Ming-Southeast Asian overland interactions, 1368--1644

Over the last fifty years, “Southeast Asia” has been narrowly defined based on its modern political boundaries and when scholars look for external factors affecting Southeast Asian history, the maritime approach has dominated. This dissertation redresses these problems by defining a zone termed “Northern Mainland Southeast Asia” encompassing southern Yunnan, northeast India, and northern parts of mainland Southeast Asia and by focusing on Ming-Southeast Asian overland interactions. Utilizing a large number of primary sources in Chinese, Vietnamese, Tai, and Burmese, it examines the transfer of military technology from Ming China to Southeast Asia, Ming China's political expansion, overland trade, and the migration of Han Chinese into Northern Mainland Southeast Asia. It argues that the overland stimuli, especially military technology and trade, from Ming China contributed to the emergence of Northern Mainland Southeast Asia between the 1430s and 1530s, which was epitomized in the rise of the Maw Shans, the decisive defeat of Champa by Dai Viet, Dai Viet's long march as far as the Irrawaddy River, the prosperity and military strength of Lan Na, the rise of Mongmit and Mohnyin and the sack of Ava by Mohnyin, and the expansion of the Ahoms. However, after the arrival of European military technology via the maritime route after the early sixteenth century, the tables were turned. Southern Mainland Southeast Asia, as represented by Burma (Myanmar), started its northward and eastward expansion at the expense of Northern Mainland Southeast Asia. Without denying internal dynamics, this dissertation demonstrates that the shift of external stimuli, in particular military technology, changed the orientation of mainland Southeast Asian history and Sino-Southeast Asian overland interactions.