Vietnam

H

International Organizations

Vietnam has been a member of the United Nations since 1977. The country is also a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In 1998 Vietnam joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

VII

History

Archaeological findings indicate that settlers in the Red River Delta may have been among the first peoples in East and Southeast Asia to practice agriculture. By the end of the 2nd millennium bc, Vietnamese civilization had begun to enter the Bronze Age. The ancestors of the modern Vietnamese were one of many scattered communities that lived in what are now South China and northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC. According to local tradition, a line of hereditary kings ruled over the ancient kingdom of Van Lang in the Red River Delta for thousands of years. Van Lang was conquered by Thuc Phan, who founded a small Vietnamese kingdom called Au Lac.

A

Chinese Rule

In 221 bc the state of Qin completed its conquest of neighboring states and became the first dynasty to rule over a united China. However, the dynasty collapsed soon after the death of its dynamic founder Qin Shihuangdi in 210 bc. In the wreckage of the empire, the Qin’s Chinese commander in the south, General Zhao Tuo (Chao T’o), created his own kingdom out of the Qin’s former southern provinces. Zhao, known in Vietnam as Trieu Da, named the kingdom Nam Viet (Nan Ywe in Chinese, meaning “southern Viet”). He soon conquered the Vietnamese kingdom of Au Lac and added it to his kingdom.

In 111 bc, however, Chinese armies conquered Nam Viet and absorbed Zhao’s kingdom, including the old state of Au Lac, into the growing empire of the Han Dynasty. At first, the Han tried to rule through local chieftains, who periodically attempted to expel the Chinese invaders and restore an independent state. The Han imperial court then integrated the Red River Delta politically and culturally into the Chinese Empire. They imposed Chinese-style political institutions and made Confucianism the official ideology. They also made Chinese the official spoken and written language. Eventually, Chinese characters were adapted as the written form for the Vietnamese spoken language. Chinese art, architecture, and music all became models for their counterparts in Vietnam.

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Vietnamese resistance to Chinese rule was fierce but sporadic. The first major revolt occurred in ad 39 when two widows of local chieftains, known as the Trung Sisters, led an uprising against foreign rule. The revolt was briefly successful and the eldest sister established herself as ruler of an independent state. However, Chinese armies led by General Ma Yuan invaded the Red River Delta and again conquered the Vietnamese four years later.

B

Independence Restored

In the succeeding centuries a series of unsuccessful uprisings against Chinese rule followed. Finally in ad 939 Ngo Quyen took advantage of chaotic conditions in China and led a successful Vietnamese rebellion against the local occupation forces. He established the Ngo dynasty, but after his death in 944 the dynasty disintegrated and a long period of civil strife followed. In the early 11th century Ly Thai To founded the first of the great Vietnamese dynasties. Under the astute leadership of several dynamic rulers, the Ly dynasty ruled Vietnam from 1010 to 1225. The rise of the new state, known as Dai Viet (Great Viet), reflected the emergence of a strong sense of Vietnamese national identity. The Ly rulers, however, found Chinese techniques useful in controlling and mobilizing their subjects; therefore they retained many of the political and social institutions that had been introduced during the long centuries of Chinese rule. For example, they adopted the Confucian civil service examination system, formalized in China during the 8th and 9th centuries, as a means of selecting government officials. This method of selection allowed talented individuals to rise to positions of power based on their abilities, not their political connections. At first, only members of the ruling aristocracy were authorized to compete in the examinations, but eventually the right was extended to most males. The Ly used the educational system to spread moral principles valued in China. Young Vietnamese who prepared for the examinations learned the Confucian classics and grew up conversant with the great figures and ideas that had shaped Chinese history.

But Vietnamese society was more than just a pale reflection of China. Beneath the veneer of Chinese thought and fashion popular among the upper classes, native forms of expression continued to thrive. Young Vietnamese learned to appreciate the great heroes of the Vietnamese past, many of whom—like the Trung Sisters—had built their reputation on resistance to Chinese occupation. At the village level, social mores reflected native traditions more than patterns imported from China. In Vietnam, for example, the legal rights of women were more extensive than in neighboring China. Although to the superficial eye Vietnam may have looked like a “smaller dragon” under the watchful eye of the powerful empire to the north, it continued to develop a separate culture with vibrant traditions of its own.

B

1

An Agrarian Society

Nevertheless, China and Vietnam shared a number of important similarities. In both states, the primary source of wealth was agriculture. Because of its subtropical climate and plentiful rainfall, Vietnamese food production was based almost exclusively on the cultivation of wet rice. As in China and medieval Europe, much of the land was owned by powerful noble families, who often owned thousands of serfs (indentured farm laborers) or domestic slaves. A class of peasant landholders also existed, however, and the imperial court frequently attempted to limit the power of the noble families by dividing their large manorial estates and distributing the land to the peasants.

The Vietnamese economy was not based solely on agriculture, however. Commerce and manufacturing thrived, and local craft goods appeared in regional markets throughout the area. Especially prized were Vietnamese ceramics, cheaper than those produced in China and only slightly lower in quality. But Vietnam never developed into a predominantly trading nation, nor did it become a major participant in regional commerce. Like China, Vietnam looked inward, and the imperial court viewed the merchant class with suspicion.

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