A Review of Studies on Sino-Vietnam Relations Under Tributary System (AD 968-1885)

For a long time, the concept “Nei Wai (内外―center-periphery)” has been used to construct the narrative of the backwarded pre-modern East Asian history. While over emphasizing the effect of the center (Nei), it just simply ignored the reactions from the marginal entities (Wai), as ancient China and its neighboring countries’ tributary relations could offer us the classic paradigm. In the knowledge world and historical writing records before the establishment of the national states, the period after Vietnam politically independent to China, the most intricate relations between the two countries, or dynasties, we could still find so many similarities of politics and culture in China and Vietnam, which is far beyond the summarized conditions as tributary relations. On the basis of the previous academic construction of Zong Fan relations and applying the research path of decentralization in the view of global history, we can explore and interpret such tributary and diplomatic relations from various perspectives and thus a multi-dimensional, high definition and colorful past of communications between countries is projected to us by the voiceless, motionless, and monotone historical materials.