Vietnam: Its Ancient Struggle for Independence

The Vietnamese trace their origins as a nation to the Lac people, who inhabited the Red River delta region in what is now northern Vietnam. Vietnamese archaeologists date the beginnings of that culture to the late third millennium BC. The cultural tradition of Vietnam comes primarily from that northern region, which was heavily influenced by China. (The southern region, known as Champa, was not united with the northern region until the 15th century AD.)

The earliest rulers of the Lac people were the Hung kings, who, according to legend, ruled the coastal lowlands prior to 300 BC. Legends say that the first Hung king was the son of the mythical Dragon Lord of Lac, or Lac Long Quan. (The Lac identified their rulers as dragon lords and believed that their immortal relatives lived in the mountains.) The Hung kings were overthrown ca. 258 BC by Thuc Phan (later called An Duong), a conqueror from a bordering country, who united the two kingdoms and founded the kingdom of Au Lac.

In 207 BC, Au Lac was conquered by the Chinese general Zhao Tuo, called Trieu Da in Vietnamese. At that time, the powerful first emperor of the Qin dynasty had recently died, and China was in a state of political chaos. Trieu Da took advantage of the situation and declared his territory in the south to be an independent country, which he called Nam Viet. Although Trieu Da was Chinese, he adopted the culture and customs of the southern territories he had conquered and encouraged intermarriage between the Chinese and the natives of the region.

Early Chinese Occupation

In 111 BC, the Han dynasty emperor Wudi, as part of a series of expansions, ordered his armies south. Conquered by China, Vietnam remained a Chinese province until it finally achieved independence in AD 939, although several rebellions and separations gave the region brief independence.

The Chinese rulers, as part of reforms to integrate the southern territory into China, instituted many changes. They built roads, improved harbors, and expanded waterways. Agriculture gained better irrigation and the use of iron plows pulled by draft animals. The Chinese also introduced better mining techniques, pottery techniques, and tools.

The degree of Chinese control in Vietnam varied at different times. There were periods of high control during which the government at virtually all levels was in Chinese hands. During such times, Chinese armies were often garrisoned in Vietnam, though the soldiers often married Vietnamese women and blended into the local culture over a few generations. There were also periods when the governors were locally born and Vietnam functioned as an independent country in most ways. Some Chinese governors treated the people with respect and were honored by the Vietnamese people, while other governors levied high taxes to fill their own pockets at the expense of the people.

At several points during the period of Chinese rule, the Chinese deliberately suppressed the native culture. They insisted that the Vietnamese, at least those of the ruling class, adopt Chinese dress and hair styles. Chinese became the language of the government, and schools taught Chinese language and teachings. Confucian rules and customs were enforced. Some historians argue that the main goal of imposing a Chinese social structure was to create a society that would be more easily ruled and controlled by the Chinese bureaucratic government.

Many of the ways of living and thinking introduced by the Chinese took hold in Vietnam. Confucianism and Taoism both found a place in Vietnamese culture, and parts of daily living became more Chinese: for example, eating with chopsticks, writing in the Chinese language, and using imported or copied objects. In the latter centuries, even the philosophies that the Vietnamese used to frame their revolutionary ideals were taken from Mencius, a Confucian philosopher.

Vietnam never lost its underlying sense of a separate identity, however. Vietnam retained its own language, many of its legends and traditional beliefs, and its desire to be ruled by its own people. Over the centuries, there were many rebellions against the Chinese. Many were led by Vietnamese nobles who traced their heritage back to the Hung kings, before the arrival of the Chinese. Some, however, were led by peasants or by people of Chinese ancestry. The most famous and celebrated of those uprisings was the Trung sisters' rebellion in AD 40, which liberated the country until it was reconquered in 43.

Independence

In the early 10th century, China's Tang dynasty was deteriorating. During that period, the rulers of Vietnam, while technically Chinese appointees, were popular rulers. Some records say that the Vietnamese people chose them.

After a period of peace and relative independence, Chinese forces in 923 tried to assert more direct control over Vietnam. They captured part of the province, but Vietnamese forces recaptured it only a few years later. The decisive victory is generally considered to have come in 939; after that date, all the rulers for the next several centuries were Vietnamese.

The next 70 years witnessed many turnovers in leadership. While the country saw progress in becoming more unified and moving toward formal independent relations with China, it was also a time of political chaos.

The succeeding Ly (1009-1225) and Tran (1225-1400) dynasties provided greater political stability. Under the Ly kings, Vietnam (called Dai Viet during the Ly period) became a more prosperous country, with improvements made to agriculture, including the building of dikes and canals. Buddhism, the official religion of the Ly kings (introduced from India several centuries earlier), also thrived.

Under the Ly and the Tran, Vietnam successfully repulsed attacks by China to the north and Champa to the south. The most famous challenges came from Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who sent armies to Vietnam in 1257 and 1284. After a prolonged series of battles, the Vietnamese succeeded in driving the powerful armies back.

Independent Vietnam also began its southern expansion (which ended in the late 15th century with the defeat and annexation of parts of Champa) and adopted Chinese systems of government. The looser, local governments of earlier periods gave way to strong, centralized governments, needed to repel China and other aggressors.

Late Chinese Occupation

In the chaos at the end of the Tran dynasty, Vietnam was divided. The Ming emperor of China seized the opportunity and invaded Vietnam in 1407.

The Ming dynasty implemented the same kinds of reforms and exploitation that had taken place during earlier Chinese rule. The Vietnamese were again required to adopt Chinese customs and dress, and valuable resources-ivory, pearls, and precious woods, for example-were sent to China. After numerous revolts, the Vietnamese once again drove out the Chinese in 1428, and the Vietnamese Later Ly dynasty took power.

Sources:

2003, The Asian Worlds, By Ling Zhang