resentment and hostility which
resulted from the loss of sovereignty provoked a continuing resistance to the
French rule.
King Duy Tan
Opposition took every possible form, ranging from poetic satires and formal
petitions to armed revolt. But as in centuries past, ordinary Vietnamese
citizens were excluded from participation in government above the village level.
At times, hopes of reform were encouraged by changes in the French government
itself, or by the appointment of a more liberal Governor-General. Before any of
the reforms were implemented, however, World War II intervened to change the
course of events.
King Khai Dinh
The Recovery of National Independence.
After the fall of France in 1940, the Vichy government retained authority in
Indochina until the occupying Japanese assumed power in March, 1945. One month
later, the Emperor Bao Dai proclaimed the independence of Viet Nam under
Japanese protection, and formed a national government with the patriot and
scholar, Tran Trong Kim as Premier. There-after, a series of governments
succeeded - and sometimes competed with - each other.
At the end of the war, French troops were landed to reoccupy their former
colony, and immediately encountered the fierce resistance of Vietnamese
nationalists, determined to protect their newly-won independence. Periodic
attempts to negotiate a settlement were made during the nearly ten years of
fighting which ensued. In France, the war became increasingly unpopular, while
the Vietnamese were united in the common cause of national independence.
Finally, the Geneva Agreement of July 21, 1954 was signed, with which peace came
back to Viet Nam. The joy of Viet Nam was marred, however. Since the Communists
had gained control of the nationalist forces in the North, the country was
divided into two parts. The Communists were allowed to rule in the North
(Democratic Republic of Viet Nam) separated by the demarcation line of the
Seventeenth Parallel from the free regime in the South (Republic of Viet Nam).
From 1954 until 1963, South Viet Nam was ruled by President Ngo Dinh Diem.
His dictatorial regime was effective in achieving the national stability
essential for coping with the initial period of crisis ; but with the
development of greater internal stability, the regime became less, rather than
more flexible in its policy. Thus, the people, who had fought so hard and so
long, were frustrated in their desire for true freedom. Externally as well, the
Vietnamese were being threatened with a possible loss of freedom, as the
Communist North began its campaign of terrorism and guerrilla warfare designed
to conquer the South.
At last, on November 1, 1963, a great revolution, jointly managed by the
South Vietnam army and the people, upset the dictatorial regime of Ngo Dinh
Diem, and installed the Second Republic. Since then, several civilian and
military governments have taken turns in office in Saigon, with varying success,
prior to the formation of a National Directory on June 19, 1964. This latter
groups the main military leaders of the Armed Forces of the Republic, and has
installed a War Cabinet to effectively direct the struggle against the Communist
aggression and to advance the work of the Revolution, kindled in the triumph of
November 1,1963.
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