Annan command

Annan command, Annam command, or Annan dutongshisi, was a nominal administrative unit of the Ming dynasty of China established in Đại Việt (known to the Chinese as Annam, in present-day northern Vietnam). When the Mạc dynasty usurped the Lê dynasty's throne in Đại Việt, the Jiajing Emperor used the opportunity to send envoys demanding an explanation. At the time, the Mạc were occupied with military campaigns in the south and had little choice but to submit to Ming authority in order to secure their northern frontier. The Ming subsequently downgraded Đại Việt from a tributary state to a subordinate territory. Although nominally under Chinese authority and administered by local officials, the Viet rulers—who continued to style themselves emperors—retained control over domestic affairs from 1540 to 1647.

History

Đại Việt (known to the Chinese as Annan, in present-day northern Vietnam) had been politically independent from China since the 10th century. In 1407, taking advantage of a political crisis in Đại Việt, the Ming dynasty invaded, conquered the country, and incorporated it into China as Jiaozhi Province. A strong local resistance movement led by Lê Lợi successfully regained independence in 1428, establishing the Lê dynasty. Relations between the Ming and the Lê dynasty remained stable for the next century.

Đai Việt c. 1540, showing the Mạc dynasty in control of the north (pink), while Lê loyalists under the Nguyễn–Trịnh alliance controlled the south (yellow). Champa (green) was a vassal state.

In 1527, Mạc Đăng Dung, a powerful minister of the Lê dynasty, forced Lê Cung Hoàng (r. 1522–1527) to abdicate and established the Mạc dynasty. The new dynasty retained its capital at Thăng Long, and Mạc Đăng Dung adopted Minh Đức as his era name. Nguyễn Kim, the former general of the Lê dynasty, fled to Lan Xang (Ai Lao; present-day Laos) with his family after Mạc Đăng Dung's usurpation and later rallied forces in an attempt to restore the Lê dynasty. In 1532, Nguyễn Kim found Lê Ninh (the young son of the late Lê Chiêu Tông, r. 1517–1522) in Ai Lao and proclaimed him emperor as Lê Trang Tông (r. 1533–1548). Establishing a base in Thanh Hóa, Nguyễn Kim began the Lê loyalist restoration movement, which initiated a turbulent era in Đại Việt as his followers, later dominated by the Trịnh clan, waged war against the Mạc dynasty in the north.

In late 1529, Mạc Đăng Dung abdicated in favor of his son, Mạc Đăng Doanh. The following January, Đăng Doanh formally ascended the throne as Mạc Thái Tông and proclaimed the new era name "Đại Chính". Đăng Dung assumed the title of retired emperor (Thái thượng hoàng). In 1537, Lê Trang Tông dispatched envoys to Beijing, petitioning the Ming court to intervene by accusing the Mạc clan of usurping the Lê dynasty's throne. The Jiajing Emperor responded by appointing Qiu Luan as commander-in-chief and Mao Bowen as military advisor, stationing troops near the border to pressure the Mạc. Facing the threat of a large-scale Ming intervention, Mạc Đăng Dung submitted in March 1539, sending envoys to Zhennan Pass to present Đại Việt's land and population registers—a symbolic act acknowledging Ming suzerainty while allowing him to retain de facto control over the country.

Mạc Đăng Dung's Surrender, illustration from the Annan laiwei tuce (安南來威圖冊; 'Graphic Account of the Overawing of Annam'), 1571, p. 391

On 30 November 1540, Mạc Đăng Dung and dozens of officials surrendered to Ming officials at the Zhennan Pass, binding themselves and kneeling down as a sign of submission. This event marked the Ming dynasty's decision to demote Đại Việt from a vassal state (國; guo; quốc) to a subordinate territory (都統使司; dutongshisi; Đô thống sứ ty). The thirteen provinces (đạo) of the (Lê) Mạc dynasty were renamed as thirteen pacification commissions (宣撫司; xuanfusi; Tuyên phủ ty), each with a pacification commissioner (宣撫使; xuanfushi; Tuyên phủ sứ), pacification associate commissioner (同知; tongzhi; Đồng tri), pacification vice commissioner (副使; fushi; Phó sứ), and pacification assistant commissioner (僉事; qianshi; Thiêm sự), all under the authority of the commandant (都統; dutong; Đô thống). Mạc Đăng Dung was appointed as the Commandant of Annan with a second-class hereditary rank and was required to pay tribute every three years.

In 1592, the Lê–Trịnh forces captured Thăng Long, leading to the restoration of the Lê dynasty. Lê Thế Tông (r. 1573–1599) sent envoys to the Ming court requesting the restoration of the title of "King of Annan". However, because the Ming court remained uncertain about the political situation in Đại Việt, it granted him only the temporary title of "Commandant of Annan" and required the Lê dynasty to cede Cao Bằng and Thái Nguyên to the descendants of the Mạc family. Despite the reluctance of Lê dynasty rulers and officials, they had no choice but to allow the Mạc family to retain control of Cao Bằng. The Mạc family continued to rule Cao Bằng until 1667, when the Trịnh conquered the region. The Qing dynasty, which had succeeded the Ming in 1644, however, ordered the Trịnh to return Cao Bằng to the Mạc in 1669. It was not until 1677, when the Mạc joined Wu Sangui in his rebellion against the Qing, that the Trịnh were allowed to conquer Cao Bằng.

The title of "Commandant of Annan" (安南都統使; An Nam Đô thống sứ) was maintained until 1647, when Lê Thần Tông was formally reinstated as "King of Annan" (安南國王; An Nam Quốc vương) by the Southern Ming.

References

Works cited

• Dardess, John W (2012). Ming China, 1368-1644: A Concise History of a Resilient Empire. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-0490-4.
• Dardess, John W (2016). Four Seasons: A Ming Emperor and His Grand Secretaries in Sixteenth-Century China. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442265608.
• Geiss, James (1998). "The Chia-ching reign, 1522-1566". In Mote, Frederick W.; Twitchett, Denis C (eds.). The Cambridge History of China. Volume 7, The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644, Part 1 (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 440–510. ISBN 0521243335.
• Guo, Zhenduo; Zhang, Xiaomei (2001). Yuenan Tongshi 越南通史 [Việt Nam thông sử] (in Chinese). Beijing: China Renmin University Press. ISBN 9787300034027.
• Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục 欽定越史通鑑綱目 (in Vietnamese). 1998.
• Lockhart, Bruce M.; Duiker, William J. (2010). The A to Z of Vietnam. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-4617-3192-4.
• Taylor, K. W. (2013). A History of the Vietnamese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-24435-1.
• Zhang, Tingyu (1739). Ming Shi 明史 [History of Ming] (in Literary Chinese).

Further reading

• Baldanza, Kathlene (2014). "Perspectives on the 1540 Mac Surrender to the Ming" (PDF). Asia Major. 27 (2). Academia Sinica: 115–146.
• Fuma, Susumu (2007). "Ming-Qing China's Policy towards Vietnam as a Mirror of Its Policy towards Korea: With a Focus on the Question of Investiture and "Punitive Expeditions"" (PDF). The Memoirs of the Toyo Bunko. 65.