University in Vietnam

Legend has it that Vietnam's origin lay in the harmonious union of lac Long Quan, King of the Sea, and Au Co, Princess of the Mountains. Real life was not so paradisical, as Vietnam's early history--like its recent history--is characterized by a nearly continuous struggle for autonomy. First came an entire millenium of Chinese domination, which was finally thrown off in the 9th century. External control was imposed once again in the 19th century, when Vietnam was occupied by the French.

French rule lasted until WWII, when the country was invaded by Japan. At the war's end the predominantly Communist Viet Minh, which had led the resistance movement against the Japanese, declared the country's independence. The French Indochina War ensued, until France admitted defeat in 1954, and the Geneva Accords left Vietnam divided into a Communist north and an anti-Communist south. By this time the U.S. had replaced the French as the primary sponsor of the anti-Communist government. Tension between north and south mounted over the next few years, until in 1964 full scale war erupted. The conflict lasted for the next eight years, and involved hundreds of thousands of troops from the U.S. and other countries. In 1973 a cease-fire agreement allowed the U.S. the opportunity to withdraw its troops, and in 1975 the southern capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese. An extended period of political repression followed, prompting massive emigration from the country. In 1991, with the fall of Communism and the end of the Cold War, many western powers re-established diplomatic and trade relations with Vietnam. The last country to do so, in 1995, was the U.S.

A Short Vietnamese History

Vietnam's identity has been shaped by long-running conflicts, both internally and with foreign forces. In 111 BC, China's Han dynasty conquered northern Vietnam's Red River Delta and the ancestors of today's Vietnamese. Chinese dynasties ruled Vietnam for the next 1,000 years, inculcating it with Confucian ideas and political culture. In 939 AD, Vietnam achieved independence under a native dynasty. After 1471, when Vietnam conquered the Champa Kingdom in what is now central Vietnam, the Vietnamese moved gradually southward, finally reaching the rich Mekong Delta, encountering there earlier settled Cham and Cambodians. While Vietnam's emperors reigned ineffectually, powerful northern and southern families fought civil wars in the 17th and 18th centuries.

French Rule and the Anti-Colonial Struggle In 1858, the French began their conquest of Vietnam starting in the south. They annexed all of Vietnam in 1885, but allowed Vietnam's emperors to continue to reign, although not actually to rule. In the early 20th century, French-educated Vietnamese intellectuals organized nationalist and communist-nationalist anti-colonial movements. Japan's occupation of Vietnam during World War II further stirred nationalism.

Vietnamese communists under Ho Chi Minh organized a coalition of anti-colonial groups, the Viet Minh, though many anti-communists refused to join. After Japan stripped the French of all power in March 1945, Ho Chi Minh announced the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945.

North and South Partition France's post-World War II unwillingness to leave Vietnam led to failed talks and an 8-year guerilla war between the communist-led Viet Minh on one side and the French and their anti-communist nationalist allies on the other. Following a humiliating defeat at Dien Bien Phu in May 1954, France and other parties, including Britain, China, the Soviet Union, and the United States, convened in Geneva, Switzerland for peace talks. On July 29, 1954, an Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Vietnam was signed between France and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The United States observed, but did not sign, the agreement. French colonial rule in Vietnam ended.

In December 1961, at the request of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, President Kennedy sent U.S. military advisers to South Vietnam to help the government there deal with the Viet Cong campaign. In the wake of escalating political turmoil in the south after a 1963 generals' coup against President Diem, the United States increased its military support for South Vietnam. In March 1965, President Johnson sent the first U.S. combat forces to Vietnam. The American military role peaked in 1969 with an in-country force of 534,000. However, the Viet Cong's surprise Tet Offensive in January 1968 deeply hurt both the Viet Cong infrastructure and American and South Vietnamese morale. In January 1969, the United States, governments of South and North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong met for the first plenary session of peace talks in Paris, France. These talks, which began with much hope, moved slowly. They finally concluded with the signing of a peace agreement, the Paris Accords, on January 27, 1973. As a result, the south was divided into a patchwork of zones controlled by the South Vietnamese Government and the Viet Cong. The United States withdrew its forces, although U.S. military advisers remained.

Reunification In early 1975, North Vietnamese regular military forces began a major offensive in the south, inflicting great damage to the south's forces. The communists took Saigon on April 30, 1975, and announced their intention of reunifying the country. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (north) absorbed the former Republic of Vietnam (south) to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 2, 1976.

After reunification, the government confiscated privately owned land and forced citizens into collectivized agricultural practices. Hundreds of thousands of former South Vietnamese Government and military officials, as well as intellectuals previously opposed to the communist cause, were sent to re-education camps to study socialist doctrine.

While Vietnamese leaders thought that reunification of the country and its socialist transformation would be condoned by the international community, this did not happen. Besides international concern over Vietnam's internal practices, the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978 and its growing tight alliance with the Soviet Union appeared to confirm suspicions that Vietnam wanted to establish hegemony in Indochina.

Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia also heightened tensions that already existed between Vietnam and China. Beijing, which had long backed the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, retaliated in early 1979 by initiating a border war with Vietnam.

Vietnam's tensions with its neighbors and its stagnant economy contributed to a massive exodus from Vietnam. Fearing persecution, many Chinese in particular, fled Vietnam by boat to nearby countries. Later, hundreds of thousands of other Vietnamese nationals fled as well, seeking temporary refuge in camps throughout Southeast Asia.

The continuing grave condition of the economy and the alienation from the international community became focal points of party debate. In 1986, at the Sixth Party Congress, there was an important easing of communist agrarian and commercial policies.

Vietnamese History In-Brief

Legend of KinhDuongVuong and HongBangThi (2879-258 BC)

According to the legend, the Vietnamese ancestor was KinhDuongVuong whose grave now is in AnLu village, ThuanThanh district, BacNinh province.

DeMinh, ThanNong king's grandson, patrolled the Southern land, settled in NguLinh mountain, got married to VuTien's daughter and had a son named LocTuc. In 2879 B.C LocTuc was proclaimed to be the king of the southern land and was called KinhDuongVuong. LocTuc got married to king ThanLong's daughter and had a son called SungLam who later ascended the throne and called LacLongQuan. LacLongQuan got married to AuCo, DeLai's daughter. AuCo gave birth to a bag of 100 eggs which turned into 100 s0ns. One day, LongQuan told AuCo: " I belong to the Dragon Lineage, you the Fairy, like Water and Fire, so different, can't live forever like this". So they each took half of the children and separated. Fifty sons followed the mother to the mountains and the rest followed the father to the sea. They ruled different areas and became the ancestors of BachViet tribes. The eldest son followed the mother to PhongSon and became the king called HungVuong whose kingdom was called VanLang with the capital in PhongChau (VietTri, PhuTho province now).

The Thuc family and AuLac kingdom ( 257-207 B.C)

AnDuongVuong ThucPhan was the king of the Thuc kingdom whose territory was part of the North of Vietnam now. The people of the Thuc kingdom was called AuViet. In 257 B.C, ThucPhan invaded VanLang and became king AnDuongVuong of the unified kingdom called AuViet with the capital in PhongChau, VinhPhu now.

After defeating 50 000 troops of the Qin Dynasty from China when they attacked AuLac in 218, AnDuongVuong moved the capital to the area 20 km North of Hanoi now and began the construction of CoLoa, the Great Spiral Citadel.

The Trieu family and the NamViet kingdom (207-111 B.C)

In 207 B.C, Trieu king, who ruled the NamViet kingdom, South of China now, invaded AuLac.

GiaoChi and the Western Han dynasty ( 111B.C- 9 AD), the Eastern Han Dynasty( 9 AD-39)-The First time under the Chinese rule

In 111 B.C, NamViet kingdom was invaded by the Han, was renamed GiaoChi and considered a province of China.

The Vietnamese Revolts against the Chinese Rule

Trung Sisters' Rebellion (40-43)

In 40, the Chinese executed a high-ranking feudal lord. His window and her sister raised an army and led a revolt that compelled the Chinese governor to flee. They then proclaimed to be Queens of the independent Vietnamese entity. In 43 AD, the Chinese counterattacked and defeated the Vietnamese. The Trung Sisters committed suicide throwing themselves into Hat river rather than surrender. Vietnam was lost again to the Eastern Han(25-220)-The Second Time Under The Chinese Rule

The Han continued to rule China after that until the Three Kingdoms Period in China (220-265). In this period, Vietnam was the DongNgo's land.

TrieuThiTrinh's Revolt ( 248)

In 248, a 19 year-old girl called TrieuThiTrinh led a revolt against the Chinese rule which compelled the Chinese Governor to flee, but then the Chinese counterattacked and defeated the Vietnamese. TrieuThiTrinh was killed in a battle when she was only 23 years old. Vietnam was lost to the DongNgo KingDom of China again.

The Independent Country of VanXuan with the early Ly Dynasty ( 544-602)

In 265, the Jin defeated others and unified China. Vietnam ( called GiaoChau then) became the Jin's land.

In 544, LyBi, chief of a village led a successful revolt against the Chinese and founded the independent kingdom of VanXuan.

In 545, the Chinese started counterattacking Vietnam. Because of internal conflicts between different feudal groups, the Vietnamese gradually retreated and lost the war in 602. Vietnam lost independence again.

Vietnam under the rules of The Sui, The Tang Dynasties(The Third Time Under The Chinese Rule) and the Vietnamese's Resistances (603-939)

MaiHacDe(722)

In 722, MaiThucLoan-from a very poor family was in a group of porters bringing lychees as tributes from Vietnam to China. On the way, an old porter was beaten by a Chinese soldier for eating a lychee. MaiThucLoan killed the soldier raising violence which turned into a resistance against the Chinese. After taking over TongBinh(Hanoi now)-the capital city, He ascended the throne becoming king MaiHacDe. But the Tang was strong then. The Chinese counterattacked and invaded Vietnam again.

PhungHung-BoCaiDai Vuong( 791-802)

PhungHung was from a prosperous family and a strong man. He raised an army and led a revolt against the Chinese. In 791, PhungHung and his army took over TongBinh ( Hanoi now) gaining independence for Vietnam. PhungHung ascended the throne and ruled the country for 7 years before he died. His son-PhungAn succeeded his father for 2 years when the Chinese invaded Vietnam again.

Independence Period

KhucThuaDu(906-907)

The Tang came back to Vietnam imposing a worse regime than before. Also in China, the Tang gradually losing the control of the country. After that was the Five Dynasties Period in China. Taking advantage of the situation, KhucThuaDu-from a rich and generous family led a successful revolt against the Chinese proclaiming himself the Governor and was reluctantly recognized by the Tang king. KhucThuaDu established his government with Vietnamese officials only and dismissed all Chinese ones. When KhucThuaDu died(907), his son KhucHao succeeded him(907-917) and later KhucThuaMy(917-923).

In 923, Vietnam again was invaded by the Southern Han when KhucThuaMy was captured.

DuongDinhNghe and KieuCongTien(931-938)

In 931, DuongDinhNge-one of KhucHao's former general defeated the Chinese taking over DaiLa citadel (Hanoi now) proclaiming himself the Governor. Six years later, DuongDinhNghe was assassinated by one of his courtiers-KieuConTien.

Ngo Dynasty(939-965)

NgoQuyen-DuongDinhNghe's son in-law on hearing the news that his father-in-law had been assassinated brought his troops to DaiLa citadel and killed the assassin. In the same year, the Chinese brought their troops to Vietnam trying to invade the country again. In December, 938 the Chinese was defeated and the Chinese prince-the General then was killed. NgoQuyen proclaimed himself the king of Vietnam choosing CoLoa-20 km North of Hanoi now as the capital. In 944, NgoQuyen died, feudal groups in the royal family struggled for power creating unstable conditions in the country. In 965 Vietnam was in a turmoil when the king was killed in a battle. There were 12 main feudal lords fighting against one another.

The Dinh Family and The Re-Unification of Vietnam ( 968-980)

In 968, DinhBoLinh defeated other lords, re-unified the country and proclaimed himself the emperor. HoaLu was set up as the capital of DaicoViet kingdom. In 979, DinhBoLinh was killed by one of his courtiers. The country was quickly turned into a turmoil. The royal court and the Queen mother decided to hand over the power to LeHoan, an influential general of the former king.

The Early Le ( 980-1009)

LeHoan was the army-in-chief of the former king. When the country was on the brink of a turmoil and of being invaded by the Song from China, the Queen Mother and the royal mandarins decided that there must be a good king to control the country and LeHoan was chosen. LeHoan ascended the throne and became king LeDaiHanh.

In 980, the Song troops from China attacked Vietnam. LeDaiHanh commanded his troops defeating the Chinese beginning a period that the Vietnamese always won over the Chinese each time they came.

LeDaiHanh was succeeded by his sons: LeTrungTong and LeLongDinh. LeLongDinh was a lustful and cruel king, when he died, his son was small. The royal court decided to select the talented general LyCongUan to be the king beginning of the glorious Ly Dynasty.

The Ly Dynasty (1010-1225)

Under the Ly Dynasty, DaiViet-Vietnam then became stable and prosperous kingdom, ThangLong-Hanoi was chosen to be the capital. Many times, the Chinese attacked DaiViet but they all failed. And for the first time in Vietnamese history, long-lasting peace was known to the Viet people. In 1224, the king gave up the power to be a Buddhist. He didn't have any son, so the princess succeeded the throne and became the Queen of DaiViet kingdom. In 1225, the Queen got married to TranCanh and handed over the throne to her husband beginning of the Tran Dynasty.

The Tran Dynasty(1225-1400)

Under the Tran Dynasty, DaiViet became a very strong nation with the ever-glorious victory over the Mongol Yuan invaders. The Mongols after pacifying China establishing the Yuan Dynasty came to DaiViet. They attacked DaiViet 3 times: 1258, 1285, 1288 . But under the command of the Tran kings, the Mongol Yuan was defeated and gave up the desire to invade the country.

Like many previous dynasties, after its heyday the Tran started to decline and was succeeded by another family.

The Ho (1400-1407) and the kingdom of DaiNgu

On the decline of the Tran Dynasty, the Ho family got more and more influential and usurped the power. In 1400, HoQuyLy dismissed the Tran king and proclaimed himself the king of DaiNgu kingdom. After ascending the throne, HoQuyLy had many positive policies to reform the economy:reforming land, reforming the administrative system all over the country, limiting the land and servants owned by aristocratic families, reforming the taxes, issuing paper money, developing the Viet script-Nom, opening public hospitals using traditional medicine and acupunctures... But the Ho family was not successful in gaining support from the people for having usurped the throne through violence and mass killings. That was why the country was quickly invaded by the Ming in 1407. From 1407 to 1414, there were consecutive revolts led by descendants of the Tran family trying to gain back the power.

The Later Le Dynasty (1428-1527)

From 1418-1428, LeLoi from a prosperous peasant family led a successful revolt against the Ming gaining independence back. In 1428, LeLoi ascended the throne beginning the Later Le Dynasty.

The Later Le ruled the country until 1527 when overthrown by MacDangDung.

The Mac Dynasty( 1527-1592)

MacDangDung was a powerful general the Le Dynasty was declining.

In 1527, MacDangDung usurped the throne, killed the king beginning the Mac Dynasty.

The Post Le Dynasty( 1592-1788)

Southern-Northern Dynasties ( 1533-1592)

When MacDangDung seized the power, many of the Le descendants had to flee the country to escape the killings by MacDangDung. One of the Le descendants-LeDuyNinh fled to Laos and with the help from the talented general NguyenKim proclaimed to be king LeTrangTong beginning the Post Le Dynasty. In 1540 from Laos, the Post Le troops attacked the Mac territory from the south. From 1545 in Vietnam there were 2 big forces: the South held by the Post Le and the North held by the Mac known as the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period with consecutive and destructive wars for nearly 50 years( 1545-1592). This period ended only when the Mac was defeated by the Post Le troops commanded by general TrinhTung. The Mac would continue to rule a small part in the Northern mountainous region until totally destroyed in 1688 by the Le-Trinh troops.

Le Kings and Trinh Lords

In 1593, Le king ascended the throne completing the recovery of the Le dynasty. At the same time, TrinhTung also proclaimed to be the Lord. Lord TrinhTung allowed himself to handle all domestic affairs and set the limits for the king's power.

Trinh-Nguyen Conflict(1592-1789)

After NguyenKim was poisoned and dead. All military power fell into TrinhKiem- NguyenKim's son-in-law. TrinhKiem tried to exclude NguyenKim's sons. After NguyenKim's eldest son was killed, the second son-NguyenHoang asked his sister-TrinhKiem's wife to tell her husband for him to go and control the region of Hue and Danang now. He got the permission, went to the South and settled down there raising his own army plotting a revenge. And from 1600, there were bloody wars between the North and the South known as the Trinh-Nguyen conflict that ended when QuangTrung-NguyenHue defeated the Trinh and the Nguyen Dynasties and unified the country.

The TaySon Dynasty (1778-1802)

TaySon revolt started in 1771 led by three brothers: NguyenNhac, NguyenHue, NguyenLu. TaySon gradually defeated the Nguyen Lord in 1778, and the Trinh Lord in 1786 to help the Le Dynasty. After that NguyenHue took his troops back to the Entral Region leaving the Le Dynasty to control the North.

In 1788, the Le Dynasty was defeated by the Trinh Lord and had to flee to China to call for help. NguyenHue marched to the North, defeated the Trinh Lord and reorganized the governmental system there, then he went back to the Central Region.

In 1789, the Le came back along with the Chinese attacking the North. NguyenHue had to go to the North for the third time. He defeated 200 000 Chinese troops and the Le within 10 days ascending the throne becoming QuangTrung emperor.

In 1792, QuangTrung died and the TaySon got internal conflicts getting weaker and weaker, ended up being defeated by the Nguyen Lord in 1802.

The Nguyen Dynasty( 1802-1945), the French (1858-1945) and the Japanese

In 1802, the Nguyen Lord defeated the TaySon and became king GiaLong with the capital in Hue.

In 1858, the French managed to take over SaiGon and from there they gradually turned Vietnam into a colony.

In 1940, the Japanese came. The French compromised. Through the French, the Japanese indirectly ruled Vietnam.

HoChiMinh, the Vietnamese Communist and the VietMinh

HoChiMinh was born in 1890. In 1911, he left Vietnam looking for ways to liberate the Fatherland.

In 1930, after many years traveling in many countries and studying, HoChiMinh founded the Vietnamese Communist Party in HuongCang near HongKong.

In 1941, "Vietnam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi" (Vietnam Association for Independence) or VietMinh was founded.

In 1945, when the Japanese was losing in the World War Two. The VietMinh led a successful revolt called the August Revolution overthrowing the Japanese.

Resistance against the French( 1946-1954)

In 1946, the French open fire killing a lot of civilians in HaiPhong and HaNoi for the come-back. War broke out. The VietMinh revolutionary Government fled to the mountains where they would remain for 8 years.

In 1954, after 2- month siege, over 16000 starving French troops surrendered to the VietMinh at DienBienPhu. After that, the Geneva Conference opened to negotiate the end of the French in Vietnam which led to the Geneva Accords. According to the Geneva Accords, Vietnam would be temporarily divided into 2 zones at the BenHai river ( near the 17th parallel) by no means of a political border and the country would have a general election within 2 years.

The Second Indochina War ( 1954-1975)

After the Geneva Accords, the North of Vietnam became "the Democratic Republic of Vietnam" led by president HoChiMinh and the Communist Party. The South of Vietnam became " the Republic of Vietnam" led by a fiercely anti-Communist Catholic NgoDinhDiem who declared himself to be the president after refusing to hold an election.

In 1973, the Paris Agreements ended the US direct involvement in Vietnam. "The Republic of Vietnam" would struggle to remain for 2 more years before its fall on 30th April, 1975.

Since Reunification

In 1976 after a general election, Vietnam was re-unified.

In 1980, with the new Constitution, Vietnam became "The Socialist Republic of Vietnam".

In 1986, Vietnam started opening the Door to the West.

In 1992, a new Constitution was passed laying legal frameworks for the open market economy.

ChamPa Kingdom( 192 AD-15th Century)

History records the existence of the Cham when the people of TuongLam district rose up overthrowing the Chinese domination in AD 192 and established an independent kingdom of which the territory extended from QuangBinh province to QuangNam province now. By the 8th century Champa had expanded southward to include what is now BinhThuan province. The kingdom experienced times of great prosperity in 2nd-3rd centuries and 6th-8th centuries. In other times, the kingdom had destructive wars with neighboring countries and was integrated totally into Vietnamese territory in 15th century.

The Cham was heavily Indianized through commercial relations with India and through immigration of Indian literati and priests. The Cham legacies left are Hindu-like temples which can be found scattered around the Central Region of Vietnam. The Cham now have become one of 54 groups of people in Vietnam with the population of around 123000 people.

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