and in the region, along with the phenomenon of some Western capitalist countries actively invading and trying to invade our country.
In the context introduced above, our country's economy from the time it gained independence and autonomy (938) to the time the French colonialists launched their invasion (1858) was always affected by many factors. The economy during this period moved and developed with the strong imprint of that historical context.
2.2.1.2. Economic ideology and policy
Economic ideology and policy always play an important role in the economic development of a country. Economic ideology and policy are factors that contribute to the formation of orientations for production and business activities. If oriented correctly and appropriately, the economy will have conditions for development; otherwise, it will cause difficulties, even crisis. Therefore, in studying economic history, we need to consider how economic ideology and policy have impacted and influenced economic activities in each historical period.
During the feudal period, our country was influenced and impacted by many Eastern cultural and ideological trends such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. In which, Confucianism had a strong influence and impact on the economic ideology and policies of our country during the feudal period. Confucianism is an ideological trend that arose and developed in China. Regarding the economy, Confucianism advocated promoting the role and importance of agriculture. This is clearly shown in the following statements: "agriculture is the foundation", "using agriculture as the foundation", "respecting the foundation, suppressing the end". Maybe you are interested!
Economy of Nam Dan district, Nghe An province under the Nguyen dynasty in the period 1802 - 1884 - 1
Economy of Nam Dan district, Nghe An province under the Nguyen dynasty in the period 1802 - 1884 - 19
GDP Structure of the Whole Industry and Construction Sector in the Period 1996 - 2008 of the Economy (At Actual Prices)
Economy of Nam Dan district, Nghe An province under the Nguyen dynasty in the period 1802 - 1884 - 21
Economy of Nam Dan district, Nghe An province under the Nguyen dynasty in the period 1802 - 1884 - 24
Traditional Vietnamese society was strongly influenced by Confucianism. The state and the people both valued agriculture, considered agriculture as the primary occupation, the basic activity and underestimated industry and commerce. This ideology was the most important factor influencing and dominating the economic life of our nation during the feudal period of national independence (938-1858).
In society, the stratification by class and occupation also clearly reflects the "agriculturalism is the foundation" ideology. The population is arranged according to
The order from high to low is: Scholar - Farmer - Worker - Merchant. In this order, the scholar is the most respected part, just after the feudal king and mandarins. Next are the farmers; and craftsmen and merchants are ranked third and fourth. Such a social stratification structure shows that farming is respected, while industry and commerce are looked down upon.
Besides the ideas of "agriculture is the foundation", "respecting the foundation, suppressing the bottom" in feudal society, there were also the ideas of "valuing righteousness, despising profit", "praising leisure", "egalitarianism", "praising stinginess"... These ideas all had more or less influence on the economic activities of our country during the feudal period.
The ideology of "agriculture as the foundation", "emphasizing the foundation and suppressing industry and commerce" (also known as "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing industry and commerce") has generally had different manifestations in two historical periods. In the period when the feudal regime was built and developed to its peak (10th-15th century), the ideology of emphasizing agriculture was very clear, while industry and commerce, although not highly regarded, were not restricted in their development. However, in the period when the feudal regime was in crisis and decline (16th-1858 century), agriculture, due to the impact of objective and subjective factors, was no longer as important as in the previous period. Meanwhile, industry and commerce, in terms of ideology, were not highly regarded activities; but in reality, in the specific historical context, industry and commerce in this period were viewed more openly. This was one of the favorable conditions that helped our country's handicrafts and commerce flourish and develop when the Vietnamese feudal regime entered a period of crisis and decline (16th - 19th centuries).
2.2.2. Characteristics of the economic situation
2.2.2.1. Economy during the period of feudalism's establishment and prosperous development (10th century to the end of the 15th century)
a. Agriculture
• Land ownership situation
Land is the main means of production, playing a particularly important role in agricultural production. In our country and many Eastern countries at that time,
In feudalism, the king is the owner of all land and subjects . 1 This is in name, but in reality, no king is capable of owning, managing, or controlling all land and subjects in the country he heads.
The land ownership situation in our country in the 10th-15th centuries was quite complicated, there were many types of land in existence and often fluctuated through the dynasties. During this period, there were the following types: national treasury land, communal land, private land, thang moc ap, phap dien, dien trang, thai fief, thuc fief, thac dao dien, tu dien, but dien... Although they had many different names, the above types of land can be grouped into two main forms of ownership: feudal state ownership and private ownership .
* State-owned land
During the 10th to 15th centuries, the feudal regime in Vietnam was formed and developed to its peak, and state-owned land often accounted for the majority of the country's land. The proverb: "King's land, Buddha's temple" partly reflects the situation of land ownership. State-owned land includes the following types: mountain and mausoleum fields, communal fields, national treasury fields, plantations, feudal land, and communal communal land. In these types of land, the state directly manages mountain and mausoleum fields, communal fields, national treasury fields, and communal communal land, while communal communal communal land is assigned to localities for management.
- Son Lang field
This is the type of land that the feudal state set up for the purpose of having a source of income to pay for the worship of the ancestors of the royal families. According to old history, during the Ly Dynasty, in 1010, when the king's procession went to Co Phap Chau, the king ordered "the officials to measure the land several dozen miles, to set up the forbidden land of the mausoleum". The mausoleum land was divided into two parts: one part was the burial land and the other was
1 Due to the influence of the concept "under the sky, there is no place that is not the king's land; from the new ancestor, there is no one who is not the king's subject" from China, the king is the one with unlimited power over the land and his subjects.
The worshiping fields. The Ly dynasty kings were all buried in the area of Co Phap village. There are 32 mau mau of grave fields (each tomb has 4 mau) and some quite large worshiping fields. In principle, the mausoleum fields are assigned as permanent public fields for the local people to share and cultivate, and a small amount of the yield is paid to cover the costs of repairing and protecting the king's tomb. During the Tran dynasty, because the kings were buried in many places, the mausoleum fields were also located in different localities such as: Thai Duong village, Long Hung (Thai Binh), Tuc Mac (Nam Dinh), An Sinh (Quang Ninh)...
In general, the fields of Son Lang in all places are respected by the local people. This respect is due to the fact that the royal court assigned the fields of Son Lang to the local people to cultivate and earn profits. At the same time, they were exempted from all obligations to the state. The total area of Son Lang fields is not large, and with its special nature, this type of land did not have much influence on the land ownership regime and agricultural production situation in our country during the feudal period.
- Paddy fields
This is a type of private land of the feudal state but is called public land to distinguish it from communal land (official land). Every early spring, the king would go to the communal land to perform the ritual of plowing the communal land. This ritual was borrowed from ancient customs of the North but it was suitable for the circumstances of an agricultural country like ours, so this ritual was accepted by the feudal dynasties of Vietnam.
Historical records show that the first plowing ceremony was held during the Tien Le Dynasty. In 987, Le Hoan was the first king in our country's history to perform this ritual. After that, the plowing ceremony was held regularly and continuously during the Ly - Tran Dynasty. For example, in the spring of 1028, King Ly Thai Tong went to Bo Hai Khau (now Thai Binh City), ordered people to prepare a feast, built an altar, and after worshiping the god of agriculture himself, he plowed three times. That field was later given to the local people to cultivate; the profits were used for the worship, and the rest was distributed to the poor or used to entertain guests. It should also be added that the rice variety planted in the plowing ceremony was selected to produce delicious rice for use in the worship, especially the worship of the god of agriculture and the god of the land. Depending on the concept of feng shui
and the spirituality of each feudal court to choose the appropriate place to place the communal fields.
During the Ly - Tran dynasties, public fields in important locations were often designated by the state as communal fields, such as communal fields in Bo Hai Khau (Thai Binh), Tin Huong (in Do Dong Giang, Binh Da, Thanh Oai, Hanoi); Doi Son (in Duy Tien, Ha Nam); Ly Nhan (Ha Nam); Ung Phong (in Nghia Hung, Nam Dinh)... The communal fields did not occupy a large area, so their impact on agriculture was also insignificant.
- National treasury fields
Public fields are directly managed by the state, organized for production and collection of profits. The origin of this type of land is confiscated from farms and plantations of the Northern colonial government and of Han landlords and mandarins. In addition, treasury fields also originate from land reclamation. The forces cultivating treasury fields are prisoners (historical books call them "cao dien nhi", "cao hoang dien" and "lo ong") and war prisoners (prisoners captured in wars). These are people with low social status, they are assigned by the feudal state to cultivate treasury fields and pay taxes to the state. The land rent of treasury fields is much higher than that of feudal lands. Each mau of first-class treasury fields must pay
6 stone 80 thang 1 rice, second class pay 4 stone per mau, third class pay each mau
Pay 1 stone [Tran Thi Vinh, 2017]. Compared to the communal land tax paid by ordinary people, it is only 1/7 of the national land tax.
In addition to cultivating the national treasury fields, the feudal state also assigned prisoners and prisoners of war the task of reclaiming wasteland in the riverside areas of Thai Binh province to establish new settlements. They were the ones who reclaimed the wasteland and established new villages named "Cao" along the Luoc River such as: An Cao, Nhat Tao, A Cao, Phan Cao. During the Ly Dynasty, the national treasury fields were established in Cao Xa (Nhat Tao, Tay Ho, Hanoi). During the Tran Dynasty, the national treasury fields increased even more, due to
1 Shi and Sheng are two units used to measure rice in feudal times (originating from China). In which: 1 shi = 100 Sheng, 1 Sheng = 2.7 kg.
The state confiscated the land of Vietnamese traitors who fled to the enemy. During the Ho Dynasty, the Ho Dynasty transferred the national treasury land to Tuong Mot village (Thanh Hoa)... The profits from the national treasury land were stored in the state treasury (national treasury) to gradually pay for the worshiping, repairing the tombs, temples, and public works of the feudal state.
- Plantation
Plantations are land areas organized by the state to reclaim land. Plantations in our country have existed since the period of Chinese domination, and continued to be maintained when the country was independent, autonomous, and strongly developed during the Ly - Tran dynasties. The organization of land reclamation, village establishment, and plantation establishment was promoted more strongly during the Ly - Tran dynasties. In order to expand and develop agriculture, the feudal state implemented many measures, including actively reclaiming wasteland, establishing villages, and forming new plantations.
Reclaiming wasteland to establish villages and form estates were mainly done by our country's prisoners captured in wars with several countries. During the wars during this period, our country captured quite a lot of prisoners. During the Ly Dynasty, the Ly kings distributed some prisoners to the princes as slaves, the rest were organized into a reclamation force, establishing state plantations. Historical records show that in 1044, more than 5,000 Champa prisoners were brought by the Ly king to establish settlements in Vinh Khang town (Vinh Hoa district, Tuong Duong, Nghe An) and Dang Chau (Quy Hoa - Vinh Phuc). Then in 1252, King Tran Thai Tong captured more Champa prisoners and brought them back to reclaim land and establish villages in Nghe An and some areas in the North. This event is mentioned in the book Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu: "Thai Tong and Thanh Tong of the Ly dynasty attacked the Cham, captured the Cham people and divided them into districts and hamlets. These hamlets were all named after the old names of the Cham, which are the current camps and offices" [Quoted from Truong Huu Quynh, 2009, 78-79]. Many prisoners of war from the Song, Yuan, and Ai Lao (Laos) were also used in the land reclamation work during the Ly - Tran dynasties. The use of prisoners of war to reclaim land and expand the cultivated area under the Ly dynasty had an important meaning for agricultural production.
During the Tran Dynasty, the state began to implement the plantation policy. In 1344, the Tran Dynasty established the positions of "Plantation Chief and Deputy Envoy" at the Department of Promotion.
"nong", which was in charge of recruiting people to reclaim wasteland. One of the plantations established during the Tran Dynasty was Quan La village (in Bac Tu Liem, Hanoi). This plantation was established by the Grand An Phu Su of the capital, Nguyen Du. Thus, stemming from the need to expand the cultivated area, the Tran Dynasty established plantation offices in addition to encouraging princes to reclaim land and establish estates. During the Ho Dynasty (1400-1407), due to the implementation of the "land limit" policy, the types of land under private ownership decreased, while the total area of land under state ownership increased significantly [Truong Huu Quynh, 2009, 166].
During the early Le Dynasty, continuing the spirit of previous dynasties, the kings of the early Le Dynasty sent Ming and Cham prisoners to reclaim land and establish new villages. Many villages of the Cham people or of foreign prisoners with names such as guards and offices were established in riverside areas of Hung Nguyen, Dien Chau, Thien Ban, etc. During the reign of Le Thanh Tong, the plantation policy was widely implemented. Many plantation offices were established to specialize in recruiting exiles and reclaiming undeveloped lands. Plantations were divided into three categories: upper, middle and lower. During this period, our country had 43 plantation offices, distributed in the North, Central and South Central regions; most of them were concentrated in the North. Each plantation office had a chief and deputy plantation officer in charge, depending on the specific situation, recruiting people or using prisoners to reclaim wasteland into fields and establish new villages. The plantation policy of the Le dynasty had a practical effect in expanding the cultivated area, contributing positively to the development of agriculture during this period.
- Feudal land
This is the type of land that the king took from state-owned land (including communal land) to distribute and grant to meritorious officials, mandarins, and relatives of the royal family. Land granting has existed since the Ngo Quyen era in the form of fiefs . By the early Ly - Tran - Le dynasties, fief granting had become a common phenomenon in feudal society.
1 For example, since 950, Ngo Xuong Van granted his uncle Duong Tam Kha the land of Truong Duong (in Hanoi) as a fief.
The land granted by the dynasties changed and had different names. During the Ly Dynasty, there were three types: real estate, real fief , and land grant. Of these, real estate was the type of land in which the grantee only received taxes; while real fief enjoyed both taxes and had control over the people in that area. In China, real estate had a large area including many communes and districts; in Vietnam, real estate was commonly only 1-2 communes. Under some dynasties, the land granted by the dynasties was accompanied by a number of farming households for cultivation, which led to the formation of the feudal aristocracy's fiefs. In the fiefs, the farmers were originally subjects of the state, now dependent on the aristocracy. Fief was a prominent form of grant in the Tran Dynasty. During the Le Dynasty, land was granted but without farmers attached.
"Thac dao dien" is also a fiefdom, but it differs from the two types above in that it is done by throwing knives to determine the boundary when granting fiefdoms. Under the Ly dynasty, those with great merit were often granted real fiefs by the king along with real fiefs, such as in the cases of Ly Thuong Kiet and Ly Bat Nhiem. However, the form of granting real fiefs (that is, with people attached) was not a popular form of the feudal regime in our country. Of the two forms of real fiefs and real fiefs, granting land in the form of real fiefs is more beneficial to the state than granting land in the form of real fiefs, because the state still has control over the people in the lands granted to nobles and mandarins. Therefore, under the Ly dynasty, real fief land was popular and accounted for more quantity than real fiefs 1 .
During the Tran Dynasty, land grants developed more strongly than during the Ly Dynasty and were called Thai Ap and Thang Moc Ap . These two types of land had the same content as the real grants of the Ly Dynasty. The nobles in the Tran family were all granted Thai Ap; the queen and princesses were granted Thang Moc Ap ("bathing land"). During the Tran Dynasty, Thai Ap was a special type of land grant. Many Thai Aps had an area as large as a district today; the Thai Aps also had their own military forces. Thai Aps became a unique feature of the Tran Dynasty; it marked the existence of a fragmented feudal society.
1 For example, Ly Thuong Kiet was granted 10,000 fief households while only 4,000 households were eligible for real fief.