The “Other China” Identity of Imperial Vietnam (1400–1884)

Abstract Prior scholarship has generally understood imperial Vietnam’s dynasties as basing their statehood on a standalone identity built on a discrete Vietnamese culture. While acknowledging that Vietnamese courts appropriated certain names of China such as Zhongguo , scholars typically interpret the usage of such terms literally – that the Vietnamese dynasties attempted to portray themselves as a civilised, superior state. This article argues that this interpretation relies unduly on the lens of modern nation-state identities. When Vietnamese dynasties (1400–1885) appropriated names of China, the usage of many of these terms is incongruous with such literal interpretations. Rather, they were meant to claim ancient China’s identity for Vietnam. By examining such terminology, we demonstrate how Vietnamese courts envisioned Vietnam as the southern “twin” of a North—South “duality of Chinas”, alongside their northern neighbour. Vietnam’s subversive use of Chinese culture to justify political separation from its northern neighbour reflects attitudes toward Chinese identity common during periods of division in Chinese history.