The annals of Vietnam record that in the Tran period there were two types of land exploitation, one was the constraction of the banks named “Dinh Nhi”, and the other was the exploitation of the manors accompanied with the breakwaters. It is almost agreed to that the former was a large project on the planning of the government and the latter was a small and individual project on the initiative of the Tran royal family.
Dr. Yumio SAKURAI, who has published a series of studies on the Hong Hà delta, in the latest paper inquired into the exploitation of the western floodplain of the Hong Hà in the Tran period and concluded that the exploitation of this area was belonged to the former type, and suggested that that of the Nam Sách area and the lower delta belonged to the latter type. In this paper I examine the lower delta of the Hong Hà.
Originally the lower delta was a basic area of the Tran dynasty, and the Tran royal family had much influence in this area in spite that the capital was Hà Nôi. It is probable that with a public authority of the government for the background the royal family expanded their manors to the seaside that had not been exploited in the Lý period.
In the beginning of the 15th century the Tran dynasty was usurped by Ho Quý Ly, and because of the downfall of the Tran royal family and the invasion of the Ming troops, this area suffered an unparalleled fluctuation and fell into the situation easily controlled from above.
This situation can be inferred by the administrative demarcation that the Ming government established. Generally the Ming government established four grades: Bô Chính ty, phu, châu and huyên. But the lower delta was divided into several small prefectures (phu), and districts (châu) were omitted. By doing so the Ming government tried to make her control denser in this area. And the high rate of grasp of the rice fields in this area also testifies the intention of the Ming.
After driving away the Ming troops from Vietnam, the Lê government had to restore the terrain that was in an impoverished condition because of the deadly strife and bloodshed. So the government worked out a series of policies such as the reform of the taxation system, the modification of the cadastre and the census register, and so on. It is a matter of course that the government made much of the lower delta because the relations of land ownerships were renewed and a lot of undeveloped land still existed. So it is not too much to say that the Lê government took over the policy of the Ming at the point.
But, according to the annals, it was later that representatives of the lower delta participated in the central government. Agriculturally there was a lot of undeveloped land, socially there were a lot of comparatively new villages, culturally there was a great delay because of the distance from the cultural core in this area. I conclude that this imbalance between the intention of the government and the reaction of this area indicates the immaturity of the lower delta of the Hong Hà.
