Policies of Vietnamese dynasties towards Chinese people

They are rooted, live peacefully, prosperously, advance and succeed; they are increasingly attached to and integrated with the country and the Vietnamese people; they love and spare no sweat and blood to build and protect this homeland. It is also the development and sublimation of material and spiritual values that Chinese immigrants brought, selected, absorbed, supplemented and developed to perfection by the dynasties and people of Vietnam in historical periods. It is also a precious historical memory, in which the close solidarity between immigrants and indigenous people emerges.

4. Although there were certain limitations, the policies of Vietnamese dynasties towards the Chinese have provided us with historical experiences that can be used as references in building and implementing a suitable policy towards the Chinese in Vietnam today:

4.1. Regarding the subjects of the policy, there must be a clear distinction between the Chinese and the Chinese expatriates. The governments of the Vietnamese dynasties always paid special attention to this, distinguishing between the Chinese who stayed to do business and live long-term and the Chinese who only stayed temporarily, with different policies for these two types of subjects. On the other hand, the policy must always create all conveniences and ease for the newly arrived Chinese, who are in the status of expatriates, "guests", to quickly become subjects of the court, citizens of Vietnamese society.

4.2. Regarding the policy objectives, they may be different in each period, but a correct policy for the Chinese, first and foremost, must be to create stability and development for the Chinese communities. The Chinese must truly feel secure and at peace in doing business, actively participating in cultural and social activities... on that basis, the government will have the opportunity to exploit their potential strengths, to gain important material and spiritual achievements. However, if the government only starts from the interests of its own clan, the ability to exploit the benefits from the potential strengths of the Chinese will not be high and will not be sustainable.

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4.3. In the policy implementation method, the most difficult and vulnerable aspect is the policy on the cultural integration of the Chinese with the indigenous people. The kings of the Later Le dynasty applied a policy of forced assimilation. In contrast to the Trinh government, Dang Trong applied a policy of encouraging natural integration on the basis of creating all conditions for the Chinese to participate in cultural creative activities in the new land and always respecting the traditional culture of the land.

people. In its historical context, Dang Trong was successful. The Nguyen Dynasty also implemented a similar policy to Dang Trong and created more important and specific regulations regarding the Minh Huong people. The Nguyen Dynasty also had certain successes. Today, we should pay special attention to this issue in the context of strong global cultural exchange.

4.4. The Chinese are particularly talented in commerce. Their strengths were strongly promoted by the Nguyen Lords and Nguyen Dynasty kings. The vivid picture of the commodity economy of Dang Trong has an important role of the Chinese. Today, the economic potential of overseas Chinese in the world is quite large, the economic relations between the Chinese in Vietnam and other Chinese communities in other countries contain a lot of potential. Applying a certain preferential policy towards the Chinese is necessary to promote the potential strengths of this force.

4.5. The Chinese are a rather special social group. History shows that overseas Chinese communities have always had multifaceted relations with their compatriots in China and Taiwan. In those relations, there may be complicated aspects. At certain historical moments, overseas Chinese have been the main targets of a number of dark plots. In many historical periods, the complicated nature of a part of the Chinese in Vietnam has manifested itself at a serious level. During the French colonial period, the French colonialists' policy towards the Chinese showed an extremely reactionary nature because it encouraged the development of the overseas Chinese consciousness among the Chinese, seriously dividing the solidarity between the Vietnamese and Chinese brothers. The reactionary imperialist forces at times used the Chinese as a fifth column, causing many complicated and tense incidents, seriously undermining the stable life of the Chinese in Vietnam. Therefore, in the policy towards the Chinese, it is necessary to anticipate those complicated negative aspects. The policies of Vietnamese dynasties throughout history have always placed the maintenance of national security and sovereignty as the paramount principle. This is an extremely important experience that should be considered for reference.

Selectively studying and absorbing the historical experiences of our ancestors to contribute to building a suitable policy towards the Chinese is a major issue. The policies towards the Chinese of Vietnamese dynasties are a source of historical experience with multifaceted significance for this issue./.

NOTES:

(1) Read more in the article "The expansion of Chinese culture to the south and the development of knowledge in Guangdong" by Professor La Huong Lam, translated by Nguyen Dang Thuc and published in Vietnam Archaeology Journal No. 8, 1974 in Saigon.

(2) Regarding this issue, please refer to Huynh Ngoc Dang's scientific paper "On the two names Minh Huong and Thanh Ha", published in the journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, published by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, historical science special issue No. 22, 2002.

(3) Perhaps based on this document, Mr. Nguyen The Anh in "Socio-Economics of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty" on page 43 made a mistake when he said that households that had recruited Chinese people only paid some products and were exempted from the personal tax. Later, the Nguyen Dynasty applied the tax rate to include the personal tax on households that had recruited Chinese people.

(4) The total was only 4,000 quan, not more than 8,000 quan as Do Bang in "Vietnam's Commercial Economy under the Nguyen Dynasty" miscalculated on page 60.

(5) Comments on these two notes show that Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi almost copied what Trinh Hoai Duc wrote in Gia Dinh Chi. Similar things can be found in the entries about customs, citadels, products... of other provinces in Cochinchina. Saigon market was described by Trinh Hoai Duc as follows:

"Saigon Street. South of the town hall, 12 miles away, on the left and right of the main road, that is the main street, straight through three streets to the river wharf, across the middle there is a street under the river, a street all the same like a square, the roofs are connected, the corners of the houses touch each other, Kinh people, Chinese people live together, about 3 miles long, trading in all kinds of brocade, porcelain, paper, jewelry. Bookstores, drugstores, street covers, vermicelli shops, the river wharf in the south, the north has everything. At the north end of the main street there is the Quan Cong temple of the street and three assembly halls of Phuc Chau, Quang Dong, Trieu Chau, divided on the left and right. To the west of the main road there is the Thien Hau temple, slightly to the west there is the On Lang assembly hall. To the west of the south end of the main road there is the Chuong Chau assembly hall. On beautiful mornings and good nights, Tam Nguyen, Soc Vang, they hang up displays to show off their beauty, like a fire tree praying for stars, a brocade and jade city, drums and trumpets are bustling, young men and women are in the city "Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi of the Nguyen Dynasty copied almost verbatim the text of Trinh Hoai Duc, including the passage about the ancient well full of water all year round and the Binh An market where torches were lit every night for trading, adding only a short sentence that "now it is gradually becoming sparse, not like before". But Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi also recorded about the Tran Thuong Xuyen temple in the Cho Lon area (the previous Gia Dinh Chi did not record it), with the note that "the dynasties of Minh Mang and Thieu Tri both conferred the title of Thuong Dang Than, now the villagers worship it, with incense and lights never stopping".

Trinh Hoai Duc finished writing Gia Dinh Chi at the end of Gia Long's reign, submitted it to the court and engraved it at the beginning of Minh Mang's reign. Therefore, he did not record any later changes in the book. Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi was compiled during the reign of King Tu Duc, from after 1864 to before 1875. Therefore, it added records of the constructions of market streets, temples, pagodas and shrines related to the daily life of local Chinese people.

(6) Mac Cuu married a Vietnamese woman, Mrs. Bui Thi Lam, from Dong Mon, Bien Hoa, and gave birth to a son, Mac Thien Tu. The Mac family genealogy does not clearly state whether Thien Tu had any other siblings or not. It is only certain that Thien Tu was of mixed race, with a Chinese father and a Vietnamese mother, and was born in Vietnam. Thien Tu succeeded his father, built Ha Tien into a capital city in the region, and was always loyal and devoted to Lord Nguyen. In the year Canh Ty (1780), while taking refuge in Siam, being suspected and persecuted by the Siamese king, Thien Tu committed suicide, and 53 of his descendants were also killed by the Siamese.

Like his father, Thien Tu married a Vietnamese woman named Nguyen, whose name is unknown. The sons and daughters of Thien Tu and Mrs. Nguyen were Tu Hoang, Tu Thuong, Tu Dung (sons) and three daughters, Thi Long, Thi Hai and Thi Giac. Thien Tu's later concubines had several more children, Tu Sanh, Tu Tuan and Tu Thiem. Thien Tu's grandchildren had two branches, one was the two lines of Tu Hoang's main wife and concubine, Cong Ba, Cong Tru, Cong Binh (main line) and Cong Du, Cong Tai (second line); the other was Tu Thuong's branch, which only had Cong The. In the incident in Siam, the Mac descendants only had three young children of Mac Thien Tu, Tu Sanh, Tu Tuan, Tu Thiem, and grandchildren, Cong Binh, Cong Du, Cong The, and Cong Tai, who survived and later returned to Vietnam. Thus, the sons of Thien Tu and Mrs. Nguyen Thi were all killed by the Siamese, leaving only their grandchildren. The fifth generation of Mac Cuu's descendants were Mac Hau Hi, Mac Hau Dieu and Mac Hau Phong; the sixth generation was Ba Binh and Ba Thanh. According to Dong Ho Lam Tan Phac, the seventh generation descendant was Mac Tu Kham, who had no children, so the Mac family line ended after 7 generations, only having 6 middle names: Thien, Tu, Cong, Hau, Ba, Tu. The last middle name was Nam, which had no successor [18, p.341]. But according to Thuc Luc, in the 5th year of Tu Duc (1845), following the request of Truong Dang Que, the king sent someone to inquire about the descendants of Mac Thien Tu. The Ha Tien provincial official Nguyen Luong Nhan "chose the main lineage, Mac Van Phong, was approved to receive the title of Chanh 7th grade, chief captain, and was sent to that province.

(7) Lord Nguyen granted the Mac family three Long boats, the right to succeed the position of Admiral of Ha Tien for generations and the status of an almost autonomous colony of Ha Tien town - the only town of Dang Trong (12 dinh, 1 town). The lord also granted them "that diep phien han" (Thien, Tu, Cong, Hau, Ba, Tu, Nam) as their middle name and took 5 characters of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) to combine into their name. This is a great honor that probably no Vietnamese person has.

(8) Mac Cuu was awarded the title of Khai Tran Thuong Tru Quoc Dai Tuong Quan Vu Nghi Cong by Emperor Tuc Tong. In 1822, King Minh Mang awarded him the title of Thu Cong Thuan Nghia Trung Dang Than.

Mac Thien Tu was appointed Ha Tien Tran Do Doc by Lord Nguyen in 1739. In 1739, he was specially promoted to Admiral General, given a red robe, hat, and belt. His wife Nguyen Thi was also appointed Phu Nhan. In the third year of Minh Mang (1822), he was awarded Dat Nghia Chi Than by the King.

Mac Tu Sanh, in 1874, in Vong Cac, was appointed by Nguyen Anh as Tham Tuong Ho Gia. In 1787, when Nguyen Anh captured Gia Dinh, Sanh was assigned to guard Ha Tien. The following year, he died and was specially awarded by Nguyen Anh as Phu Quoc Thuong Tuong Quan, Cam Y Ve Chuong Ve Su, and Do Doc Chuong Co. In the third year of Minh Mang (1822), he was awarded Trung Nghia Chi Than by the King.

Mac Tu Thiem, in 1799, returned to Gia Dinh, was assigned by Nguyen Anh as the Imperial Envoy Commander, later replaced Cong Binh as Ha Tien Governor. In the 4th year of Gia Long (1805), he was promoted to Imperial Envoy Commander, and remained in charge of Ha Tien. In 1807, he was sent by the king to Siam on a mission, and died the following year.

Mac Cong Binh, in 1788, was appointed Long Xuyen governor by Nguyen Anh, but died shortly thereafter.

In the 6th year of Gia Long, Mac Cong Du was appointed as Cai Doi, then given the authority to take charge of Ha Tien. The following year, he was demoted and found guilty of selling the concubine of Commander Pham Van Trieu to the Siamese. In the 12th year of Gia Long (1813), the king appointed him as At Pho Su to go to Siam. In the 16th year of Gia Long (1817), he was promoted to Hiep Tran Ha Tien, and in the 17th year (1818), he was promoted to Tran Thu Ha Tien.

Mac Cong The and Mac Cong Tai, when Tu Thiem died, Cong Du was under investigation, the two were still young and could not be appointed to official positions, so they were given the title of Cai Doi to maintain the worship of the Mac family and were given 53 people to look after the tombs. In the 11th year of Minh Mang (1830), Cong Tai was appointed as Ha Tien military commander.

Mac Hau Hi and Hau Dieu were the sons of Cong Du and Cong Tai, because all four father and sons received official positions from Le Van Khoi when Khoi rose up to occupy Phien An citadel, opposing the court. Later, when the court suppressed Khoi, this matter was discovered. Minh Mang ordered his arrest and brought him back to the capital for interrogation. "Cong Du and Cong Tai immediately fell ill and died. His sons, Hau Hi and Hau Dieu, were both imprisoned in the capital. Later, Hau Dieu was released and sent to spy on Siam, but he did not return for a long time. Hau Hi was also released and sent to the wounded area in Nghe An to spy, but he could not help but go. When he returned, he was emaciated and died in Nghe An prison." As for Mac Hau Phong, he was just a commoner.

During the reign of Mac Ba Binh, Ba Thanh was appointed to the position of captain of the training camp.

During Mac Ba Kham's lifetime, there was no record of his title or inheritance, so he was probably just a commoner.

(9) Some other documents claim that Ngo Con also belonged to the group of remnant soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In this thesis, we still classify Ngo Con as belonging to the second group.

(10) Perhaps for this reason, Hoang Ke Viem was not named in the book Dai Nam Liet Truyen by the Nguyen Dynasty, and was not considered a person with merit or crime towards the court.

(11) Yoshiharu Tsuboi, cited document, page 148. In this document, Tsuboi claimed that the Qing army entered Vietnam in April 1869, but the Imperial Records recorded April 1, 1868. Here, follow the Imperial Records.

(12) The Nguyen Dynasty's documents do not contain any documents showing that Tu Duc once again called on the Qing army to come for help. The Veritable Records also recorded that the Qing Dynasty's envoys Dinh Canh and Tu Dien Huc twice went to Vietnam to contact the Nguyen Dynasty and reported the French army's ambition to invade the North. However, according to Tsuboi, through exploiting the French archives in Aix-en-Provence, Tu Duc sent a letter asking for help, which was approved by the Qing Emperor and approved as "Kha, si bac phong tri bien"

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