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Overview
Four great philosophies and religions have shaped the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity. Over the centuries, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have melded with popular Chinese beliefs and ancient Vietnamese animism to form what is known as Tam Giao (or 'Triple Religion').
Vietnamese (Kinh) is the official language of the country, although there are dialectic differences across Vietnam. There are dozens of different languages spoken by various ethnic minorities and Khmer and Laotian are spoken in some parts. The most widely spoken foreign languages in Vietnam are Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), English, French and Russian, more or less in that order.
Popular artistic forms include: traditional painting produced on frame-mounted silk; an eclectic array of theatre, puppetry, music and dance; religious sculpture; lacquerware and ceramics.
Vietnamese cuisine is especially varied - there are said to be nearly 500 different traditional dishes that include exotic meats (but consider carefully before you eat a rare animal) and fantastic vegetarian creations (often prepared to replicate meat and fish dishes). However, the staple of Vietnamese cuisine is plain white rice dressed up with a plethora of vegetables, fish (which is common in Vietnam), meat, spices and sauces. Spring rolls, noodles and steamed rice dumplings are popular snacks, and the ubiquitous soups include eel and vermicelli, shredded chicken and bitter soups. Fruit is abundant; some of the more unusual ones include green dragon fruit, jujube, khaki, longan, mangosteen, pomelo, three-seed cherry and water apple. Vietnamese coffee (ca phe phin) is very good; it's usually served very strong and very sweet.
Vietnam, her or his-story through varying names
Vietnam, the common name denoting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a new name. Going back in time, the country as we know it today or the foundation upon which it was built had varying appellations.
First is Van Lang, or Van Lang nation, considered the first state born from different tribes.
- Van Lang (2876 BC - 258 BC)
At that time, the two ethnic tribes of the Lac Viet and Au Viet lived together in many areas with other inhabitants. Due to increasing needs to control floods, fights against invaders, and culture and trade exchanges, these tribes living near each other tended to gather together and integrate into a larger mixed group.
Among these Lac Viet tribes was the Van Lang, which was the most powerful tribe. The leader of this tribe later joined all the tribes together to found Van Lang Nation, addressing himself as King Hung. The next generations followed in their father's footsteps and kept this appellation. Based on historical documents, researchers correlatively delineated the location of Van Lang Nation to the present day regions of North and north of Central Vietnam, as well as the south of present-day Kwangsi (China).
The Van Lang Nation approximately lasted from the beginning of the first millennium B.C. to the 3rd century B.C.
In 221 BC, Qin Shihuangdi, King of Qin and the first Emperor of China, invaded the land of the Viet tribes. Thuc Phan, leader of the alliance of Au-Viet tribes managed to expel the enemies and declared himself King An Duong Vuong and his territory Au Lac Nation.
In 207 BC, Trieu Da, King of Nam Viet (China), invaded Au Lac. An Duong Vuong failed this time.
As a result, the northern feudalist took turns dominating the country over the next seven centuries, establishing their harsh regime in the country and dividing the country into administrative regions and districts with unfamiliar names. However, the country's name of Au Lac could not be erased from the people's minds in their everyday life.
In the spring of 542, Ly Bi rose up in arms and swept away the Chinese administration, liberating the territory. He declared himself King of Van Xuan [tens of thousands of springs] Kingdom in February 544, acknowledging national sovereignty.
However, he was defeated by China a short while later, and the country returned to feudal Chinese domination again in 602. The name Van Xuan was restored only after the victory over the Han army at the Bach Dang River led by the legendary General Ngo Quyen in 938. This victory marked the end of the Chinese domination period in Vietnam.
In 968, Dinh Bo Linh defeated twelve lords and unified the country. He declared himself King and named the country Dai Co Viet [Great Great Viet]. This name remained throughout the Dinh Dynasty (968-980), Pre-Le Dynasty (980-1009) and the beginning of Ly Dynasty (1010-1225).
In 1054, a flaming bright star stayed in the sky for many days, which was considered a good omen. As a result, the King Ly changed the name of the country to Dai Viet [Great Viet]. This name remained until the end of Tran Dynasty (1126 - 1400). The name Dai Viet remained under the Le Dynasty (1428-1788) and the Tay Son Dynasty (1788-1802).
In March 1400, Ho Quy Ly - the king's son-in-law and also a top mandarin - overthrew the Tran dynasty, usurping the throne of his father-in-law's successor and founded the Ho Dynasty.
He then changed the country's name to Dai Ngu, meaning peace in the ancient language. This name only lasted for very short time, until April 1407, when the Ming enemy invaded Dai Ngu and defeated the Ho Dynasty (1400- 1407).
After 10 years of resistance against the Ming occupation (1418-1427), Le Loi had achieved a victorious triumph. In 1428, Le Loi declared himself King of Le Dynasty and changed the name of the country back to Dai Viet. At this time, the territory of Vietnam had expanded to the region of present-day Hue.
In 1802, Nguyen Anh became the first King of Nguyen dynasty - the last dynasty in Vietnam - changed the country's name to Viet Nam. This name was officially recognized in many diplomatic missions in 1804. However, the words "Viet Nam" had already appeared very early in history and probably meant Viet people from the South.
Following the triumph of the August Revolution in 1945, which had entirely swept away Vietnamese feudal and French oppression, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the nation's independence and named the country Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Following the liberation of South Vietnam on April 30 1975, the entire Vietnamese nation was unified. A year later the National Assembly [legislature] voted for the modern name: the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
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