the opportunity presented itself to reassert Chinese hegemony on the
pretext of restoring peace and order. A large Chinese army easily occu-
pied Thang-long (Hanoi), nominally to protect the last Le emperor.
The youngest of the Tayson brothers, the brilliant military com-
mander Nguyen Hue, thereupon gathered his forces and marched
rapidly north. During the new year celebrations of 1789, having
proclaimed himself emperor of a new dynasty, Nguyen Hue routed the
Chinese army of occupation. Immediately he did what victorious Viet-
namese generals before him had done—humbly requested Chinese
recognition, thereby restoring Chinese status and superiority. The
request was graciously acceded to, and insignia bestowed. Whereas
Vietnamese tribute missions had averaged less than one every four
years over the previous 120 years, embassies arrived every year from
1789 to 1793. Once again the Vietnamese had defended their in-
dependence through force of arms, and ensured their security through
re-inscribing in the Chinese world order.^10
For the countries of Southeast Asia, Qing weakness was not
apparent. China remained the dominant economic power, and the
Chinese world order still prevailed. Kings continued to seek investi-
ture in order to obtain trading rights, goods and markets only China
could provide. Where succession was in the male line, investiture was
a formality; but Beijing remained cautious about recognising anyone
suspected of being a usurper, and reluctant to provide any material
assistance. It took King Taksin of Siam six years and three diplomatic
missions to convince the Qing court that, although Chinese on his
father’s side, he had a right to his throne, during which time the
Chinese brushed aside his requests for iron and weapons. Only after he
had decisively defeated the Burmese, and his claim to the throne was
secure, did the Qianlong emperor deign to recognise Taksin as king of
Siam, and again receive Siamese tribute missions.
A Short History of China and Southeast Asia