Policies of Vietnamese dynasties towards Chinese people

This new village is in the third sense mentioned above: a social organization with a communal character. The Minh Huong village organization in this sense has no administrative area, no administrative management function but has the right to confirm personal identity, household registration and assist the government, directly collect taxes from Minh Huong people.

The Minh Huong Xa of Vietnam is a special institution, both in name and institution, and in history of formation and development. Its model cannot be found in the history of the Chinese community in Southeast Asian countries.

The state and Minh Huong organizations existed with the above institutions throughout the Nguyen Dynasty's rule of the country. It contributed to promoting the integration of the Chinese into Vietnamese society, somewhat limiting the isolated and closed nature of overseas Chinese communities that were very common in other countries.

3.3. DETERMINATION OF TAXES:

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In the Nguyen Dynasty's tax system, except for the land tax which had little to do with the Chinese, other taxes were imposed on the Chinese according to separate regulations, which changed many times through the reigns of the kings.

3.3.1. Headcount tax

This is a tax that all Chinese people, regardless of their profession or where they live, must pay. It includes a poll tax and other contributions.

Initially, during the Gia Long period and the first 10 years of the Minh Mang period, this tax clearly distinguished between the Qing people (ie Chinese people who had just arrived in Vietnam, were legally allowed to stay and reside permanently) and the Minh Huong people with different specific contribution levels.

- For Thanh people:

Taxes for this group were quite complicated, varied greatly between regions and dynasties, and were closely related to the state system and the issue of nationality confirmation.

After defeating Tay Son and establishing a unified ruling regime in all three regions, King Gia Long abolished the practice of calculating the surplus tax (capital tax) on the Chinese people according to the regulation that had been issued since 1796, which was 3 quan per person [83, 02, p.242].

Instead, each Chinese (called Qing people) had to pay a poll tax of 6 quan and 5 tien. This tax was initially only applied to Chinese people with assets and resources, that is, those who had settled in Vietnam for a long time, had a stable life and were somewhat well-off; poor Qing people, who had no assets and had to work for hire, did not have to pay the poll tax. However, this tax was not applied uniformly throughout the country. The above tax rate was only in the towns of Gia Dinh. Other towns collected it at different rates, some places taxed Qing people like ethnic minorities in the mountains, some places taxed them like Vietnamese people, some places did not tax them because they did not keep a register of the state...

This situation lasted throughout the Gia Long period and in the first few years of the Minh Mang period.

In the 7th year of Minh Mang, that is, 1826, King Minh Mang rectified this situation, first in Gia Dinh. In July 1826, the Gia Dinh town governor sent a memorial: "...the Tang people who were sent to the towns of the citadel, either paid a personal tax, or paid a rice tax, or paid an iron shuttle, the tax rates were not the same. There were also more than 3,000 new slaves who did not pay taxes. Moreover, in the citadel, the land was fertile, the marshes and mountains were profitable, so the Min and Guang people came to live more and more, the market was full of fields, the merchants, the farmers, some were extremely rich, but all year round they did not pay a single thread of silk or grain of rice, compared to our people, in addition to the personal tax and the money for the mandarins, the heavy and light military matters were very different. I request that all the Tang people who were sent to the towns of the citadel and the new slaves pay a liquid tax of 6 quan and 5 tien each year, and the new slaves who did not have any property should be put in the poor category and exempted from taxes..." [83, 08, p.87].

Thus, according to this proclamation, some Chinese people in Gia Dinh paid poll tax, some did not pay poll tax but only paid rice tax or special tax iii and the situation of many Chinese people, although their names were registered in the state register, were still not taxed was quite common. The proposals of Gia Dinh officials were given special attention by Minh Mang. The King issued an edict requesting both Gia Dinh and the Ministry of Finance to consider additional ways of calculating taxes for new people, the type that did not have temporary assets when they first arrived and would have assets after a period of doing business and living in Vietnam. Both the Ministry of Finance and the officials

Gia Dinh officials also reported: "...before the Tang people came to live in the market towns, they ordered the local governors to examine and record the people from the regions of Fujian, Guangdong, Chaozhou, and Hainan in a separate book, and appointed a gang leader to oversee it. Those who had property were asked to pay taxes according to the rules, and as for the poorest people, they were annually examined to see who had the means to pay taxes..."

Minh Mang agreed to this request and immediately issued a unified tax system for Gia Dinh.

In June 1830, four years after that rectification, the Nguyen Dynasty officially applied the poll tax to the Qing people throughout the country, emphasizing the following regions:

- From Binh Thuan to the capital, depending on whether or not there is material resources, there are classes. Those with material resources each pay a personal tax of 6 quan and 5 tien a year; those without material resources pay a personal tax of half the above amount, and are exempt from miscellaneous services. Those from 18 years old and above pay taxes until 61 years old and are exempt.

- From Quang Binh town to the North, follow the same rule [83, 10, p.131]

Also in this year, the Gia Dinh town god reported that many Qing people who were previously poor and did not pay taxes were now well off, so they should consider taxing them... Minh Mang complained about this as follows: "...the Qing people who were happy in our country were registered in the population register, that is, our people, how could they be considered poor forever and never pay taxes... After the Ministry of Finance distinguished between those with resources and those without resources to set the rate of collecting full or half a rate, they did not use the Gia Dinh citadel's proposal to amend the rate..." [83, 10, p.134]

Minh Mang's complaint was correct. The Ministry of Finance was bureaucratic in examining the situation and setting the tax rate. While the whole country, from Binh Thuan onwards, had a unified poll tax for the Chinese of 6 quan and 5 tien for those with material resources, half that amount for those without material resources, Gia Dinh still followed the previous tax rate, only setting the poll tax for those with material resources, ignoring those without material resources. Now many people were well-off but had not yet adjusted in time to calculate the tax. Therefore, the king had the court discuss and approve: "...all places where the Qing people came to live, except for those

Those who have the means to pay the full tax rate, and those who have a book but do not have the means to pay half the tax rate, all take 3 years as the formal limit to collect the full tax rate, without any further examination to avoid trouble. In case of a new person who is poor, they are exempted from paying the tax for 3 years, but after that period, if they are still incapacitated, they are allowed to pay half the tax rate..." [83, 10, p.132]. This was recorded more specifically in the Code: "...18 years old must pay tax, and 61 years old is exempted as a regular rule. Every year, starting from April to the end of July, when enough is collected, the local official requires the chief of the village to collect it, then bring it to the town to pay it..." [65, 04, p.309]. The determination of subjects and the registration of names in the tax book of the Chinese people were also specifically regulated, as mentioned in the previous chapter.

Thus, from 1830 onwards, all Chinese who had not yet entered the Minh Huong quota, which the Nguyen Dynasty government called Thanh people, Duong people, Khach people... had to pay a personal tax of 6 quan 5 tien for those with material resources and half that amount for those without material resources. This tax was applied uniformly throughout the country.

The tax rates for the two above categories of the Qing people were maintained and implemented stably for another 8 years. In the 19th year of Minh Mang, or 1838, with the discussion of the Ministry of Finance and the proposal of the Southern provinces, the Nguyen Dynasty transferred the personal tax rate of the Qing people in the Southern region to the rate of the Ming people "...all those who have material resources will pay according to the special payment of the Ming Huong people, each year each person will pay 2 taels of silver, the men will pay 1 tael, those who have no material resources will be reduced by half..." [83, 19, p.132]. After that, this rate was officially applied to the whole country. The Nguyen Dynasty's Code of Conduct recorded this event: "...preparing the discussion for the Qing people in the localities, regarding transaction tax, according to the custom of the Ming Huong people in the provinces, anyone who has been here for 3 years or more, and is considered to have no material resources, each person must pay a silver tax of 1 tael per year, and wait for 3 more years, according to the custom of having material resources, then collect the whole tax, if anyone volunteers to pay in cash, it will be allowed, according to the market price to pay..." [65, 04, p.309].

In fact, these two tax rates were almost equivalent in value. The common currency units of the Nguyen Dynasty were quan, tien and dong. One quan was equal to 10 tien and 60 dong. According to the market price at that time, 1 tael of silver was equal to 3 quan.

(The state price is 2.3 to 2.8 quan) [5, p.23]. So the Qing people's 6 quan 5 coin poll tax is equivalent to the Ming Huong people's 2 taels of silver poll tax. Therefore, in the imperial edict recorded by Hoi Dien, it is mentioned that "if anyone volunteers to pay in cash, it will be given, and the tax will be deducted according to the market price".

Thus, from this time on, the Chinese poll tax was based on the Minh Huong tax.

- With the target being Minh Huong people.

The Nguyen Dynasty had specific regulations on nationality for the so-called Minh Huong people. The Minh Huong people enjoyed all the same rights as the Vietnamese people, and were also exempted from military service. However, the Nguyen Dynasty established a separate poll tax for the Minh Huong people.

Under the Gia Long period, the Minh Huong people's poll tax was not uniformly applied, each region had its own tax rate arbitrarily established according to the emperor's grace edicts. In the first year of his reign, Gia Long established that the Minh Huong people in Vinh An town, Nghe An town, with 222 people, had to pay 100 taels of silver and 10 taels of silver for labor, and now they still paid as before. In the fourth year, he allowed the Minh Huong people in Quang Nam to pay 2 pieces of canvas for the whole year, exempted them from war, and the poll tax and money for stringing coins were paid according to the rules... Other regions also had similar tax rates [65, 04, pp.303-304]. The inconsistent tax rate for the Minh Huong people was mentioned in detail in a memorial of the Ministry of Finance under the Minh Mang period:

"...Up to now, the tax paid by the Minh Huong people in different localities has not been consistent, and is different in severity: Thua Thien, Quang Nam, Phu Yen, each person pays 2 taels of silver per year; Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, each person pays 2 pieces of tax cloth and 1 quan 5 tien to start the tax; Hoai Duc in the Northern citadel, with more than 100 people, pays 200 taels of silver per year; Nghe An, with more than 200 people, pays 100 taels of silver and 10 taels of additional silver per year; in Son Nam, with more than 70 people, pays 60 taels of silver per year; in Thanh Hoa, the number of people is unknown, pays 30 taels of silver per year; in Gia Dinh citadel, each person pays 30 taels of silver per year.

Every year, people pay a poll tax and a mandarin fee of 1 quan and 5 tien; in Vinh Long, Ha Tien, Long Xuyen, Kien Giang, the elite pay a poll tax and a mandarin fee of 1 quan and 5 tien, the common people and the elderly pay half of that..." [83, 08, p.86].

Thus, during the 20 years under the Gia Long dynasty and the first few years of the Minh Mang dynasty, the additional tax on the head of the Minh Huong people was not uniform among the regions with many different levels. In some places, the Minh Huong people had to pay both the poll tax, the tax money and the money string money, which were the additional contributions on the head of the native Vietnamese people.

King Minh Mang made important changes in the tax imposed on the Minh Huong people. In 1820, when he first ascended the throne, the king allowed the Minh Huong people in Quang Nam to pay an average of 2 taels of silver per year, and all taxes on cloth, string, and money were exempted [65, 04, p.304].

In July of the year Binh Tuat, the 7th year of Minh Mang (1826), in response to the proposal of the Ministry of Finance regarding the inconsistent tax rates for the Minh Huong people, King Minh Mang approved a unified tax rate for the Minh Huong people from Gia Dinh in the South to Bac Thanh in the North as follows:

- All the Minh Huong people who were listed in the census paid a personal tax of 2 taels of silver each year. The common people, the elderly, and the disabled paid half.

- All other previous contributions from the Minh Huong people such as money for stringing coins, tax cloth and military expenses are exempted.

- All other Chinese groups currently called Dai Minh from now on are subject to taxes according to the Minh Huong people's customs.

- All Minh Huong people in different places who have not been recorded in the books must be examined and recorded in the books and taxed according to the issued unified rules.

- Allow for some exemptions, first of all for the Minh Huong people who previously had meritorious services in paying copper to help the soldiers in Gia Dinh and

The Minh Huong people in Thua Thien who worshiped Quan Cong and Thien Hau temples also contributed copper for military affairs [65, 08, p.87].

In the 11th year of Minh Mang, or 1830, King Minh Mang made a rather important decision when he approved the proposal of the Ministry of Finance for the Qing people in the towns of the Northern Citadel, previously recorded as Bac Khach, to pay a tax of 1 tael and 2 dong or 1 quan per family, now changing to the Minh Huong tax rate of 2 taels of silver per person per year.

By the 19th year of Minh Mang, or 1838, the tax rates of the Ming and Qing people were unified. All Chinese people in Vietnam who had not yet entered the Ming and Qing registers still had to pay the same personal tax as the Ming and Qing people, which was 2 taels of silver per person per year. The tax rate for men, the elderly, and the disabled was reduced by half. The Qing people who had just settled and did not have any assets or resources were also reduced by half.

From then on, following the reigns of King Thieu Tri and King Tu Duc, the additional tax on the Chinese people of the Nguyen Dynasty had some additional regulations such as allowing taxpayers to pay money instead of silver, reducing the tax rate by half for Minh Huong students in years with exams, carefully testing the quality of the silver paid for tax... In particular, in the second year of Thieu Tri, or 1842, there was a regulation related to establishing Minh Huong nationality to pay taxes as follows: "...all localities with newly arrived Thanh people must follow the established rules, be recorded in the state book, and pay taxes; the people of that state who give birth to children are not allowed to shave their hair and have a pigtail, when they reach the age of 18, the state leader must report to the authorities, let them follow the Minh Huong book, let them follow the Minh Huong rules to pay taxes, and cannot follow their ancestors to record them in the Thanh people's book..." [65, 04, p.311]. In addition, the tax rates, tax collection methods, tax payer identification... of the Nguyen Dynasty's additional tax on the Chinese people have almost no additions or changes.

3.3.2. Special tax

The Chinese who stayed in Vietnam for a long time often made a living by trading and producing small-scale handicrafts. Some who had the skills and financial capacity took charge of mining or took on important jobs.

such as minting money, contracting to supply essential imported goods to the government... In addition to the general tax payable, these Chinese industrial and commercial households had to pay different types of taxes on the goods they produced or traded. This type of tax can be generally called special tax. Even the Qing households who fished in the Northern sea area also had to pay this special tax.

When foreign merchant ships carrying goods arrived at the port, the Nguyen Dynasty's customs agency organized inspections and measurements to levy taxes. The method of taxation here was not based on the quantity or quality of the goods in the ship, but mainly on the size of the ship's hold and the place of origin of the ship. Chinese merchant ships were also taxed according to this method of determination. This import tax is quite complicated and will be discussed in depth in the following sections because it is not related to the special tax being examined here.

For goods exported through seaports or across the border by land, the Nguyen Dynasty established a number of tax rules, but in general they were both arbitrary and lacking in comprehensiveness.

In 1803, Gia Long approved a 5% tax on the total value of precious goods of our country such as rhino horn, ivory, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper, sappanwood... that foreign merchant ships, including Chinese merchant ships, bought for export [65, 04, pp. 428-429]. If buying wooden items such as masts, rudders, sawn boards..., a 10% tax was imposed. As for ironwood, Gia Long also allowed the purchase and sale and imposed a 10% tax, but in the 14th year of Minh Mang, it was banned after the event where Nghe An Governor Nguyen Dinh Tan proposed to allow people to freely buy and sell ironwood with Chinese merchants. The state set the price and imposed a 1/10 tax, but King Minh Mang not only did not agree but also severely punished them.

Also this type of goods, if transported by Qing merchants by land, the tax rate was determined in the fourth year of Gia Long, that is, 1805, to be only 1/40 of the price and this tax was determined to be a permanent tax [83, 03, p. 232]. In the 12th year of Gia Long (1813), this tax rate was strictly re-affirmed.

Policies of Vietnamese dynasties towards Chinese people - 13

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