The Changes Of The Relationship Between The Modern Treaty System And The Suzerain-Vassal Between China And Vietnam

The Sino-Vietnam Suzerain-Vassal Relationship has a long history.Under the Suzerain-Vassal Relationship,Vietnam regards China as sovereign country and regularly pays tribute to china as a sign of obedience and establishment of its orthodoxy.China returns gifts and,in general,does not interfere in its internal affairs and foreign affairs.This relationship between the two countries lasts for thousands of years.In modern times,with the invasion of the French colonial power,the Sino-Vietnamese vassal relations changed.The signing of the Treaty of Saigon in 1862 laid a great hidden danger to the dissolution of the Sino-Vietnam Suzerain-Vassal Relationship.In 1874,France forced the signing of the second Treaty of Saigon,recognizing Vietnam's right to independence and denying the Sino-Vietnam Suzerain-Vassal Relationship,intended to place Vietnam under its own rule.France's encounter with Vietnam forced the Qing court to respond to maintain the Sino-Vietnam Suzerain-Vassal Relationship.Prior to the 1880 s,the Qing court responded to the Sino-Vietnam Suzerain-Vassal Relationship in the form of a statement without substantial action.After the 1980 s,with the intensification of the invasion of Vietnam,the Qing Dynasty policy has changed,ordered Tseng Chi-tse to negotiate with France,actively contact Vietnam,and send military aid to Vietnam,and so on,but all failed.At the same time,France has forced Vietnam to sign the first and second Treaty of hue,and France has reaffirmed its right to protect Vietnam on the principle of Treaty.Although China and Vietnam united against France,and after the outbreak of the Sino-French war,the Qing army continued to win military victory,but the Qing court was eager to make peace,and signed Sino-France New Testament,resulting in the eventual dissolution of the Sino-Vietnam Suzerain-Vassal Relationship,replaced by the modern treaty system.The Sino-Vietnam Suzerain-Vassal Relationship maintained by tribute is gradually disintegrated under the impact of modern treaty system,and its disintegration process is long-term and slow.In the process,traditional relations between china and vietnam have been loosened and changed because of the need to unite against france,and the tributary system and the treaty system have long been parallel to each other.Nevertheless,the Sino-Vietnamese vassalsystem in the form of tribute is an unwritten,unlegally binding East Asian international system.This credit-sustaining tributary relationship is increasingly fragile in a treaty relationship that is “legally enforceable”,and it is only a matter of time before “treaty”replace“tribute”.Comprising with this historical process,the French aggression seriously harmed the interests of the people of China and Vietnam,which not only ruined Vietnam,but also opened the door to southwest China.