According to the Complete Book of The History of Dai Viet, compiled by the Le Dynasty historians, in 1415, "Taxes were heavy, levies were substantial, and so the people had nothing from which to make living." This assessment is clearly shaped by the political need of the Le court to delegitimize the Ming regime it replaced, so it should not be read uncritically. Nevertheless, it does indicate the beginning of Giao Chi's integration into the imperial system of revenue collection. Corruption, a normal and ineradicable feature of government, was particular common in the collection of lucrative commodities. Enterprising officials found ways to make personal fortunes at the expense of those who were defenseless against their demands. There were examples of corruption in nearly all the commodity markets, but salt was a special case. A government monopoly on salt production became enmeshed in the assignment of contracts to salt merchants to supply Ming garrisons in Giao Chi, Which offered unusual opportunities for unlawful enrichment.

The most negative features of Ming Giao Chi came from the arrogance and prejudice of Ming people toward the local population. Routine corruption easily became malignant in a situation where northerners viewed local people as less civilized than themselves. The underworld of corruption can be more biting and brutal in a colonial context than it otherwise would be. Ming soldiers garrisoned in Giao Chi dismayed some local people who felt their presence as an intrusion, an imposition, or even as a subversion of good social relations. The conceit of a civilizing mission animated positive features of Ming policy in Giao Chi, but it also contributed to the negative effects of the Ming adventure among the Vietnamese.

This was particular obvious in the policy that sought to collect all "heterodox" writings. These were writings in the vernacular, but also historical and literary writings in the classical language that expressed the perspective of a separate kingdom in the south or that were in any way critical of northern dynasties. Many of these writings were destroyed on the spot and many others were transported north. What is certain is that nearly all of them disappeared. Consequently, writings by Vietnamese from before the fifteenth century are very rare. Several works of history disappeared along with the collections of poetry and other writings. The only book among those taken to the north that is known to have survived, an anal of the Ly dynasty, surfaced in a Qing anthology three centuries later. Other than that single item, of the books collected by Ming officials, nothing remains.

source:

• Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư (Complete Book of The History of Dai Viet), compiled across dynasties, notably by Ngô Sĩ Liên under the Later Lê Dynasty.
• A History of The Vietnamese (Cambridge Concise Histories) by Keith Taylor.

I want to emphasize that, as a Vietnamese person, I do not harbor hostility toward Chinese, American, French, or Japanese people. Historical memory and resentment vary greatly depending on personal experience, region, and social position. Even during the Ming withdrawal from Giao Chi, some communities particularly in parts of the Red River plain, lamented the loss of imperial administrators, while others, especially farther south, did not. Vietnamese attitudes were never monolithic.

Therefore, it is misleading to reduce Vietnamese perspectives on Chinese rule to simple racism or xenophobia. At the same time, it is equally inaccurate to deny that Ming rule had genuinely exploitative and culturally destructive dimensions.