The End of the Tributary Relationship between Vietnam and China in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

• Main Author: Hanh, Nguyen Thi My
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Vietnam; China; France; diplomacy; tributary relationship
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/apssr/vol22/iss1/2; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/apssr/article/1431/viewcontent/RA_201.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

This article explores the final movement and transformation of “traditional” diplomatic activities between Vietnam and China in a unique historical period from 1858 to 1885. In particular, this period begins when French colonialists, a third factor, appeared and concludes when the tributary relationship between Vietnam and China ended in accordance with the Tianjin Treaty signed between France and China. Vietnam tried to maintain peaceful and open relations with China. Concurrently, the Qing Dynasty strived to maintain a relationship with its Vietnamese “vassal.” The Qing Dynasty needed both the political and economic interests of its vassal, especially when its own prestige was decreasing. However, despite these efforts, during this period, the traditional diplomacy between the two countries deteriorated and then came to a permanent end. This occurred when China compromised with France and was forced to officially abandon its “suzerain” right in Vietnam (under the Tianjin Treaty signed with France on June 9, 1885). The end of the Vietnam–China tributary relationship at this time contributed to the accelerated collapse of the long-standing Chinese tributary system in East Asia and to the clarification of the mutability of the so-called “center.”