The Bitter Beginning of Viet Nam

Viet Nam has had a long, difficult history of struggle against colonizing powers.  In fact, when the country was colonized by France in the late nineteenth century the spelling of its name was shortened to one word- "Vietnam."  However, one must go back much further into history to start to understand the struggle of Viet Nam.  The Hung dynasty produced 18 kings, each of whom ruled for 150 years.  At this time the nation was named "Van Lang."  This dynasty was overthrown by a close, rival king in 258 BCE.  He established the new kingdom of Au Lac and then built his capital at Phoc An.  This city's remains still remains today in the village of Co Loa.  This is located west of Hanoi.

Fifty years later, a Chinese general named Trieu Da conquered this kingdom.  He formed a new nation known as "Nam Viet."  Many Vietnamese scholars believe this is actually the end of historical legend and the authentic beginning of true Vietnamese history.  For the next hundred years King Trieu Da and the Han emperors of China engaged in violent combat.  Finally, in 111 BCE Nam Viet was conquered by China.  It was incorporated into the Chinese empire thereafter.

It was after this point that the Vietnamese people's tradition of fighting to remain free and independent began.  For the next 19 centuries, the people of Viet Nam struggled hard and fought bravely against the Chinese for their freedom.  Their spirt of resistance is very much a fact of history to be carefully considered.  We can also observe how China has had some cultural influence upon Viet Nam dating back to this early time of dominance.  Yet, Viet Nam is quite distinct from China in many ways.

Harlan Urwiler

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