Xã hội việt nam trong các thế kỷ 13 đến 15 và việc trao đổi buôn bán đồ sứ tại vùng đông á

VIETNAMESE SOCIETY IN THE 13™-15^" CENTURIES AND PORCELAIN TRADE EXCHANGE IN EAST ASIA NGUYEN VAN KIM Abstract: Throughout Vietnam history, the period 13"^ - 15*'' centuries marked the throne establishment and maintenance of three different reigns: Tran, H6 and early Le During this period, Trin reign lasted 175 years (1225-1400); the throne of H6 existed only years (1400-1407) and eariy Le kept the power in 99 years (1428-1527) in the total 361 years (1428-1789) of the post Le dynasty The TrSn monarchy maintained power the longest in comparison of these reigns From internal and intemational historical evidence, the author tties to figure out Vietnamese typical history, society features then and clarity economic policies as well as intemational ttade activities, namely porcelain of three reigns focusing on Tran and early Le with East Asia nations Key words: Dgi Viet, porcelain ttade exchange, East Asia D^i ViSt policies on foreign affairs order to deal with permanent political pressure Being a powerful reign in South East of from the North empires and invasion schemes Asia, Tran dynasty highly recognized the role of the South West forces, Tran dynasty was of extemal economic relation in reinforcing gradually national power, expanding national influence enhancing the central govemment power consolidating its govemment, Wifliin two centuries, Thang Long governments simultaneously with developing foreign affeirs, had several policies fostering foreign ttade economic exchanges, cultural interaction activities with the focus on fiilly implementing with other countties m the region The active the function of business sea ports - the foreign affairs policies of Trin dynasty not entrance of intemational trade Given favorable only brought prosperity to the country but conditions, those in Northeast and Nghe also contributed to the national power and TTnh together with Thang Long port in Tran set the political superiority of Dai Viet dynasty became the most important sea ports of the country In the history of Vietnam, the mandarins of Tran dynasty were famous for determuied but open, active and intelligent political mind''' Some high ranking mandarins such as Trin Quang Khai, Trin Nhat Duat (1253 1330) also actively participated in foreign affairs events thanks to their wide, deep knowledge and multi-language fluency In 42 '*' Assoc Prof, Ph.D., University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi *'' Le Quy Don commented on the qualification and characteristics of intelligentsia in Tran dynasty "They are purely hard, generous and zero-corruptive Thanks to the generous, calm and respectful policy of Trin dynasty towards intelligentsia, they were very independent, generous, outstanding, and creative to meet expectations It was still a very good example for the next generations to follow" Le Quy Don, Kiin van tiiu luc (Small Chronicle of Things Seen and Heard), Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi, 1977, pp 258-259 Viemamese Society in the 13""-15'^ Centuries Inheriting traditional relationship, Tran dynasty had a comprehensive viewpoint to stiongly integrate Southeast Asia trade system In parallel to reinforcing Van Don position next to Hoa Nam ttade center, they constantly enacted the role of Nghe-Tinh business ports which proved to be a significant policy of the government in the attempt to integrate East Asia economy'^' Relishing the uprising position of an independent country, Thang Long govemment always initiated foreign affairs with a highly potential political power in dealing with relations, conflicts in the region Clearly recognizing the position of the nation to maintain independence and development, Thang Long govemment prioritized peace and stability with East Asia nations*^' Consistently, they kept independence and sovereign authority while following a flexible, mutual benefit relation with China authority Therefore, they determinedly opened a nationwide stmggle against invaders at large scales when the sovereignty was violated Meanwhile, Tran dynasty performed the role of a civilized and powerful sub regional empire''*' to the South countries, which made several neighbors set foreign affair relationship'' In reality, Tran dynasty had built a "sacred ring" - a defense round for the nation, Thang Long capital and other ttade centers Though positioning in the Red River Delta, Thang Long was not a typical domestic urban which attached closed to delta region mindset and agricultural economic model Being the capital of a newly motivated country, industry and business sectors were always the core, main flows of Dai Viet economic activities' In other words, during the U^^ and 14* centuries, Thang Long was not ortiy a production center but also a big port for ttansiting goods of Dai Viet The commodity was collected in Thang Long, then it was distributed to other economic zones or intemational business ports such as Van '"' Nguyen Van Kim (2012), Cdc thurmg cang viing Nghe - Tinh va moi giao thirang khu vuc the ky XIXIV (Trade Harbors in Nghe - Tfnh and Regional Business Relations from the ! l"' lo 14" Centuries), Historical Studies, No 12(440), p 15 ''* Phan Huy Chu (2007), Lich trieu hien chuang togi chi (Regulations of the Successive Dynasties by Subject-matter), Vol.2, Education Publishing House, Hanoi, p.533 Analyzing past regimes' foreign affairs, Phan Huy Chil concluded: "In governing a country, it is essential to keep peace with neighbors, behave well in the society, so The Spring and Autumn Annals carefully mentioned the formal relations and Meng ZT noted neighbor relations for the official using faithfulness to prudently practice" *•*' Phan Huy Chu remarked in Bang giao chi (Foreign Relation Records and Formality): "Vietnam is in the South of China, with regard to the scale of country and population, the king called himself "emperor" inside the country and lord to Chinese thrones and received their knighthood Therefore, monarchs appreciated the offering ceremonies, knighthood and foreign relations" Phan Huy Chu, Regulations of the Successive Dynasties by Subjectmatter, Ibid, p.533 ' " i n 1011, one year after Ly Th4i T6 was crowned, Champa sent a delegate to offer him lions Statistics showed that in Ly dynasty (1009-1226), Champa sent 43 delegates to offer lions, white elephants, crocodiles and a lot of valuable things such as silk, silver, gold, etc Until Triin dynasty, many South East Asia countries continued to come to set foreign affair relations and trade interactions with Thang Long government '*' Tran Quoc Vuong considered Thang Long - H^ Ngi as a "triangular", then "rectangular water area" to emphasize the typical feature of an urban, that all gates were on rivers See more Tran Quoc Vuong (2010), DSt thieng ngan nam van vat (A Thousand Year Sacred Land), Hanoi Publishing House, Hanoi, p.83 43 Vietnam Social Sciences, No 1(165) - 2015 Don for doing business activities Getting out of a closed Eastern town model, Thang Long proved to be an open urban, enjoying a multi-relation with China, South East Asia, India and the vast of South West Asia'^* In the 13"*- 14* centuries, there emerged Dai Vi^t extemal trade centers with the core was at Van Don in East North coastal areas together with traditional extemal centers along Vietnam - China border In Nghe TTnh, there appeared trade centers with the Western mountainous countries (Ai Lao, Nguu H6ng, Chan Lap, etc.) and sea ports, river docks (with China, Champa, South East Asia, South West Asia, etc.) Those economic activities formed the cmcial rectangular economic site of Dai Viet In Trin dynasty, Thang Long - Van D6n was the most important axe of extemal economy of that rectangular, it was also the transit of national commodity circle Many South East Asia countries preferred integrating business activities and foreign affairs relationship (offering valuable items) in doing intemational trade Trin dynasty analyzed thoughtfully and classified each nation into proper pack and dealt with each issue, relation separately They offered favorable business relation to maritime countries such as Srivijaya (from the 13"' century was Majapahit) and Champa According to Toan thu (Complete Annals), in 1348 Majapahit business crew reached Van D6n to buy sea pearls; in 1349, Java crew came to offer red speaking parrots and local specialties; in 1360, Majapahit crew again came to Van D6n to business and offered specialties and m 1394, they returned 44 to give rare horses'^*, etc We can see that ancient Indonesia countries several times sent delegates to business and established foreign affairs relation with Vietnam The list included Champa, Palembang, Tumasik in Malacca, etc These crews often chose Van D^n, Thang Long or Nghe - Hnh ports to set, reinforce the relationship' ' At that time, the economic, political, foreign affairs activities often mingled and closely related to each other In the chapter "Khu vu" (Geology) in "Van dai Ioai ngO" (The Classified Discourse of the Library), Le Quy Don commented: "In Tran dynasty, business crew traded in the region precious items such as Westem cloth, Majapahit textile and pearls, Cambodia and Laos elephant ivory, hawks, agar wood, crocodiles etc all are so rare that we can hardly see today"'"'^ We can see that Dai Viet extemal economy was both an integrate partiier and a counterpart of regional economy system Institute of Histoiy (1989), Do thi c6 Viet Nam {Vietnam Ancient Urban), Hanoi Publishing House, p.145; Bui Minh Tri (2006), "G6m Islam - B5ng chimg giao liru giSa TSy A vdi An Nam h6 phu" (Islamic Porcelain: The Evidence of Relation between West Asia with Annam Territory), in New Archeology Findings, Social Sciences Publishing House '^' Dai Viet Sit Ky Toan Thu (Complete Annals of D^i Vi?t), Vol.2, Social Sciences Publishing House, 1993, pp.131, 140,186 1^' Nguyen Thi Phuong Chi and Nguyen Tien Dung, "Ve cac m6i giao thuong ciia qu6c gia Dai Vi?t th6i d^i Ly, TrSn" (On D^ii Vi?t Trade Centers in Ly, Tran Dynasties), in Nguyen Van Kim (chief author) (2011), Nguai Viet vdi biin (Vietnamese and the Sea), The World Publishing House, Hanoi, pp.236-238 Le Quy Don (1962), Vdn dai hgi ngU (the Classified Discourse of the Library), Vol.1, Culture Publishing House, Hanoi, pp.l56-I57 Viemamese Society in the 13""-15''' Centuries Professor Sakurai Yumio pointed that South East Asia had early established Melayu network with the center - the core was monarchs along Malacca coast, Palembang Beside centers, there were peripheral points with the participation of several countries and ports Therefore, "Melayu was a typical model of South East Asia and an important motivation in the history of the region In fact, all South East Asia frade centers had business links with Melayu The development process of so-called "extemal oriented centers" closely related to Melayu network"''*\ However, Dai Viet extemal ttade activities did not completely rely on that network Hoa Nam economic center and its fraditional economic relation co-existed with Melayu during many centuries That bilateral feature formed Dai Viet a unique position linking South East and North East Asia with the core of Vietnamese and Melayu - Polynesian population which had been the common, universal values in many neighboring countries After the successful stmggle against Mongol invasion in the late 13* century, East Asia countries in the 15"^ century faced another invasion of Ming and political pressure from some powerfiil forces In general, the 15* century was not a peaceful time in the region In that context, early Le had to both bitild a sfrong centered govemment, focusing on developuig national economy, consolidating peaceful relation with East Asia countries and protect national sovereignty and security, especially in border, coastal and trade center areas Hence, just only four months after being crowned, Le Thai To (reigning 1428-1433) ordered: "to fully, clearly register local specialties such as bronze, iron, silk, textile, painting, beeswax, canarium wax, oil, salt, rattan In the same year, he ordered provinces, districts, prefectures to explore Moms alba white mulberry, land, mineral mines, forest specialties, seafood, salt in the sea line and other existing products ''^', etc Aiming at effectively organizing social activity to foster economic interaction, Le Thai Tong (reigning 1434 - 1442) in March 1439 regulated monetary, quantity and volume: "sixty "dong" makes one "tien" ("dong" and "tien" were monetary units then - translator), a cloth of silk should be 30 "thuac" long and one "thuoc" three "tac" wide ("thuoc" and "tac" were distance units then, a "thuac" is about 40 cm and a "tac" is about cm - translator), a small cloth of rough textile should be 20 "thuac" long and one "thuac" three "tic" wide or more, soft cloth should be 24 "thuac" long, a rough cotton cloth should be 22 "thuac", and paper is counted every 100 sheet'''*' Le dynasty understood the role of industrial and trade sectors of economy and had sttong measures to protect natural resources In August 1464, Le Thaitii Tong issued that: "those who illegally commit '"' Sakurai Yumio (1996), "Thii phac di;ng cau tnlc lich sij cua khu vac Dong Nam A (Thong qua m6i lien he giiia bien va luc dia)" (An Outline of South East Asia History Strucmre through the Connection between the Sea and the Land), South East Asia Studies, Vol.4, p.42 *'^' Dai Viet Sie Ky Toan Thu (Complete Annals of Dai Vi?t), Ibid, Vol.2, p.296 "^* Bgi Vi4t Su Ky Toan Thu (Complete Annals of Dgi Vi4l) Ibid Vol.2, p.298 "•" Dgi Vi4t Su Ky Toan Thu (Complete Annals of Dgi Vi$t), Ibid, Vol.2, p.348 45 Viemam Social Sciences, No 1(165) - 2015 exploiting water pearls and producing boom conditions of the region''^' Ryukyu counterfeit money imits should be separately sent 171 business fleets to China, 89 to An charged depending on whether criminals or Nam, 37 to Java and 19 to Japan According accomplice""^' Le kings later several times to Rekidai hoan, (Precious Documents of promulgated decrees on protecting pearls in Successive Generations), ambassador of North East sea area, gold, ivory, rare wood, Chuzan offered "Van thp Dai vuong" and herbals They also issued resolutions (probably Le Tuong Due, 1509-?) ten tons building markets, fostering ttade activities of sulfijtr and many armors, swords, and strictly punished fraudulent, red tape, textiles"^', etc resistance to goods exchanges "Hong Diic After the event of 1471 (the Dgi Viet thien chinh thu" (Uecords of Good Policies Champa war), Dai Vi?t expanded influence in Hong Diic Reign) mentioned specific to the South and confrolled ttade ports in regulations on markets' activities and the central areas Therefore, many businessmen requirements for building a market and ambassadors started to come to offer Accordingly, "market is an integrated part items and business"^' Beside official of population, the function of market is to trade activities, there were also unofficial exchange commodity, therefore trade deals and it was difficult to distinguish the development is to meet the demands of two types of business exchanges since they people If there is one existing market, local mixed and mingled Some delegates and authority must not prohibit it just to open ambassadors also did illegal trade activities, another one, it is unreasonable for trade as Momoki Shiro found: "in early Le activities"*'^' It is clear that early Le kings fiilly understood the factual needs and "'^' Dgi Vi?t Su Ky Toan Thu (Complete Annals of wishes of people as well as the role of Dgi Vift), Ibid, Vol.2, p.401 "*' Hdng Due thi^n chinh thu (Good Policies of industrial and business sectors Hong Due Reign), Saigon University, Nam Hi In order to reinforce extemal economic Publishing House, 1959, p.l45 activities, Le dynasty had several business *'^* Geoff Wade (2009), An Early Age of Commerce in Southeast Asia, 900-1300 CE, in: Journal of deals with South Asian counfries such as Southeast Asian Studies 40 (2), National University Malacca, Palembang, Champa, Majapahit of Singapore etc beside maintaining economic relation ""' Kin Seiki (1999), "Mau djch Dong Nam A ciia vuong qu6c Ryukyu va d6 g6m sii Vi?t Nam phdt witii China and maybe with Ryukyu History hi?n dugfc ij Okinawa" (Ryukyu Trade with South records proved that before Japan directly East Asia Countries and Viemamese Porcelain Found established economic relationship with South in Okinawa), Records of International Conference Vietnam - Japan Relation in the 15"' - 17''' Centuri East countries, Ryukyu fleets of commerce through Porcelain Exchanges, Center for Vietnamese had come to Dai Viet and other East Asia Studies and Cultural Exchanges - Institute for countries In tiie 14* - 15* centuries, Ryukyu Intemational Culture, Showa Women's University, Hanoi monarch sent a number of delegates " " "Because the king had defeated Champa, he offering items and doing business with East became so famous that Wertem neighboring Asia countries, exploitmg early economic countries rushed to offer items", in chapter Joiin thu, Complete Annals of Dgi Viit, Ibid, Vol.2, p 451 46 Vietnamese Society in the 13 - 15' Centuries dynasty (1428 - 1527), 64 delegates were sent to Ming The offered items were often gold, silver (offered thirty four times), horse (four times), ivory and rhino horn (seven times), rare wood (three times), but the quantity and value of the offered items were not recorded Those delegated were really committed to illegal ttade, so they were punished by King Le Thai Tong in 1433-1434"'^'^' It is clear that despite Le dynasty effort to strietiy conttol intemational trade activities, they could not stop illegal business because of its huge benefits The king was unable to always assert his authority and regulations Porcelain exchanges with East Asia countries In Tran dynasty, thanks to domestic and intemational socio-political environment, togetiier with business villages, craft villages producing advantaged goods emerged more and more'^'' The significant examples are: Kim Lan, Bat Trang, Th6 Ha (porcelain); La Khe, La Ca (textile); Buoi (paper) and many other blacksmith, painting villages These craft villages positioned mainly in Thang Lor^, B ^ Giang (Bac Ninh, Bic Gang), Hai Dong (Quang Ninh), H6ng Chau (Hai Duong), Khoai Chau (Hung Yen), Thien Truong (Nam Dinh), Kidn Xuang (Thai Binh), Tmong Yen (Ninh Binh) and even Thanh Hoa, Nghf An, Ha Tmh The demand of a big economy and open trade business encouraged different economic sectors developed They not only aimed at meetmg the demand of domestic customers, but also achieved export targets In Vietnam histoiy, the 13"" - * centuries marked the appearance of big craft centers Gettmg out of traditional and geographical mind, craft villages and production centers formed close, multi-level links between providers and producers, between producers and markets, sellers and purchasers, domestic and intemational markets, etc During many centuries, regional and inter-regjonal economic activities were very busy Whole sale markets were emerging to function as the contioller and mediator Many special, high quality crafts were made in the capital and in craft villages, which were used in foreign affairs relation or fraded in the market*^^' Tran dynasty's main trade ports were in the North East region, namely Van Ninh, Mong Cai, Cat Ba, Co To and Nghe - "Hnh ones always had business with Qinzhou, Guangzhou, Hainan (China), South East Asia, Thi Nai (Champa), and ports of then powerful nations such as Srivijaya, Majapahit '^'" Momoki Shiro (1998), "Dai Viet and East Sea Tradefromthe lO"" to the IS"" Centuries", Crossroad - An Interdisciplinary Journal of South Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University *^'* Pham Van Kinh, "Vai n^t ve bp mat thuong nghiep Viet Nam thai Ly - Tran" (An Overview of Vietnam Business in Ly - Tran Dynasties), in 77m hieu xd hgi Viet Nam thai Ly - Trdn (Researching Vietnam Society in Ly - Trdn Dynasties), Ibid, p 187 '^^' Archeology findings in Kim Lan porcelain village (Gia Lam, Ha Noi) in 2000-2004 showed that Kim Lan porcelain products in Tran dynasty were variable and quality was high Besides celadon, brown glaze, white glaze, archeologists also found iron brown and cobalt porcelain Kim Lan celadon is quite complex with nice decorations, mainly embedded in the glaze of small bowls, dishes, pots etc There were some masterpiece decors with lotus, chrysanthemum like Chinese porcelain in Song and Yuan dynasties Tong Trung Tin, Bui Minh Tri, Nguyen Van Hung and Nishimura Masanari (2001), Bao cao kit qua dieu tra - khai qudt di chi sdn xudt gSm d Kim Lan (Field Reports of Investigatmg Kim Lan Porcelain Producing Site), Institute of Archeology - Board of Heritage and Landscape Management, Hanoi, p.3 47 Viemam Social Sciences, No 1(165) - 2015 (Indonesia), Sukhothay (now Thailand' ') Van D6n ttade port was famous for not only a big trade center but also a ttansit of commodity in the region A lot of Chinese products had been brought to this place, which means regional enttepreneurs could directly import goods from China without going to Chinese ports Vice versa, Chinese business people could get products from Dai Viet, South East and South West Asia that North East Asia markets needed'^"^' In term of craft production, Dai Viet economy in Tran dynasty enjoyed a number of innovations The system of high quality porcelain kiln could produce unique products While Chinese craft centers were not able to fiilfill the demands of the regional market, international enfrepreneurs came to Dai Viet to buy porcelain and other commodities Within the competition of Asia, Dai Viet porcelain products such as non brown, cobalt etc were favored Researchers suggest that "in comparison to Ly reign time, TrSn dynasty porcelain products were more variably decorated Porcelain in Tran time, especially iron brown stiongly confirmed national self ego In cultural interaction, porcelain during this time was influenced by Champa culture (apsara, gamda ) Comparing with Thailand porcelain at the time, the products of Tran dynasty were nicer, and they were exported quite a lot, as Tr§n dynasty porcelain items were found in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Belgium, etc'^^' factors to study, investigate and assess the history of foundation, scale and level of perfOTmance and influence of Dai Vift economy Results show that there are similar features between porcelain items found in Van D6n with wreckages in Shinan (South Korea), in Shuri (Okinawa, Japan) or in Topkapi Saray museum (Turkey) Of course, the porcelain exchange relation was not a one way deal In the investigation of C6ng Tay site (Quang Ninh), the Vietnamese Japanese archeologists, historians found several potteries, porcelain items, especially special celadon of Longquan (China)'^^' After assessing by C'"* radiation, it reveals that the items in village number emerged from 1220 to 1280'"' This place is also tiie '^^' John K.Whitmore, Van D6n, the "Mac Gap", and the End of the Jiaozhi Ocean System: Trade and State m Dai Vi?t, Circa 1450-1550; in: Nola Cooke, Li Tana, and James A Anderson (Ed.): The Tonkin Gulf Through History, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011, p.l02 *"' Chu Khu Phi noted: "Giao Chi relied on Qinzhou to provide all necessary commodities, so their business crew never stopped moving" See more'Chu Khti Phi (1999), LTnh ngogi dgi dap (Foreign Questions and Answers), Vol.5, Beijing, China, p.72 '"' Ha Van Tan (chief author) (2002), Khao cd hoc Viit Nam (Viet Nam Archeology), Vol.3, History of Vietnam Archeology, pp.173-174 '^^'Abe Yuriko and Kikuchi Seiichi, Nhirng kit qua dieu tra khao co hoc tai khu vjcc thuang cdng Van Ddn, Vi4t Nam (Archeology Field Results of Vdn Don Trade Port, Viit Nam), in Record of Scientific Conference: Vdn Ddn Trade Port, Ibid, p 513 The investi^on delate included historians and archeolt^jsts such as: Hdn Van Khdn, Nguyin Chieu, Nguyin van Kim, Kikuchi Seiichi, Abe Yuriko and some officials in Quang Ninh There were abundantly domestic and cultural '^'' In many investigations at number five village and intemational porcelain products m Van Ninh, other places, such as Chuong B6, Khe SSn, the Cdt Van Don, Hgi Thong, Ky Ninh sea ports It pond in C6ng Tiy Island, we found iron brown porcelain timed Trin dynasty and Longquan items is possible to conclude that porcelain was a In Thoi sanh, Va Dgt (Van Ninh), we also found typical export item of Dai Viet The presence many Yuan high quality porcelain items However, items were rare to see in any other of wreckages in old ports is hnportant Longquan archeological sites, trade ports in Tran dynasty 48 Viemamese Society in the 13'" -15' Centuries densest of Chinese celadon ceramics found in Vietnam'^^' Besides, researchers also found celadon porcelain, pottery wreckages of the 13* - U"* centuries, Chinese iron brown, Longquan celadon ceramics Song and Yuan coins in Van Hai, Con Quy, Cai Lang, Minh Chau, Ngpc Vung ete'^^' Based on this, we can conclude the outstanding position and potential economic power of Van Don frade ports It is possible that after the struggle against Mongol, Tran dynasty practiced many positive policies fostering foreign trade activities to strengthen the economy and national power Through the investigation of little bays in Cong Tay Island, we come to a conclusion that in Tran dynasty, entrepreneurs on the island already divided market shares and classified frade activities The difference in porcelain items found in these little bays suggests that a process of task management had already been done The author assumes that trade activities were done at a high professional level Possibly, this contemporarily occurred at two levels: first, between domestic enttepreneurs with international counterparts; second, among different craft villages, centers doing different business Together with natural specialties, porcelain items caught the eyes of regional enti^preneurs From different trade ports, Dai Viet commodity including porcelain was exported to East Asia, South West Asia Research results of historians, archeologists in the recent decades reveal that Dai Viet porcelain items including those in Tran dynasty were found in many old ttade port sites in Asian countries, in Persia, Egypt and Turkey*^^' Many Dai Viet commodities timely served the urgent need of trade porcelain in West Asia as well as South East Islamic counhies such as Philippine, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc Today, Fusat museum (Jakarta, Indonesia) presents many high quality Vietnamese porcelain items in different periods, including 15 Dai Viet iron brown porcelain items, three of which were found in Sulawesi, Sumatra va Soeggminssa In many parts of South East Asia and Japan, bowls and dishes with dull chrysanthemum decor, the typical feature of Tran dynasty porcelain While researching Al Tur archeological site in the South of Sinai peninsula, scientists also found a series of trade porcelain including Vietnam cobalt ceramics To date, Al Tur in the West Asia is the site that Vietnam porcelain was found most We can see dull glaze pottery decorated with fiilly blossomed chrysanthemums on the background of ivory glaze by typical graffiti This ceramic product is much similar to the archeological items found in Duong Hac, Cong Dong Cong Tay Hence, "the appearance of Tran porcelain in Van Don and places mentioned above suggested that Vietnam porcelain products had already been fraded in the world ceramic ttade since the 14 century"'^^' '^*' Trinh Cao Tuong (2007), Mot chdng dudng tim vi qua khir (A Path to the Past), Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi, p.270 '"' Do Van Ninh, Thuang cdng Vdn Ddn lich sir (Historic Vdn Don Trade Port), Ibid, pp 123-159 '^"^ Ayoa Yogi (1991), "D6 g6m Viet Nam tim ducrc vung quSn dao Dong Nam A" (Vietnam Porcelain found in South East Asia Peninsula), trong: Do thi CO Hoi An (Hgi An Ancient Town), The World Publisher, pp.113-124 '^" Ha Van Tan (chief author) Ibid, p.l74 '"' Trinh Cao Tuong (2000), Vi cudc diiu tra nghien CWU thuang cdng Van Ddn (About Researching Vdn Ddn Trade Port), Ibid, p.7 49 Vietnam Social Sciences, No 1(165) - 2015 Despite cut throat competition of Chinese porcelain products in centuries, Dai Viet porcelain still evolved and dominated several East Asia markets by exploiting political conditions and the fluctuation of the region enterprises, especially the temporary incline of Chinese ceramics in the interim period between Song - Yuan regimes At certain time, Dai Viet porcelain products were exported at large scales In the 13"' - 14"* centuries, the recession of many Chinese craft industries evoked the commodity rush in Asian market Chinese porcelain could not fulfill the demands of East and South East Asia markets Frankly speaking, the political and economic change in China during the Song, Yuan and Ming regimes (1368 - 1644) was the key factor that helped South East Asia countries including Dai Viet fiercely integrated Asian business market Tran porcelam had significant advantages of quality, style and gouts that caught the eyes of intemational markets Even Yuan regime asked Thang Long govemment to offer porcelain'^^', so Dai Viet ceramics must have had some masterpiece products It is likely that some craft villages such as Thang Long, Bat Trang, Kim Lan, Thien Truong etc had specified in producing high quality porcelain for royal family, foreign affairs and export In Kim Lan, "many porcelain products were found including iron brown, cobalt, ivory glaze pottery etc, especially wreckage of cobatt bowls and cups Those parts were of high quality with different decoration in comparison with those found in Philippines and Indonesia It is also possible that Kim Lan pottery products were exported before'"''*'" In addition, pottery 50 products with embedded brown glaze affected by Chinese style which enjoyed high price were also produced in some craft villages in Thang Long and some other localities* ' Because of its popularity, multi-purpose, long lasting and maintenance, pottery products got the interests of mandarins and grassroots people From Tran regime, Dai Viet pottery products became familiar in South East Asia market It is assumed that in Tran dynasty, porcelain was one of key business sectors towards Asian market In history, the 14"^ century was also considered the open period of porcelain exchange between Eastern '"• In Bang giao chi (Foreign Affairs records), author confirmed that "Mongol regime demanded every three years an offer must be made, including Confucians, doctors, soothsayers and workers, each job three people, and specialties such as agar wood, rhino horns, pearls, turtle, silver and gold, ivory, ceramics etc." Phan Huy Chu (2007), L/c/i triiu hien chuong logi chi (Regulations of Successive Dynasties by Subject-matter) Ibid, Vol.2, p.574 ' •** Tong Trung Tin, Bui Minh Tri, Nguyen Van Hung and Nishimura Masanari (2001), Bao cao kit qua dieu tra - khai qudt di chi sdn xuat gdm d Kim Lan (x5 Kim Lan, huyen Gia Lam), (Field Report of Kim Lan Pottery Archeological Site (Kim Lan Commune, Gia Lam District), Hanoi, March 2001, Institute of Archeology - Board of Heritage and Landscape Management, p.3 From research results, archeologists suggested that: "Cobalt, celadon pottery items like Kim Lan ones were found in Quang Ninh ports, such as BSn Bang, Bin Dam Gao (Ho^nh B6), BSn Lang Ca (Cat Ba), Quan Lan (Van Don), etc This contributed to the fact that Kim Lan pottery was exported in Van DSn trade port system in the 14"'century",/6(£/,p.l0 "^' Before Kim Lan, in Dai La citadel (Thang Long), archeologists found a high quality pottery producing center in the 14*^ century Therefore, together with different items, wastes, calcinations cover, we can conclude that Kim Lan, Bdt Trang, ThiSn Tnrcmg were Tran pottery centers Noticeably, items found in Kim Lan got many similarities with Vietnam pottery found in Dazaifu (Japan), year 1330 T6ng Trung Tin,/6/£^,p.l0 Vietnamese Society in the 13''' -15"' Centuries countries'^'*' The oldest Dai Viet pottery wreckage was found in Dazaifia archeological site, Fukuoka province, Japan having dull blue glaze'"' "This wreckage and other items belonged to the year 1330 (Gentoku second year), so we can predict that it was made in the first half of 14'*^ century, therefore it is an indicator to determine Vietnam porcelain" The density of the 13* 14* centuries' wreckages found in North East ttade ports and other historical, cultural sites supported the theory that Tr^n porcelain developed much higher than in regimes before In the early Le, porcelain had new development and became an important export product of Dai Viet Among those, Chu Dau and Chu Dau like products became the main source To date, porcelain of Le dynasty was found in many Asian countries In foreign affairs and intemational trade, Le govemment highly appreciated exchanging commodity and offer Beside costumes, pearls, silk, herbal porcelain became a luxury product of Thang Long government Many items were used to offer Chinese kings or ambassadors Toan thu noted that in 1437, Champa ambassador Trai Cuong Lat came to offer items, Le king gave him many properties as well as sending Champa king twenty silk cloths, thirty sets of cups and dishes, and to his wife five silk cloths, three sets of cups and dishes, each set containing thirty five ones to express his willingness to Champa king'^^'" In his book "Du dia chi" (Geography) (1434), Nguyen Trai noted: "Bat Trang is in Gia Lam district Hue Cau is in Van Giang district The two villages provided seventy sets of dishes and bowls, two hundred dark cloths to offer China authority'^^'" Significantly based on pottery wreckages found in shrunk ship in Cii Lao Cham (1997-2000), scientists suggested that 240.000 items (not including pieces) belong to Chu Dau My Xa (Nam Sach, Hai Duong) pottery system m 15* century Those pottery items were perfect in terms of producing techniques, style and art value The discovery of Cu Lao Cham wreckages completely change the thought of domestic and intemational researchers on economic policies of early Le, the development level of Chu Dau pottery system as well as the role, features and major contribution of Vietnam pottery in the 15* century - a prosperous development time of Dai Viet pottery''^^' '^^' Bui Minh Tri, "G6m Viet Nam thuong mai duong biin chau A th^ ky XVII" (Vietnam Porcelain in Asian Sea Trade System in the l?"" Century), In University of Social Sciences and Humanity Vietnam National University, Viit Nam h? thdng thuong mai chdu A the ky XVI-XVIl (Viemam in Asian Trade System during the 16* - 17* Centuries), Ibid, p.663 *"' Kikuchi Seiichi and Yoshida Yasuko, "V^ nh&ng di vat gom hoa lam Viet Nam duoc phat hien tai Nhat Ban tir thai trung thi dSn thai can thi" (About Viemam Cobalt Pottery Wreckages found in Japan from the Middle to the Pre-modem Time), in Viet Nam hi thdng thuang mai chdu A thi ky XVIXVIl (Vietnam in Asian Trade System during the 16''' - ]?"' Centuries), Ibid, p.679 "^' Dgi Viit su ky toan thu (Complete Annals of Dai Viet), Ibid, Vol.2, p.346 '^'' Nguyen Trai, Du dia chi (Geography), Ibid, p.464 ''"'' Pham Quoc Quan, Kit qua khai qudt tau c6 ddm d viing Cii Lao Chdm (1997-2000) (Results of Exploring Ancient Shrunk Ship in Cii Lao Chdm 1997 - 2000); Ho Xuan Tinh, "Cii Lao Cham" Con duong to lua trSn biin (Cu Lao Cham in Silky Road on Sea, Journal of Past and Present, Vol.76, June - 2000, pp.20-23 and Vol.134 (182), February2003, pp.28-29 See more: Nguyen Dinh Chien, Pham Quoc Quan, Tong Trung Tin and Do Manh Ha (2000), Thong Bao khoa hgc (Scientific Information), Viemam Historical Museum, Hanoi 51 Viemam Social Sciences, No 1(165) - 2015 Conclusion Through three regunes to the 15* century, Dai Viet politics changed from aristocratic monarchy to centralized monarchy There were changes from Buddhist monarchy to Confiicius monarchy in term of thought, and from monarchy kinship to multi-ethnic monarchy many family lines, many people participating national political life in term of society Despite strict regulations, early Le govemment stmcture was more cable of uniting than ttaditional institutions Early Le centered governments sttongly aimed at building a strict social stmcture with a clear distinguish hierarchical fimction and mission That institution also aimed at mle of law and building a mle of law state The key point of this institution is that the power is in the hand of the king, management schemes were legalized, and Confiicius was appraised to become core thought system of the society In term of foreign affairs, Dai Viet regimes always tried to peacefully deal with coimtries, political forces in the region under the simultaneous influence of three political and cultural forces: India, South East Asia, China Inheriting ttaditionally peaceftil neighboring relations from Ngo (939-976), Dinh (968-980), pre - Le (9801009), Ly, Tran and early Le dynasties broadened intemational trade exchanges, completed foreign trade system contemporarily vidtii practicing multilateral relations towards regional counfries Foreign frade activities contributed to the completion of national economic system, creating a balanced power in regional relations, bringing power to 52 govemment, local administrative agencies and many mandarins, relatives etc However, Dai Viet regimes were always ready and resolute to stmggle against any threat harming national independence, freedom and sovereignty From above presentation and analyses, we can conclude that in Vietnam history, industry and frade economies includmg producing, trading, exchanging porcelain always played an important role Craft, industrial and business including foreign frade were important sectors of national economy Those economic sectors (with the participation of government, local and private people) not only built real Dai Viet power in national establishment and development power, created a solid foundation for Vietnam struggles against critically historic challenges but also expanded national influence on the world outside It is thought that kings from early Le highly followed agriculture policies, however the discovery of Cii Lao Cham shmnk ship with 240,000 high quality export porcelain items as well as the decision to expand its influence towards the South of King Le Thanh Tong in 1471 made us think more of their vision on Middle trade ports and the role East Asian history, economy and politics What is more, Vietnam porcelain items are more and more discovered in many Asian and the world historical, archeological sites, they are no longer the craft or trade items but become the valuable cultural heritages, recording traditional friendly foreign affairs between Vietnam and Eastern nations  ... Don Trade Port), Ibid, pp 123 -159 '^"^ Ayoa Yogi (1991), "D6 g6m Viet Nam tim ducrc vung quSn dao Dong Nam A" (Vietnam Porcelain found in South East Asia Peninsula), trong: Do thi CO Hoi An (Hgi... in Kim Lan got many similarities with Vietnam pottery found in Dazaifu (Japan), year 133 0 T6ng Trung Tin,/6/£^,p.l0 Vietnamese Society in the 13' '' -15" ' Centuries countries'^'*' The oldest... Viit Nam (Viet Nam Archeology), Vol.3, History of Vietnam Archeology, pp.173-174 '^^'Abe Yuriko and Kikuchi Seiichi, Nhirng kit qua dieu tra khao co hoc tai khu vjcc thuang cdng Van Ddn, Vi4t Nam