4,000 Years of Unchartered Fortune
Vietnam Tours & Travel “Vietnam’s ancient history reads like a book of legend with many pages torn or missing, due to a lack of early historical records, many of which were destroyed as its history was in the making. Like any ancient nation, Vietnam’s earliest history has been generously embellished with legend and fairy tales, rather daunting to the Western understanding. However, by combining Chinese and Vietnamese historical records, Vietnamese folklore and recent archaeological discoveries, some of the missing pages have come to light.”
In ancient times, Eastern cosmogony viewed the world through the concept of The Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth, or Nghu Han, which represents Five Regions: the Center, the South, the North, the East and the West. The Center was represented by the earth and the color yellow, the South by fire and the color red, the North by water and the color black, the East by wood and the color green, the West by metal and the color white. The first threads of Vietnam’s history are inextricably intertwined with the history of China.
At the source of the legend: The Han and the Viet
From time immemorial, akingdom reigned in the heart of the Asian continent. Known as the Middle Kingdom or Chung Hoa, its power center was located in the Five Mounts (Ngu Linh) Territory. It was peopled by many races, the two major being those of the Han and the Viet. Unlike the homogeneous Han, the Viets incorporated hundreds of tribes and were known as the Pac Yeuh (One hundred Yeuh) or Each Viet, whose chief ruled the Five Mounts Territory. The Viets settled south of the Yellow River and developed an agricultural culture, whereas the Han in the northwest became expert in hunting and battle skills.
The Five Mounts Territory of the Middle Kingdom was ruled by three consecutive chiefs: Toai Nhan – who discovered fire; Phuc Hi – who discovered the I Ching and domesticated wild animals; and Shen Nong – who cultivated wild plants for domestic use and taught his people to grow rice. By the end of Shen Nong’s era the Han had invaded the Five Mounts territory and occupied the highest mount, Thai Son.
Their chief proclaimed himself Hwangdi, the Yellow Emperor of the Center, in accordance with the Five Elements concept. Hwangdi inherited the heritage of the Tam Hoang, Three Yellows era, which his invasion of The Five Mounts Territory ended. He referred to the Viets settled in the South as the southern barbarians, Nam Man. The Viets fled to the south where their chief proclaimed himself Viem De, the Red Emperor of the South, and named their territory Xich Qui, the territory of the Red Devils. This marked the first Viet exodus from Chung Hoa, the Middle Kingdom. The Viets regarded themselves as descendents of the first three chiefs of China’s Three Yellows era. The last of the three, Shen Nong, is the direct Viet link.
According to Vietnamese historical folklore, De Minh, a third generation descendent of Shen Nong, fled to the southern territory of the Five Mounts and married Princess Vu Tien. Their son, Loc Tuc, became king of the south and called himself Kinh Duong Vuong, King of the Kinh and Duong Territory. He married one of the daughters of Dong DinhQuang, a king from the lake of Dong Dinh territory. Their son, Sung Lam, succeeded his father to become Lac Long Quan, meaning the Lac Dragon.
Early History of Vietnam – Origin of Vietnam name
As Vietnam opens its doors to welcome the world at large, many people have no idea of the stunning visual beauty and traditional culture that Lie beyond the threshold. To many, the name Vietnam brings to mind only haunting images of a war-torn land in some remote corner of Southeast Asia, an image which continues to be exploited on the big screen and in print, and which remains deeply etched in the minds of all who found themselves a part of that war and its aftermath. Beyond such images lies the real Vietnam, a unique and fascinating land of great physical and rich cultural diversity whose history spans over 4,000 years.
Picture a land of idyllic tree-lined beaches, tranquil bays dotted with the sails ofjunks and sampans, offshore coral islands,mountains, valleys, primal forests, plains crossed by countless rivers and emerald rice fields enriched with the varied scenes of everyday life. The traditional rural life, embodied in the villagers tilling the land with rudimentary tools under their conical hats in the patchwork paddy fields, and children riding their water buffaloes home from the fields at the end of the day, contrasts dramatically with the sights, sounds and pace of the cities whose busy streets overflow with humanity borne along on a rising tide of bicycles and motor scooters. Such are the images of present-day Vietnam.
The country’s long history is an ever present companion; the land is imbued with it – sites of ancient battles, ancient civilizations and kingdoms which flourished in this enigmatic land long before the French colonialists, Communism and the tragic war of the more recent past.
The changing tides of fortune that have swept over this country and its people have left their mark, greatly emphasizing the contrast between past and present.
Much of Vietnam’s ancient past is shrouded in myths and legends of dragons and kings, heroes and heroines, gods and deities, brought to life in the present in the many colorful time-honored traditional festivals and rituals commemorating revered ancestors, who are worshipped alongside Buddhist,Taoist and Hindu deities in the thousands of temples and pagodas throughout the country.
In a traditionally agricultural country, so new to the concept of tourism that you have to expect the unexpected, you won’t be disappointed.
This article traces the complex history and culture of Vietnam and its people, introducing some of the many different faces and places of this fascinating country. Exploring Vietnam through these pages may help lend an understanding to the background and events leading up to the tragic war and its aftermath and provide some insight into the diverse cultures and customs of its people.
Early History of Vietnam – Origin of Vietnam brief
Sometime between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200, the intermingling of the Red River Delta’s early inhabitants resulted in a distinct Vietnamese people. Virtually from the outset, the Vietnamese were ruled by the Chinese, and they would continue to be until A.D. 938.
During the centuries of Chinese control over the Red River Delta, two independent states rose to power in what is now central and southern VietNam. From the first to the sixth centuries, the kingdom of Funan held sway aver the Mekong Delta and the region that is now Cambodia; the kingdom was over thrown by the Mon-Khmer, who founded the Cambodian empire.
Along the coast of central VietNam, the kingdom of Champa ruled from the late second century until the 15th, when it was conquered by the Vietnamese, who expanded steadily southward after expelling the Chinese. In the 17th and early 18th centuries, the Vietnamese would wrest the Mekong Delta from Cambodia, essentially completing the formation of their country.
Of the more than a dozen dynasties that have ruled independent VietNam, three are considered “great.” The first was the Ly (1009-1225), whose rulers established Hanoi as their capital in the year 1010, naming it Thang Long, the City of the Soaring Dragon. (It was not until 1831 that the name Hanoi-City in a Bend of the River-came into use.) The Ly built new roads, dikes, and canals, and they vigorously promoted agriculture. In 1044 – 22 years before William the Conqueror invaded England the Ly founded VietNam’s first postal service.
The Ly dynasty ended in overthrow by the Tran, who established the second great dynasty (1225-1400). In 1407, the Chinese reconquered VietNam, but this time their rule lasted only two decades. In 1428, they were driven out by the Vietnamese hero who established the third great dynasty, Le Loi. The Le dynasty, which held power until 1524, introduced a series of remarkable reforms. Arts, literature, and education were promoted. Large landowners were forced to distribute their holdings to the land less. Legal reforms gave women nearly equal rights with men.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, VietNam was split by warring factions. Northern VietNam was ruled by the powerful Trinh Lords, the south controlled by lords of the Nguyen line. In 1786, three brothers, the Tay Son, briefly reunited the country, but even as they fought to depose the Trinh and Nguyen lords, their empire began fragmenting.
In 1802, one of the Nguyen lords defeated the Ay Son and proclaimed himself Emperor Gig Long, establishing the last of Vietnam’s dynasties. The Nguyen made Hue their imperial capital, and they ruled from there until the last Vietnamese emperor, Bao Dai, abdicated to a delegation representing Ho Chi Minh in 1945.
VietNam’s contacts with the West began as early as A.D. 166, when Roman travelers passed through the Red River Delta. it wasn’t until much later, however, that there was any sustained Western contact. By 1516, a number of Portuguese adventurers had arrived, followed by missionaries and soldiers. Over the next century a trading center and mission were established in the port of Faifo, just south of present day Danang. The Portuguese were followed by missionaries from Spain, italy, and France. Everyone seemed intent on converting the Vietnamese, and in the process, cultivating stronger trading ties, but no one had much luck in making a profit from trade with the Vietnamese. The Dutch tried and failed, as did the English.
The early French trading efforts foundered as well, but the French never gave up. Off and on for nearly two centuries, the French kept lurking around Indochina. From about 1850s on, French abandoned diplomatic overtures and settled on a policy of conquest. It would take them several decades, but by 1893 they had carved out an Indocinese empire that included VietNam, Laos, and Cambodia. The French then set about plundering the immense wealth of those holdings.
The exploitation visited on the Vietnamese by their French masters created fertile conditions for the resistance movements that sprang up over the years. Most of the resistance efforts were successfully put down, but in 1925 a new movement was established by a man calling himself Nguyen Ai Quoc, who in later years would take the name Ho Chi Minh the bringer of light. Ho’s Vietnam Revolutionary Youth League became the nucleus of the Vietnamese Communist Party. In World War II, Ho formed the League for the Independence of Vietnam, or Viet Minh, which during its resistance to the Japanese occupation of Vietnam, received money and arms from the United States through the O.S.S.
The American support of the Viet Minh led Ho to believe that the United States would back his bid for an independent Vietnam. But after the war, the Allies allowed France to reoccupy Indochina, setting the stage for the protracted guerrilla campaign that resulted in France’s ouster in 1954 and the subsequent partitioning of Vietnam into North and South. The recognition and support of South Vietnam by the United States would lead to the bloody conflict that ended in 1975 when the Communists overran Saigon, proclaiming an independent Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
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