The Lê-Trịnh Government’s Documentary Practices and Relationship with the Qing during the Eighteenth Century

During the eighteenth century, the Vietnamese government relied on local chieftains to govern its northern uplands, including the Sino-Vietnamese border region. In Lạng Sơn Province—an intermediary point for diplomatic documents traveling from the Lê-Trịnh government to the Qing—the government constructed a documentary system that gave local chieftains considerable political responsibility. Under this system, local chieftains were responsible for administering tax collection and some forms of military service, researching the titles and positions of Qing officials, purchasing Qing calendars, and forwarding official documents. Thus, these local chieftains played important roles in eighteenth-century Sino-Vietnamese relations and politics.