How was East Asian conquest perceived by mandarins?

Hi all,

It is easy to find accounts of the conquest of China or of colonial administrators in Vietnam. It can be possible to find post-facto East Asian analysis (Cat Country by Lao She comes to mind) but what I have not been able to find is how the conquests were seen from a Chinese/Vietnamese perspective, and especially at a local level.

I have seen hints of different reactions of the pre-existing administrators in Cochinchine after the French conquest but nothing too developed.

So here's my question: is there any translated source on the period? How was it lived? How was it perceived by the local elites of those conquered people?
They could have resisted if they had reformed earlier or acted differently (Japan, Thailand comes to mind) so the fact they were subjugated was a failure of the state rather than some other geographical factor (like Africa or the Americas), and they were exposed enough to Western culture to realise that (The Vietnamese dynasty regained control with some help of French soldiers and a bishop)

So, how did it feel?


And yes, I'm lumping Chinese and Vietnamese mandarins in one because they came from very similar culture and had a similar education. However, any difference between the two would in itself be very interesting
 
Bump?
I heard there was a mandarin that went to Napoleon III's court to plead for Vietnam during the first war but couldn't find any translated version. Apparently the translated title would be something like "Diary of the Journey to the West" which is not helpful as this is the title of the big buddhist epic...
 
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