陳朝期紅河デルタ開拓試論1 : 西氾濫原の開拓

Abstract

This is the fourth report on the history of the reclamation of the Red River Delta. It discusses the first establishment of an embankmental system in the West Flood Plain in the Tran Dynasty. As discussed in the previous papers, no evidence has been found for a large-scale embankmental system along the Red River and other big rivers before the 13 century, although there were small village-scale embankments in the Old Delta area. However, according to the geographical descriptions of the early Nguyen Dynasty, a close-polder type embankmental system already existed in the West Floodplain in the Le Period (1428-1789). Documents on the floods and village settlements patterns in the early Le Period (the latter part of the 15th century) indicate that the first establishment of the embankment predates this period, probably occurring in the Tran Dynasty. The Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu states that the Tran government constructed a large-scale embankment along the Red River from the upper stream to the river mouth called Dinh Nhi in 1248. A record of agricultural damage in the Tran Dynasty shows that flood damage increased from around 1250, and that after the construction of 1248, the area of tenth-month rice in the floodplain expanded rapidly. Furthermore, an analysis of the place names of An Nam Chi Nguyen suggests the presence of a big horse-shoe polder surrounding the West Floodplain. This was, probably established by virture of the embankment constructed in 1248. After this period, the Red River Delta was reclaimed by engineering methods under state control and not by agronomic methods.