Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam The fourth Chinese domination was a period of the history of Vietnam , from 1407 to 1427 during which the country was ruled by Ming dynasty administrators . It was the result of the conquest of the region by invading Ming armies in 1406 to 1407 . The other three periods of Chinese domination , collectively known as the Bắc thuộc periods in Vietnam , were longer lasting , constituting much of Vietnam ' s history from 111 BC to 939 AD . History . Revolt of Later Trần . With the Ming dynasty growing weak with internal rebellions and mismanagement during late Ming dynasty , control of Giao Chỉ ( Jiaozhi ) , as the Chinese called northern Vietnam at this period , also weakened . There was several revolts among the Vietnamese people against the Ming authorities , only to be crushed by the Ming army . Among the people who led the rebellion were , Trần Ngỗi ( revolted 1407 - 1409 ) , a young son of the late emperor Trần Nghệ Tông and Trần Quý Khoáng , a nephew . These revolts were short - lived and poorly planned but they helped lay some of the groundwork for Lê Lợi ' s war for independence . Lam Sơn uprising . Lê Lợi , one of Vietnam ' s most celebrated heroes , is credited with rescuing the country from Ming domination in 1428 . Born of a wealthy landowning family , he served as a senior scholar - official until the advent of the Ming , whom he refused to serve . In 1427 , Le Loi attacked a frontier town in China , which resulted in defeat with 10 , 000 Vietnamese causulties , including Le Mi ( the chief eunuch of Le Loi ) , by the Ming troops . After a decade of gathering a resistance movement around him , Le Loi and his forces finally defeated the Ming army in 1428 . Rather than putting to death the captured Ming soldiers and administrators , he magnanimously provided ships and supplies to send them back to China . Le Loi then ascended the Vietnamese throne , taking the reign name Le Thai To and establishing the Lê Dynasty ( 1428 - 1788 ) . Culture . The Ming invasion had been preceded by a campaign against Chinese culture during the combined 7 - year reigns of the two emperors of the Hồ dynasty , Hồ Quý Ly in 1400 and his second son , Hồ Hán Thương , from 1400 to 1407 . During these 7 years the two Hồ emperors asserted Vietnamese culture and language and banned use of Chinese language and writing in government . When the Ming invaded the cultural campaign was reversed ; all classical Vietnamese printing blocks , books and materials relating to Vietnam were suppressed . For this reason almost no vernacular chu nom texts survive from before the Ming invasion . Various ancient sites such as pagoda Bao Minh were looted and destroyed . The Ming Dynasty wanted to spread more of its Chinese culture in the area . Culturally , the Chinese imported many Chinese books and literature ( such as the I Ching ) . Nevertheless , Vietnam traditions , customs , arts , music , food and cuisines found its ways to influence many Chinese people even today . Most notably are the architecture style in Beijing and the Forbidden City during the Ming Yongle Emperor era was built and designed in the traditional Vietnamese architecture style , according to Shih Shan Henry Tsai in his book " Perpetual Happiness : The Ming Emperor Yongle " and other sources . Economy . The Chinese had greatly encouraged the development and the use of gold and silver mines . But right after the silver and gold were extracted they impounded them and sent a fraction of these minerals to Beijing . They also imposed salt taxes , but a slightly heavier tax against those who produced salt in Annam . Military and administration . To keep the people under control in Vietnam , the Ming government issued , and utilized the " " So Ho " " system , ( literally meaning " Family Book " ) at the lowest village community level . Whenever there was a change in a family , a change in the book was recorded and approved . Based on this information , they created a systematic military service enrollment process for all young men deemed fit enough to serve in the future for the Chinese Imperial Army . This process was no different than what other governments did to subjugated areas , nonetheless , this had created a negative feeling against the Chinese government . In addition , many talented Vietnamese individuals with varying trades and backgrounds who could make significant contributions were allowed to become government officials in China where they served in the Chinese imperial government .