Reflections | In decrying ‘foreign interference’, China should remember those times it has meddled in other countries’ affairs

Informed by a toxic mix of resentment for past humiliations and pride in recent achievements, many mainland Chinese belligerently view the developed world as conspiring to deny their country its rightful place in the sun. However, in constructing the narrative of itself as a victim of foreign aggression and interference in modern times, China may do well to remember that it has, on multiple occasions, interfered in the internal affairs of other nations.

In 1400, the 176-year-old Tran dynasty of Dai Viet, a kingdom occupying the northern half of modern Vietnam, came to a violent end. Ho Quy Ly, a powerful Tran minister, dethroned the child emperor after executing hundreds of people who opposed him, including the emperor’s father, other royal relations and prominent officials. Ho renamed the kingdom Dai Ngu and declared himself emperor of the new Ho dynasty.

When the dust had settled, China had to be informed. Managing relations with its giant northern neighbour had always been a bane for the Vietnamese state, especially when China was strong. Although Dai Viet had been a de facto independent state, the Tran rulers paid fealty to the emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

To ensure its security and cement its legitimacy, the newly minted state of Dai Ngu sent envoys to the Chinese court in 1403, where they convinced the Yongle Emperor that Ho’s takeover was legal and enjoyed popular support because they were “blood relations” of the enfeebled Tran royal clan.