The phrase "Where the sun and the moon shine, and where the rivers go, they are the land of the Han", which is a combination of the recitals of the Book of the Later Han and the excerpts from the Five Emperors, represents the prosperity and strength of ancient China.
From the Qin Dynasty unifying the six countries to the Tang Dynasty's eclecticism, from the Ming Dynasty's seven voyages to the West to the Yuan Dynasty's territorial expansion, the main reason why ancient China was so strong was that it had a unified culture and civilization, whether it was strengthening the idea of royal power for the people at the spiritual level, or salt and iron official camps in material aspects, or assimilating and controlling foreign countries in foreign countries, which ensured its centripetal force, cohesion and ability to continue to rise.
But even in China, which has such a strong ability to assimilate, there is still a country that has remained independent after three Chinese rulers and spanning more than a thousand years.
That country is Vietnam.
Northern period
Vietnam was known as Jiaozhou, Jiaotoe, Annam, etc. in ancient times, Vietnam was ruled by China is also known as the Northern Dependency Period, historically, Vietnam has three periods of Northern Territory, until the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period to achieve independence.
Vietnam's first northern territory period took place between 207 or 111 BC and 39 AD, and the controversy over the time is mainly about how to view the status of the Zhao Dynasty, the state of South Vietnam.
In 214 BC, the Qin Dynasty set up Guilin County in Guangxi Province, Nanhai County in Guangdong Province and Xiang County in northern Vietnam, at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Nanhai County captain Zhao Tuo took advantage of the war in the Qin Dynasty, waiting for the opportunity to annex Guilin County and Xiang County, establish himself as king, and establish the State of South Vietnam, if Vietnam is counted as a vassal state of China at this time, then Vietnam's first northern dependency period began in 207 BC.
In the summer of 112 BC, the Han Wu Emperor Liu Che sent troops with an army of 100,000 to conquer South Vietnam. In 111 BC, after the Western Han conquered the state of Nanyue, it changed South Vietnam to Jiaozhou, and in 1 AD, Jiaozhou was placed under the direct rule of the Han Dynasty, intending to assimilate it. It was not until 40 AD, when the Zheng sisters led the Vietnamese uprising, that the first northern period of Vietnam ended.
The Second Northern Territory period of Vietnam lasted from 43 AD to 544 AD. After the Zheng sisters led the masses against the Han in 40 AD, the Han Fubo general Ma Yuan led troops to encircle and suppress it, and Jiaozhou returned to the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty, which is known in history as Ma Yuan to suppress the Second Campaign Uprising, which also marked the beginning of the Second Northern Territory period.
After Ma Yuanping rebelled against Jiaozhou, he implemented new regulations and repaired the city wall in the local area, which not only won the respect of the people of Jiaozhou, but also improved the barbarian style in Jiaozhou. It was not until 541 AD that the Li Ban Rebellion broke out in Jiaozhou, and in 544 AD, Li Ban proclaimed himself the "Emperor of Nanyue" and established the Wanchun State regime, the year name "Tiande", and Vietnamese historiography also called it the former Li Dynasty.
Vietnam's Third Northern Dynasty lasted from 603 AD to 939 AD, also known as the Sui and Tang Dynasties, during which Vietnam achieved independence and statehood.
In 589, the Sui Dynasty unified China, but there were still forces in Vietnam, the leader of the separatist forces in northern Vietnam, Li Phu Zi. In 602, Emperor Wen of Sui sent Liu Fang to pacify Li Fozi's forces and placed Vietnam under the rule of the Sui Dynasty.
In 621 AD, the Tang Dynasty replaced the Sui Dynasty, took over Yuedi, and set up the "Jiaozhou Governor's Office" in Yuedi, but due to its remote terrain, Jiaozhou was always not controlled by good officials and good officials, and corruption was prevalent, and there were many popular revolts during the period belonging to the Tang Dynasty. When China entered the late Tang dynasty, the Yue people gradually gained independent power. It was not until 939 AD, when Wu Quan defeated the Southern Han Dynasty at Baiteng River and established a new regime, that the Third Northern Dynasty came to an end. This is one of the dynasties of Vietnam, historically known as the Wu Dynasty.
Reasons for failure to assimilate
From 207 or 111 BC to 939 AD, China ruled Vietnam for more than a thousand years, but Vietnam still achieved independence, so why not assimilate Vietnam? There are roughly three reasons for this.
First, Vietnam does not have a large number of Han immigrants
Vietnam was divided into the Lingnan region in ancient China, and today's Lingnan includes the three provinces of Hainan, Guangxi and Guangdong, as well as the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, but in ancient times Lingnan represented a barbaric land, and it was the best choice for the imperial court to exile criminals, and Su Shi was exiled here.
At that time, along with Xiang County in Vietnam, it was also included in the territory of Nanhai County in Guangdong and Guilin County in Guangxi, and in order to strengthen the control of Nanhai County and Guilin County, the ruler sent troops to station, where Han people flourished, and the two counties were eventually integrated by Han culture. However, due to the harsh conditions in Xiang County, the lack of military stationing and Han immigration, the Vietnamese had a demographic advantage, and it was difficult for China to assimilate them.
Second, there is a lack of good official control
Before the Tang Dynasty, the rulers attached great importance to Vietnam, and although Han Chinese immigrated to Vietnam rarely, the rulers would appoint some well-governed officials to Vietnam, and Vietnam could issue regulations that were not much different from the Central Plains according to its own customs.
Until the Tang Dynasty, the quality of officials who came to Vietnam became lower and lower, bullying and oppressing the people became prevalent, and the Vietnamese people often rebelled. In the late Tang period, especially in the Five Dynasties period, the clans and towns were divided, the imperial court was overwhelmed, the control over Vietnam became weaker and weaker, the Han Chinese and officials serving in Vietnam were massacred, Vietnam also took the opportunity to achieve independence, and China's rule here for more than a thousand years came to an end.
Third, Vietnam's economic dependence on China is low
The Red River Delta is the largest delta in northern Vietnam, including nine provinces and two cities in Vietnam, and is the main economic region of Vietnam, the Red River Delta has played a huge role since the Han Dynasty, and it is precisely because Vietnam has the development of the South China Sea marine economy, the dependence on China is too low, so China can not assimilate it.
In addition, Vietnam's distance from the Central Plains is one of the reasons why China has failed to assimilate it.
Chinese influence on Vietnam
Although China has not been able to assimilate Vietnam, China's rule over Vietnam for more than a thousand years has had a profound impact on Vietnam. Tran Chung-kim, a well-known Vietnamese historian, said that the Vietnamese have become so deeply involved in Chinese civilization that they have developed part of Chinese civilization into their own national essence.
When Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism flourished in China, Vietnam was still under the rule of China, so most Vietnamese people practiced these religions like Chinese. Five generations later, Vietnam gained independence, and after the establishment of the country, Vietnam not only did not break away from these religions, but these religions flourished even more.
In addition to religious beliefs, Vietnam's customs and political laws are also deeply influenced by China, on the one hand, these customs and politics are transformed from religious beliefs, on the other hand, China's rule over Vietnam for more than a thousand years has made most of Vietnam's customs and politics imitate China's.
In today's world, it is no longer determined by force, peace and development are the two major themes, economic globalization is an inevitable trend, although China is constantly rising, but has always maintained world peace and promoted common development as the diplomatic purpose, China and Vietnam have long been no longer the relationship between ruling and being ruled, but the relationship of equality between countries.