Law and Family Reform in the Le Dynasty Vietnam (1428-1788)

Abstract

This article is a study of family reform in the early Le Dynasty of Vietnam (1428-1528) as a major theme of the Confucianization of the law. Because of the fact that family is one of the most important foundations of Confucianism in ordering society, the study concentrates on the family, marriage, and the status of wives and widows. The principal source of the study, along with the official Annals, is the Le Dynasty Code, Quoc Trieu Hinh Luat or the Hong-duc Code, which was promulgated during the foundation of the Le Dynasty. The study found that  the Code became one of the major benchmarks of the Confucianization of the Le Dynasty,  particularly in the reign of Le Thanh tong (1460-97).