Vietnam under Chinese rule or ''Bắc thuộc'' (北屬, lit. "belonging to the north") (111 BC-939, 1407-1427) refers to four historical periods when several portions of modern-day Northern Vietnam was under the rule of various
Chinese dynasties
Dynasties in Chinese history, or Chinese dynasties, were hereditary monarchical regimes that ruled over China during much of its history. From the legendary inauguration of dynastic rule by Yu the Great circa 2070 BC to the abdication of t ...
. ''Bắc thuộc'' in Vietnamese historiography is traditionally considered to have started in 111 BC, when the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
conquered
Nanyue
Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establish ...
and lasted after the fall of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
in the 10th century. A fourth, relatively brief, 20-year rule by the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
during the 15th century is usually excluded by historians in their discussion of the main, almost continuous, period of Chinese rule from 111 BC to 939 AD. These periods are largely modern reconstructions, however, and are often twisted to serve various nationalist and irredentist causes in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, and other countries.
Periods of Chinese rule
The four periods of Chinese rule in Vietnam:
Geographical extent and impact
The four periods of Chinese rule did not correspond to the modern borders of Vietnam, mainly around the
Red River Delta
The Red River Delta or Hong River Delta ( vi, Châu thổ sông Hồng) is the flat low-lying plain formed by the Red River and its distributaries merging with the Thái Bình River in northern Vietnam. ''Hồng'' (紅) is a Sino-Vietnamese wor ...
and adjacent areas. During the first three periods of Chinese rule, the pre-Sinitic indigenous culture was centered in the northern part of modern Vietnam in the alluvial deltas of the
Hong Hong may refer to:
Places
*Høng, a town in Denmark
*Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China
*Hong, Nigeria
*Hong River in China and Vietnam
*Lake Hong in China
Surnames
*Hong (Chinese name)
*Hong (Korean name)
Organiz ...
,
Că and
Mã River
The Ma River ( vi, Sông Mã, links=no, Lao language, Lao: ''ນ້ຳມ້າ / Nam Ma'') is a river in Asia, originating in northwestern Vietnam. It flows 400km through Vietnam, Laos, and then back through Vietnam, meeting the sea at the Gulf o ...
s. Ten centuries of Chinese rule left a substantial genetic footprint, with settlement by large numbers of ethnic
Han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
, while opening up Vietnam for trade and cultural exchange.
Elements of
Chinese culture
Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
such as language, religion, art and way of life constituted an important component of traditional Vietnamese culture until modernity. This cultural affiliation to China remained true even when Vietnam was militarily defending itself against attempted invasions, such as against the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
.
Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
remained the official script of Vietnam until
French colonization
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...
in the 20th century, despite the rise in vernacular
chữ nôm
Chữ Nôm (, ; ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters (''Chữ Hán'') to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represented ...
literature in the aftermath of the expulsion of the Ming. Although 1,000 years of Chinese rule left many traces, the collective memory of the periods reinforced Vietnamese cultural and later political independence.
Population
See also
*
China–Vietnam relations
Relations between Vietnam and China ( zh, 中越关系, p=, pinyin: ''Zhōng-Yuè Guān Xì''; vi, Quan hệ Việt–Trung) have been back and forth for thousands of years. Despite their Sinospheric and socialist background, centuries of conques ...
*
Chinese expansionism
Chinese expansionism over the last four thousand years has been a central feature of the history of East Asia. During times when China wielded much greater power such as during the Han, Tang, Yuan, and Qing dynasties, China would even influence ...
*
Sinicization
Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...
*
Little China (ideology)
Little China is a term referring to a politico-cultural ideology and phenomenon in which various Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese regimes identified themselves as "China" and regarded themselves to be legitimate successors to the Chinese civil ...
Notes
References
Sources
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External links
Vietnam under Chinese rule on Encyclopædia Britannica{{Foreign relations of China
China–Vietnam relations
Historical regions of China
History of China
History of Vietnam