Chinese miners in Vietnam

In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, a number of Chinese migrant miners worked in the frontiers of northern Vietnam.

Brief introduction During the 18th and 19th century, a large number of Chinese labors went across the borderline in southwest provinces of China, entered into northern Vietnam to work in mines, and became the so-called migrant Chinese miners. This group of people promoted trans-border communication and changed the landscape of the Sino-Vietnam border area. They contributed to the economic development in the border area and northern Vietnam; in addition, they also influenced the border policy of both sides. The impacts of Chinese miners in the frontier have to be seen from both positive and negative aspects. On one hand, cross-border population movement promoted transnational communication, and Chinese miners motivated the development of mining industry in northern Vietnam, which was an important source of financial revenue for Vietnamese government in the 18th century. On the other hand, because either China or Vietnam did not have the direct control of these migrant Chinese miners, this group of people threatened the stability of the border area. Rebellions involved Chinese miners profoundly affected the frontier society and the border policies of both sides. Qing government even closed the border in the second half of the 18th century. The trend of Chinese migrant miners reached its peak in the mid to late 18th century. After two large-scale rebellions in the 1770s and 1830s, the mining industry in northern Vietnam went down. Chinese miners in northern Vietnam have also faded out of our vision. However, in the 18th and 19th centuries, migrant Chinese miners played a significant role in the economic and social development of northern Vietnam.

Background Metal product trades between China and Southeast Asia had existed for several hundred years before the 18th century. Siam, Burma, Malaya, and Dai Viet had built business contacts with China since the 10th century. Until the 15th and 16th century when the age of discovery came, China was the largest trading partner of metal products of Southeast Asian countries because of the advanced mining and smelting technology.Anthony Reid. (2011). Chinese on the Mining Frontier in Southeast Asia. Chinese circulations: capital, commodities, and networks in Southeast Asia, 21-36 Cheaper metal products from China were popular in the Southeast Asian market. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia's rich mineral resources also met China's demand for silver, copper, tin and other metals. Vietnam, until the 10th century, if not early, had established stable trade relations with China. At least four major trade routes connect Yunnan Province in China and Tonkin in Vietnam, and one of the key commodities of such cross-border trade was metal.Giersch, C. P. (2011). Cotton, Copper, and Caravans: Trade and the Transformation of Southwest China. Chinese circulations: capital, commodities, and networks in Southeast Asia. 37-61 The border province Yunnan was one of the main mineral producing areas in China. In the mid-fourteenth century, Yunnan was producing over half of the gold and silver circulating in the Chinese economy.Giersch, C. P. (2014). Commerce and empire in the borderlands: How do merchants and trade fit into Qing frontier history? Frontiers of History in China, 9(3), 361-383 Considering that the development of Yunnan's mining industry began early and mature, there were a large number of skilled miners and laborers in this border province. This group of people became migrant workers. When the time came to the 18th century, the prosperity of Qing dynasty boosted the economic development in Yunnan, and the rapidly growing population in the southwest of China promoted cross-border population movement. On Vietnam side, after the East India trading companies withdrew from Vietnam in the early 18th century, Le-Trinh regime in northern Vietnam was eager to find new sources of income to alleviate the shortage of funds caused by the termination of trade with West. Mining thus became a significant supplement to the state. Despite realizing that the uncontrolled increase of Chinese miners might bring potential instability, Trinh regime still allowed and even encouraged Chinese miners to participate in Vietnamese mining industry. Therefore, hundreds of Chinese miners crossed the border and chose to become workers in Vietnam territory, which fueled a trend of trans-border miner movement.

Development of mining industry in the 18th century Development before 1775 The mountainous area in northern Vietnam was rich in minerals. In the late 17th century, thanks to the Chinese trans-border commercial activities, the development of the mining industry in the northern frontier of Vietnam reached a record high level. Meanwhile, in China, private mining was prohibited by the Qing government until 1749. As a result, Chinese businessmen and labors began to enter the mining industry abroad in the early era of Qing dynasty.韦庆远，鲁素. 清代前期矿业政策的演变 (上) [J]. 中国社会经济史研究，1983 (3) : 1 - 17 Chinese miners emerged in places like Myanmar and Laos as well; however, because of the closer relationship and stable border policy between Vietnam and China, Vietnam was the most attractive destination of more Chinese miners.Anthony Reid. (2011). Chinese on the Mining Frontier in Southeast Asia. Chinese circulations: capital, commodities, and networks in Southeast Asia, 21-36 There are no detailed records of official historical materials showing the number of Chinese miners in Vietnam. Scholars from China nowadays believe that around 25,000 and 35,000 Chinese miners, by the 1770s, were working in Vietnam.孙宏年:《17世纪中叶至19世纪初入越华侨问题初探》,《东南亚纵横》, 2000年增刊尤建设:《阮代政权时期华侨华人对越南社会发展的贡献》,《东南亚研究》, 2005年第4期 They were from not only the frontier provinces like Yunnan and Guangxi but also Fujian and Guangdong provinces in the east. Some mines in northern Vietnam recruited hundreds of Chinese miners and even thousands of.[越]潘清简等:《钦定越史通鉴纲目》卷43,第1-2页,越南1884年刻本 These Chinese miners brought huge development to the mining industry in Vietnam. In the second half of the eighteenth century, the average annual output of the two largest mines in northern Vietnam reached 220 to 280 tons, and this frontier region became one of the largest copper producing complexes in Asia at that time.Alexander Woodside. (1997). “The Relationship between Political Theory and Economic Growth in Vietnam, 1750-1840,” The Last Stand of Asian Autonomies, ed. Anthony Reid. 256-260.

Policy of the Vietnamese government For these miners from China, the Vietnamese government formulated some corresponding management measures. It was warlord era in the 18th century in Vietnam. Le-Trinh regime controlled the northern part of Vietnam while Nguyen regime occupied the south. Both of Le-Trinh and Nguyen needed a large number of military squads. Nguyen regime in the south, to increase its fiscal revenue, encouraged maritime trade. Many Chinese merchant ships traveled extensively to southern Vietnam for commerce. In the north, Trinh Lord encouraged Sino-Vietnamese border trade, and vigorously developed the mining industry in the northern mountainous areas. Trinh Lord allowed Chinese miners to cross the border to Vietnam territory for mining activities. As long as they receive a license issued by Trinh Lord and paid the tax, Chinese miners could work with the Vietnamese, even if the continuous increasing of trans-border population led many conflicts.陈文：清代中越陆地边境跨境问题管理(1644-1840)，《中国历史地理论丛》2011 年第 1 期 第 82-92 页 In the 1760s, Le-Trinh regime adopted new policies to stimulate the development of the mining industry. It allowed local authorities and officials using their private capital to run one or two mines. The mine owners could select labors from both local and abroad. After the mine had declared and paid taxes for five years, the officials who succeeded in operating mines could remain control of the mines forever.Li, Tana. 2003. “Vietnamese Mints and Chinese Miners in Eighteenth-Century Northern Vietnam.” Paper presented at the International Convention of Asian Studies 3, Singapore. This privatization policy promoted the expansion of the mining industry. Before the end of the 18th century, there were more than one hundred active mines in northern Vietnam frontier area.[HĐ] Data from Cabinet of the Nguyễn Court [Nội các triều Nguyễn]. 1993. Khâm Định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ [Imperially commissioned compendium of institutions and usages of Đại Nam]. Translated into Vietnamese from Classical Chinese by Nguyễn Trọng Hân and Trương Văn Chinh. 15 vols. Huế: NXB Thuận Hoá. Original version preserved at the Toyo Bunko, Tokyo, Showa 23, call number: 196696. 4:205–244 By the beginning of the 19th century, 108 of the 134 mines in Vietnam were located in the northern highland provinces of Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Tong Hoa, and Son Tay. They produced gold (31), silver (13), copper (7), iron (25), zinc (5), lead (4), tin (1), pig iron (4), saltpeter (15), sulfur (2), and cinnabar (1).Phan Huy Lê. 1999. Tình hình khai mỏ dưới triều Nguyễn [The situation of mining under the Nguyễn dynasty]. In Tìm về cội nguồn [Returning to the roots], vol. 1, edited by Phan Huy Lê, 694–775. Hanoi: Nxb Thế giới. 698

Passport system of the Qing government Long-term stable and prosperous trans-border communication provided the proper condition for the movement of miners. Chinese migrants greatly stimulated trans-border trade and promoted the local development. New towns were founded by the migrants and more Chinese began to manage shops and restaurants nearby mine sites. Because the miners were generally male, their family (mainly women and children) took part in the trans-border trade, which stimulated goods circulation. Some commodities became cheaper in the border area than in Red River Delta, and entertainment could be found easily.Li Tana. (2012) Between Mountains and the Sea. Journal of Vietnamese Studies, Vol.7, Issue 2, 71 While stimulating Vietnam's economic development and prosperity in the frontier, Chinese miners also brought silver bracelets back to China. Silverware was popular in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces in the 18th century.[清]赵翼:《檐曝杂记》卷4,《缅甸安南出银》 With the increasing trans-border activities, more and more small frictions and conflicts occurred in the border area. In response to the chaotic border management situation, Maertai, Viceroy of Guangdong-Guangxi provinces, proposed new border management regulations. Qing government redefined the border gateways (关口) and established the Yaopai (腰牌) and Yinpiao (印票) system, which was like the modern passport system, to systematically manage cross-border merchants. People who frequently crossed the border needed to apply Yaopai and Yinpiao (passport) from the government as identity documents for crossing border; the government provided convenience and simple border-crossing procedures for those who had such documents. This system allowed the authorities to better manage cross-border personnel on the one hand and reduced the formalities required for cross-border traders, on the other hand, which made cross-border communication more convenient.Herr, J. C. (2017). Fraught collaboration: Diplomacy, intermediaries, and governance at the china-vietnam border, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 263 Under the passport system, more miners flowed into Vietnam in the mid-18th century.

Tong Tinh Mines incidents and mining situation in the late 18th century Border issue was particularly sensitive in Qing-Le relationship. There were many rebellions in the Sino-Vietnamese border area in the 18th century. Tong Tinh mines incident was the largest one of them and had a great influence on the mining industry in northern Vietnam and national relationship.