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PART I
In 20000 BC, before the first history was recorded in writings, there had been already
among people the legends and mythology about the origin of mankind and stories about
the beginning of formation of Viet nation from HUNG VUONG. These are stories on
HONG BANG dynasty, on offspring of dragon and fairy, bag of hundred eggs, eighteen
kings of Hung Vuong dynasty, Son Tinh - Thuy Tinh's conflict, Thanh Giong's victory
over An foreign aggressors, folk of betel and areca nuts, "banh chung banh day",
watermelon ..... All these legends together can be regarded as a folk history comprising
mythology characteristic as well as core of history in memory and tradition through many
ages of people. Most of history of a nation of the world, with or without writing, is
penetrated with treasure of folk and legends.
In era of TRAN (1226-1400) and LE (1428-1527), these historic legends were firstly
collected and compiled by the contemporary authors' view. The two symbolic works of
this aspect were Viet Dien U Linh by Ly Te Xuyen with a foreword in 1329, and Linh
Nam Trich Quai by Tran The Phap in around end of Tran, then edited by Vu Quynh and
Kieu Phu in Le era with prologue in 1492-1493.
The Vietnamese have attempted to give their country a history as hoary as China's.
According to one of the numerous legends concerning the origin of their state, a
Vietnamese prince named LAC LONG QUAN came to Northern Viet Nam from his
home in the sea. He married a princess from the mountain, AUCO, who is also described
as the wife of a Northern Intruder (Chinese?), on the top of Mount Tan Vien, sometimes
around 2800 BC Instead of the commonplace results of a union, the princess laid 100
eggs - when they hatched, a son emerged from each of them. Afterward, the reason why
the parents separated was told like this : The father someday told the mother because they
were from different origin, he was dragon from the sea, she was lady fair from the
mountain, and they couldn't live together. Therefore, the mother led half the progeny
across the northern mountains, and became the ancestors of the Muong. While the
remaining fifty followed the father to the sea and became ancestors of the Vietnamese.
The most valiant of the sons was chosen to be the first of the eighteen HUNG VUONG
kings. Lac Long Quan, a prince of the sea, and Au Co, a princess of the mountains, are
regarded by the Vietnamese as their primal ancestors. Does this imply that the
Vietnamese were originally of the Malay-Polynesian, sea-oriented race coming to terms
with the Mongolians of the Southern Chinese plains?
Chu Nguyen
Tai lieu tham khao: Lich su Viet Nam " Trials and Tribulations of a Nation
Since the foundation of the first kingdom of the Viet, some 3,000 years ago, and the first
Viet Chuong or Lac Viet kingdom in North Viet Nam 2,400 years ago, the name has been
changed several times, depending on historical events.
Viet Nam has been successively known as...
257 BCVan LangHung or Lac dynasty
257-207Au Lac Thuc dynasty
207-11Nam Viet Trieu dynasty
3 BC-203 ADGiao Chi Han dynasty [first part]
203-544Giao Chau Han dynasty [second part]
544-603Van Xuan Ly dynasty
603-939An Nam Duong dynasty
968-1054Dai Co Viet Dinh dynasty
1054-1400Dai Viet Ly and Tran dynasties
1400-1407Dai Ngu Ho dynasty
1427-1802Dai Viet Le and Nguyen dynasties
1802Viet Nam Gia Long
1832Dai Viet Minh Mang
04/1945Viet Nam First national government
Viet Su Luoc is a work in Tran era mentioning about the formation of Van Lang, for the
first time. In 15th century, Nguyen Trai gave affirmation on position of Van Lang in
Hung Vuong dynasty in the first geography-history text of the nation. Ngo Si Lien
especially brought Hung Vuong era into official history of Viet Nam under the title of
"Hong Bang Dynasty" in addenda chapter of his Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu.
The "Hung Era" is rightly termed "legendary" by most historians inasmuch as no eighteen
kings or generations could have spanned the nearly two millennia of prehistoric
development in the Tonkin delta. Possibly, the Dong Son period was related to HUNG
VUONG dynasty because the displacement of the economic and social leadership of
primitive agricultural practices by a monarchial apparatus responsible for the building
and maintenance of an irrigation system of dykes and canals, providing against nature's
vagaries of drought as well as floods caused by excessive rise in the water level of the
rivers.
The new state based on the irrigation system in the region of the three rivers in Upper
Tonkin must have produced excess wealth, requiring protection against predatory
enemies from the exposed borders to the North and the South. Therefore the need for
extensive use of bronze technology for various weaponry. By the Dong son period, the
kingdom of VAN LANG extended to Hunan in Southern China. The capital was moved
to Vinh Phu where the three rivers - Song Da (Black River), Song Ma (Red River) and
Song Chay meet.
What led to the fall of the HUNG rulers of VAN LANG, known to us partly through the
Dong son cultural remains, cannot be established by historical evidence. By 300 BC, it
seems the people in the region of Kwangtung and Tonkin were divided into AU VIET,
namely, Vietnamese of the highlands and LAC VIET, Vietnamese of the plains. AN
DUONG VUONG, about whom also not much is known, politically united them into the
kingdom of AU LAC. It is not clear whether the AU LAC people were partly descendants
of VAN LANG or whether they were the Viets, "real" ancestors of the Vietnamese
people, migrated from their habitat in Lower Yangtse around 300 BC under pressure
from Han Chinese southward into Tonkin delta. Most scholars by now, accept that the
Vietnamese are not descended from one single racial group, that they are instead a racial
mixture of Austro-Indonesian and Mongolian races.
After Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu. the formation of Viet Nam in Hung Vuong era was
affirmed in the course of history of nation, but still in a doubtful status. The knowledge
level and method of studying and examining history in Middle age did not allow the
historians of the current time prove the existence of a long pre-historic time ago. This
situation was prolonged in a century from the beginning of Le dynasty to Nguyen
dynasty.
In French colony, this viewpoint on Hung Vuong era still existed. In his, Viet Nam Su
Luoc, Tran Trong Kim has reserved a chapter for "Hong Bang dynasty" however gave
these remarks : "The historians only collected the traditional legends, which were deity
and fairy tales, non-natural", and "the story of Hong Bang dynasty was possibly not true".
Besides the works with traditional view, there were a number of studies of European,
especially French scholars. On the other hand, the legendary nature of the document
confused the historians at that time. Even Ngo Si Lien, who must both agreed to the
existence of the Hung Vuong era and also showed caution, when he writes : "Let simply
narrate the old story to transmit suspicions'.
Once furthermore, the formation of Van Lang of Hung Vuong was also recorded by Viet
Su Luoc, the oldest history of Viet Nam that in Trang Vuong of Chu Dynasty (696-681
BC). In Gia Ninh there was a stranger, by his magic won over the tribals, declared
himself Hung Vuong, and set the capital at Van Lang giving his kingdom the name Van
Lang, with simple and good custom, and used the method of knots tying in his
administration. His crown was transferred in 18 offspring, all declared himself as Hung
Vuong.
It was unknown that based on what document the author of Viet Su Luoc gave the above
affirmation. But the formation of a primitive state of Van Lang, in about 7th century BC,
that was the beginning of Dong Son period, was suitable to results of to-day researches,
and agreed with by many historians.
Based on the division into two Giao Chi (North Viet Nam), and Cuu Chan (Northern
Central Viet Nam) prefectures in later times, and local differences of the two regions
recounted in old bibliology, archeological documents, someone pointed out a hypothesis
stating that at least two allies of tribes in North Viet Nam and Northern Central Viet Nam
had participated in the process of formation of Van Lang and constituted the Lac Viet
tribes.
The government is still very simple. Hung Vuong is the head of Van Lang. In Hung
Vuong title, Vuong (a Chinese word, meaning King) is clearly to be added by later-time
historians because of the concept of the head of a state should be the King (if not the
King, should be the Emperor), as for Hung, a Chinese phonetic transcription from a very
old Vietnamese term. In Muong language, there is term kun in lang kun indicating the
eldest son of the first family in line of descent who ruled the Muong. In Mong-Khmer
and Thai language, as Xinh-mun, Kho-mu, Khang, Thai, Lao..., there is a term khun
indicating the chief of tribe, the leader; in Mun-da language the term khunzt indicates the
first person in the family or any organization of the society. Probably, the word Hung is
the Chinese phonetic transcription of an ancient Vietnamese which is synonymous and
homonymous with kun, khun, khunzt ... to address the chief of tribe, the leader.
This title showed us that Hung Vuong was originally the chief of Van Lang tribe- the
strongest one, with its domain in both sides of Song Hong (River) from Ba Vi Mount to
Tam Dao Mount, and played the role of the chief coordinator with the central duty of
unifying all the other tribes, then became chief of state. He was assisted by Lac Hau
(civilian chiefs).
In Viet Su Luoc, we were also told about a series of significant legends relate to this
period. Lord Lac Long Quan married Au Co, who bore him 100 sons. One day he said to
his wife: "I am a dragon, you are a fairy. We can't remain together". He took 50 of his
sons with him to the plains and coastal regions, while the others followed their mother to
the mountains. One of Lac Long Quan's sons inherited his throne and was the founder of
a dynasty of 18 rulers known as the Hung kings. Legends put the beginning of the Hung
dynasty as early as 4,000 years ago.
The reign of Hung Vuong was hereditary and lasted for 18 kings. The number 18 in Hung
Vuong story was brought in question with doubt by a lot of historians who proposed
many different explanations. Traditionally, many numbers have only symbolic meaning
not mathematical one. The number 18 as well as 9 and all its multiple (36, 991, 999... )
often imminently mean a lot, many, or a great quantity. Is it reasonably that 18 kings of
Hung Vuong means many reigns of kings, lasts for long time.
Van Lang was composed of 15 "bo"(administrative division), and according to Viet Su
Luoc, these "bo" were originally 15 tribes. Each "bo" was headed by Lac Tuong (military
chiefs), or according to a number of legend and mythological tradition, these
functionaries were also named bo chua, bo tuong, phu dao ( meaning chief of tribes). As
phu dao term was also a Chinese word phonetically transcribed from old Viet as dao in
Muong language, tao in Tay-Thai language, po tan in Gia-rai language, mo tao in E-de
language, bo dao in Ra-glai language, ba dao in Ba-na language, pa tao in Cham
language, and together had a same meaning chief of tribe, leader or chief of a region. If
"bo" is tribe, we can say exactly "phu dao" or "lac tuong" is chief of tribe, then became
the chief of regional tribe of Van Lang under Hung Vuong reign.
PART II
to be continued . . .
HISTORICAL EXCERPTS
The Vietnamese first appeared in history as one of many scattered peoples living in what
is now South China and Northern Viet Nam just before the beginning of the Christian era.
According to local tradition, the small Vietnamese kingdom of Au Lac, located in the
heart of the Red River valley, was founded by a line of legendary kings who had ruled
over the ancient kingdom of Van Lang for thousands of years. Historical evidence to
substantiate this tradition is scanty, but archaeological findings indicate that the early
peoples of the Red River delta area may have been among the first East Asians to practice
agriculture, and by the 1st century BC they had achieved a relatively advanced level of
Bronze Age civilization.
Chinese Influence
In 221 BC the Ch'in dynasty in China completed its conquest of neighboring states and
became the first to rule over a united China. The Ch'in Empire, however, did not long
survive the death of its dynamic founder, Shih Huang Ti, and the impact of its collapse
was soon felt in Viet Nam. In the wreckage of the empire, the Chinese commander in the
south built his own kingdom of Nam Viet (South Viet; Chinese, Nan Yüeh); the young
state of Au Lac was included.
In 111 BC, Chinese armies conquered Nam Viet and absorbed it into the growing Han
Empire. The Chinese conquest had fateful consequences for the future course of
Vietnamese history. After briefly ruling through local chieftains, Chinese rulers
attempted to integrate Viet Nam politically and culturally into the Han Empire. Chinese
administrators were imported to replace the local landed nobility. Political institutions
patterned after the Chinese model were imposed, and Confucianism became the official
ideology. The Chinese language was introduced as the medium of official and literary
expression, and Chinese ideographs were adopted as the written form for the Vietnamese
spoken language. Chinese art, architecture, and music exercised a powerful impact on
their Vietnamese counterparts.
Vietnamese resistance to rule by the Chinese was fierce but sporadic. The most famous
early revolt took place in AD 39, when two widows of local aristocrats, the Trung sisters,
led an uprising against foreign rule. The revolt was briefly successful, and the older
sister, Trung Trac, established herself as ruler of an independent state. Chinese armies
returned to the attack, however, and in AD 43 Viet Nam was reconquered.
Independence
The Trung sisters' revolt was only the first in a series of intermittent uprisings that took
place during a thousand years of Chinese rule in Viet Nam. Finally, in 939, Vietnamese
forces under Ngo Quyen took advantage of chaotic conditions in China to defeat local
occupation troops and set up an independent state. Ngo Quyen's death a few years later
ushered in a period of civil strife, but in the early 11th century the first of the great
Vietnamese dynasties was founded. Under the astute leadership of several dynamic
rulers, the Ly dynasty ruled Viet Nam for more than 200 years, from 1010 to 1225.
Although the rise of the Ly reflected the emergence of a lively sense of Vietnamese
nationhood, Ly rulers retained many of the political and social institutions that had been
introduced during the period of Chinese rule. Confucianism continued to provide the
foundation for the political institutions of the state. The Chinese civil service examination
system was retained as the means of selecting government officials, and although at first
only members of the nobility were permitted to compete in the examinations, eventually
the right was extended to include most males. The educational system also continued to
reflect the Chinese model. Young Vietnamese preparing for the examinations were
schooled in the Confucian classics and grew up conversant with the great figures and
ideas that had shaped Chinese history.
Vietnamese society, however, was more than just a pale reflection of China. Beneath the
veneer of Chinese fashion and thought, popular mostly among the upper classes, native
forms of expression continued to flourish. Young Vietnamese learned to appreciate the
great heroes of the Vietnamese past, many of whom had built their reputation on
resistance to the Chinese conquest. At the village level, social mores reflected native
forms more than patterns imported from China. Although to the superficial eye Viet Nam
looked like a "smaller dragon," under the tutelage of the great empire to the north it
continued to have a separate culture with vibrant traditions of its own.
The Economy Under the Ly Dynasty
Like most of its neighbors, Viet Nam was primarily an agricultural state, its survival
based above all on the cultivation of wet rice. As in medieval Europe, much of the land
was divided among powerful noble families, who often owned thousands of serfs or
domestic slaves. A class of landholding farmers also existed, however, and powerful
monarchs frequently attempted to protect this class by limiting the power of feudal lords
and dividing up their large estates.
The Vietnamese economy was not based solely on agriculture. Commerce and
manufacturing thrived, and local crafts appeared in regional markets throughout the area.
Viet Nam never developed into a predominantly commercial nation, however, or became
a major participant in regional trade patterns.
Territorial Expansion
Under the rule of the Ly dynasty and its successor, the Tran (1225-1400), Viet Nam
became a dynamic force in Southeast Asia. China's rulers, however, had not abandoned
their historic objective of controlling the Red River delta, and when the Mongol dynasty
came to power in the 13th century, the armies of Kublai Khan attacked Viet Nam in an
effort to reincorporate it into the Chinese Empire. The Vietnamese resisted with vigor,
and after several bitter battles they defeated the invaders and drove them back across the
border.
While the Vietnamese maintained their vigilance toward the north, an area of equal and
growing concern lay to the south. For centuries, the Vietnamese state had been restricted
to its heartland in the Red River valley and adjacent hills. Tension between Viet Nam and
the kingdom of Champa (see Champa, Kingdom of), a seafaring state along the central
coast, appeared shortly after the restoration of Vietnamese independence. On several
occasions, Cham armies broke through Vietnamese defenses and occupied the capital
near Hanoi. More frequently, Vietnamese troops were victorious, and they gradually
drove Champa to the south. Finally, in the 15th century, Vietnamese forces captured the
Cham capital south of present-day Da Nang and virtually destroyed the kingdom. For the
next several generations, Viet Nam continued its historic "march to the south," wiping up
the remnants of the Cham Kingdom and gradually approaching the marshy flatlands of
the Mekong delta. There it confronted a new foe, the Khmer Empire, which had once
been the most powerful state in the region. By the late 16th century, however, it had
declined, and it offered little resistance to Vietnamese encroachment. By the end of the
17th century, Viet Nam had occupied the lower Mekong delta and began to advance to
the west, threatening to transform the disintegrating Khmer state into a mere protectorate.
The Le Dynasty
The Vietnamese advance to the south coincided with new challenges in the north. In 1407
Viet Nam was again conquered by Chinese troops. For two decades, the Ming dynasty
attempted to reintegrate Viet Nam into the empire, but in 1428, resistance forces under
the rebel leader Le Loi dealt the Chinese a decisive defeat and restored Vietnamese
independence. Le Loi mounted the throne as the first emperor of the Le dynasty. The new
ruling house retained its vigor for more than a hundred years, but in the 16th century it
began to decline. Power at court was wielded by two rival aristocratic clans, the Trinh
and the Nguyen. When the former became dominant, the Nguyen were granted a fiefdom
in the south, dividing Viet Nam into two separate zones. Rivalry was sharpened by the
machinations of European powers newly arrived in Southeast Asia in pursuit of wealth
and Christian converts.
By the late 18th century, the Le dynasty was near collapse. Vast rice lands were
controlled by grasping feudal lords. Angry peasants--led by the Tay Son brothers-revolted, and in 1789 Nguyen Hue, the ablest of the brothers, briefly restored Viet Nam
to united rule. Nguyen Hue died shortly after ascending the throne; a few years later
Nguyen Anh, an heir to the Nguyen house in the south, defeated the Tay Son armies. As
Emperor Gia Long, he established a new dynasty in 1802.
French Intervention
A French missionary, Pierre Pigneau de Behaine, had raised a mercenary force to help
Nguyen Anh seize the throne in the hope that the new emperor would provide France
with trading and missionary privileges, but his hopes were disappointed. The Nguyen
dynasty was suspicious of French influence. Roman Catholic missionaries and their
Vietnamese converts were persecuted, and a few were executed during the 1830s.
Religious groups in France demanded action from the government in Paris. When similar
pressure was exerted by commercial and military interests, Emperor Napoleon III
approved the launching of a naval expedition in 1858 to punish the Vietnamese and force
the court to accept a French protectorate.
The first French attack at Da Nang Harbor failed to achieve its objectives, but a second
farther south was more successful, and in 1862 the court at Hue agreed to cede several
provinces in the Mekong delta (later called Cochin China) to France. In the 1880s the
French returned to the offensive, launching an attack on the north. After severe defeats,
the Vietnamese accepted a French protectorate over the remaining territory of Viet Nam.
Colonial Rule and Resistance
The imposition of French colonial rule had met with little organized resistance. The
national sense of identity, however, had not been crushed, and anticolonial sentiment
soon began to emerge. Poor economic conditions contributed to native hostility to French
rule. Although French occupation brought improvements in transportation and
communications, and contributed to the growth of commerce and manufacturing,
colonialism brought little improvement in livelihood to the mass of the population. In the
countryside, peasants struggled under heavy taxes and high rents. Workers in factories, in
coal mines, and on rubber plantations labored in abysmal conditions for low wages. By
the early 1920s, nationalist parties began to demand reform and independence. In 1930
the revolutionary Ho Chi Minh formed an Indochinese Communist party.
Until World War II started in 1939, such groups labored without success. In 1940,
however, Japan demanded and received the right to place Viet Nam under military
occupation, restricting the local French administration to figurehead authority. Seizing
the opportunity, the Communists organized the broad Vietminh Front and prepared to
launch an uprising at the war's end. The Vietminh (short for Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong
Minh, or League for the Independence of Viet Nam) emphasized moderate reform and
national independence rather than specifically Communist aims. When the Japanese
surrendered to the Allies in August 1945, Vietminh forces arose throughout Viet Nam
and declared the establishment of an independent republic in Hanoi.
The French, however, were unwilling to concede independence and in October drove the
Vietminh and other nationalist groups out of the south. For more than a year the French
and the Vietminh sought a negotiated solution, but the talks, held in France, failed to
resolve differences, and war broke out in December 1946.
The Expulsion of the French
The conflict lasted for nearly eight years. The Vietminh retreated into the hills to build up
their forces while the French formed a rival Vietnamese government under Emperor Bao
Dai, the last ruler of the Nguyen dynasty, in populated areas along the coast. Vietminh
forces lacked the strength to defeat the French and generally restricted their activities to
guerrilla warfare. In 1953 and 1954 the French fortified a base at Dien Bien Phu. After
months of siege and heavy casualties, the Vietminh overran the fortress in a decisive
battle. As a consequence, the French government could no longer resist pressure from a
war-weary populace at home and in June 1954 agreed to negotiations to end the war. At a
conference held in Geneva the two sides accepted an interim compromise to end the war.
They divided the country at the 17th parallel, with the Vietminh in the North and the
French and their Vietnamese supporters in the South. To avoid permanent partition, a
political protocol was drawn up, calling for national elections to reunify the country two
years after the signing of the treaty.
Partition
After Geneva, the Vietminh in Hanoi refrained from armed struggle and began to build a
Communist society. In the southern capital, Saigon, Bao Dai soon gave way to a new
regime under the staunch anti-Communist president Ngo Dinh Diem. With diplomatic
support from the United States, Diem refused to hold elections and attempted to destroy
Communist influence in the South. By 1959, however, Diem was in trouble. His
unwillingness to tolerate domestic opposition, his alleged favoritism of fellow Roman
Catholics, and the failure of his social and economic programs seriously alienated key
groups in the populace and led to rising unrest. The Communists decided it was time to
resume their revolutionary war.
The Viet Nam War
In the fall of 1963, Diem was overthrown and killed in a coup launched by his own
generals. In the political confusion that followed, the security situation in South Viet
Nam continued to deteriorate, putting the Communists within reach of victory. In early
1965, to prevent the total collapse of the Saigon regime, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson
approved regular intensive bombing of North Viet Nam and the dispatch of U.S. combat
troops into the South.
The U.S. intervention caused severe problems for the Communists on the battlefield and
compelled them to send regular units of the North Vietnamese army into the South. It did
not persuade them to abandon the struggle, however, and in 1968, after the North's
bloody Tet offensive shook the new Saigon regime of President Nguyen Van Thieu to its
foundations, the Johnson administration decided to pursue a negotiated settlement. Ho
Chi Minh died in 1969 and was succeeded by another leader of the revolution, Le Duan.
The new U.S. president, Richard Nixon, continued Johnson's policy while gradually
withdrawing U.S. troops. In January 1973 the war temporarily came to an end with the
signing of a peace agreement in Paris. The settlement provided for the total removal of
remaining U.S. troops, while Hanoi tacitly agreed to accept the Thieu regime in
preparation for new national elections. The agreement soon fell apart, however, and in
early 1975 the Communists launched a military offensive. In six weeks, the resistance of
the Thieu regime collapsed, and on April 30 the Communists seized power in Saigon. See
also Viet Nam War.
The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
In 1976 the South was reunited with the North in a new Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
The conclusion of the war, however, did not end the violence. Border tension with the
Communist government in Cambodia escalated rapidly after the fall of Saigon, and in
early 1979 the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia and installed a pro-Vietnamese
government. A few weeks later, Viet Nam was itself attacked by its Communist neighbor
and erstwhile benefactor, China. In the mid-1980s, about 140,000 Vietnamese troops
were stationed in Cambodia and another 50,000 troops in Laos. Viet Nam substantially
reduced its forces in Laos during 1988 and withdrew virtually all its troops from
Cambodia by September 1989.
Within Viet Nam, postwar economic and social problems were severe, and reconstruction
proceeded slowly. Efforts to collectivize agriculture and nationalize business aroused
hostility in the south. Disappointing harvests and the absorption of resources by the
military further retarded Viet Nam's recovery. In the early 1990s the government ended
price controls on most agricultural production, encouraged foreign investment, and
sought to improve its foreign relations. In 1990 the European Community (now the
European Union) established official diplomatic relations with Viet Nam. The country
signed a peace agreement with Cambodia in 1991 and shortly thereafter restored
diplomatic relations with China. The peace agreement also forged the way for
strengthening relations with the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN). In 1992 Viet Nam signed a 1976 ASEAN agreement on regional amity and
cooperation, regarded as the first step toward eventual ASEAN membership. Also in
1992, Viet Nam established diplomatic relations with South Korea. The United States
removed a trade embargo in 1994, and in 1995 Viet Nam and the United States agreed to
exchange low-level diplomats, although full diplomatic relations (which involve opening
embassies and appointing ambassadors) have not yet been established.
Keywords:
part before first history recorded writings there been already among people legends
mythology about origin mankind stories about beginning formation viet nation from hung
vuong these stories hong bang dynasty offspring dragon fairy hundred eggs eighteen
kings hung vuong dynasty tinh thuy tinh conflict thanh giong victory over foreign
aggressors folk betel areca nuts banh chung banh watermelon these legends together
regarded folk history comprising mythology characteristic well core history memory
tradition through many ages people most nation world with without writing penetrated
with treasure folk legends tran these historic were firstly collected compiled
contemporary authors view symbolic works this aspect were viet dien linh xuyen with
foreword linh trich quai tran phap around tran then edited quynh kieu prologue
vietnamese have attempted give their country hoary china according numerous
concerning origin their state vietnamese prince named long quan came northern viet from
home married princess from mountain auco also described wife northern intruder chinese
mount vien sometimes around instead commonplace results union princess laid eggs
when they hatched emerged each them afterward reason parents separated told like this
father someday told mother because they were different origin dragon lady fair mountain
they couldn live together therefore mother half progeny across northern mountains
became ancestors muong while remaining fifty followed father became ancestors
vietnamese most valiant sons chosen first eighteen hung vuong kings long quan prince
princess mountains regarded their primal ancestors does this imply that originally malay
polynesian oriented race coming terms mongolians southern chinese plains nguyen lieu
tham khao lich trials tribulations nation since foundation first kingdom some years
chuong kingdom north years name been changed several times depending historical
events been successively known bcvan langhung dynasty thuc trieu adgiao part giao chau
second part xuan duong dinh dynasties nguyen dynasties long minh mang national
government luoc work mentioning about formation lang time century nguyen trai gave
affirmation position lang geography text lien especially brought into official under title
hong bang addenda chapter toan rightly termed legendary most historians inasmuch
eighteen kings generations could have spanned nearly millennia prehistoric development
tonkin delta possibly dong period related because displacement economic social
leadership primitive agricultural practices monarchial apparatus responsible building
maintenance irrigation system dykes canals providing against nature vagaries drought
well floods caused excessive rise water level rivers state based irrigation system region
three rivers upper tonkin must have produced excess wealth requiring protection against
predatory enemies exposed borders north south therefore need extensive bronze
technology various weaponry dong period kingdom lang extended hunan southern china
capital moved vinh where three rivers song black river song river song chay meet what
fall rulers known partly through dong cultural remains cannot established historical
evidence seems people region kwangtung tonkin divided into namely highlands plains
duong whom also much known politically united them into clear whether partly
descendants whether viets real migrated habitat lower yangtse around under pressure
chinese southward delta scholars accept that descended single racial group that instead
racial mixture austro indonesian mongolian races after toan formation affirmed course
still doubtful status knowledge level method studying examining middle allow historians
current time prove existence historic time situation prolonged century beginning french
colony viewpoint still existed luoc trong reserved chapter hong bang however gave
remarks historians only collected traditional which deity fairy tales natural story possibly
true besides works traditional view there number studies european especially french
scholars other hand legendary nature document confused even lien must both agreed
existence also showed caution when writes simply narrate story transmit suspicions once
furthermore recorded luoc oldest trang ninh there stranger magic over tribals declared
himself capital giving name simple good custom used method knots tying administration
crown transferred offspring declared himself unknown based what document author gave
above affirmation primitive state century beginning period suitable results researches
agreed many based division giao north chan central prefectures later times local
differences regions recounted bibliology archeological documents someone pointed
hypothesis stating least allies tribes central participated process constituted tribes
government still very simple head title word meaning king clearly added later because
concept head should king king should emperor phonetic transcription very term muong
language term indicating eldest family line descent ruled muong mong khmer thai
language xinh khang thai term khun indicating chief tribe leader language khunzt
indicates person family organization society probably word phonetic transcription ancient
which synonymous homonymous khun khunzt address chief tribe leader title showed
originally chief tribe strongest domain both sides river mount mount played role
coordinator central duty unifying other tribes then became assisted civilian chiefs told
series significant relate lord quan married bore sons said wife dragon fairy remain
together took sons plains coastal regions while others followed mother mountains
inherited throne founder rulers early years reign hereditary lasted number story brought
question doubt proposed many different explanations traditionally numbers only
symbolic meaning mathematical number well multiple often imminently mean great
quantity reasonably means reigns lasts composed administrative division according
originally each headed tuong military chiefs according legend mythological tradition
functionaries named chua tuong meaning word phonetically transcribed thai glai cham
same leader region exactly tuong then regional under reign continued historical excerpts
appeared scattered peoples living what south china just before christian local tradition
small located heart valley founded line legendary ruled over ancient thousands evidence
substantiate scanty archaeological findings indicate early peoples delta area among east
asians practice agriculture achieved relatively advanced level bronze civilization
influence completed conquest neighboring states rule united empire however survive
death dynamic founder shih huang impact collapse soon felt wreckage empire
commander south built young included armies conquered absorbed growing empire
conquest fateful consequences future course after briefly ruling through local chieftains
rulers attempted integrate politically culturally administrators imported replace landed
nobility political institutions patterned after model imposed confucianism official
ideology introduced medium official literary expression ideographs adopted written form
spoken architecture music exercised powerful impact counterparts resistance rule fierce
sporadic famous early revolt took place when widows aristocrats trung sisters uprising
against foreign rule revolt briefly successful older sister trung trac established herself
ruler independent armies returned attack however reconquered independence trung sisters
revolt only series intermittent uprisings took place during thousand finally forces quyen
advantage chaotic conditions defeat occupation troops independent quyen death later
ushered civil strife great dynasties founded astute leadership several dynamic ruled more
than although rise reflected emergence lively sense nationhood retained political social
institutions introduced during confucianism continued provide foundation political
institutions civil service examination system retained means selecting government
officials although members nobility permitted compete examinations eventually right
extended include males educational continued reflect model young preparing
examinations schooled confucian classics grew conversant great figures ideas shaped
society more than just pale reflection beneath veneer fashion thought popular mostly
among upper classes native forms expression flourish young learned appreciate heroes
past whom built reputation resistance conquest village social mores reflected native
forms more than patterns imported although superficial looked like smaller tutelage
separate culture vibrant traditions economy like neighbors primarily agricultural survival
above cultivation rice medieval europe much land divided powerful noble families often
owned thousands serfs domestic slaves class landholding farmers existed powerful
monarchs frequently attempted protect class limiting power feudal lords dividing large
estates economy solely agriculture commerce manufacturing thrived crafts appeared
regional markets throughout area never developed predominantly commercial major
participant regional trade patterns territorial expansion successor dynamic force southeast
asia abandoned historic objective controlling mongol came power armies kublai khan
attacked effort reincorporate resisted vigor several bitter battles defeated invaders drove
them back across border while maintained vigilance toward area equal growing concern
centuries restricted heartland valley adjacent hills tension between champa champa
seafaring along coast appeared shortly restoration independence occasions cham broke
defenses occupied capital near hanoi frequently troops victorious gradually drove champa
finally forces captured cham present nang virtually destroyed next generations march
wiping remnants gradually approaching marshy flatlands mekong confronted khmer
which once late declined offered little resistance encroachment occupied lower mekong
began advance west threatening transform disintegrating khmer mere protectorate
advance coincided challenges again conquered troops decades ming reintegrate forces
rebel dealt decisive defeat restored independence mounted throne emperor ruling house
retained vigor hundred began decline power court wielded rival aristocratic clans trinh
former dominant granted fiefdom dividing separate zones rivalry sharpened machinations
european powers newly arrived southeast asia pursuit wealth christian converts late near
collapse vast rice lands controlled grasping feudal lords angry peasants brothers revolted
ablest brothers briefly restored united died shortly ascending throne heir house defeated
emperor established french intervention missionary pierre pigneau behaine raised
mercenary force help seize hope would provide france trading missionary privileges
hopes disappointed suspicious influence roman catholic missionaries converts persecuted
executed during religious groups france demanded action paris similar pressure exerted
commercial military interests napoleon approved launching naval expedition punish force
court accept protectorate attack nang harbor failed achieve objectives second farther
successful court agreed cede provinces mekong called cochin france returned offensive
launching attack severe defeats accepted protectorate remaining territory colonial
imposition colonial little organized national sense identity crushed anticolonial sentiment
soon began emerge poor economic conditions contributed native hostility occupation
brought improvements transportation communications contributed growth commerce
manufacturing colonialism little improvement livelihood mass population countryside
peasants struggled heavy taxes high rents workers factories coal mines rubber plantations
labored abysmal conditions wages nationalist parties demand reform revolutionary minh
formed indochinese communist party until world started such groups labored without
success japan demanded received right place military occupation restricting
administration figurehead authority seizing opportunity communists organized broad
vietminh front prepared launch uprising vietminh short minh league emphasized
moderate reform national rather specifically communist aims japanese surrendered allies
august vietminh arose throughout declared establishment independent republic hanoi
unwilling concede october drove other nationalist groups year sought negotiated solution
talks held failed resolve differences broke december expulsion conflict lasted nearly eight
retreated hills build formed rival last ruler populated areas along coast lacked strength
defeat generally restricted activities guerrilla warfare fortified base dien bien months
siege heavy casualties overran fortress decisive battle consequence could longer resist
pressure weary populace home june negotiations conference held geneva sides accepted
interim compromise divided country parallel supporters avoid permanent partition
protocol drawn calling elections reunify country signing treaty partition geneva hanoi
refrained armed struggle build communist society southern saigon soon regime staunch
anti president dinh diem diplomatic support states diem refused hold elections destroy
influence diem trouble unwillingness tolerate domestic opposition alleged favoritism
fellow roman catholics failure economic programs seriously alienated populace rising
unrest communists decided resume revolutionary fall overthrown killed coup launched
generals confusion followed security situation deteriorate putting communists within
reach victory prevent total collapse saigon regime president lyndon johnson approved
regular intensive bombing dispatch combat intervention caused severe problems
battlefield compelled send regular units army persuade abandon struggle bloody
offensive shook saigon regime president thieu foundations johnson administration
decided pursue negotiated settlement died succeeded another revolution duan richard
nixon johnson policy gradually withdrawing january temporarily came signing peace
agreement paris settlement provided total removal remaining tacitly accept thieu
preparation elections agreement fell apart launched offensive weeks thieu collapsed april
seized socialist republic reunited socialist republic conclusion violence border tension
cambodia escalated rapidly fall invaded cambodia installed weeks itself attacked
neighbor erstwhile benefactor stationed cambodia another laos substantially reduced laos
withdrew virtually september within postwar problems severe reconstruction proceeded
slowly efforts collectivize agriculture nationalize business aroused hostility disappointing
harvests absorption resources further retarded recovery ended price controls agricultural
production encouraged foreign investment sought improve relations european community
union diplomatic relations signed peace agreement shortly thereafter restored diplomatic
relations peace forged strengthening members association southeast asian nations asean
signed asean amity cooperation regarded step toward eventual asean membership korea
states removed trade embargo exchange diplomats full involve opening embassies
appointing ambassadors
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