4,000+ Years and Counting: Essential Facts About the Vietnamese People

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Introduction:

There is already a lot of information out there about Vietnam and the Vietnamese people. Much of the following is common knowledge.

We are a nation in Southeast Asia.

We fought a bloody and destructive war in the 20th century, which took place between the 1950s and 1970s. The U.S. was involved in this war and fought alongside the good guys (the South Vietnamese).

Since the 10th century, we became an independent nation called Dai Viet (“Great Viet”) after 1,000 years of Chinese occupation, which started when the Han Dynasty took over in the first century BC.

Vietnam has some pretty incredible historical heroes, such as Lady Trieu, who led a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful rebellion against the Kingdom of Wu in the third century; General Tran Hung Dao, who crushed the mighty Mongol Yuan Empire invaders in the 14th century; and Emperor Nguyen Hue Quang Trung, who eviscerated the invaders from the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the 18th century.

These are just a few of the things that encompass the long and storied heritage of the Vietnamese people. They are a cornerstone of the Vietnamese identity, and are commonly known to anyone who is interested in Vietnamese history.

A statue of Emperor Quang Trung of the Tay Son Dynasty. Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo shared in accordance with CC BY-SA 3.0. (via Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên / Wikimedia Commons).

As important and timeless as these truths are, however, they are things that happened relatively recently, within the last 2,000 years in the AD era (Anno Domini; also known as the Common Era [CE]; after the birth of Christ). Therefore, they do not explain who the Vietnamese people were in ancient times, in the BC era (Before Christ) of the western calendar.

And so, in pursuit of a deeper understanding of Vietnamese history, the following questions are raised:

1. Did Vietnam exist before 2,000 years ago?
2. If yes, what was Vietnam like before 2,000 years ago?
3. Just how old are the Vietnamese people?

The proceeding sections of this article will present more detailed answers to the questions above. If you’re short on time right now, though, then the quick version of the answers, in their respective order, are:

1. Yes.
2. Pretty sophisticated and impressive.
3. Really, really, really old.

Brief Answers:

1. Yes, a Vietnamese state did exist before 2,000 years ago:

It wasn’t called “Vietnam” during that time, but it did exist. And it existed in several forms in different time periods.

Vietnam had a number of names throughout its existence. Some (but not all) of these names include “Van Lang,” “Au Lac,” “Nam-Viet,” and “Dai-Viet.” It was not until the 19th century that the modern name “Viet-Nam” was adapted by the Nguyen Dynasty.

The Vietnamese state we will talk about specifically in the next section is Au Lac.

2. This Vietnamese state, Au Lac, was independent, sophisticated, and impressive.

In the first millennium BC, there existed the Vietnamese state of Au Lac. Its capital city was named Co Loa. As the next section will show, Co Loa was quite advanced and developed, signifying that the people who built it were socially, politically, and culturally sophisticated.

3. The Vietnamese people have existed for more than 4,000 years.

Besides the testament presented by the state of Au Lac, there is evidence that the Vietnamese people have existed in northern Vietnam and much of southern China for a really, really, really long time.

Read on to find more detailed explanations for these answers.

Co Loa Citadel and the Vietnamese state of Au Lac in the first millennium BC:

In his book The Origins of Ancient Vietnam (2015), Nam C. Kim presents valuable insight into the state of Au Lac. From Au Lac, the Vietnamese people can trace their heritage back to at least the first millennium BC.

Traditional accounts signify that the kingdom of Au Lac was founded through conquest by a man named An Duong Vuong (aka “King An Duong”) in the third century BC (Kim, 2015: 5). There is common agreement that in Vietnamese tradition, King An Duong is recognized as one of the early ancestors of the Vietnamese people.

Following his conquest, the newly crowned King An Duong ordered the construction of a large citadel in Tay-vu called Co Loa Thanh (aka “Co Loa Citadel”). This citadel, which may simply be called “Co Loa,” would be the capital city of Au Lac, and thus, the political and power center of this new kingdom (Kim, 2015: 5).

(Note: Be careful not to confuse “Co Loa,” the name of the capital city of Au Lac, with “Cao Lo,” the name of one of King An Duong’s advisors, who is also an important historical figure associated with the city’s founding.)

The statue of Cao Lo, builder of the mythical magic crossbow that, according to legend, allowed King An Duong to conquer countless enemies in battle. Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo shared in accordance with CC BY-SA 4.0. (via Julez A. / Wikimedia Commons).

What is significant about the city of Co Loa is its size and sophistication.

Kim’s account presents the fact that Co Loa was a large and heavily fortified city. This, he argues, is proof of significant complexity and consolidated authority that was present within this Viet society when the city was built (2015: 6).

The name “Co Loa” itself means “old snail city.” It comes from the city’s artful and intricate architecture, whose “walls appear to be laid out in concentric rings of earthen ramparts reminiscent of a snail shell,” (Kim, 2015: 5).

The builders of the Co Loa settlement, which Kim calls the “Co Loa Polity,” is said to be an organized political entity. They were centralized, operated at the state level, and had longstanding political institutions (2015: 9).

All of this suggests that the founders of Au Lac, and its capital Co Loa, were people of military, political, and cultural sophistication. These early ancestors of the Vietnamese people were organized, civilized, and well-established.

In addition to Au Lac, the general Red River Delta region in northern Vietnam has been considered the “heartland” of Vietnamese civilization since at least the third millennium BC. (Kim, 2015: 18).

Further investigation into Vietnam’s past shows the existence of ancient peoples whose roots stretch further back than is commonly understood in popular culture.

Collectively, these peoples are known as the Hundred Viets, and had occupied the regions of northern Vietnam and southern China long before the Chinese came.

The Hundred Viets peoples who inhabited Southern China before the Chinese did:

One of the more commonly known examples of Vietnamese people occupying parts of southern China comes from Nam-Viet, another kingdom that also existed in the first millennium BC. Based on its founding year, Nam-Viet is newer than Au Lac.

Nam-Viet existed between 208-110 BC, and, like Au Lac, was a state of Vietnamese origin. It was located in what is today the city of Guangzhou, China (Holcombe, 2011: 9). The name “Nam-Viet,” if translated to English, means “Southern Viet.”

Earlier than this, possibly by a thousand years, there existed yet another Vietnamese kingdom. Charles Holcombe, in A History of East Asia (2011), talks about an early “Bronze Age kingdom called Viet,” which was “located even farther north [than Guangzhou], in the vicinity of the modern Chinese Province of Zhejiang, almost half way up the coast of what is today China!” (2011: 9).

Tellingly, it is also noted by Holcombe that, “Early Chinese texts, in fact, referred to most of what is now southeast China as the land of the ‘Hundred Viets,'” (2011: 9).

A snapshot of modern-day Zhejiang Province in southeast China. Notice the province of Anhui directly northwest. These locations were once the homes of several Viet groups before the arrival of the Chinese.

Holcombe also spends some time in his book briefly talking about one specific tribe of the Hundred Viets. These are the Mountain Viets (in Chinese, “Shan Yue”), who occupied the lower Yangtze River area, and who took their last stand against the Chinese kingdom of Wu before being defeated in the third century AD (2011: 62).

During the “Three Kingdoms” era in Chinese history, the Kingdom of Wu waged a military campaign against the Mountain Viets. This campaign started in the year 234 AD, lasted for three years, and culminated in the surrender of approximately 100,000 Mountain Viets at what today is modern Anhui Province in China (Holcombe 2011: 62).

From Holcombe’s account, it appears that the Mountain Viets were then assimilated into the Chinese population. After the Three Kingdoms period, the name “Mountain Viet” was not spoken of again (2011: 62).

The evidence here shows that before the Chinese came, much of what is today southern China was inhabited by the ancestors of the Vietnamese people. More specifically, it is proof that the Vietnamese people have a long and deep history that is much older and more sophisticated than is commonly believed.

4,000+ Years and counting:

Whether it be the kingdoms of Au Lac and Nam-Viet during the mid-late first millennium BC, or the Kingdom of Viet before that during the Bronze Age, it is clear that prior to the AD era, the Vietnamese people did exist.

The evidence shows that the various Viet kingdoms are connected to a larger family of ancient Viet peoples, which, together, comprise the “Hundred Viets” race.

The Dong Son Bronze Drum is a known symbol of Vietnamese antiquity. This photo was taken at the Vietnam History Museum, and posted to Wikimedia Commons on April 13, 2009 by Binh Giang (Public Domain).

The Hundred Viets occupied vast areas of both East Asia and Southeast Asia, reaching from what is northern Vietnam today, all the way through modern-day southern China up to the Yangtze River.

While further research continues to provide more clarity on just how old the Vietnamese people are, current findings show that they have existed for at least 4,000 years.

Not bad.

Cited:

Holcombe, Charles. A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2011.

Kim, Nam C. The Origins of Ancient Vietnam. New York: Oxford University Press. 2015.

Lê Lai: The Warrior Who Saved The Emperor

Anyone familiar with the history of Vietnam is likely familiar with the story of Lê Lợi and Nguyễn Trãi.  When the Ming Dynasty of China invaded Vietnam (Đại Việt) and overtook the country in the 15th century, the duo of Lê Lợi and Nguyễn Trãi rallied the population in Vietnam in a struggle against the Ming, effectively destroying the invaders in a ten year war (1418-1427).  After the revolt, Lê Lợi would become the new emperor of Đại Việt, found the Lê Dynasty, and lead the country through an era of prosperity.

It is commonly understood that Nguyễn Trãi, Lê Lợi’s advisor, played a major role in the success of the rebellion.  However, the duo was also supported by a loyal team of warriors who fought and died for them.  Among these group of warriors was a man named Lê Lai, one of Lê Lợi’s subordinate commanders.

During the early phases of the rebellion against China (1421), the forces of Lê Lợi and Nguyễn Trãi were not yet strong enough to confront the Ming head on.  One mountaintop battle saw the forces of Lê Lợi surrounded and on the verge of defeat.  The Ming forces had trapped the Việt rebels, and were waiting to move in for the kill.

Faced with the possibility of a crushing defeat, not only for the soldiers, but for the rebellion as a whole, the rebels had to come up with a plan, and fast.  Lê Lai, the warrior of Lê Lợi, wanted to create a diversion.  In an act of courage, loyalty, and patriotism, Lê Lai volunteered to hold off the Ming forces while Lê Lợi and the majority of the forces escaped.

Lai fooled the Ming forces by dressing up in Lê Lợi’s uniform.  He then assembled a small squad among the rebels who were also willing to die, playing the chief role in their suicide mission against the Chinese forces.  Lê Lai, along with a small company of Vietnamese rebels, launched an assault on the forces of Ming, knowing full well that it would get them killed.  Thus, Lê Lợi, the leader of the revolution, and the future emperor of Đại Việt, was narrowly able to escape the Chinese’s grasp.

The unsung hero, Lê Lai, saved not only the future emperor, but the revolution as a whole.  If Lê Lợi were captured by the forces of Ming, the revolution, the spirit of the people, and all hopes of breaking free from the stranglehold of the Ming Dynasty would be resoundingly crushed.  In giving up his life, Lê Lai would forever be remembered as the warrior who saved the emperor, and the man who preserved a nation.

Lê Lai is fairly well known in Vietnamese history.  He has been immortalized as a selfless and heroic figure who gave his life for the national hero, Lê Lợi, the emperor himself.  Before his death, Emperor Lê Lợi saw to it that Lê Lai’s memorial be held one day before his own.  In Vietnam, the memorial day of Lê Lai is August 21, while the emperor’s is on August 22.

Buddhism: The Religion That Saved Đại Việt

First off, let me clarify that I am not about do discredit any other religion in favor of Buddhism.  In modern Vietnam, Christianity, as well as Buddhism, have been major contributors to the development of Vietnamese society.  However, I am looking back, very far back, to the times of antiquity to show Buddhism’s major contribution to the strength and protection of Đại Việt.

For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to the strand of Buddhism practiced in Vietnam as Vietnamese Buddhism.  There are numerous teachings in the Buddhist religion that I won’t be covering here.  For now, I will be pointing out the three most powerful lessons that every leader of antiquity have followed at some point in their lives.  These three great teachings talk of compassion (bi), intelligence (trí), and courage (dũng).

These three  great teachings paved the way for the rise of the Đại Việt nation.  The Lý Dynasty, the Trần Dyansty, and the Lê Dynasty were Buddhist dynasties (though the Lê to a lesser extent).  Great emperors like Lý Thái Tổ, Trần Nhân Tông, Lê Lợi, just to name a few, were Buddhists.  Heroes of Vietnam, like Trần Hưng Đạo, Lý Thường Kiệt, and Nguyễn Trãi, were all well versed in the teachings of Buddha.

These heroes all learned from these teachings of bi, trí, and dũng (compassion, intelligence, and courage) to protect the country.  In times of peace, they were benevolent, compassionate, and kind.  In times of war, they fought fearlessly, showing no mercy to the ones who dared to invade the land.  Thanks to the teachings of Buddha, the nation of Đại Việt prevailed in the face of adversity and prospered in times of peace.

Trần Hưng Đạo and the Mongol Invasions

The Trần Dynasty (1225-1400)The Mongols

In the thirteenth century, a devastating force swept through the continent of East Asia, leaving a path of destruction in their trail.  Killing without mercy, fighting without end, and striking fear across the east, the world seemed to crumble at their feet.  The ones responsible for these ruthless invasions came to be known as the Mongol warriors, led by the famous Genghis Khan.  After uniting the rival tribes in Mongolia, Genghis Khan would embark on an ambitious mission to conquer all of Eurasia.

Many civilizations fell at the hands of Genghis and his Mongols, whose conquests paved the way for what came to be known as the Mongol Empire.  This empire included many countries between Europe and Asia such as Poland, Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, Ukraine, and even pieces from the Russian Empire.  After Genghis’s death, his grandson Kublai was chosen as his successor.  It was Kublai Khan who completed his grandfather’s mission, engulfing all of China and successfully incorporating it into the Mongol Empire.

Surrender or Fight?

When the Mongols completed their conquest of China in 1279, the Yuan Dynasty was established.  The new rulers of the Chinese Empire then switched their sites to China’s southern neighbor, the young nation of Đại Việt, as their next target.

With news of the Mongols’ impending conquest, the emperor of Đại Việt was faced with a choice: surrender or fight.  The odds were, as it often was, unfavourable for the small Vietnamese state.  It was obvious that the Mongols had a much larger fighting force.  Having just conquered the enormous country of China in its entirety, engaging the Mongols was almost suicide.

The choice was too important for the emperor to make on his own, so he decided to take the matter into the hands of his people.  He informed his people of the coming invasion, that they were outnumbered many-to-one, and what the detrimental possibilities were.  So through a referendum, he asked his people: surrender or fight?

The unanimous response to this question was a resounding “fight!”  It didn’t matter how much they were outnumbered by, the Vietnamese people refused to let the country fall to foreign invaders, no matter what.  So with the people behind him, the Vietnamese emperor drew out a plan, and the fearless general Trần Hưng Đạo was summoned to lead the fight against the Mongol invaders.

Ready for War

Prior to the referendum, in 1257, the Mongols had already attacked the Vietnamese capital of Thăng Long, burning the city to the ground.  Fortunately, emperor Trần Thánh Tông and his generals quickly expelled the Mongol forces from Đại Việt, forcing them to return to China.  This successful ousting of the Mongol invaders would be known as the first victory over the Mongol Empire.  However, the Mongols would be back.  Next time with a larger entourage.

When the Yuan warriors returned to Vietnam in 1285, they demanded passage through the country to invade the Kingdom of Cham, along with the submission from the Vietnamese emperor as a tributary.  Obviously, the young emperor Trần Nhân Tông would not allow this to happen.  As a result of his refusal, the enraged Mongols of the Yuan prepared for another assault on the nation of Đại Việt.

The Mongol threat was very great and the chances of victory were slim.  How could a nation as small as Đại Việt resist a force that had wreaked havoc across all of Eurasia?  It didn’t matter, because after the referendum, the choice was clear.  The people of Đại Việt will fight, and it would be a fight to the death.  Under the command of General Trần Hưng Đạo, the Mongols would get a taste of bitter defeat.

The Invasions

The Mongols kicked off their invasion in 1285 the same way they did in 1258, by marching into the city of Thăng Long, the capital of Đại Việt.  However, Trần Hưng Đạo had already evacuated the city, burning off all the food and supplies, leaving the invaders with little resources to sustain themselves.  Realizing that the emperor and his occupants had moved southward, the Yuan soldiers immediately pursued them.  The invaders chased after the Viet forces, not knowing that they were playing right into the hands of General Trần.

The more they chased, the more supplies they consumed.  As a result, the Mongol army was riddled with fatigue, starvation, and disease.  When the time was right, Trần Hưng Đạo and his forces bombarded the exhausted Yuan army with a series of counter-attacks along the river fronts.  The brilliant offensives overwhelmed the Yuan invaders, causing their forces to quickly evacuate Đại Việt.  On the retreat, the Mongol armies were harassed by the forces of Đại Việt, who were cleverly stationed on the routes leading back to China.  Many Yuan soldiers died on the retreat from Đại Việt, including Sogetu, a Mongol commander.

Humiliated by this failed campaign, the infuriated Kublai Khan prepared for another expedition into Đại Việt.  In 1287, Kublai Khan deployed a  massive army, consisting of more than 500,000 soldiers, into Đại Việt under the command of Prince Toghan.  They were successful at first, capturing several provinces at the borders and defeating the soldiers of Đại Việt under General Trần Khánh Dư.  However, the victories were short-lived, as Trần Khánh Dư regrouped his forces and retaliated by cutting off the Mongols’ supply lines, leaving them with little to fight on.  At the same time, General Trần Hưng Đạo had recaptured the lost regions, and when the Mongols reached Thăng Long, the city was empty again.

The casualty rate of the Mongol army was getting too high, and the war no longer seemed worth it.  As a result, Prince Toghan decided to bring his army back to China.  Omar, a commander of the Yuan army, was ordered by Toghan to withdraw his troops through Bạch Đằng Bay, the place where Ngô Quyền destroyed the forces of the Southern Han centuries before.  Trần Hưng Đạo was about to repeat this victory, only this time, against the forces of Yuan.

The Return to Bạch Đằng Bay

Like his predecessor, Ngô Quyền, General Trần Hưng Đạo had anticipated his enemies using the River of Bạch Đằng as a strategic location.  Therefore, he decided to launch a preemptive strike, borrowing the very same tactics used by Ngô Quyền against the Southern Han in 938.  Under General Trần’s orders, large wooden stakes were planted beneath the waters of Bạch Đằng Bay, prior to the Mongols’ arrival.  With the traps in place, the forces of Đại Việt waited at Bạch Đằng for the Mongols to pass through.

As the Mongol fleet reached Bạch Đằng River, Trần Hưng Đạo was there to meet them.  Inevitably, a battle broke out between the forces of Yuan and Trần.  In a similar fashion to Ngô Quyền, the forces of Đại Việt pretended to lose, sailing away from the ships of the Yuan.  Just like the the Southern Han, the overconfident Mongol fleet pursued them with great vigour, consequently entangling themselves in the traps beneath the waves.

At that moment, with the stakes ripping through the Mongol ships, impaling the soldiers on board, a barrage of flaming arrows fell from the sky, incinerating the entire Mongol fleet.  More than 400 warships were completely destroyed by Trần Hưng Đạo’s soldiers, permanently neutralizing the Yuan army.  With the entire fleet eliminated, the Mongols could no longer go on fighting.  Prince Toghan’s retreating forces were also crushed by Đại Việt’s army at the China-Vietnam border, adding insult to their injuries.  With the Mongols subdued on all fronts, the forces of Đại Việt were finally victorious.

The war was over, the impossible was done.  Đại Việt had miraculously defeated the mighty Mongol Empire, forcing their leaders to retreat on three separate occasions.  The victory at Bạch Đằng Bay was a valuable lesson to the Mongols, and they never invaded again.  Trần Hưng Đạo was praised for his ingenious generalship against the Mongols invaders.  After his passing, the royal family blessed upon him the title of Hưng Đạo Đại Vương (Hưng Đạo, the Grand Commander).  This glorious victory would ensure the continuation of the Việt tradition, reminding the people of any nation that with enough determination, anything is possible.

Lý Thường Kiệt: the Protector of Đại Việt

The Lý Dynasty (1009-1225)

“Over the mountains and rivers of the South, lives the Southern Emperor,
As it says now and forever in the Book of Heavens,
That whoever dares to invade our land,
Will be defeated without mercy.”

– Lý Thường Kiệt, 1076

After the expulsion of the Chinese empire in 938, the newly reborn state of Nam-Việt underwent a short period of chaos and power struggle.  Many powerful families from different provinces in Nam-Việt vied for control of the throne.  As a result, several monarchs reigned for a short time, losing their powers to other families competing for the crown.  Finally, in 1009, the Lý Dynasty was founded, and the emperor proclaimed that the young nation would be named Đại Việt (Great Việt).

Having just expelled the Chinese from Vietnam only one century before, the new rulers of Đại Việt were determined to keep them from returning.  One of the brightest generals of the Lý Dynasty went by the name of Lý Thường Kiệt.  Winning two major wars against the Song Dynasty of China, along with several battles versus the kingdoms of Champa and Khmer, Lý Thường Kiệt is one of the most prominent figures in Vietnamese history.

Born in 1019 in the city of Thang Long (Hanoi), his birth name was Ngô Tuấn.  Starting out as a cavalry captain in 1036, Ngô Tuấn later went on to become the leader of the Imperial Guard.  Thanks to his talents, Ngô Tuấn rose through the ranks of the Vietnamese army and was awarded the name of Lý Thường Kiệt by the royal family.

When news of an incoming invasion by the Song Dynasty reached the people of Dai Viet (Vietnam) in 1075, emperor Lý Nhân Tông sent generals Lý Thường Kiệt and Tôn Đản to launch a surprise attack on the Song forces.  Lý Thường Kiệt and Tôn Đản were both hugely successful on their mission, soundly defeating the Chinese forces on their own soil.

In retaliatian, the Song Dynasty made alliances with the Khmer (Cambodian) and Cham kingdoms to invade Đại Việt together.  Once again, emperor Lý Nhân Tông sent Lý Thường Kiệt to confront the invaders. Sure enough, General Lý was victorious.

As a result of the victories, the Song Dynasty never dared invade again.  With the Chinese subdued, the Lý Dynasty under General Lý Thường Kiệt carried out two successful assaults on the Champa Kingdom, ensuring security from them as well.

Even though he did help win major wars against foreign countries, Lý Thường Kiệt’s contributions to Vietnam were more than just military.  As a distinguished poet, he was also accredited with penning the first Vietnamese Declaration of Independence, a poem titled “Nam Quốc Sơn Hà (Over the Mountains and Rivers of the South).”