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CHINESE CONQUEST OF VIETNAM

Death toll: probably not 7 million¹

Rank: 61

Type: war of conquest

Broad dividing line: China vs. Vietnam

Time frame: 1406–28

Location: Vietnam (also called Dai Viet or Annam at the time)

Who usually gets the most blame: China

WHEN HO QUY LY, THE CHIEF MINISTER OF DAI VIET (MEDIEVAL VIETNAM), usurped the throne in 1400, he smoothed it over diplomatically with his neighbors—especially China—by swearing that no heir remained from the previous Tran dynasty. Then an outcast Tran prince ruined everything by showing up in China to ask the Ming for their help in restoring his family to the throne. The Chinese mobilized 800,000 troops in their southern provinces during the summer of 1406 and invaded Vietnam.

In previous invasions southward, Chinese troops experienced difficulty defeating the war elephants of Southeast Asian armies, but now they had horses disguised as lions and primitive guns shooting fire arrows to drive them back. The Chinese invaders overran most of the country, and in the middle of 1407, they captured and executed the current king of Vietnam, Ho Quy Ly’s son. They put their man on the throne, restoring the Tran dynasty.²

But then the Chinese wouldn’t go home. They began to establish new administrative districts with tax offices, salt offices to enforce the monopoly, Confucian schools, and Buddhist registries. When the king of Vietnam insisted that it really was time for the Chinese to leave, war erupted. It was a confusing rebellion, with a new leader of the Tran dynasty popping up every time the Chinese killed the old one. In 1413, the last of these, Tran De Qui Khoang, was beaten in battle and captured, later committing suicide.

The Chinese took direct control of Vietnam and set out to eradicate the native culture. “Chinese dress and customs were imposed on the people; women were compelled to wear short pants and vests; people had to wear long hair; public instructions were taught in Chinese while Vietnamese books were suppressed.”³ The people were brutally overworked to extract the country’s resources.

An aristocratic landowner, Le Loi, rose in rebellion, but his forces were quickly scattered by the Ming in 1418. He regrouped and rebuilt his army deep in the inaccessible mountains. They hid in remote areas of the country, moving out occasionally to ambush Chinese forces for supplies. If that didn’t work, they ate their horses or scrounged wild rice and grass.

Over the next ten years, Le Loi wore down the Chinese by attacking isolated garrisons and supply convoys and then retreating into the mountains when larger forces arrived. By paying off corruptible officials, Le Loi gained additional supplies and breathing space. Finally, the Chinese gave up and abandoned the country to Le Loi, who established the Le dynasty in 1428.