"A De-civilizing Mission: Chinese Views of Vietnam"
Kate Baldanza, Pennsyvania State University

Historians of Vietnam often puzzle over how to reconcile Vietnam's resistance to Chinese control and acceptance of Chinese influence. We might better understand this difficulty by analyzing the Chinese (specifically, Ming) perceptions of Vietnam. Vietnam's political independence from and cultural similarities to China may in fact have been a greater problem for Chinese observers. I show that three Chinese perceptions of Vietnam existed simultaneously: Vietnam as a historical part of the Chinese empire; Vietnam as a discomforting (and possibly treasonous) reflection of China; and Vietnam as a barbarian foreign state beyond the pale of Chinese civilization. In this paper, I address how these attitudes cycled in response to political events.

Kathlene Baldanza is an Assistant Professor of History and Asian Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She is currently revising her dissertation, on Chinese relations with the Mac dynasty of Vietnam, for publication.

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