TEN GREAT REFORMS AND RENEWALS IN VIETNAM’S HISTORY

VĂN TẠO. Ten Great Reforms and Renewals in
Vietnam’s History. Hanoi Pedagogical University Press.
2006. 394 pages
summarized by
BẢO ANH
The country of Vietnam has existed and developed for thousands of
years. This long history has been marked by a number of reforms and
renewals that were carried out during the different royal dynasties.
Ten Great Reforms and Renewals in Vietnam’s History, written by
History Professor Văn Tạo, successfully provides readers with a
general and systematic view of Vietnamese reforms and renewals,
especially those during times of peace. Many historical lessons can
be drawn from these reforms and utilized for reforms and renewals in
Vietnam today. The book, published by Hanoi Pedagogical University
Press, is about 400 pages long and is divided into three main parts.
The following is a brief summary of the book.
PART ONE: “Theoretical Awareness”
of such terms as reform, renewal, and
revolution, both historical and dialectical
categories (pages 5 – 17). The practice of
human history has shown that
revolutionary violence plays a vital role in
the change of social regimes (chattel
slavery to feudalism, feudalism to
capitalism, capitalism to socialism).
Therefore, it is astounding that the August
Revolution is Vietnam’s only violent
revolution in its thousands of years of
history. Meanwhile, Vietnam has
continuously made great contributions to
the development of the whole world with
its reforms and renewals that have been
implemented throughout its history. The
book focuses on the reforms and renewals
of peaceful eras and does not give details
of those that took place after Vietnam’s
victories over foreign invaders during the
Lý, Trần, Lê, and Tây Sơn Dynasties. The
purpose of this is to draw historical
lessons for the present renewal in
Vietnam.
After meticulously analyzing historical
practices, the author explains and
interprets the dialectical relationship
between reform, renewal, and revolution.
These are the three vital revolutionary
forms necessary for a society to exist and
develop, and they all share the same
purpose of resolving social crises, either
on a general scale or in a particular sector,
such as the economy, politics, or society.
Using critical reasoning and convincing
14 Social Sciences Information Review, Vol.1, No.2, June, 2007
14
evidence, the author proves that reform,
renewal, and revolution are separate
historical categories that occur at a
particular place (a country or a region), at
a particular time, and connect the past,
present, and future. They are milestones in
the development of social history, pushing
society forward. In addition, reform,
renewal and revolution are dialectical
categories and are inter-connected.
Renewal and reform are a part of
revolution; renewal is a part of reform.
Reform and renewal can sometimes have
a greater societal impact than revolution,
and reform is sometimes an important part
of a revolution. In other cases, one
movement will be the effect of a previous
movement as well as the cause of a future
movement.
These relationships are shown clearly and
vividly in ten great reforms and renewals
in the history of Vietnam, most of which
were instigated by a change in the
people’s mentality.
PART TWO: Ten great reforms and
renewals in Vietnam’s history
Based on research from various
significant historical sources and the
author’s personal method of reasoning,
each reform is described in the following
logical sequence:
a/ Time of arising
b/ Historical person (who initiates and
carries out the reform)
c/ Methods
d/ Effects
I. The administrative reform of the Khúc
family
According to the author, the basis of this
reform was the country’s critical social
crisis under the feudal rule of the Đường
Dynasty (China, 618 – 907). The invaders
were also facing a serious crisis in China
during this time that had resulted from the
division of “Five Dynasties, Ten Nations”
(Ngũ đại, thập quốc). The exploited
Vietnamese in Đại Việt finally revolted
under the leadership of Khúc Thừa Dụ,
who the author describes as “generous,
kind, and helpful”. The historical records
say that “he was appointed by the
Vietnamese people. As someone with a
wide area of influence, Khúc Thừa Dụ
proclaimed himself governor.” The reform
was based on a critical and brilliant
observation: the foreign invader could
only exert its authority on a macro level,
in districts and provinces, but not at a
grass-roots level in villages and
communes. Therefore, the only way to
gain independence was to establish
authority beginning at this lowest level, in
which information about each resident
could be easily gathered and
administrated. Khúc Thừa Dụ advocated
various means of carrying this out,
including:
1/ Divide the country into different
districts, towns and communes, governed
by mandarins such as village mayors and
chiefs
2/ Require all citizens to have their own
register of births, marriages, and deaths,
as well as a family record book
3/ Implement an average land-tax for
everyone; abolish corvee.
One historical source states that “It is the
simplicity and the tolerance of the
political policies that helped citizens lead
a peaceful life.” The reform not only
gained self-governance for Đại Việt, it
also laid the foundation for national
independence. Khúc Thừa Dụ’s
achievement was inherited by later
generations, from Dương Diên Nghệ, who
proclaimed himself governor, to Ngô
Quyền, who was able to set up his own
monarchy.
The Khúc family reform was the first
successful administrative reform in
Ten great reforms and… 15
Vietnam’s history. Vietnam first
established its independence under the
Khúc family’s reign, and it continued
during the reign of the Dương and Ngô
families. Although Vietnam did not
establish its own monarchy until the Ngô
Dynasty, the Khúc family’s reform, as
well as the role of the Dương family in
preserving Vietnam’s independence,
played a vital role in the establishment of
that monarchy. Therefore, all three
families, Khúc, Dương, and Ngô, were
pioneers of Vietnam’s national
independence.
II. Lý Công Uẩn’s renewal in every area:
from changes in the dynasty and the
imperial city to society
Under the reign of the Tiền Lê Dynasty,
Đại Việt faced a serious crisis, both in
society and in the imperial palace. The
court was in turmoil, a situation worsened
by the competition and murder among Lê
Đại Hành’s children in their struggle for
the throne. Lê Long Đĩnh, who finally
managed to gain the throne, turned out to
be a cruel dictator. One historical record
states, “Ngọa Triều murdered his own
brother to gain the throne. He carried out
evil and cruel deeds against his citizens to
satisfy his sinister mind.”
It was Lý Công Uẩn who was able to
settle the crisis. “Ever since he was a
child, Lý Công Uẩn had exhibited great
talent and good looks. Growing up, he
developed a strong will and a great love
for his people. His love and determination
could move the heavens.” Thanks to his
respectfulness and broad knowledge, he
was able to implement number of
renewals. The first renewal involved the
imperial palace and led to his being
appointed king by the mandarins. He then
made the historic move of relocating the
royal residence from Hoa Lư to Thăng
Long, which had been described as a
“coiling dragon, sitting tiger, the meeting
point of all four directions”.
Moving the royal residence was the
decisive factor in opening up new
prospects and opportunities to renew the
country’s politics, economy, culture,
society, military, and diplomacy. Thăng
Long was not only the capital city of an
independent and powerful nation but also
the center of the national economy,
culture, and society. This was considered
an important landmark in the formation of
a united national market, which is
sometimes wrongly assumed to have its
roots in nineteenth century capitalism. It
was the achievements of the Lý dynasty
that led to Lý Thường Kiệt’s later victory
over the Tống invasion. Lý Thường Kiệt’s
poem, “The Country of Vietnam” (Nam
Quốc Sơn Hà), was regarded as Đại Việt’s
first declaration of independence.
Lý Công Uẩn’s creative renewal
established the Lý Dynasty, which lasted
200 years (1010-1225) and was the
longest dynasty in national history.
III. Trần Thủ Độ: social renewal,
reinforcement of royal authority, and
victory against foreign invasion
At the beginning of the first three decades
of the eighth century, the Lý Dynasty
underwent an extreme recession. The
royal crisis led to an overall crisis in
society. It was at this critical time that the
name of a talented man became widely
known – Trần Thủ Độ.
Trần Thủ Độ was an upright man with
great respect for his nation and family and
a strong determination to reform the
dynasty, reinforce royal authority, and
renew the social administration. He
established the position of Thượng Hoàng
(father of the king) to assist young
emperors in ruling an entire nation. He
16 Social Sciences Information Review, Vol.1, No.2, June, 2007
16
combined the humanity of Buddhism with
the legality of Confucianism with the aim
of building a strict and consistent national
legal system. Members of the royal family
who took advantage of their position to
break the law were heavily punished. His
wife, Trần Thị Dung, was no exception.
Trần Thủ Độ led a quick and peaceful
overthrow that resulted in a bloodless
transition of power from the Lý Dynasty
to the Trần Dynasty.
In Trần Thủ Độ’s economic renewal, the
most important and prominent issue was his
determination to push the economy forward
by accepting private land ownership by
converting some public land into privately
owned land. He also promoted production
and a united national market and facilitated
local and foreign trade.
Thanks to the development of economy,
culture, and society, people were able to
lead prosperous lives. The Trần Dynasty
and its people united to defeat the Nguyên
– Mông invasion three times. Trần Hưng
Đạo’s great determination was shown
clearly in his powerful request to the king,
“Your majesty, if you want to surrender,
please cut off my head.” This saying was
a reflection of Trần Thủ Độ’s own
nationalism, exemplified in his statement,
“Your majesty, my head is still on my
neck. You should not be worried.”
All of these remarkable achievements
were due to Trần Thủ Độ’s renewal.
IV. Hồ Quý Ly’s renewal, centered on
economic and monastery renewals
Hồ Quý Ly’s renewal took place from
1395-1407. During this time, the late Trần
Dynasty was experiencing a social crisis.
Peasants revolted and the ruling dynasty
became so weak that the king lost his
throne to Dương Nhật Lễ for more than a
year (June 1369 – October 1370). When
the king finally managed to regain his
throne, both he and his mandarinate had
become so powerless that some mandarins
recommended Hồ Quý Ly take over the
kingship.
Hồ Quý Ly was determined to bring
renewal to his kingdom and even
criticized some aspects of Confucianism.
His great resolve was shown particularly
in the construction of the Hồ stone citadel,
the only stone citadel in Vietnam.
Nowadays, what remains of this
impressive citadel in Vĩnh Lộc, Thanh
Hoá is still admired by both Vietnamese
and foreigners.
Some basic measures that Hồ Quý Ly
implemented were limitations on land and
slave ownership. He prohibited feudal
aristocrat’s ownership of land and slaves.
Cash was issued to promote the
commodity economy. Taxes could be paid
with either money or valuable objects.
However, Hồ Quý Ly’s renewals were
only effective regarding input, but were
rather disastrous in terms of output (p.96).
The first output problem was that when
aristocrats were denied the right to own
land, the extra land was confiscated,
which reinforced the outdated Asian mode
of production. The “freed” slaves were not
liberated but drafted either into the army
or some other form of service. The
introduction of cash was still too early for
the under-developed commodity/monetary
economy of that time, and therefore
yielded very little.
When the powerful Minh army invaded
the country, both the king and his
mandarins were arrested and all
revolutionary achievements destroyed. It
was not until Lê Thánh Tông’s dynasty
that the innovative conscience of Hồ Quý
Ly was inherited and implemented.
It has been proven that Hồ Quý Ly’s
failures were mainly caused by subjective
Ten great reforms and… 17
rather than objective factors, and so he is
still considered a great innovative leader.
V. Lê Thánh Tông’s administrative
reform – the foundation of the most
prosperous feudal dynasty in Vietnam
After Nguyễn Trãi gave up his
mandarinate in order to escape the
jealousies and cruelties of the other
mandarins, King Lê Nhân Tông had died
after spending a night with Nguyễn Trãi’s
concubine in the lychee garden. The
mandarins accused Nguyễn Trãi of
plotting to kill the king, and as
punishment, the courts ordered the murder
of hundreds of Nguyễn Trãi’s family
members spanning three generations.
Afterwards, the Lê Sơ Dynasty underwent
a royal crisis resulting from excessive
power abuses by a number of mandarins
who were directly involved in the lychee
garden case.
When Lê Thánh Tông became king, he
was expected to settle the current crisis,
enforce royal power, and lead societal
development in terms of human needs and
the legal system. With strong innovative
thought, Lê Thánh Tông established five
major policies:
1/ Promotion of Confucian legality
2/ Compilation of the Hồng Đức code,
which was later highly appreciated by
European jurists
3/ Abolition of multi-level administrative
units (regions, districts, towns, prefects,
etc.) that were replaced with a consistent
national division of 13 districts (thừa
tuyên)
4/ Reform of mandarin policies,
recruitment of mandarins by both
examinations and recommendations
5/ Fostering of cultural and social
development, promotion of the development
of Quốc Tử Giám (the first national
university), founding of the Tao Đàn group,
utilization of Nôm script, encouragement of
patriotic poetry (p.116 – 145).
This was the second successful
administrative reform after the Khúc
family, contributing to the construction of
the most prosperous feudal dynasty in
Vietnam.
VI. Đào Duy Từ – the major contributor
to South Vietnam
Đào Duy Từ was a typical man of selfreliance and great conscience. Despite his
achievements in some royal examinations,
the many singers in his family line
prevented him from being respected and
employed by the royal family. After
spending half his life looking for a leader
to assist with his talents, he finally settled
in South Vietnam. His talents were highly
appreciated by the feudal lord, Nguyễn
Phúc Nguyên, who later appointed Đào
Duy Từ marquis of Lộc Khê.
Đào Duy Từ used his intelligence and
creativity in the renewal of society.
Within eight years, he had made
significant contributions to the renewal of
South Vietnam. There were great
economic and social developments, and
great achievements could be seen in all
fields: private ownership, the commodity
economy, local and foreign trade, culture,
education, and the military. The
educational administration of the North
was reformed so as to fit the current
conditions of South Vietnam. The
construction of Trường Dục and Đồng
Hới ramparts played the key role in the
cease-fire between the north and the south
of Vietnam, creating favorable conditions
for negotiation.
Đào Duy Từ was also a great writer. His
work, “Hổ Trướng Khu Cơ,” was
18 Social Sciences Information Review, Vol.1, No.2, June, 2007
18
descended from and reflected the great
military mentality of Trần Hưng Đạo that
was expressed in The Elementary War
Manual (Binh Thư Yếu Lược) and The
General and Commander Proclamation
(Hịch Tướng Sĩ). Đào Duy Từ was also
the father of Tuồng (Classical drama),
through which he expressed his strong
desire for national renewal and the means
to save the country. In general, he was a
great contributor to the development of
the whole of Đại Việt.
VII. Trịnh Cương’s financial reform
(1716-1729) – a temporary solution, but
the only financial reform in the history
of Vietnam
After the long war between the North and
the South, the Lê – Trịnh Dynasty
experienced a financial crisis. Many
people starved and revolutions rose up
everywhere. The royal family could no
longer support itself financially. In order
to solve these problems, Trịnh Cương
decided to implement a financial reform.
Trịnh Cương was decisive and hardworking. He also appreciated talented men
and had gained a deep understanding of
human life through his own observations.
Trịnh Cương also had great faith in his
own competence to implement reform. He
therefore managed to carry out a series of
financial reforms, including the redistribution of public land and the
promotion of private ownership. Refugees
were encouraged to come back and
reclaim their land, the poll-tax and landtax were equalized, and some
commodities such as copper, cinnamon,
and salt were taxed.
These measures yielded many benefits.
They overcame the economic crisis,
stabilized society, and strengthened the
legal system after over 100 years of civil
war. Many people were raised out of
poverty, and it consolidated the position
of Đại Việt in the world. This could be
seen in several different achievements.
For example, in 1715, the most noticeable
result was the abolition of Đại Việt’s
elephant and rhinoceros tusk tribute to
King Khang Hy of Qing (a large foreign
country). When the Thanh ambassador
visited Đại Việt in 1719, he could not help
praising the life of the people as
“peaceful, courteous, worth preserving
and learning from”.
Nevertheless, Trịnh Cương’s financial
reform was only a temporary solution
because it could not resolve the
comprehensive and serious crisis of the
late feudal Vietnamese dynasty. The crisis
resulted from a contradiction between the
outdated feudal mode of production,
which bore some typical features of the
Asian mode, and the demand for
development of the commodity economy,
which laid the foundation for a prosperous
national market. This national market
would be vital as capitalism had already
begun to develop in neighboring
countries.
The specific achievements of the reform
may be disappointing because of their
limitations and self-contradictions, but
when approaching it from a historical
perspective, the reform has great value,
and its lessons were highly appreciated. In
short, Trịnh Cương’s financial reform was
considered a breakthrough for Đại Việt to
enter a new age, the age of global
humanity (p.210).
VIII. Minh Mệnh’s administrative
reform: rewards and drawbacks
Minh Mệnh’s reform took place after the
failure of Gia Long’s attempt to improve
the Nguyễn Dynasty’s administrative
machinery, which proved that there were
still many differences between the
administration of the North and the South.
Ten great reforms and… 19
At that time, the country, which stretched
from Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn to Cà Mau, Hà
Tiên, Phú Quốc, was divided into bulky
units. The largest unit was the central
monarchy, followed by units called
“Thành”. Each thành consisted of a number
of districts (trấn). For example, Bắc Thành
had 11 districts, whereas Gia Định Thành
had five districts. Next was the quarter
(doanh) level. Kinh Kỳ, for instance, had
four quarters: Quảng Đức (Thừa Tiên),
Quảng Trị, Quảng Bình, and Quảng Nam.
The administrative machinery was also
complicated, as in the case of Bắc Thành
and Gia Định Thành. These two thành
were monitored by two military governors
(tổng trấn) who had great power equal to a
viceroy. They controlled one third of the
entire nation. This often led to their abuse
of power or the threat of their taking
control of the kingship.
Minh Mệnh was determined to abolish the
administrative levels of thành, district, and
quarter. He managed to do this by
dividing the country into provinces with
lower administrative levels of prefects,
districts, towns, and communes. In
addition, he set up different positions of
authority and eliminated the position of
military governor. Each large district was
under the authority of a viceroy of Tonkin
(tổng đốc), and small districts were
controlled by province chiefs (tuần phủ).
Provincial treasurers (bố chính) and
provincial judges (án sát) monitored lower
level administrative units.
The reform brought about a number of
successes, as proudly claimed by the
Nguyễn Dynasty:
– Having fewer mandarins resulted in less
competition.
– The understanding between provincial
mandarins allowed complete control by
the monarchy.
– The division of authority helped create
more responsible mandarins and improved
regulations.
– The power division between viceroys of
Tonkin and province chiefs at the central
level and provincial treasurers in specific
fields was very successful.
A consistent legal system was
implemented in tandem with the standard
administrative division and its
mechanism. Minh Mệnh promulgated
Royal Law (Hoàng Triều Luật Lệ), and
despite the fact that most of it was taken
from the Mãn Thanh Law, it played an
important role in strengthening the legal
system of the nation. The country
therefore regained its stability after the
long civil war.
The reform resulted in a strengthened
national unity and the promotion of
culture and society. The general aim of the
reform, however, was to strengthen Tống
Confucianism rather than Ming
Confucianism, so agriculture was given
more priority and limitations were
imposed on trade. The public land policy,
which established common land that was
owned by nobody, persisted and resulted
in the public land lying unused while
many farmers lacked their own land to
farm. All of these factors ended in the
country becoming stagnant and weakened
and led to its failure to resist foreign
invaders.
Minh Mệnh’s reform was the only one in
the history that did not grow out of a
progressive outlook. Therefore, it could
not solve the comprehensive and serious
crisis of society during the late feudal
dynasty and its achievements were
inevitably limited.
IX. Nguyễn Trường Tộ – a prominent
nineteenth century reform conscience
In the nineteenth century, France’s
colonization of Vietnam resulted in
serious crises in all areas of society.
20 Social Sciences Information Review, Vol.1, No.2, June, 2007
20
Intellectuals who had gained knowledge
of European civilizations developed a
strong determination to reform the
country. One of the most prominent
reformers was Nguyễn Trường Tộ.
Nguyễn Trường Tộ was intelligent,
courageous, and took great pride in his
country and its people. He was determined
to express his opinions about the current
state of society. Despite his low status in
society, he presented his Reports and
Reform Proposals to the king. Some of his
main proposals were a discussion on the
current national position, a plan to renew
the country, a plan to take advantage of
the country’s natural resources, the
organization of mining activities and
expert training, a discussion of foreign
relations, a recommendation for an open
society, and more. These
recommendations unfortunately received
little attention from the king and his
mandarinate and were not used to improve
the current situation.
Although the reform conscience of
Nguyễn Trường Tộ did not have much
concrete effect, it is considered to be an
indispensable part of the history of midnineteenth century Vietnam. It not only
had a significant impact on other
intellectuals of that era, it also provided
invaluable lessons for later reforms at the
beginning of the twentieth century and for
the present renovation.
X. The reform at the beginning of the
twentieth century – A great contribution
to the development of the all Vietnamese
society
At the beginning of the twentieth century,
Vietnam experienced another serious
crisis even as new and advanced ideas
from neighboring countries like China and
Japan were becoming widely known in
Vietnam. This led to a new reform
movement encompassing the entire
country. The most prominent movements
were:
1/ Phan Bội Châu’s advocacy of
Improving people’s intellectual standards,
fostering people’s spirit, and redeeming
people’s talent (Khai dân trí, chấn dân
khí, thục nhân tài). This aimed at
liberating the country by violent
revolution with foreign aid.
2/ Phan Châu Trinh’s advocacy of
Improving people’s intellectual standards,
fostering people’s spirit, and treating
citizens with consideration (Khai dân trí,
chấn dân khí, hậu dân sinh). This aimed at
promoting the national bourgeois
democracy in order to gain national
independence. He proposed such measures
as improving education, widening people’s
knowledge, innovating traditions and
customs, promoting a commodity
economy, opening more shops, and
fostering local and foreign trade.
3/ Lương Văn Can’ Đông Kinh nghĩa thục
movement. In Hanoi and some
neighboring provinces, a number of
schools were founded and funded by a
group of Vietnamese revolutionaries. This
encouraged the development of the
bourgeois democracy. The movement was
supported by intellectuals all over
Vietnam, pushing the country forward.
4/ Huỳnh Thúc Kháng’s advocacy of an
open and public struggle against the
present rulers by means of parliament and
the media. He established the People’s
Voice newspaper (Tiếng dân) and asked
the People’s representative institution to
implement democratic reforms and the
practice human rights.
All four of these movements had a
profound impact on people throughout the
country. They inspired people’s patriotism
and encouraged self-governance and the
determination to fight for their
independence and freedom. Although
these reforms did not survive French
Ten great reforms and… 21
colonization, their achievements were still
great. The promotion of a bourgeois
democracy laid the foundation for future
revolutions in the twentieth century, the
most important of which was the
revolution by the supporters of Marxism
and Ho Chi Minh ideology.
PART THREE: The relation between
the ten reforms and the present; The
Sixth National Party Congress – The
opening of a new era
Several pages are dedicated to the renewal
cause of Vietnam’s Sixth National Party
Congress. The Congress marked an
important milestone of the 1000 years of
national construction and over 50 years of
national liberation under the leadership of
the Vietnam Communist Party. The success
of the Congress was given in detail:
1/ The Congress was considered a “Diên
Hồng Congress,” where people were
brought together from all over the country
to decide whether or not they should act.
A democratic process was stressed during
the congress. Opinions from all citizens
and all Party members were considered,
and amendments were added to the draft
of the Party Political Report. The report
was therefore of a higher value and was
approved by the Party and all citizens.
2/ The success of the Congress was based
on ideological renewal. The new feature
of the Congress was the complete change
of the people’s mindsets, which first came
in economic ideology. The fundamental
principle was “facing the facts, making
right assessments, publicizing the facts.”
3/ The Congress marked a transition of
generations. Some of the Party’s highranking leaders volunteered to withdraw
from the candidacy in order to enable more
youth to take on leadership roles. It was still
important, however, for the young
politicians to maintain traditions and to
learn from the older, retired leaders.
4/ The Congress was a step toward the
country’s transitional stage. Lenin had
explained that the move to Socialism
involves a number of stages, and the
Congress was only the first.
In addition to the above information, the
author also makes a detailed analysis of
some current strategic requirements
necessary to promote the success of the
Congress:
1/ Improving the position and role of the
working class in the present renewal.
2/ Promoting “democracy and legality” to
gain “stability and development”
3/ Promoting the role of Vietnamese
intellectuals in the new era
4/ Building a model for cultured
Vietnamese people in this period
5/ Perfecting social mechanisms,
implementing more social conventions,
improving Party organizations and the
State’s administrative structure
The last part of the book is references and
an appendix. In the appendix, the author
encloses the scan of eleven theses, which
consist of the English versions of the
summaries of all ten reforms and renewals
in Vietnam. These theses were taken from
eleven issues of Outlook magazine,
published by the Vietnamese News
Agency. The original versions are now
stored in the United Nation’s Library in
New York.
In general, the book succeeds in clarifying
the role and the importance of the ten
reforms and renewals in Vietnam,
enabling readers to “have a great pride in
the nation’s precious traditions.” It is
therefore a great contribution to the
current renewal being carried out by the
Communist Party in Vietnam.
From all perspectives, the book is a
valuable material for those in the circle of
research and leadership.