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Vietnamese Historical Sources—For the Reign of Le Thanh-tong (1460–1497)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2011

John K. Whitmore
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Abstract

This article is an introduction to the type of materials available to the historian of pre-1800 Vietnam, particularly that material produced during the reign of Le Thanh-tong. The rule of this Emperor is significant for the bureaucratization of the government and a consequent growth in paperwork which occurred under him. During the last quarter of the fifteenth century, many of the resulting documents were brought together to form major compilations on various topics, Following a brief description of the historical background and the manner in which this material came to be assembled, the article groups such materials, from both this period and later centuries, into the following categories: histories, geographies, personnel records, official records, belles lettres, and general collections. It then proceeds to enumerate the available material under each category and to analyze the uses to which this material may be put for the study of Vietnamese history. A note follows in the May 1970 issue of the JAS describing the major modern collections of these documents and giving the locations of each work mentioned in the article. Characters and Vietnamese romanization are given for each title, term, and name.

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The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , February 1970 , pp. 373 - 394
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Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 1970

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References

1 Gaspardone, Emile, “Bibliographic Annamite,” Bulletin de l'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient (BEFEO) 34 (1934). 1–173.Google Scholar

2 Nguyen The Anh, “Les Publications de Docutory ments Historiques dans la Republique du Viet-Nam depuis 1954,” Bulletin de la Societe des Etudes Indochinoises (BSEI) 43, 1 (1968), 51–62Google Scholar; Ben, Phan Giai, La Recherche Historique en Republique Democratique du Viet-Nam, 1953–1963 (Hanoi, 1965).Google Scholar

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5 TT, 12, 52aGoogle Scholar; 12,10a.

6 TT, 12, 25a.Google Scholar

7 TT, 12, 11b, 13, 3a.Google Scholar

8 TT, 12, 71a–b.Google Scholar

9 TT, 12, 37aGoogle Scholar; 13, 62a.

10 TT, 12, 20a–b.Google Scholar

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14 TT, 12, 33b–34a, 43b, 69b–70a; 13, 33a.Google Scholar

15 TT, 12, 38b–39aGoogle Scholar; also see Ngan, (1963), pp. 77–78.Google Scholar

16 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 59–62.Google Scholar

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20 That inscriptions exist from the fifteenth century is indicated in the mention of a document entitled Bia Doi Hong-duc (Steles From the Hong-duc Period) mentioned in the preface (“Loi Noi Dan”) of Hong-duc Quoc Am thi Tap (Hanoi, 1962), p. 6.Google Scholar

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22 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 58–65Google Scholar; Cadiere, Fr. Leopold and Pelliot, Paul, “La premiere étude sur les sources annamites de l'histoire d'Annam,” BEFEO, 4 (1904), 631–632, 634, 646CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Translated into Vietnamese (Hanoi, 1967). This translation in two volumes is of Ngo Si Lien's work, covering up to 1428. The index for it is quite useful, though not perfect. Also vols. 3 & 4 (Hanoi, 1968) have just appeared, covering the periods 1428–1497 & 1498–1675, with another index for these two volumes in vol. 4.

23 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 69–70.Google Scholar

24 Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), p. 639Google Scholar; Gaspardone, (1934), p. 62Google Scholar. Translated into Vietnamese, (Hanoi, 1957–1960), 20 vols. Reviewed by E. Gaspardone in Sinologica, 6, 2 (1959), 123–124Google Scholar; 7, 2 (1963), 135. Another translation into Vietnamese has also been started in Saigon by the Vien Khao Co. Two volumes have been published at this time, covering to the year 112 B.C. (Saigon, 1960, 1965). M. Durand has also published 2 volumes of a translation into French, covering to the year A.D. 207 (Hanoi, 1950; BEFEO 47 (1955): 369–434Google Scholar with 16 pp. of plates). Both the Saigon and the Durand translations have the original characters, while the Hanoi translation does not. For chapter contents, see Dung, Huynh Khac, “Su-lieu Viet-nam,” in Van-hoa Tung-hoa Tung-thu, Saigon, 1 (1954), 143–148.Google Scholar

25 Yamamoto, Tatsuro, “Annotated List of Annamese Books in the Library of the Societe Asiatique Paris)” (in Japanese), Tokyo Daigaku Toyo Bunka Kenkyujo, 5 (1954), 335Google Scholar. Similar to this is the text used by G. Dumontier in his “Etude sur une portulan annamite du 15e siède,” Bulletin de geographic historique et descriptive (1896), pp. 141–204Google Scholar, said by H. Maspero in BEFEO, 10 (1910), 542Google Scholar, n., to be a copy of the first part of the Thien Nam Tu-chi Lo Do Thu. The latter may be found in Hong-duc Ban Do (Saigon, 1962), pp. 70–103.Google Scholar

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27 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 80–81.Google Scholar

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29 Reproduced in Canton, 1958, in six volumes and twenty chapters. Gaspardone, E., “La geographie du Li Wen-fong,” BEFEO, 29 (1929), 63–105CrossRefGoogle Scholar, in particular, pp. 71–75. van Giap, Tran (ed.), Luoc Truyen Cac Tac Gia Viet Nam, vol. 1, “Tac Gia Cac Sach Han, Nom” (Hanoi, 1962), pp. 53–59.Google Scholar

30 L. Aurousseau has translated a long geographical note on all the provinces in BEFEO, 22 (1922), 143–160.Google Scholar

31 For general discussions of the geographical works useful in the study of Vietnamese history, see Aurousseau, (1920), pp. 73–120Google Scholar; Yamamoto, T., “Introduction”Google Scholar (in Japanese) to Iwao Hirosato's edition of the maps from the Dong-khanh Dia Du Chi (Tokyo, 1943), 19 pp.Google Scholar and “Tong-quat ve Viet-su Dia-ly” in Hong-duc Ban Do (Saigon, 1962), pp. 238–240Google Scholar. Aurousseau, , pp. 84–86Google Scholar, examines the administrative divisions of the time.

32 Gourou, Pierre, Les paysans du delta tonkinois (Paris, 1936)Google Scholar; trans, into English by the Human Relations Area Files, (New Haven, 1955); Robequain, Charles, Le Thanh Hoa (Paris, 1929)Google Scholar. In general, the studies made by the French on the physical aspects of Vietnam are helpful. See E. Gaspardone's use of them in “Annamites et Thai au 15e siècle,” Journal asiatique 231 (1939), 405–436Google Scholar. A very interesting study of patterns of land ownership in the 19th century and an attempt to change them is Lau, Nguyen Thieu, “La Reforme Agraire de 1839 dans le Binh-Dinh,” BEFEO 45, 1 (1951), 119–129.Google Scholar

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34 Truong Buu Lam's introduction to the Hongduc Ban Do (Saigon, 1962) pp. viii–xixGoogle Scholar (Vietnamese), xxii–xxx (French); Gaspardone (1934), pp. 46–47. Reproduced and translated in Hong-duc Ban Do, 1–53Google Scholar, with a good index to place names, pp. 242–271. Reviewed by Gaspardone, , Sinologica, 7, 4 (1963), 233–234Google Scholar. The list of administrative units is reproduced in almost identical form in Nam Viet Ban Do (A. 1603), pp. 7–19Google Scholar, and the An-nam Hinh Thang Do (A. 3034). The An-nam dia du chi (1906)Google Scholar is also recommended for the locating of place names (see HDBD, 1962, p. 239).

35 Deloustal, R., BEFEO, 10, 1 (1910), 47Google Scholar; Pardone, Gasthem (1934), pp. 37, 41.Google Scholar

36 For an outline and discussion of these terms, see Lam, (1962), pp. xviii–xix.Google Scholar

37 This section has been translated by R. Deloustal in Revue Indochinoise 42 (1924), 192–227, 381–413Google Scholar; 43 (1925), 59–78, 281–303, and in BAVH 19 (1932), 157–218.Google Scholar

38 Gaspardone, (1934), p. 25Google Scholar; Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), p. 636Google Scholar. In the Durand Collection (Yale University), there exists a photocopy of this text and a manuscript copy of its translation into Vietnamese by Professor Durand.

39 A general work concerning economic patterns of later date in Nha, Nguyen Thanh, Tableau Economique du Viet-Nam Aux XVIIe et XVIIIe Siecles, (Paris, 1963?), 453 pp.Google Scholar

40 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 84–85Google Scholar; Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), p. 636Google Scholar; Aurosseau, (1920), p. 96Google Scholar. Trans. into Vietnamese by Bui Luong, (Saigon, 1961). Reviewed by Buu Cam in Viet-Nam Khao Co Tap-san 3 (1962), pp. 286–288.Google Scholar

41 Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), p. 640Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 80–85.Google Scholar

42 Maspero, H., BEFEO 10 (1910), 544–545Google Scholar; Yamamoto, (1943), pp. 9–10Google Scholar; (1954), pp. 317–318; Aurousseau, (1920), p. 83Google Scholar, n. 1. The second edition, that of Dong-Khanh (Dong Khanh Dia Du Chi Luoc, A.537) in the later 1880's, includes only northern and central Vietnam, while the 1910 edition by Cao Xuan Due covers only the central area (“Annam”). See Yamamoto, (1943), pp. 13–14Google Scholar, and Aurousseau above. A two volume edition of this was published by N. Matsumoto, Tokyo, 1941. The publication series, Van Hoa Tung Thu, Saigon, has been translating this into Vietnamese since 1959. For a review of part of this translation, see Viet Nam Khao Co Tapsan 3 (1962), 305–308Google Scholar. Smith, Ralph, “Sino-Vietnamese Sources for the Nguyen Period: An Introduction,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 30, 3 (1967), 609Google Scholar, has a good discussion of this.

43 Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), p. 645Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 421–422Google Scholar; Maspero, H., BEFEO 10 (1910) 545–546Google Scholar, n. 3. Translated into Vietnamese by Ngo Manh Nghinh, (Saigon, 1959). Reviewed by Buu Cam in Viet-Nam Khao Co Tap-san 3 (1962) pp. 308–311.Google Scholar

44 Recommended by Professor Gaspardone in a personal communication. This work is a revision of the Ming geography with more information on Vietnam. See Ssu-yu, Teng and Biggerstaff, Knight, An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Chinese Rejerence Worlds (Cambridge, Mass., 1950) pp. 229–230Google Scholar, on a much needed index to it.

45 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 11–16Google Scholar, has a good statement on this.

46 The full title is the Dai Viet Lich Tricu Dang Khoa Luc. Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 11–12, 81–82Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 97–101Google Scholar. Translated into Vietnamese by Ta Thuc Khai up to 1691 in three chapters (1075–1502, 1505–1592, 1595–1691) (Saigon, 1962).

47 The full title is the Thien-nam Lich-trieu hiet Huyen Dang Khoa Bi Khao. Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 11–12, 83Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 101–109.Google Scholar

48 Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), p. 651Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 92–97Google Scholar. The inscriptions were published under the name of the Le Trieu Lich-khoa Tien-si De Danh Bi Ky. A recent edition exists with text and translation into Vietnamese by Vo Oanh, 3 vols., Saigon, 1961, 1962.

49 Gaspardone, (1934), p. 12, n. 2.Google Scholar

50 Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), p. 651Google Scholar; Yamamoto, (1954), p. 314.Google Scholar

51 E.g., the Mo Trach Vu Thi The Trach Duong Gia Pha and several others. See the list of EFEO microfilms held by the Vien Khao Co, pp. 14, 16 (554, 555, 599, 600, 617) (Footnote 15 in a coming “Note” gives the location of this list).

52 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 14–15Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 151–155Google Scholar. Translated into Vietnamese (with text) together with the prose collection, 3 vols., (Hanoi, 1957–1958).

53 Gaspardone, (1934), p. 25Google Scholar; Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), pp. 635–636Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 67–77.Google Scholar

54 Gaspardone, E., Les Steles Royales de Lamson, (Hanoi, 1935).Google Scholar

55 Gaspardone, (1934), p. 13Google Scholar n. 3.

56 Gaspardone, (1934), p. 131Google Scholar, 16, n. 2; translated into Vietnamese by Nguyen Dinh Diem, 3 vols., (Saigon, 1961–1962). Other such works are Pham Dinh Ho's Vu Trung Tuy But and the Tang Thuong Ngau Luc by Ho and Nguyen An, both works from the first decades of the 19th century. See Gaspardone (1934), p. 97, 120, 134, and Pham The Ngu, Viet-Nam Van Hoc Su Gian Uoc Tan Bien (Saigon, 1961), I, 170, 249–250Google Scholar. As Ngu (250) says, “These two books are both valuable materials for research into history, geography, regulations, and customs at the end of the Le dynasty.” (my translation). The Tang Thuong Ngau Luc has been translated into Vietnamese (Saigon, 1962).Google Scholar

57 Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), pp. 642, 648.Google Scholar

58 For copies of this edict, see TT, 12, 66a–69bGoogle Scholar, the administrative section of the Thien Nam Du Ha Tap, the beginning of the Le Trieu Quan Che, the Hoang Viet Van Tuyen, 5, 7b–10aGoogle Scholar, and Ngan, (1963), pp. 172–173.Google Scholar

59 For the central administrative structure under Thanh-tong, consult Ngan's careful study. He inregulations, eludes a complete index to the titles and offices of the times, pp. 211–242. This book is a very useful reference work for any specific office, its rank, and probable duties, although he bases some of his conclusions for the duties on the Hsin T'ang Shu (Tan Duong Thu or the New History of the T'ang Dynasty). See p. xxvi.

60 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 36–37Google Scholar. The Hieu Dinh Hoang Trieu Quan Che Dien Le appears to be a later edition of this, probably originating in the middle of the sixteenth century.

61 The Cuong Muc refers to this edition often in its notes on the administrative structure of Thanhtong's reign. See ch. 19, p. 11, inherited privilege, ch. 20, pp. 31–36, the military organization, ch. 23, pp. 7–9, payment of officials, pp. 11–15, the number of secondary officials in each department, pp. 20–25, lands given to officials, pp. 36–37, list of the offices for the colonization of lands.

62 Gaspardone, (1934), p. 37.Google Scholar

63 Entitled the Quoc Trieu Hong-duc Nien Giam Le Chu Cung The Thuc.

64 Gaspardone, (1934), p. 41Google Scholar, n. 1; van Mau, Vu, “Introduction” (in Vietnamese) to the new edition, (Saigon, 1959), pp. i–xxi.Google Scholar

65 The Quoc Trieu Hoi Dien, Gaspardonc, (1934). p. 42Google Scholar; Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), pp. 644–645Google Scholar. The Le Trieu Su Le and the Co Le Luat Le.

66 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 44–45Google Scholar. Published with text (poor) and translation into Vietnamese by Cao Nai Quang, (Saigon, 1956). Reviewed by Gaspardone, , Sinologica 7, 1 (1962), 57Google Scholar. Translated into French by R. Deloustal in BEFEO (for the table of contents, see 22, 1922, 36–40).

67 See Vu van Mau's statement in his introduction to the Hong-duc Thien Chinh Thu (Saigon, 1959), pp. ii, xiiGoogle Scholar, and the footnotes and appendices of Deloustal's translation of the Le code.

68 Ch. 33, the historical outline, has been translated by R. Deloustal in BEFEO 8 (1908), 185–220.Google Scholar

69 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 128–130Google Scholar, Maspero, H., BEFEO 10 (1910), 584Google Scholar; Le Huu Muc's translation to Vietnamese (Saigon, 1961), p. 13. For Nguyen Trai, see Meillon, G., “Nguyen Trai, 1380–1442,” France-Asie, 11 (1954), 39Google Scholar. For Nguyen van Trat's work, see Gaspardone, (1934), p. 127.Google Scholar

70 For an idea of the poetry of the period, see Gaspardone (1934), pp. 104–107, 112, and chapters 3 and 4 of the Hoang Viet Thi Tuyen (see fn. 52).

71 Chu Thien (pseudonym of Hoang Minh Giam), Le Thanh-ton (Hanoi, 1943), pp. 182–183.Google Scholar

72 The “Chinh Tay Ky Hanh” and the “Minh Luong Cam Tu,” contained in the Thien Nam Du Ha Tap. Gaspardone (1934), pp. 40, 103–104.Google Scholar

73 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 104–105Google Scholar; Chu Thien 1943), pp. 183–201. Found in the Thien Nam Du Ha Tap and elsewhere. The title is taken from literary activity in the reign of Sung T'ai-tsung (976–998). See Bui van Nguyen, p. 7, n. 4, in the following note.

74 Not mentioned in Gaspardone (1934). Translated into Vietnamese (no text) by Pham Trong Diem and Bui van Nguyen, (Hanoi, 1962). This volume includes not only the above collection but also a section of ten poems from the Thien Nam Du Ha Tap (“Thap gioi co han quoc ngu van”) and other nom poems drawn from different sources. For a statement on nom styles, see Pham The Ngu, Viet Nam Van Hoc Su Gian Uoc Tan Bien. (Saigon, 1963)Google Scholar: II, Part I, chaps. 2–3 (nature); Part II, chaps. 1–5 (history to 1500).

75 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 5, 8, 37–41Google Scholar; Thien, Chu (1943), pp. 177–185Google Scholar; Ngan, (1963), pp. xxi–xxii.Google Scholar

76 Gaspardone, (1934), p. 26Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 61–67. Translated into Vietnamese by Pham Trong Diem, (Hanoi, 1962), and in part (chaps, 1, 2, 4) by Le Manh Lieu, (Saigon, 1963).Google Scholar

77 Gaspardone, (1934), pp. 31–32Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 86–90Google Scholar; Dung, (1959), pp. 68–133Google Scholar; Ngan, (1963), pp. xxiii–xxvGoogle Scholar. Translated into Vietnamese by the Vien Su Hoc, (Hanoi, 1961) and in part (chaps. 13–19, 29–32, 33) by the Faculty of Law of the University of Saigon, 1957, with text. For the latter edition, see Gaspardone, , Sinologica 7, 1 (1962), 57Google Scholar, and Ngan, (1963), pp. xxiv–xxv.Google Scholar

78 Cadiere, and Pelliot, (1904), p. 660Google Scholar; Giap, (1962), I, pp. 155–156Google Scholar; Yamamoto, (1954), p. 337Google Scholar. Translated into Vietnamese (no text) in Vol. II of the poetry collection, (Hanoi, 1958). See fn. 52.

79 Thien, Chu (1943), p. 223Google Scholar; Gaspardone, (1934), p. 40.Google Scholar

80 Professor Gaspardone based his “Bibliographic annamite” on these two sections, and Tran van Giap translated them in BSEI, n.s., 13, 1 (1938), 1–218Google Scholar, also published separately, as Les chapitres bibliographiques de Le Qui Don et de Phan Huy Chu (Saigon, 1938).Google Scholar

81 R. Deloustal has translated parts of this section in BEFEO 10 (1910), 16–23, 41–42, 48–49.Google Scholar