Borders of Memory, Memory of Borders: the Annam Bronze Pillars

This paper focuses on the bronze pillars allegedly erected by the Chinese general Ma Yuan in the first century CE that were still supposed to mark the frontier between Ming China and Vietnam. Through a close reading of several sources, the paper demonstrates that across the centuries many contradictory explanations were given by Chinese and Vietnamese histories, suggesting that the columns were a symbol rather than an actual border for both populations; a symbol to signal a divide and a clear hierarchy but also a way to underline a common heritage and culture, whose memory or imagination lasted for centuries.