- In 1988, China incoporated the Paracel and Spratly islands into its newly-found province of Hainan.[1] According to Hung-mao Tien,Tun-jen Cheng, PLA navy stormed the the Johnson South Reef on March 14, 1988, an action that brought out a skirmish between two parties.[2]
- The monarchy instituted political reforms modeled on the Chinese system. As part of that reform, temples and shrines dedicated to the worship of folk belief (phồn thực), rather than Buddhist ones, were considered "illicit" and therefore destroyed.[3][4] These undertakings must have marked the first major divergence of the ruling élite's idea from the folk/popular view of the supernatural.[5]
- The earliest records show that during the Trần Dynasty, the state was in control of dyke construction, but it is quit certain that dykes were built even before that time. From the Trần Dynasty onward, Vietnamese rulers and their officials paid a great deal of attention to the defense of the lowlands against river floods.[6]
- While Buddhism continued to enjoy a royal following, the Trần emperors were nonetheless partial to Taoist practice. For example: the 1248 event of feng shui, 1255 event when a Taoist master petitioned Heaven for the Emperor to have a son who was Trần Nhật Duật, grewn up to be learn as well as proficient in Taois magic.[7] When the Emperor was sick, he ordered Nhật Duật to cure him with talismans.[8]
Society edit
Social class edit
According to Craig A. Lockard, the population of Vietnam by the fourteenth century was about 3 to 4 millions people with the capital Thăng Long contained around 100,000 residents.[9] With a much lower result, O. W. Wolters, based on the Ming accounts, estimated that the population of the Red River basin, the most populous region of Đại Việt, was about 250,000 while the total population of Đại Việt in 1418 was around a half of a million.[10] The Trần Dynasty was essentially an oligarchy of the Trần clan, which praticed intermarriage among its members to prevent other clans from acquiring power,[11] Indeed the crucial factor that led to the collapse of the Trần Dynasty was the rising of an in-law clan of the royal family, who gradually seized power after the demise of the royal intermarriage system.[12] Like the Lý Dynasty, the Trần emperors stood the highest in the social structure but the throne was often passed from the emperor to his son while he still had sound mind, therefore the Retired Emperor (Thái thượng hoàng) normally continued to co-rule the country with his successor. The purpose of this system was to prevent disputes over succession.[12][13] To break the power of regional clans, members of Trần clan were given noble titles such as Prince (Vương or Đại vương), Marquis (Hầu) and were made lords of strategic areas, for example Trần Nhật Duật and his descendants were appointed as governor (tri phủ) of Thanh Hóa while the line of his brother Trần Quốc Khang often took charge of this position in Nghệ An.[14] This close circle of power contributed to the harmony of the Trần Dynasty during the three Mongol invasions in which members of Trần clan usually held the most important roles in any military action.[13]
With the development of education and economy, there began to appear a small but articulate class of literati which was drawn from an emerging class of wealthy landowners, who cultivated an image of learning, loyalty, and competence derived from their Confucianist education. When the Trần clan weakened near the end of the fourteenth century, this class tried to keep the order and eventually became the spokenmen for royal authority during the reign of Lê Dynasty in the fifteenth century who were not only the definers of public morality but also guardians of the royal court.[13]
Marriage, gender, and kinship edit
Law and order edit
Government edit
Administrative system edit
Trần Thủ Độ, the de factor founder of the Trần Dynasty, pursued a model of highly centralized control in which the Emperor and the royal court in the capital Thăng Long held the absolute power in deciding every civil and military matters of the country.[13] While the Lý Dynasty established the system of land registry (điền tịch), the Trần Dynasty took a further step in controlling villages in Đại Việt by reclassifying communal land as state land (quan điền) which was distributed only by the authority of imperial officials, hence all land became the property of the Emperor and the village could only manage it.[15]
Military edit
With its origin from the coastal region, Trần clan considered naval power an important element of the military doctrine which was[13] proven by several naval victories during the three Mongol invasions such as Battle of Hàm Tử, Battle of Chương Dương and above all Battle of Bạch Đằng.
Foreign relations edit
The relations between the Trần Dynasty and its neighbours was divined in two types: a vassal relation with China, represented by Song Dynasty; and an imperial connection with Laos, Khmer and Champa. The emperor of Đại Việt designated himself "king" (Vương) in the official correspondence with the Chinese court which annually received tribute from the Trần Dynasty, on the other hand he saw himself as "emperor" (Hoàng đế) in dealing with other neighbours which were considered by the Trần Dynasty weaker and less cultured.[16][17][18] This dual attitude of the Trần Dynasty towards its neighbours was obviously similar to the view of its northern neighbour, the Song Dynasty, which kept a hierarchic superiority to Đại Việt while had to humble itself before the steppe people in order to maintain the security in the northern border.[16]
In fact, the continuous strain in the northern border of Đại Việt contributed to the vigilance of the Trần Dynasty with any military action from the Mongol Empire and its representative in China, the Yuan Dynasty. Therefore the Trần emperors always paid a good deal of attention for the preparation of military forces, strategy and spirit so that their country could stand an invasion from the overwhelming Mongol army. This is an important factor that led to the success of the Trần Dynasty in driving out the three Mongol military campaigns in Đại Việt.[17][16]
Historiography edit
During the Ming Dynasty's occupation in Đại Việt, books, libaries and archives were systematically destroyed by order of Ming mandarins[19] or taken away and subsequently lost in China.[20] Almost all Vietnamese historical records were perished during this time including Đại Việt sử ký, the official historical books of the Trần Dynasty written by Lê Văn Hưu, or Quốc triều thông lễ (Comprehensive rites of the national court) and Trần triều đại điển (Statutes of the Trần court).[19] Among the remains were Việt sử lược (Brief history of Việt), Việt điện u linh tập (Compilation of the potent spirits in the Realm of Việt) and Lĩnh Nam chính quái (Extraordinary stories of Lĩnh Nam). Việt sử lược was apparently based on or condensed from Đại Việt sử ký which was, on its turn, revised from Việt chí written by Trần Phổ after the order of Trần Thái Tông. Therefore some thought that Việt sử lược was in fact Việt chí with the addition of the Trần reign list but there is no evidence for this hypothesis.[20] Although it was a collection of folk legend and myth, Việt điệt u linh tập was still considered a good source for history because the author Lý Tế Xuyên cited prior sources for everything he wrote.[21] This book is the earliest surviving source of two indigeous leaders of independent mouvements: Triệu Quang Phục and Phùng Hưng.[22] Another collection of folk stories, Lĩnh nam chính quái, was used by Ngô Sĩ Liên in compiling the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư.[23]
- ^ Sam Bateman, Ralf Emmers (2008). Security and international politics in the South China Sea: towards a cooperative management regime. Taylor & Francis. p. 49. ISBN 0415469430.
- ^ Hung-mao Tien, Tun-jen Cheng (2000). The security environment in the Asia-Pacific. M.E. Sharpe. p. 264. ISBN 0765605406.
- ^ Sachs, Dana (2003). Two cakes fit for a king: folktales from Vietnam. University of Hawaii Press. p. 4. ISBN 082482668X.
- ^ Thiện Đỗ, p. 45
- ^ Thiện Đỗ, p. 45
- ^ Pelzer, Karl J. (2007). Pioneer Settlement. Read Books. p. 62. ISBN 1406745154.
- ^ Thiện Đỗ, p. 44
- ^ Thiện Đỗ, p. 45
- ^ Lockard 2009, p. 73
- ^ Wolters 2009, p. 25
- ^ Tuyet Nhung Tran, Anthony J. S. Reid 2006, p. 48
- ^ a b Tuyet Nhung Tran, Anthony J. S. Reid 2006, p. 60
- ^ a b c d e Tarling 1992, p. 148
- ^ Ngô Sĩ Liên 1993, p. 242
- ^ Tuyet Nhung Tran, Anthony J. S. Reid 2006, p. 29
- ^ a b c Stuart-Fox 2003, p. 46
- ^ a b Lockard 2009, p. 47
- ^ Lockard 2009, p. 60
- ^ a b Woodside, Alexander (1988). Vietnam and the Chinese model: a comparative study of Vietnamese and Chinese government in the first half of the nineteenth century. Harvard Univ Asia Center. p. 125. ISBN 067493721X.
- ^ a b Taylor 1991, p. 351
- ^ Taylor 1991, pp. 353–354
- ^ Taylor 1991, p. 354
- ^ Taylor 1991, p. 355