Vietnamese Cities and the State in the Pre-modern Era

Abstract

This essay discusses Vietnamese cities in the pre-modern era, especially their political significance to the rulers of state who built them. The first section takes issue with the assertion made by certain scholars that the urban genesis in Vietnam was nothing but the product of the Chinese colonization, and attempts to demonstrate that Vietnamese cities were the outcome of the internal development of the indigenous society. The second section, which focuses on various tales on the guardian spirits of the Thang Long capital cited in Sino-Vietnamese documents, further supports this point. The third section discusses the political significance of the walled cities and the city walls built by the rulers of independent Vietnam.
 The fourth section argues that cities had two functions. Generally speaking Vietnamese cities consisted of two parts: political and ritual centers fortified by walls; and surrounding quarters where commoners engaged in commercial and productive activities. Although the state rulers tried to control the outer parts of the cities, the economic activities conducted there by the common people should be regarded as the outcome and a reflection of the economic development in Vietnamese society as a whole, particularly in the rural areas.