Vietnam History

History of Vietnam

History of Vietnam, according to Vietnamese legends, 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 111 BC to early 10th century, it was under the direct rule of successive dynasties from China. Vietnam regained autonomy in 939 AD, and complete independence a century later. While for much of its history, Vietnam remained a tributary state to the much larger neighbor -- China, it repelled repeated attempts by China to make it once again part of the Middle Kingdom empire, including the three invasions by the Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty, when China was under Mongolian rule. But ruler at the time, Tran Nhan Tong (Trần Nhân Tông), would eventually diplomatically submit as a tributary of the Yuan to avoid further conflicts. The independent period temporarily ended in mid-19th century, when the country was colonized by France. During WWII, Japan expelled the French to occupy Vietnam. After the war, France attempted to re-establish its colonial rule but ultimately failed. The Geneva Accords partitioned the country in two with a promise of democratic election to reunite the country.

That election never took place, but gave way, depended on one's perspective, to a civil war, or another battle field of then ongoing global ideological conflict,The Cold War -- the Vietnam War. During this time,the North was supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, while the South was supported by the United States. After millions of Vietnamese deaths, and the American withdrawal from Vietnam in March 1973, the war ended with the capture of Saigon by the North in April 1975. Due to then heightened ongoing ideological and economic conflicts of The Cold War, and its invasion of Cambodia, Vietnam remained internationally isolated and politically oppressed. In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam changed its economic policy and started to move towards reform of the private sector similar to that seen in China. Since the mid-eighties Vietnam has enjoyed some economic growth and reduction in political repression though reports of corruption in the country have also risen.


Origins

According to Vietnamese myths, the first Vietnamese descended from the dragon lord Lac Long Quan (Lạc Long Quân) and the heavenly spirit Au Co (Âu Cơ). Lac Long Quan and Au Co had 100 sons before they splitted (50 went with their mother to the sea and 49 with their father up to the mountains) and the eldest one became the first in the lines of early Vietnamese kings, collectively known as Hung kings (Hung Vuong: Hùng Vương). Under the Hung kings, the civilization that would later become Viet Nam was called Van Lang (Văn Lang). The people of Van Lang were known as the Lac Viet (Lạc Việt) people. By the 3rd century BC, another Viet group, the Au Viet (Âu Việt), emigrated from present southern China to the Red River delta and mixed with the indigenous Van Lang population. In 258 BC, a new kingdom from the union of the Âu Việt and the Lạc Việt called Au Lac (Âu Lạc) was formed by Thuc Phan (Thục Phán) in North Vietnam after he had defeated the last Hung ruler. Thuc Phan proclaimed himself king (An Duong Vuong:An Dương Vương).

In 208 BC, during the chaos caused by the misrule of the Second Qin Emperor (Tần Nhị Thế/Qin Er Shi), Au Lac was subdued by local warlord in deep south China -- Trieu Da (Triệu Đà: Zhao Tuo). Trieu Da went on to proclaim himself king, then styled himself emperor of NanYue (Nam Việt/Nan Yue) to rival the emperor of Han who ruled over central China after Han's founder Liu Bang had defeated Xiang Yu.

Some Vietnamese considered this period under Trieu's rule a Chinese domination, because Trieu Da was a former Qin general who defeated An Duong Vuong to established his rule over the territory that is now Northern Vietnam. Yet others consider it an era of independence, because the Trieu family ruled Nam Viet were assimilated with the locals, and they ruled independently of what then constituted as China (Han dynasty) until 111 BC, when the Han troops invaded Nam Viet, and incorporated its territory into the Han empire, including what is now part of Northern Vietnam turned into Giao Chi (Giao Chỉ/Jiaozhi) commandary.

Although without independence, Northern Vietnam remained relatively autonomous during Trieu's and at the beginning of Han's rule, as native nobles, known as Lac Hau, Lac Tuong (Lạc Hầu, Lạc Tướng) remained in charge of local administration. However, at the end of Western Han, as waves of exiles from warring central plain flooded to the Red River Delta, the Chinese started to exert stronger grip on local administration and accelerated sinification. This resulted in heightened tension as natives and native nobles' resentment to losing their properties, influence, as well as cultural identity to those new-comers began to build.

In 40 AD, under a particularly harsh rule of Grand Administrator To Dinh (Tô Định:Su Ding:蘇定), the Trung Sisters successfully led an uprising to drive off the Chinese, briefly regained independence. In 41 AD, Emperor Quang Vu (Quang Vũ: Emperor Guangwu of Han) sent his famed general Ma Vien (Mã Viện: Ma Yuan) to crush the revolt. After 2 years of bitter fighting, Ma Vien prevailed. Native nobles were thoroughly purged.

Nearly 200 years later, another woman -- Trieu Thi Trinh (Triệu Thị Trinh), and her brother, Trieu Quoc Dat (Triệu Quốc Đạt), led another uprise against the Chinese. This revolt was quickly suppressed. The Trungs' and Trieus' stories indicated that early Vietnamese civilizations was perhaps largely matriarchal, where it was easy for women to assume the leading position and mobilize people.

Much of northern Vietnam (from the Red River delta down to about the region of modern Thanh Hóa province) was incorporated into the Chinese prefecture/commandery of Jiaozhi, or Giao Chỉ, through much of the Han dynasty and the period of the Three Kingdoms. Jiaozhi (with its capital settled around in modern Bắc Ninh province) became a flourishing port receiving goods from the southern seas. "History of Later Han" (Hou Hanshu:Hậu Hán Thư) recorded that in 166 CE the first envoy from the Roman Empire to China arrived by this route, and merchants were soon to follow. The 3rd century "Tales of Wei" (Weilue:Ngụy Lục) mentioned a "water route" (that is, the Red River) from Jiaozhi into what is now southern Yunnan. From there goods were taken overland to the rest of China via the regions of modern Kuning and Chengdu.

In the period between the beginning of the Age of Fragmentation to the end of Tang, several revolts took place, such as those of Li Bon (Lý Bôn), his lieutenant Trieu Quang Phuc (Triệu Quang Phục), Mai Thuc Loan (Mai Thúc Loan), Phung Hung (Phùng Hưng). All of them succeeded to various degree but ultimately failed.


The Changing Names

During the period of Chinese domination, Vietnam was called An Nam (安南) by Chinese rulers (means Pacified South in expectation of China). When Vietnam broke free, it was called Đại Cồ Việt (大瞿越), Đại Ngu or Đại Việt (大越). In 1802, Emperor Gia Long requested the Qing Empire to allow his country to be known as Nam Việt (南越). To prevent confusion with Triệu Đà's ancient kingdom, the Qing Manchu Chinese Emperor reversed the two words to Việt Nam. In 1838, during the Nguyễn Dynasty, the nation's name was changed temporarily to Đại Nam (大南). During the French colonization, Vietnam was divided into: Tonkin (Bắc Kỳ or North Vietnam), Annam (Trung Kỳ or Central Vietnam), and Cochin China (Nam Kỳ or South Vietnam).


Post World War II Period

Main article: Vietnam War
In 1945, due to a combination of Japanese exploitation and poor weather, a famine broke out in Tonkin killing approximately 2 million. The Việt Minh arranged a massive relief effort and won over many people. In northern Vietnam, the Japanese surrendered to the Chinese Nationalists. The Việt Minh organized the "August Revolution" uprisings across the country. At the beginning of a new future, Emperor Bảo Ðại was happy to abdicate on August 25, 1945 and surrender his power to the Việt Minh, of which Hồ Chí Minh was the leader. In order to gain popularity, Hồ made Bảo Ðại "supreme advisor" to the Việt Minh-led government in Hanoi, which asserted independence on September 2. In 1946 Vietnam gained its first constitution and a new name, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV).

In southern Vietnam, the Japanese surrendered to British forces. The British supported the Free French forces in fighting the Việt Minh, the armed religious Cao Ðài and Hòa Hảo sects, and the Bình Xuyên organized crime group for power. In 1948, France tried to regain control over Vietnam. The French re-installed Bảo Ðại as head of state of "the State of Vietnam," which comprised central and southern Vietnam. The First Indochina War lasted until 1954, with the French being defeated at the Battle of Ðiện Biên Phủ.

After World War II, the United States and the USSR entered into the Cold War, with both sides determined to expand their influence over the globe. The Korean War broke out between the North Koreans, supported by China and the USSR, and the Republic of Korea, supported by the US and allied nations. Initially the conflict was limited to North Korea, the Republic of Korea, and US military forces. However, when General Douglas MacArthur penetrated deep into North Korea, the Chinese flooded the country with an enormous army. The Korean War would have deep implications for the American involvement in Vietnam.

The United States became strongly opposed to Hồ Chí Minh, who had now re-asserted the dominance of the Vietnamese Communist Party within the Việt Minh in 1950. In the South of the same year, the government of Bảo Ðại gained recognition by the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Geneva Conference of 1954 ended France's colonial presence in Vietnam and temporarily partitioned the country into 2 states at the 17th parallel (pending unification on the basis of internationally supervised free elections). The US installed Ngô Ðình Diệm as Prime Minister of South Vietnam with Bảo Ðại as the king of a constitutional monarchy. While Diệm was trying to settle the differences between the armed groups in the South, Bảo Ðại was persuaded to reduce his power. Diệm used a referendum in 1955 to depose the former Emperor and declare himself as President of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed in Saigon on October 22, 1955.

Also in 1954, former Vietminh forces above the 17th parallel created the Democratic Republic of Vietnam which was a Communist State under Hồ Chí Minh. The government was much more stable than its Southern counterpart due to political experience and a dependable army which had weathered the First Indochina War.

South Vietnamese who opposed Diệm's rule and desired the reunification of Vietnam under the Hanoi government of Hồ Chí Minh organized the National Liberation Front, better known as the Việt Cộng. Supported and later directed by the Vietnam People's Army (PAVN) in the North, they would launch guerrilla attacks in the South against Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) military targets and, later, American troops.

The Geneva Accords had promised elections to determine a national government for a unified Vietnam. However, only France and the North Vietnamese government (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) had signed the document. The United States and the Saigon government refused to abide by the agreement, fearing that Hồ Chí Minh would readily win the election due to his popularity. The result was the "Second Indochina War," known as the "Vietnam War" in the West and the "American War" in Vietnam. The war reached its height in 1966, when President Lyndon Johnson ordered 500,000 American troops into South Vietnam. Fearing the Chinese would directly enter the war with a massive army, as had occurred when U.S.-led United Nations forces approached the Chinese border during the Korean War, American ground troops were forbidden to enter North Vietnam.

The massive 1968 Tết Offensive by Communist forces was a military defeat for the Việt Cộng but a stunning political victory, as it led many American people to view the war as unwinnable. President Richard Nixon entered office with a pledge to end the war "with honor." He normalized US relations with China in 1972 (Sino-American relations) and entered into Détente with the USSR. With the Paris Peace Agreement of 1973, American military forces withdrew from Vietnam. Despite the peace treaty, the North continued the war, and defeated the South in April 1975. In 1976, Vietnam was officially reunited under the current Vietnamese government as The Socialist Republic of Vietnam


Aftermath of the Vietnam War and Reunification

After April 30th, 1975, an exodus of several hundred thousand Vietnamese fled the country either by sea or overland through Cambodia. They settled in refugee camps in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia. Some were picked up by US Navy ships, sent to Guam, and eventually settled in the United States, Canada, France, Australia or in various European nations. Others were robbed, raped, or killed by pirates in the South China Seas. Others still faced attacked by cruel weather, shark attacks, or died of starvation. Many lived in makeshift refugee encampments for years. While most were resettled to other countries within 5 years, others languished in these camps for over a decade. Some refugees were deported back to Vietnam. The last of the refugee camps was closed in 2005.

Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn, a novelist and a popular host of the video music program Paris by Night, exemplifies these Boat People's experience. A former sailor in the South Vietnamese Navy, he was sent to a "re-education" camp for 3 years and nearly died from disease. He was released from the camp and ordered to report to a new economic zone labor camp in the jungle. Instead, he with his wife and 4 year old son, boarded a fishing vessel crammed with over a hundred other refugees. After a week at sea, the boat capsized off the coast of Malaysia, killing his wife and son. Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn wrote about this ordeal in his first novel in a Malaysian refugee camp, titled Những Người Đàn Bà Còn Ở Lại, or The Women Left Behind.

Debate about the significance of the Vietnam War continues to this day: whether the war was an internal civil war or a proxy war; whether the Vietnam War disproved the Domino Theory or that the war mitigated the consequences of the fallen domino, Vietnam; whether the rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the resulting genocide, is a direct result of the Vietnam War or not; whether if Nixon had avoided the Watergate scandal, he would have prevented the fall of Saigon or he had intended to abandon Vietnam all along.


Reforms

In 1986 Vietnam, under a new leader Nguyễn Văn Linh, abandoned its attempt to maintain a purely Communist political philosophy. Many restrictions on private enterprise were lifted, and the education system was liberalised. In 1995 Vietnam joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). A stock exchange opened in 2000. The Soviet collapse also deprived Vietnam of economic assistance from its former ally, and its government soon began mending relations with the US, its former enemy. In 1994, the US effectively ended the embargo and the two countries finally established normal diplomatic & trade relations in 1995. The embargo of Vietnam began in 1964 for North Vietnam and extended to all of Vietnam in 1975. Thirty years later, its ending marked the beginning of Vietnam joining the economic and political sphere of South East Asian nations.

Vietnam is a nation in transition from its Communist past. It is still a one-party state (with minimal separation of powers). Journalism and political dissent are still strictly controlled, with all media owned by the government.Some dissidents were arrested for sending emails abroad, criticizing the government . The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and a groups ethnic minority Protestant people in the northern and central highlands (Tây Nguyên) who want to secede are also suppressed, the Vietnamese government claims this is a result of their political involvement rather than their religious beliefs. In September 2004, the US State Department designated Vietnam a “Country of Particular Concern” because of Vietnam’s “particularly severe violations of religious freedom”, but the preciseness in detail of this designation is questionable. In 2006, however, improvement on religious freedom in Vietnam was acknowledged by the United State government with the removal of the country from the list of Country of Particular Concern . In June 2004, Japan announced that it would link its aid to Vietnam with Vietnam's respect for human rights. Japan's aid to Vietnam has risen steadily over the last decade.

Vietnam is growing fast economically (GDP doubled every ten years in the last two decades) and adopting a transparent, decentralized governing style to further reduce poverty. The poverty ratio in Vietnam has fallen rapidily (58% in 1993 to 29% in 2002, according to UNDP's data ). It is still however relatively poor country. In a list of 177 countries, Vietnam's Human Development Index climbed from being 120 in 1995 to 108 in 2005 . Export grows strongly (20% per year), emphasizing on producing cheap goods for Western markets. Vietnam becomes a member of the WTO (World Trade Organization) in 2006.