越南北使與中越關係初考－－以丁黎朝為例

Vietnamese Emissaries to the North and Sino-Vietnam Relations

面對強大的「北朝」，越南如何能夠維持一種可自主卻又不決裂的狀態？外交成為一個非常重要的手段。即便是在戰爭的狀態中、即便是越南取得了戰爭的優勢，越南朝貢的使臣似乎仍然頻繁的來往於貢道上。這些使臣一定有一些特定的條件，如不瞭解中國的政治、文化，如何能夠在強大的北朝中取得最大的利益？那麼使臣的角色與身份在不同的時空背景下，是否有不一樣的要求？本文將自中越史料中耙梳出各朝代北使的出使狀況及身分，藉以探討越南派遣北使的身分改變與中越關係之發展脈絡。文中可以發現，在自主初期的丁朝，使臣的身份大多為牙校，也有丁部領的同鄉，顯示丁朝權力結構與地方勢力的集結有密切關係，這也是丁朝從地方割據形勢轉向中央統治的基本力量。繼丁朝而立的前黎朝，基本上承續了丁朝原有的核心勢力，早期出使者即為原丁朝北使，其餘出使者的身份，仍為牙校與都知兵馬使、副使、行軍司馬等「幕府」的官職。至李朝科舉之前的使臣，則署銜員外郎、進奉使者成為多數。及至李朝開科舉之後，使臣多由科舉出身者擔任，至後黎朝及阮朝使臣盡為科舉出身之儒臣。由此使臣身份之改變，正可以窺探中越關係之歷史變化。

This paper asks how Vietnam could maintain autonomy without severing ties with powerful China in the north. Diplomacy is essential in this balance. Even during times of war, when Vietnam has gained the upper hand, records of the ＂Tribute Way＂ still reflect frequent visits by northbound Vietnamese embassies bearing tribute. These embassies must have fit certain criteria, since it would be unlikely for unlearned and untrained ambassadors to seek maximum advantage in negotiations. The question would be the criteria of selecting members of embassies to the north - would there be different thresholds in different historical contexts? This paper studies the context within which embassies were sent, and the identity of their members, in order to understand the changing circumstances and the different appointees in the history of Sino-Vietnam relations. This paper finds that the Đinh Dynasty, the earliest of Vietnam authority to exercise autonomy, mainly dispatched confidants of the emperor, which fall into two types: low level military commanders as embassies to the Chinese central government, as well as persons who hailed from the same geographical region as Đinh Bộ Lĩnh. This reflects that the Đinh Dynasty had a power structure that is deeply interwined with local clans, with a historical trajectory of centralization. This power dynamic continued down to the Tiền Lê Dynasty, whose earlier emissaries were primarily those who were sent to the Chinese central government under the Đinh Dynasty, with some others that were also low level military commanders or commanders and staff from military commissaries, conceivably imperial confidants as well. During the Lý Dynasty, when imperial examinations were administered, emissaries consisted mostly those who received credentials from the imperial examination. This shift continued down to the Hậu Lê Dynasty and the Nguyễn Dynasty, when all emissaries were mandarins trained in the Confucian curriculum. This paradigmatic shift speaks much about the change in the history of Sino-Vietnam relations.