Pre-Dynastic era of Vietnam


The area now known as Vietnam has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, and some archaeological sites in Thanh Hoa Province reportedly date back several thousand years. Archaeologists link the beginnings of Vietnamese civilization to the late Neolithic, early Bronze Age, Phung-nguyen culture, which was centered in Vinh Phu Province of contemporary Vietnam from about 2000 to 1400 BCE. By about 1200 BCE/ [[Media:]], the development of wet-rice cultivation and bronze casting in the Ma River and Red River plains led to the development of the Dong Son culture, notable for its elaborate bronze drums. The bronze weapons, tools, and drums of Dongsonian sites show a Southeast Asian influence that indicates an indigenous origin for the bronze-casting technology. Many small, ancient copper mine sites have been found in northern Vietnam. Some of the similarities between the Dong Sonian sites and other Southeast Asian sites include the presence of boat-shaped coffins and burial jars, stilt dwellings, and evidence of the customs of betel-nut-chewing and teeth-blackening.
The legendary Hồng Bàng Dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered by many Vietnamese as the first Vietnamese state, known as Văn Lang. In 257 BCE, Thục Phán defeated the last Hùng king and consolidated the Lạc Việt tribes with his Âu Việt tribes, forming Âu Lạc and proclaiming himself An Dương Vương. In 207 BCE, a Chinese general named Zhao Tuo defeated An Dương Vương and consolidated Âu Lạc into Nanyue. In 111 BCE, the Chinese Han Dynasty consolidated Nanyue into their empire.
For the next thousand years, Vietnam was mostly under Chinese rule. Early independence movements such as those of the Trưng Sisters and of Lady Triệu were only briefly successful. It was independent as Vạn Xuân under the Anterior Ly Dynasty between 544 and 602. By the early 10th century, Vietnam had gained autonomy, but not independence, under the Khúc family.
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Dynastic era of Vietnam


Battle of Bach Dang river. Silk painting by Năng Hiển.
In 938 CE, a Vietnamese lord named Ngô Quyền defeated Chinese forces at the Bạch Đằng River and gained independence after 10 centuries under Chinese control. Renamed as Đại Việt, the nation went through a golden era during the Lý and Trần Dynasties. During the rule of the Trần Dynasty, Đại Việt repelled three Mongol invasions of Vietnam. Following the brief Hồ Dynasty, Vietnamese independence was momentarily interrupted by the Chinese Ming Dynasty, but was restored by Lê Lợi, the founder of the Lê Dynasty. Feudalism in Vietnam reached its zenith in the Lê Dynasty of the 15th century, especially during the reign of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông. Between the 11th and 18th centuries, the Vietnamese expanded southward in a process known as nam tiến (southward expansion). They eventually conquered the kingdom of Champa and part of the Khmer Empire.
Towards the end of the Lê Dynasty, civil strife engulfed much of Vietnam. First, the Chinese-supported Mạc Dynasty challenged the Lê Dynasty's power. After the Mạc Dynasty was defeated, the Lê Dynasty was reinstalled, but with no actual power. Power was divided between the Trịnh Lords in the North and the Nguyễn Lords in the South, who engaged in a civil war for more than a hundred years. The civil war ended when the Tây Sơn brothers defeated both and established their new dynasty. However, their rule did not last long and they were defeated by the remnants of the Nguyễn Lords with the help of the French, who established the Nguyễn Dynasty.
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French Colonial era of Vietnam

Vietnam's independence ended in the mid-1800s, when the country was colonized by the French Empire. The French administration imposed significant political and cultural changes on Vietnamese society. A Western-style system of modern education was developed, and Christianity was introduced into Vietnamese society. Developing a plantation economy to promote the exports of tobacco, indigo, tea and coffee, the French largely ignored increasing calls for self-government and civil rights. A nationalist political movement soon emerged, with leaders such as Phan Boi Chau, Phan Chu Trinh, Emperor Ham Nghi and Ho Chi Minh calling for independence. However, the French maintained dominant control of their colonies until World War II, when the Japanese war in the Pacific triggered the invasion of French Indochina in 1941. This event was preceded by the establishment of the Vichy French administration, a puppet state of Nazi Germany then ally of the Japanese Empire. The natural resources of Vietnam were exploited for the purposes of the Japanese Empire's military campaigns into the British Indochinese colonies of Burma, the Malay Peninsula and India.
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First Indochina War of Vietnam

In the final years of the Pacific war, a forceful nationalist insurgency emerged under Ho Chi Minh, committed to independence from French colonial rule and communism. Following the military defeat of the Japanese Empire and the fall of its Empire of Vietnam colony in August 1945, Vietnamese nationalist and communist forces fought the newly restored Free French colonial administration, with the "Declaration of Independence - Democratic Republic of Vietnam" on 02 September 1945 [1]. The Provisional French Republic sent the French Far East Expeditionary Corps, which was originally created to fight the Japanese occupation forces, in order to pacify the revolutionary rebellion. In 1946, the Chinese troops withdrew from north Vietnam and following the Haiphong incident ensued the First Indochina War that lasted until 1954.
Despite reduced losses -1/3 ratio of Expeditionary Corps casualties compared to the China-backed Viet Minh- during the whole war, the U.S. backed-French and Vietnamese loyalists eventually suffered a major strategic defeat at the Siege of Dien Bien Phu that allowed Ho Chi Minh to negotiate the ceasefire with a favorable position in the ongoing Geneva conference of 1954. Colonial administration ended as French Indochina was dissolved, and the contested State of Vietnam ceased to exist. According to the Geneva Agreements the country was divided at the 17th parallel into Ho Chi Minh's North Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem's South Vietnam in the model of Korea.
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Information from Trafest (trafest.com)

Through 1,000 years of Chinese rule, Viet people did not have their own money. In 968, Dinh Tien Hoang revolted among 12 factions to establish the Dinh Dynasty, starting an era of independence for the Viet country.

For the first time Viet people had their own money, the Thai Binh Thong Bao coin was cast in 970, with the Dinh script on one side. This round-shaped coin is made of copper, with a square hole in the centre. The coin’s round shape is the symbol of God while the square hole is the symbol of the Earth in accordance with the conceptions of Oriental people.

This theme continued to be shown in other coins that were cast by following dynasties. Even the coins of the last feudal dynasty of Vietnam, the Bao Dai Thong Bao of King Bao Dai, followed this rule. The rarest coin in Vietnam is now displayed at the memory house of the State Bank of Vietnam.

For most antique coins in Vietnam, the two letters on the one side of the coin are mostly thong bao, which means common coin, or nguyen bao (the coin cast for the first time). However, on some kinds of coins the two letters show rank or coin intricacies, especially those cast under the reign of King Canh Hung, for example vinh bao (coin for forever circulation), chi bao (the most noble coin), dai bao and cu bao (coin of big value), chinh bao (orthodox coin), thuan bao (the coin cast by copper extracted from bronze cannons of the Nguyen Dynasty in Thuan Hoa region). In addition, there are some kinds of coins that are considered as undefined and obscure, for example those with the letters of Tran Tan cong bao, Thai Binh thanh bao and Thai binh phap bao on one side.

Normally newly crowned kings often marked the start of their dynasty by changing the date and casting new coins to confirm the existence of their royal dynasties. There is a wide range of entertaining stories of coin casting. In 1521 a man named Tran Cao raised troops to occupy Dong Do capital (Hanoi currently) for only four days but still cast the Thien ung khong bao coin for circulation.

The only iron coin of Vietnam is the one named Dai chinh thong bao, which was cast under the Mac Dang Dung reign dating back 465 years. At that time Mac Dang Dung usurped the throne from the post-Le Dynasty. History says that the Mac Dynasty did not win God’s heart so they could not cast bronze coins and had to cast iron ones. This is the only case of iron coins. However, archaeologists have yet to find the iron coins named Dai chinh thong bao of the Mac Dynasty, but only bronze ones. They suppose that at that time copper alloy was not refined so it contained more iron than normal.

The first banknotes of Vietnam appeared under the Ho Dynasty, nearly 600 years ago, with very simple printing technology. Major patterns used on those banknotes are seaweed, tortoise, and rattan. Ho is the only feudal dynasty in Vietnam that issued banknotes.

A celebration is held annually on the tenth day of the third lunar month to commemorate Kings Hung, the first of the Viet ethnic kings who set up the Van Lang state of Viet people four thousand years ago. The event, also known as Kings Hung’s anniversary, takes place in an area full of historic vestiges where the Kings are worshiped. This spring festival draws thousands of pilgrims to worship the Hung kings, the legendary founders of Vietnam.
Hung temple (Den Hung) is a beautiful landscape - the national historical vestige where Vietnamese memorizes Hung King because of their contribution to country 4000 years ago. Phu Tho wants to call investment capital so as they can serve tourist's demand in domestic and overseas.
The Hung King's Temple is located on Nghia Linh Mountain, Hy Lang Commune, Phong Chau District, Phu Tho Province, 85 kilometers northwest of Hanoi. Every year, a national festival called Hung King's Temple Festival is held to worship the Hung Kings, who were instrumental in the founding of the nation.
The festival lasts for 3 days from the 9th to the 11th of the 3rd month of the lunar calendar. A day before the festival, ancient and modern flags
are to be hung along the road leading from Viet Tri to Hung mountain. A large ballon will also publicise the festival to surrounding areas. On the eve of the festival, 100 flying lights are released into the night sky. The main worship service is held in earnest the following morning, 10th day, beginning with a flower ceremony. In Den Thuong (Upper Temple) where the Hung Kings used to worship deities with full rituals, the ceremony consists of a lavish five-fruit feast. Banh chung (square cake) and banh giay (circle cake) are also served to remind people of the Lang Lieu Legend (the 18th Hung King who invented these cakes), and the merit of the Hung Kings who taught people to grow rice.

Next to the stage procession for deities, there are several marches in the procession such as the elephant march followed by the procession chair. These procession marches are conducted in Tien Cuong, Hy Cuong, Phuong Giao, and Co Tich villages. The procession marches are followed by a Xoan song performance (a classical type of song) in the Den Thuong, a "Ca Tru" (a kind of classical opera) in Den Ha (Lower Temple), and other activities like cross-bow shooting, rice cooking, swinging contests, cock fighting, and dragon dancing. Later on this day, a march of local people, including representatives of the country's 54 ethnic minorities will be rounded off with a speech and the release of doves, carrying the hope for peace of Vietnamese people .
. During the festival, pilgrims always spend time visiting the temples and historic sites on Hung mountain. The Den Ha, memorial temple for the primal mother Au Co, is approximately 100 steps higher up, in a countryard entered through a gate with a bell tower. The mother of the Hung Emperors and all Vietnamese is represented on the main altar ; the left-hand altar is dedicated to the last Hung Emperor. The steps continue to the Den Trung (Middle Temple), the main temple, which dates from the 19th century. It is dedicated to the founder of the dynasty and all other Hung Emperors. On the summit of the wooded hill is the Den Thuong, which is dedicated to the gods of heaven and earth. Lying on the middle altar is the sword of Phu Dong, the country's first hero; another altar is dedicated to the wives and daughters of the Hung Emperors. On the hill is a mausoleum for the dynasty. Upon the Stone of Oaths here An Duong Vuong, founder of the realm of Au Lac, who came from the hills to the plain, swore to defend the land of his farthers.

The Bach Ma National Park is a protected area found in central Vietnam, near the city of Hué. It covers 220 km² and is comprised of three zones: a strictly protected core area, an administrative area and a buffer zone.
As of 2004, the park is being considered for expansion in order to create a larger protected area that will create a corridor from the border with Laos to the sea
It was first protected as a series of forest reserves in 1937, and was declared a protected area by the government of South Vietnam in 1962. In 1986 the area was established as a national park. The forests of the park, like Cat Tien National Park, suffered from the use of defoliants like Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
Biodiversity of Bach Ma Bach Ma National Park is situated in the Annamite Mountains and is one of the wettest places in Vietnam. Its mountains are composed mainly of granite, and the topography of the park is generally very steep.
Bach ma's position, at the biogeographical border between northern and southern Vietnam, combined with its variety of habitats, ranging from the coast to high mountains, means the park is rich in biodiversity. It is located in an area that is considered a 'Centre of Plant Diversity' in Vietnam. The main vegetation type is moist evergreen forest and montane forest, as well as areas of scrub and grassland where human disturbance has been high.
The mammal fauna of the park is not well-known, though historically held important species such as Asian Elephant, White-cheeked Gibbons and Red-shanked Douc Langurs. It also protects important bird species, ezpecially Vietnamese endemics such as the Crested Argus, the Annam Partridge, as well as the previously considered extinct Edward's Pheasant

Vietnam Fine-Arts Museum

In June 1966, house No. 66 on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street in Ba Dinh District was transformed into the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum. Two-storey building displays the art works.

The exhibition system is divided into 5 parts:
- Fine arts of Prehistory: Consist of the objects from the Bronze Age and Iron Age.
Ancient fine arts from the 11th to the 19th centuries: Consists of the objects of Ly, Tran, Le, Mac, Tay Son, and Nguyen Dynasties.
- Fine arts in the 20th century: Contemplate times fine arts (1925-1945) and modern fine arts (1945 up to now).
- Folk painting.
- Traditional pottery and ceramics

It is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 8 to 11.30am and 1.30 to 4.30pm. Admission costs 10,000 VND.
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Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology opened at the end of 1997. Since then, it has attracted the attention of visitors as well as ethnographers and researchers from all over the world.

The museum has successfully recreated the daily life together with the religious rituals and the symbolic festivals of each ethnic group in Vietnam. Visitors have the opportunity to admire costumes, embroidery as well as outside stilt houses and habitats from the different groups.

All displayed objects mingle and supplement one another to create a colourful and diversified picture of Vietnamese culture. An open-air exhibition in the museum’s spacious and peaceful ground features ethnic houses from all over Vietnam.

The displayed object area is divided into 9 parts:

- Introduction.
- Introduction of Viet (Kinh).
- Introduction of Muong, Tho, Chut ethnic groups.
- The ethnic groups belong to the Tay, Thai, and Kadai groups
The outdoor exhibition area is only large enough for the most popular architectural styles to be presented. Already presented are the E De long house, the Tay stilt house, the Dao house half on stilts and half on earth, the H' Mong house whose roof is made of pomu wood, the Viet house with tile roof, the Gia Rai tomb, the Ba Na communal house, the Cham traditional houae, the Ha Nhi house made with earth-beaten walls
There are future plans to present the Co Tu tomb and the surrounding completion of the Viet house. Between the houses, there are trees indigenous to the area of each house, zigzagging paths and a meandering stream crossed by small bridges. The outdoor museum is being realised step by step
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History of Military Museum

The content of the museum covers 6 periods:
-The history of the Vietnamese nation and the birth of the Vietnam People’s Army.
-The Vietnamese struggle against French colonialism.
-The Vietnamese struggle against American imperialists
The Vietnam People’s Army on the path to a regular modern army.
-The People and the Army are oneness - they will be invincible.
- Piece of weaponry displayed in the museum courtyard (airplanes, tanks, heavy artilleries, rockets, mortars, bombs, etc.

The Military History Museum is the concentrated embodiment of the spirit of the Vietnamese people “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom.” Entry price is 10,000VND

With the end of the First Indochina War and the creation of North Vietnam and South Vietnam, there were two Vietnamese film industries, with the Hanoi industry focusing on propaganda films and Saigon producing mostly war-society-themed or comedy films.
Hanoi's Vietnam Film Studio was established in 1956 and the Hanoi Film School opened in 1959. The first feature film produced in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was a nationalistic work directed by Nguyễn Hồng Nghị, Chung một Dòng sông (Together on the Same River). There was even an animated feature, Đáng đời Thằng cáo (A Just Punishment for the Fox) in 1960.
Documentaries and feature films from Hanoi attracted attention at film festivals in Eastern Europe at the time. The documentary Nước về Bắc Hưng Hải (Water Returns to Bắc Hưng Hải) won the Golden Award at the 1959 Moscow Film Festival, and the 1963 feature by Phạm Kỳ Nam, Chị Tư Hậu (Sister Tư Hậu) won the Silver Award at Moscow. It starred lead actress Trà Giang.
But mostly the Hanoi-based industry focused on documenting the Vietnam War. Between 1965 and 1973, 463 newsreels, 307 documentaries and 141 scientific films were produced, in contrast to just 36 feature films and 27 cartoons.
Films during this period include the documentaries Du kích Củ Chi (Củ Chi Guerillas in 1967 and Lũy thép Vĩnh Linh (Vĩnh Linh Steel Rampart) in 1970), which included footage from battles. Other films, such as Đường ra phía trước (The Road to the Front) in 1969 and Những người săn thú trên núi Dak-sao (Hunters on Dak-sao Mountain) in 1971 were docu-dramas.
Feature films from this time include Nguyễn Văn Trỗi (1966), Đường về quê mẹ (Road Back to Mother), Truyện vợ chồng Anh Lực (The Story of Anh Lực and his Wife, in 1971, and Em bé Hà Nội (Young Girl from Hanoi) in 1974.
Saigon produced numerous documentary and public information films, as well as feature films. The most well known feature film in the late 1950s was Chúng Tôi Muốn Sống(We Want To Live), a realistic depiction of the bloody land reform campaign in North Vietnam under Communist-dominated Vietminh. Some mid-1960s black-and-white features dealt with war themes, with actors such as Đoàn Châu Mậu and La Thoại Tân. Some later popular color features revolved around the theme of family or personal tragedy in a war torn society, such as Người Tình Không Chân Dung(Faceless Love) starring Kiều Chinh, Xa Lộ Không Đèn(Dark Highway) starring Thanh Nga, Chiếc Bóng Bên Đường(Roadside Shadow) starring Kim Cương and Thành Được. Comedy movies were usually released around Tet, the Vietnamese New Year; most notable was Triệu Phú Bất Đắc Dĩ(The Reluctant Millionaire) starring the well loved comedian Thanh Việt.
Joseph Mankiewicz's adaptation of Graham Greene's The Quiet American was filmed in and around Saigon in 1957. American actor Marshall Thompson directed and starred in A Yank in Vietnam, or Year of the Tiger in 1964.

Just as some villages became known for their crafts, others gained fame due to their distinctive foods. The dishes produced in certain regions became so well known that travelers are expected to buy these delicacies as gifts for their friends and relations back home. Fish sauce from the southern island Phu Quoc, coconut candy from the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, green bean candy from the northern province of Hai Duong, and mien noodles from the western outskirts of Ha Noi are just a few examples of foodstuffs which, having been produced in the same regions for centuries, are now associated with those places.
Another example is com, green sticky rice that originated in a village to the west of Hanoi. The link between culture, food and place is revealed in the following verse by the late composer and song writer Tring Cong Son:
When autumn comes, this is the time when leaves turn red and gold,
The time when we have com, which lends its fragrance to the hands that hold it
You can smell it when the girls pass by, as the breeze spreads the scent of milk flowers.
The most famous com hails from Vong village, which lies about seven kilometers west of Hanoi in the Tu Liem District. According to legend, 500 years ago the village was hit by a famine. With nothing to eat save green rice still growing in the paddies, one hungry farmer decided to roast the unripe grains. The villagers discovered that by roasting the rice in a clay pot and pounding it to remove the rice husks they could produce a dish that was not merely palatable, but delicious. When the king heard of this new delicacy he summoned the head of Vong village to visit the court. Thereafter, each autumn the villagers presented the court with an offering of com.
To this day, in the late summer and autumn, villagers from Vong still travel by bicycle into Hanoi. To be able to sell their com in capital's morning markets, the villagers must work all night.
The rice is cut about three a.m., after which it is threshed, sifted and roasted in an earthenware pot. To preserve the sweet flavor and vibrant green color of the young rice, each batch should consists of no more than 800 grams of rice. Roasting large batches, say the villagers, results in pale, tasteless com.
After roasting, the com is placed in a stone mortar and pounded 150 times. The rice husks are removed and the pounding starts again, then again, and again. After seven or eight stints of pounding the com is soft but not sticky, with an incredibly vivid color - as green as banana leaves. Wrapped in lotus leaves, which infuse the rice with their sweet scent, the com can keep for up to two days. Selling for about VND30,000 to VND35,000 per kilogram, com is often served with bananas, or made into cakes and sweet pudding.
Should you find yourself in Hanoi in the early autumn, an excursion to Vong village will reveal the bustling activity that characterizes a traditional food village. It will also give you the chance to sample some fresh com, a dish loved as much for its sweet flavor as for its symbolic association with the traditional way of life of farmers in the red River Delta. As the writer Thach Lam (1910-1942) wrote:
Com is a special gift of the soil made by hard-working peasant. It holds a simple, fresh and agrarian fragrance deep inside itself.
Getting There
For Vong village, take the dyke road west out of Hanoi and drive 7km to Tu Liem District. When you reach a three-way intersection, go straight about 1km, then turn left to Dich Vong commune. Vong village is in this area, around 10km from central Hanoi
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More information at Trafest.com.
Email: roninreturn@yahooo.com

This museum was completed on 9 May 1990 for the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday
The main showroom displays 117,274 documents, articles, pictures and exhibits illustrating the historical events that took place during President Ho Chi Minh’s life, as well as important events that occurred in the rest of the world since the end of the 19th

The museum contains other rooms such as a library, a large hall, meeting rooms and research rooms.

Since its opening, the museum has welcomed millions of domestic and foreign visitors. It is open from 8 am to 11 am and 1.30pm to 4.30 pm daily except Monday and Friday. Photography is forbidden. Cameras and bags must be left at the reception. Entrance ticket costs 5,000VND

Documents and objects are displayed and carefully preserved and maintained in this place, expressing the role of women in the process of the development of the Vietnamese nation. The museum is also a place for cultural exchange for Vietnamese and international women with the goal of creating “equality, development, and peace”. The exhibits are displayed on an area of 1,200m² on two-storey building; the museum organized around five main themes
Vietnamese women in Vietnamese community.
- The involvement of Vietnamese women in the fight for national independence and national construction.
- The Vietnamese Women’s Association and its struggle to liberate women.
- The culture of Vietnamese women expresses through traditional handicraft products.
-Women costumes of the 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups.

The museum is open daily except Monday, from 8 am to 4 pm. The entrance fee is 10,000VND

The archaeological excavations carried out recently have proved the presence of human beings in the territory of Vietnam since the Paleolithic Age or the Old Stone Age (300,000 - 500,000 years). In the Neolithic Age (New Stone Age), Hoa Binh - Bac Son cultures (about 10,000 BC) had witnessed the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, including even the technique of paddy rice cultivation.
The Vietnamese as an ethnic group had been formed and developed early in the Red river and Ma river delta situated in northern part of the present-day Vietnam. Generations to generations, people moved from highland and mountainous areas to the plains, developed new lands for cultivation. They constructed a system of irrigation dams and dykes to tame the mighty Red River, the river that brought about several devastating floods every year. It is the process of continuous labor to control water - to fight against flood, storm and drought, to build up irrigation dams and canals for agricultural cultivation that formed the paddy rice civilization and the commune culture.
In the Bronze Age, a unique and distinct civilization had been formed that reached a high level in technical skill as well as art - the brilliant Dong Son culture. The recent ethnological, historical and archaeological studies and researches have asserted the existence of the Hung Kings' period in Van Lang Kingdom (later Au Lac Kingdom) about 1000 years BC. In 200 BC, Au Lac Kingdom was invaded and annexed into the giant empire of the Han feudalism in the north. Nevertheless, the ten-century domination of Chinese feudalism could not assimilate Vietnamese culture and break the Viet people’s brave resistance.
In the 10th century AD, the Vietnamese had won their freedom and built up an independent state named Dai Viet. The country was under the ruling of many national feudal dynasties, among which the most important ones are the Ly Dynasty (11th and 12th century), the Tran Dynasty (13th and 14th century), the Le Dynasty (15th, 16th and 17th century) with their centralized administration, strong army forces and a highly developed economy and culture. During this period, Vietnam as a nation had to ceaselessly fought against the vicious conquering conspiracies of Chinese and Mongolian feudal empires. Vietnam's long and tough struggles of resistance against the invasions of the Song (11th century), the Yuan or the Mongols (13th century), the Ming (15th century) had acquired glorious victories. Vietnam became stronger, all its ethnic groups became more united and the country moved into a new prosperous period after each struggle.
Dong Son culture which was enriched by the influence of Chinese culture developed from centuries to centuries in a framework of an independent state. Buddhism and Confucianism entered Dai Viet and brought with them many popular cultural features and distinct forms. Nonetheless, Vietnam still preserved its own language and a highly developed agricultural civilization.