Chinese domination period

From 111 BC to AD 938 the Vietnamese lands were governed as Chinese commanderies and provinces — the era Vietnamese historiography calls Bac thuoc, the northern subjection. Chinese institutions took root while Vietnamese language and customs persisted.

Overview

Han conquest in 111 BC opened a millennium in which the region was administered as Chinese commanderies and provinces. Chinese administration, writing, and Confucian-Buddhist culture took root, while the Vietnamese language and local customs persisted beneath them.

Key developments

The era was punctuated by famous risings: the Trung Sisters (AD 40–43), Lady Trieu (248, in the traditional account), and Ly Bi, whose short-lived state of Van Xuan lasted from 544 to 602. The administrative record and the record of resistance both stand as plain facts of the period.

End and transition

As Tang power weakened in the late ninth and early tenth centuries, the way opened for local rule. In 938 Ngo Quyen destroyed a Southern Han fleet at the Bach Dang River and proclaimed himself king in 939 — the start of lasting independence.

Chinese domination period

Overview

Key developments

End and transition

Events

People