Guangxi-Vietnam

The starting point of this paper is a group of glass vessels excavated during the last 50 years in tombs of the Han period (206 BCE–220 CE) in Guangxi province in southern China. They were found mainly in the area of Hepu near the coast and in the area of Guixian (recently renamed Guigang) farther inland (Figs. 12.1 and 12.10). When the first five of these glass vessels were excavated from Eastern Han tombs in the Guixian area in the 1950s, they came as a great surprise. At that time, glass vessels found in China in contexts of the early periods were held to be imports. An x-ray fluorescence analysis of one of the cups published in 1983 seemed to confirm this (Fan and Zhou 1983: 100–1, Fig. 5, analysis sample no. 7; Fan and Zhou 1991: 196–7, 200, sample 7. An 1984: 456, sample 2; An 1987: 45, sample 2). It gave some qualitative values

Towards the 18th century, communities who settled on the China-Vietnam border along the paths of You Cun Ai in the Guangxi province, have begun to carry out trades along the border. However, the trading activities along the border were stopped by the Chinese authorities upon the outbreak of the Tay Son Rebellion (1771 – 1802). Hence, this article aims to investigate the motive for the ban on the China (Guangxi)-Vietnam border trades in the context of China-Vietnam’s long-forged trade relationship. This is due to the fact that not only do the border trades supply daily necessities, but the ban on the trades have brought a huge impact on the socio-economy of the people who settled at the border. This research presents the view that the Tay Son Rebellion served only as an excuse for the Chinese to legally close the border trades of China-Vietnam when in actual fact it was for China’s political survival. China fears that unrest in Vietnam will bring in elements of rebellion into its country.