Lingua e cultura Vietnamita

List of Vietnamese dynasties

Phase I: Ancient history

• Hồng Bàng Dynasty - The Lạc Dynasty (2897 to 258 BCE) founded by King An Dương Vương, also known as King Hùng Vương

Phase II: Vietnamese independence from Chinese rule

• Lý Dynasty (1010-1225 CE) founded the city of “Hanoi” (“Thăng Long”)
• Trần Dynasty (1225-1400 CE) defeated the Mongol invasion
• Lê Dynasty (1428-1776 CE) influenced by the Ming Dynasty Confucian institutions
• Mạc Dynasty (1527-1592) civil war divides country: Mac, Trinh and Nguyen warlords
• Nguyễn Dynasty (1802-1945) located in Huế (central-southern region) and influenced by Confucianism

Phase III: Modern Vietnamese history

• French colonialism (1862-1954) Vietnamese identity and China

Lecture questions

What do we know of the Vietnamese people in the River Delta prior to formal Chinese conquest?

In what manner and to what degree did China influence what we now know today as “Vietnam”? What changes or continuities took place after the Chinese invasion(s)? We can discern a distinct premodern Vietnamese cultural identity. The arrival of the Chinese did influence the country, but it is not a brutal copy of the Chinese culture in another geographical region: the Vietnamese took elements of the Chinese culture unevenly and selectively, and they now are part of a bigger cultural identity.

Background info: overview of key terms in history and review of Chinese history

• Neolithic Revolution: Transition from nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers to larger, agricultural settlements and early civilization
• Bronze Age: Marked the first time humans started to work with metal, the first writing system and the invention of the wheel, the rise of states and kingdoms, trade, warfare, migration and spread of ideas

Q1: What do we know of the Vietnamese people in the River Delta prior to formal Chinese conquest?

Vietnamese context before Chinese invasion (pre-111 B.C.)

• The Bronze age civilization was called Dong Son ("East Mountain"). Dong Son drums were found highly concentrated in the Red River Delta (present day Hanoi), although some are scattered throughout Southeast Asia.

The Dong Son civilization:

• Sea oriented society: there is evidence of boats and warriors wearing elaborate feather head-dresses
• Foreign interactions (maybe): contact with Mesopotamia, Egypt and Europe through the Maritime Silk Road
• Use of bronze for metallurgy and bellic reasons: Vietnam was not a pacific/peaceful civilization
• Hierarchical political organization: local, diffuse tribes or dynasties, a patchwork of mandalas ("circle of kings")

Citadel “Co Loa”

Even though there was no united “Dong Son federation,” linking southern China and northern Vietnam, new evidence now suggests that a powerful, centralized political authority emerged in the 3rd century B.C.E. in Co Loa near Hanoi: King An Duong Vuong united the Lac Viet and Au Viet tribes into a single polity in the Red River area called “Au Lac”. An Duong Vuong took control of the citadel Co Loa: he ordered a complex series of moats, walls, fortresses, ramparts, and a large amount of labor was needed to build and defend such a center. Only with a high level of political, social and economic organization would he be able to dominate other Dong Son locations.

The End of King An Duong Vuong

In 170 B.C.E, a rogue Qin (Chinese) general Chao T'o (Zhao Tuo; Triệu Đà) based in Guangzhou (present-day Canton), defeated An Duong Vuong and created a post in the region against the Han dynasty: he carved out a separate polity and named it the land of the Southern Viet (Nam Việt/Nán yuè/). This land encompassed Co Loa, the Red River delta and parts of Guangdong and Guangxi, and it lasted until 111 B.C.E, when Han imperial troops moved in.

The myth (love story) of My Chau and Trong Thuy

King An Duong Vuong had a daughter named My Chau, while General Zhao Tuo (Triệu Đà) had a son named Trong Thuy. The legend says that King An Duong Vuong was able to defend the Citadel Co Loa due to a magic crossbow that could fire thousands of arrows, given to him by a local spirit (in the form of a turtle). General Zhao Tuo is determined to discover King An Duong’s secret: the general has his son, Trong Thuy, befriend My Chau, who become lovers and get married. In the end, My Chau discloses the secret and General Zhao Tuo is now able to defeat An Duong Vuong.

Q3: What changes or continuities took place after the Chinese invasion(s)?

There are two approaches and perspectives with the analysis of these questions:

• Diachronic Perspective: We can answer the questions by looking at moments of Chinese interaction over time. This approach looks at the “big picture” (zooming out), ignoring single realities.
• Synchronic Perspective: We look at a specific moment in time very closely, guaranteeing a closer examination (zooming in).

Diachronic perspective (zoom out)

The Chinese influenced only during some periods in Vietnamese history, namely, from approximately 111BC to the tenth century C.E., the Chinese ruled Vietnam despite many failed local rebellions. From the tenth century on, we observe an independent “Greater Viet” state that is formed. During this phase, Chinese models are influential only during some periods.

The periods in which there was likely the most palpable Chinese influence would be the Lê and Nguyễn Dynasties: both dynasties witnessed a period of Confucian revivalism, and both saw Confucianism as an effective model for statecraft and state building. We can periodize the Vietnamese interaction with the Chinese into two phases: namely, from approximately 111BC to the tenth century C.E., the Chinese invaded and ruled Vietnam, despite many failed local rebellions.

• Phase I: Vietnamese Ancient History and Chinese Rule
  This period goes from General Zhuo To’s capture of the Co Loa Citadel (170BCE) to the Tang Dynasty (907 CE): this first phase is characterized by a series of rebellions against Chinese invasions.
• Phase II: Vietnamese Independence from China’s Rule
  General Ngo Quyen founds “Greater Viet” (939 AD), during the fall of the Tang Dynasty, and this phase lasts till Emperor Quang Trung repels the Qing army invasion (1788 AD). The Vietnamese are embroiled in their own conflicts and issues of state-building. From the tenth century on, we observe the formation of an independent “Greater Viet” state. During this phase, Chinese models are influential only during some periods.

From a diachronic perspective, the Chinese exerted influence only during some periods in Vietnamese history. The periods in which there was likely the most influence, or cultural borrowing from China, would arguably be the Lê and Nguyễn Dynasties, because both the Lê and Nguyễn dynasties witnessed Confucian revolutions and revivalism. The Lê dynasty emerged after a period of harsh Sinicization by the Ming Dynasty, which brought with them cannons, guns, and grenades as threats: for twenty years (1407-1428), the Ming imposed a bureaucratic model and civil service, creating 41 sub-prefectures and 208 counties operating along Chinese administrative practices.

After defeating the Ming, the Lê emperors found the Confucian model as an effective means of statecraft and to build their own empires: he constructed even more academies and schools and accelerated the civil service examination. Finally, he also promulgated the Le Law Code derived from Chinese legal and criminal codes. The Nguyễn Dynasty, on the other hand, opposed to the Trinh lords and the Lê emperor in Hanoi: the Nguyễn Dynasty in the south, located in and around Huế, wanted to legitimize its rule. The Nguyễn emperor Gia Long turned to Confucianism and Chinese models of statecraft to unite Vietnam under his family’s rule, issuing new laws and penal codes modeled on the Chinese, restoring regional academies and establishing new Confucian academies and schools. Gia Long’s son, Minh Mạng, who was trained in the Chinese Classics, would continue and intensify the Confucian revolution.

Synoptic perspective (zoom in)

Ancient History and Chinese Rule

• 208 B.C. Vietnamese kingdom of Au Lac destroyed and becomes part of Nam Viet kingdom under Chinese general Trieu Da during the fall of the Qin Dynasty.
• 111 B.C. Nam Viet conquered by Chinese Han emperor Wudi and the capitol of Nam Viet burned. Nam Viet is split into 9 Chinese military districts managed by Chinese officials and forced to pay tribute. Beginning of over 1,000-year Chinese rule and Vietnam referred to by Chinese as Jiaozhi.
• 39 A.D. Trung Trac and Trung Nhi sisters lead rebellion against Chinese and establish independent Vietnamese state.
• 42 A.D. Han army led by General Ma Yüan crushes new Vietnamese state and reinstates Chinese rule. This ushers in the end of the era of local autonomy in Vietnam and Chinese rule over Vietnam now mirrors colonialism. Many chiefs killed, deported to China, and many forced to accept Chinese customs to survive.
• 187 A.D. – 226 A.D. Chinese governor over Vietnam, Shi Xie, takes advantage of Han Dynasty’s decline and makes province virtually independent from China but continues Sinicization process. Shi Xie eventually defeated by Wu forces from Nanjing, China.
• 248 A.D. Lady Trieu Au stages failed revolt against Chinese rule.
• 542 A.D. Upper-class Chinese descendant Ly Nam De drives out Chinese rulers and establishes Vietnamese kingdom.
• 545 A.D. Chinese armies defeat Ly Nam De’s state.
• 618 A.D. – 907 A.D. Tang Dynasty rules Vietnam, many failed rebellions by Vietnamese upper class.

From a synoptic perspective, there are some further key questions:

1. From 111BC to 907 CE, what interests did the Chinese have in the lands of the Red River Delta (Hanoi)?
   The lands near the Red River delta were full of fertile plains and agriculture, and giving access to the sea it was possible to trade with other cultures in the South China Seas and Indian Ocean. Having that territory would also mean that the Chinese would have a bulwark (defense) against the Khmer and Champa empires. The Chinese were not necessarily interested in transmitting their administrative structures entirely. A third-century official, Hsüeh Tsung, observed: “What can be obtained from the field and household taxes is meager. On the other hand, this place is famous for precious rarities from afar treasures enough to satisfy all desires; so it is not necessary to depend on what is received from taxes in order to profit from the empire.”
2. How did Chinese officials perceive the Vietnamese?
   “If district-level officials are appointed, it is the same as if they were not… [the people] easily become rebellious and are difficult to pacify; district officials act dignified but are careful not to provoke them.” Han scholars who came to Vietnam to escape turmoil in China were eager to return when conditions improved: “at that time, after the death of Emperor Ling [189]… the empire was in disorder; only Chiao-chi [northern Vietnam] was relatively calm, and unusual men from the north came to live there. Many occupied themselves with the worship of gods and spirits, abstinence from cereals, and immortality. Many people of that time devoted themselves to these studies. Mou Po [Chinese scholar in Vietnam] unceasingly proposed objections based on the five classics…”
   Chinese officials believed the Vietnamese were unworthy of being taught. “When an elder brother dies, a younger brother marries his widow; this has been going on for generations thereby becoming an established custom, so district officials give in and allow it, not being able to stop it… In short, it can be said that these people are on the same level as bugs.” “Women are untrustworthy and promiscuously wander about; for this reason they are made to wear tinkling pendants in their ears to keep them at home.”
3. What was distinctive, if at all, about the Vietnamese?
   
   • Language: The Vietnamese borrowed Chinese characters but created their own demotic script (nôm).
   • Physical bearings: They had distinct costume, body fashion, and general physical appearances. Also, attitudes like body tattooing, betel chewing, and teeth lacquering were prevalent.
   • Worship of popular cults and deities: The cult of the Trung Sisters; cult of General Tran Hung Dao and other local deities have no correspondence to the Chinese ones.
   • Religion: By the 8th century AD, if you were to imagine a typical port town at the time, you would see Chams, Chinese, Persians, Khmers, Arabs, monks, and traders all rubbing shoulders with each other. Eventually, Buddhism would integrate this diversity under a unified monarchy, in particular they had a strong influence from Mahayana Buddhism, which was transmitted to China. This belief in other spirit worlds influenced by Indian and Southeast Asian cultures.
   • Gender relations: Matriarchal society with greater roles for women.

Religion and politics

The Lý dynasty

Lecture questions

What was the context prior to the Lý dynasty? What was happening in Vietnam?

What was culturally and politically distinctive about the Lý dynasty? What were its contributions to the history of Vietnam?

Q1: What was the context prior to the Lý dynasty?

King Ngô Quyền defeats the Chinese invasion and founds the “Greater Viet” in 939 C.E. After the king dies in 944 C.E., however, between 960 CE until 1009 CE, the “Viet Kings” ruled the area near the city of Hoa Lư (near present-day Ninh Bình). Local conflicts led to a chaotic period called the Anarchy of the 12 Lords (circa 966 C.E.) Đinh Bộ Lĩnh (924–979) defeats the 12 rebellious warlords and unifies the region briefly (he is also known as Đinh Tiên Hoàng. From 960 to 1009, the Việt Kings contributed in different ways: they first asserted their authority over all the localities inhabited by the Việt and then gained Chinese recognition of their authority. Nevertheless, this period of the Việt kings was ruled by threats of violence and wars of royal succession, meaning that it cannot last very long.

Q2: What was culturally and politically distinctive about the Lý dynasty? What were its contributions to the history of Vietnam?

Buddhism was affirmed as the measure of civilized behavior for both kings and subjects, which provides rules of conduct and ushers in an era of relative peace. A pantheon of indigenous ‘Vietnamese’ spirits was identified as guardians of royal power, and it provides legitimacy and cultural basis of authority. A Vietnamized version of Chinese political theory was developed to affirm that Thăng-long (present-day Hà Nội) was the seat of ‘southern emperor’ who ruled the ‘southern kingdom’ by heavenly mandate, which created continuity and a succession of Lý kings. In sum, all of the above factors established an institutional foundation that enabled the Lý dynasty to last longer than its predecessor and for more than a century. Buddhism was the intermediary between the Sino-Vietnamese aristocracy and the populace thanks to the monks. The monks made themselves as they were learned experts to the Viet kings, experts capable of dealing with China and as mediators.