The Ming shilu consists of detailed day-to-day accounts of each Ming emperor’s utterances, conversations, and policy decisions, compiled from court diaries, memorials, and edicts upon his death as a foundational source for the eventual composition of the emperor’s reign annals in the official dynastic history. The practice of compiling Veritable Records became standard under Tang Taizong, but only the Ming and Qing Veritable Records have survived in their entirety.

The following excerpt from the Veritable Records for the Xuande emperor (Ming Xuanzong, r. 1425-1435) concerns the consequences of the Yongle emperor’s (Ming Taizong, r. 1402-1424) decision to invade and annex Đại Việt in 1407, in violation of Ming Taizu’s Ancestral Instructions (see source 2.16). By 1426, the Ming had ruled north Vietnam for nearly two decades, but the occupation force was increasingly vulnerable to Việt resistance armies led by Lê Lợi (ca. 1384-1433). The Xuande emperor was strongly inclined to abandon north Vietnam and sought support for this decision from four of his highest-ranking ministers, citing the Ancestral Instructions as a basis. Two of them agreed, citing the case of Han Emperor Yuan and Jia Juanzhi (see source 2.4) as a precedent.

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First year of the Xuande era (1426), fourth month, third day (May 9)

After the emperor concluded his court audience, he went to the Wenhua Palace. The four ministers Jian Yi (1363-1435), Xia Yuanji (1366-1430), Yang Shiqi (1365-1444), and Yang Rong (1371-1440) attended on him. The emperor said:

“Emperor Taizu’s Ancestral Instructions says, ‘The barbarians of the four quarters and the small countries of the southern Man are separated from us by mountains and seas and located in distant corners of the world. Even if we conquered their land, it would not be productive enough to sustain [a prefecture]; even if we conquered their people, they would be incapable of carrying out our commands.’ It also says, ‘If they overestimate their strength and come to make trouble on our frontiers, it will be ill-fated for them. But if they pose no threat to the Central Lands and yet we raise armies to attack them without cause, that would be ill-fated for us. I fear that my descendants, counting on the wealth and might of the Central Lands and coveting some fleeting martial glory, will raise armies for no reason and end up destroying human lives. Remember: This must not be done!’

Later, because Lê [Quý Ly] assassinated his ruler and abused his country’s people, Emperor Taizong (Yongle) had no choice but to raise an army to ‘comfort [the people] by punishing [the guilty tyrant].’¹ His initial intent was only to quell the rebel Lê and afterward seek out a descendant of the former king and install him as king. This was a great sentiment of reviving a fallen dynasty and restoring a broken line of succession. But all the former king’s descendants had been massacred by the rebel Lê.² [Emperor Taizong] then assented to the native people’s requests and established a commandery and counties, appointing officials to govern them. This was not Emperor Taizong’s original intent. Since then, not a year has gone by without military operations in Jiaozhi.³ Many living souls have already been killed there, while the people of the Central Lands are also extremely exhausted by the burdens of war. My imperial father frequently pondered this and felt deep compassion. Therefore, his first edict upon acceding to the throne extended special generosity and grace to them.⁴ Yesterday, generals were appointed to command armies [against the rebels in Jiaozhi], but I could not rest for the whole night. I truly cannot bear to let innocent living souls suffer any more. I thought about it many times and only wished to return to the situation in the Hongwu era [of Ming Taizu] and the early years of the Yongle era, when we allowed [Jiaozhi] to be its own country, presenting tribute annually. This would preserve the lives of the people there and also give the people of the Central Lands rest from their labors. What do you think?”

Jian Yi and the others all said nothing. The emperor said, “Surely this would not go against the wishes of my ancestors!” Xia Yuanji replied, “Emperor Taizong expended much labor and cost on pacifying that place. Now those little clowns are making trouble, but there is no doubt that we can crush them easily. If we were to abandon [Jiaozhi] in a day after twenty years of hard work, would we not be damaging your prestige? Please reconsider!”

The emperor turned to Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong and said, “What do you two say?” They replied, “Your Majesty’s sentiments surely accord with those of Heaven and the ancestors. In the time of Yao, Shun, and the three dynasties (Xia, Shang, and Zhou), Jiaozhi always lay beyond the outer zones of submission. Despite not possessing its land, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, and kings Wen and Wu were still sagely rulers. Emperor Taizong originally wanted to install a member of the Trần dynasty, and that is why he was a sage. Although Jiaozhi was a commandery under the Han and Tang dynasties, it wavered constantly between rebellion and submission. The occasions when armies were lost and wealth was squandered [over Jiaozhi] are too many to be recounted. When have we ever gained a single coin or a single soldier from there? In the time of Han Emperor Yuan, the people of Zhuya commandery rebelled and armies were sent to suppress them. The revolt continued for years. The authorities proposed sending a much larger army, but Emperor Yuan adopted Jia Juanzhi’s proposal to abolish Zhuya commandery. Past historians praised him for it. Emperor Yuan was a ruler of middling quality, but even he was able to practice humaneness and morality like this. How much more so Your Majesty, who is father and mother to the whole subcelestial realm? What need have you to vie for victory over those vile jackals and wild pigs?”

Xia Yuanji said, “Please allow the four of us to think about this more carefully before making reply.” The emperor said, “I will. But this has always been my intent, and it has nothing to do with how the war is going.” The next day, Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong came in to report some matters to the emperor. After they finished speaking, the emperor said, “On the matter of Jiaozhi that we discussed yesterday, I have my own thoughts. The two of you expressed views that were the same as mine. It is just that I could not say so immediately.”

[Despite the Xuande emperor’s desire to end the occupation, Ming troops remained in Vietnam and continued losing ground to the resistance led by Lê Lợi. Only after massive Ming reinforcements suffered decisive defeats in late 1426 and late 1427 did the Ming court finally decide to pull out of Vietnam. Lê Lợi then founded Đại Việt’s next ruling dynasty, the Later Lê.]

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1. Lê Quý Ly was a reformist minister of Đại Việt’s Trần dynasty who seized the throne in 1400 and changed his name to Hồ Quý Ly. In 1406, after he repelled a Ming military expedition sent to restore the Trần dynasty by installing a Trần prince (actually an impostor), a much larger Ming army invaded Đại Việt. Quý Ly was captured in 1407 and Vietnam remained under Ming occupation for twenty years (1407-1427). “Comforting the people by punishing the guilty tyrant” was a stock phrase for a just war of regime change, derived from Mencius 3B.5. ↩︎
2. This claim is disingenuous, as the last Trần dynasty emperor (now an eleven-year-old boy) was still alive in 1407, as were many other Trần aristocrats, some of whom later led revolts against Ming rule. In reality, Yongle decided to use his successful intervention against Hồ Quý Ly as an opportunity to reestablish Chinese rule over north Vietnam. ↩︎
3. The Ming renamed Đại Việt as Jiaozhi after annexing it in 1407, reviving an old commandery name dating from the Han empire. The military operations mentioned here were directed against Việt resistance groups. ↩︎
4. The Xuande emperor is referring to his father, the Hongxi emperor (r. 1424-1425), who succeeded the Yongle emperor in 1424 but died suddenly less than a year later, at the age of 46. ↩︎