History of Vietnam

According to Vietnamese legends, the History of Vietnam dates back more than 4,000 years. The only reliable sources, however, indicated the Vietnamese or their country's history roughly dates to 2700 years ago. For most of the period from 207 BC to early 10th century, it was under the direct rule of successive dynasties from China. Vietnam regained independence in 939 AD, and complete autonomy a century later. While for much of its history, Vietnam remained a vassal state to the much larger China, it defeated three Mongolian attempts of invasion during the Yuan Dynasty, when China was under Mongolian rule. The independent period ended in mid-19th century, when the country was colonized by France. During WWII, Japan occupied Vietnam. After the war, France attempted to re-establish control but ultimately failed. The Geneva Accords partitioned the country in two with a promise of election to reunite the country. The promised election never took place. During the Vietnam War or the 'American War' as now referred by the Vietnamese, the North was supported by the People's Republic of China and the USSR, while the South was supported by the United States. After millions of Vietnamese deaths, the war ended with the American withdrawal from Vietnam in March 1973 and the capture of Saigon by the North in April 1975. The next 10 years of independence for Vietnam is mired by abject poverty, political repression at home and economic isolation abroad. In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam changed its economic policy and started to adopt Capitalism. This has lead to robust economic growth, a rising middle class and gradual lessening of political repression.

Origins

According to Vietnamese legends, the first Vietnamese descended from the dragon lord Lạc Long Quân and the heavenly spirit Âu Cơ. Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ had 100 sons, and the eldest one became the first in the lines of early Vietnamese line of kings, collectively known as Hùng Vương (or Brave King). Under the Hùng kings, the civilization that would later become Việt Nam was called Văn Lang. The people of Văn Lang were known as the Lạc Việt people. By the 3rd century BC, another Viet group, the Âu Việt, emigrated from present southern China to the Red River delta and mixed with the indigenous Văn Lang population. In 258 BC, a new kingdom called Âu Lạc (from the union of the Âu Việt and the Lạc Việt) was formed by Thục Phán in North Vietnam. Thục Phán proclaimed himself king An Dương Vương. After a long war with the Chinese Qin dynasty, An Dương Vương was finally defeated by a Qin general named Triệu Đà in 208 BC. Triệu Đà proclaimed himself king when the Qin empire fell to the Han. He combined Âu Lạc with territories in southern China and named his kingdom Nam Việt. Nam means south, and Việt is a derivation of Yue, the Chinese name for the Guangdong, Guangxi and Vietnam regions.

The Triệu dynasty is a controversial era among Vietnamese. Some consider it a Chinese domination, because Triệu Đà was a Qin general who defeated An Dương Vương to established his rule. Yet others consider it an era of independence, because Triệu Đà's family ruled Nam Việt in defiance of the Han dynasty until 111 BC, when the Han troops invaded the country and incorporated it into the Han empire as Giao Chỉ prefecture. Nam Việt's Triệu dynasty had five kings:

Vũ Vương (Triệu Đà) 196 BC-137 BC

Văn Vương 137 BC-125 BC

Minh Vương 125 BC-113 BC

Áp Vương 113 BC-111 BC

Dương Vương 111 BC

Despite a program of Sinicization, the Viets refused assimilation and continuously rebelled. In 40 AD, allegedly after her husband had been executed by the Chinese, a Vietnamese woman named Trưng Trắc and her sister Trưng Nhị led an uprising against the Hans. They were able to drive off the Chinese and set capital at Mê Linh (Phú Thọ province). In 41 AD, Emperor Guangwu of Han sent his general Mã Viện (Ma Yuan) and troops to crush the Trưng rebellion. After two years of fighting, the Trưng sisters were defeated and committed suicide by drowning themselves in Hát river. Known collectively in Vietnamese folklore as Hai Bà Trưng, the Trưng sisters are admired as the first Vietnamese patriots. They are often depicted as riding war elephants to battle.