Spectacle, Protocol, Charisma, and the Ming Legacy

Abstract Through an examination of a Qing diplomatic mission to Lê Vietnam in 1683, this article proposes that Lê–Qing relations were an integral part of the seventeenth-century Qing consolidation and reflected a regional diplomatic culture. By considering aspects of the 1683 encounter, including public spectacle along the envoy route, debates over ritual protocol, imperial gifts of calligraphy and investiture seal, and articulations of tribute ideology, this article demonstrates how Qing diplomacy in Vietnam was consistent with the Kangxi consolidation. At the same time, these diplomatic interactions were arenas for Lê contestation of Qing hegemony on the basis of the Ming legacy. More broadly, this article argues for the significance of the Ming diplomatic legacy and the aspirations of former Ming tributary states for understanding the changing regional order of the seventeenth century.