명 영락제의 베트남 침공(1406-1407)과 『명태종실록』의 기록 조작

Abstract

In 1406 the Ming launched a large-scale war against under the Ho 胡 regime of Vietnam, which had usurped the throne of the Tran 陳 dynasty. Ming Taizong 太宗, or the Yongle 永樂 emperor, unambiguously declared that he would drive out the usurper and restore the Tran rule. The final outcome of this punitive war against the usurpers, however, was the annexation and direct rule of Vietnam by the Ming. The ‘unexpected’ outcome raises a perplexing question: Why did the war not result in the restoration of Tran rule as Yongle had promised but annexation instead? According to conventional wisdom, Ming Taizong had no choice but to annex Vietnam. The Vietnamese people verified that none of the descendants of the Tran rulers had survived the massacre by the Ho usurpers, which made the Tran restoration impractical. In addition, it was none other than the Vietnamese people themselves who wanted to restore the ancient Chinese rule over Vietnam and petitioned for annexation. In this historical narrative, the Ming invasion of Vietnam deserves to be called a righteous war and the annexation of Vietnam should be considered a ‘compelling decision’ made in response to unexpected developments of events. This paper reveals, however, that the key entries in the Ming Veritable Records of Taizong Emperor 明太宗實錄, upon which the narrative of conventional wisdom is constructed, were doctored and fabricated by the court historians. The Ming court historians who compiled the Records during the Xuande 宣德 reign postdated the imperial proclamation of annexation by three months and doctored its contents to align with the historical situation of the manipulated date. And then, the compilers fabricated and inserted several entries related to the petitions for annexation. Upon meticulous examination of confidential edicts dispatched by Yongle to the Ming commanders of Vietnam expedition, and the removal of the doctored entries from the Records, it becomes apparent that the Ming emperor intended to annex Vietnam well before the war's commencement. Hence, Yongle’s promise of the restoration of Tran rule was nothing more than political rhetoric or propaganda employed to justify the invasion.