Vietnam
Vietnam (
Vietnamese:
Việt Nam), officially the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a
socialist republic in
Southeast Asia. Situated in eastern
Indochina"bordering
China,
Laos,
Cambodia, as well as the
South China Sea"it is the most populous country among the
mainland Southeast Asian countries.
The name of the country comes from the Vietnamese
Việt Nam, which is in turn a reordering of
Nam Việt"the name of an ancient kingdom from the ancestral Vietnamese that covered much of today's northern Vietnam and southern China. Its
Chinese cognate,
Yue/Yuet, was also a name for ethnic groups living in the proximity of southern China during ancient times.
Foundation Legend
The famous Vietnamese legend tells that the Vietnamese people of various tribes were born outside of the womb by the marriage of Lạc Long Quân (Dragon Chief) and Âu Cơ. However, most Vietnamese historians [consider] the
Dong Son civilization that covered much of
Southeast Asia to be the beginning of Vietnam's history. In
208 BC, a Qin general named
Triệu Đà (Zhao Tuo) established a country called Nam Việt which encompassed Southern China and the Red River Delta. The historical significance of the original Nam Việt remains controversial because some historians consider it a Chinese occupation while some believe it was an independent era.
The Kingdom of Dai Viet
What is known for sure is that for most of the period from
111 BC to the early
10th century, it was under the rule of successive
Chinese Dynasties. Sporadic independence movements were attempted, but were quickly extinguished by Chinese forces. In
939, the Vietnamese defeated Chinese forces at the Bạch Đằng River and gained independence. They gained complete autonomy a century later. During the rule of the
Trần Dynasty, it defeated three
Mongol attempts of invasion by the
Yuan Dynasty.
Feudalism in Vietnam reached its zenith in the
Lê Dynasty of the
15th century, especially during the reign of Emperor
Le Thanh Tong. 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 much of the
Khmer empire. The independent period ended in the mid-
19th century, when the country was
colonized by
France.
French Colonial Rule and Division
The French maintained dominant control of their colony until
World War II, when
Japanese forces invaded and occupied Vietnam, using the country as a base to launch attacks against Southeast Asia and
India. After the war France attempted to reestablish its colony, however a communist insurgency that had arisen during Japanese occupation forced the French into the
First Indochina War that lasted until
1954. The French suffered a major defeat at the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu and shortly afterwards withdrew from the country. The world community divided the country at the 17th parallel into
North Vietnam and
South Vietnam during the
Geneva Accords. This division was meant to be temporary, pending democratic elections and reunification.
This did not turn out to be the case. North and South Vietnam both formed geopolitical alliances, the North aligning itself with
Communist China and the
Soviet Union and the South with the
United States. The Northern government sought implementation of the Geneva Accords, including reunification following an election that would likely lead to a victory for the Communists, while the government of the South sought to make the division of the country permanent, and was supported in this by the United States, which saw the "nation of South Vietnam" as a bulwark against the spread of "international communism" in the region.
The Vietnam War and Reunification
Beginning in
1965, the United States eventually committed some three million troops in an attempt to defeat the ongoing communist insurgency in the South. However with military support from the communist North, as well as material, intelligence and logistical support from China and the Soviet Union, the southern communists entrenched the U.S. in a costly
war. Graphic televised reporting by the US news media played no small role in influencing the American public to hold demonstrations demanding US withdrawal from the war. Beginning in 1970 US combat roles were turned over to the South Vietnamese military under a program known as Vietnamization. However, corruption, nepotism, incompetence and a long standing dependence on the US military left the South Vietnamese military ill prepared to continue the war. All American combat troops were withdrawn by
March 29,
1973. Advisors and support troops remained until April 1975. The
Paris Peace Accords on
January 27,
1973 formally recognized the sovereignty of both sides, however the war continued until the North overpowered the South on
April 30,
1975 and reunified the country under the communist rule as the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
|
The Bản Giốc Falls in Cao Bằng, North Vietnam |
After the reunification, political and economic conditions remained difficult. Millions of South Vietnamese fled the communist government and became
boat people over the next two decades. In late
1978 the Vietnamese army removed the democidal
Khmer Rouge from power in
Cambodia. Only one month later, however, partially in retaliation, China launched a short-lived incursion into Vietnam, which became known as the
Sino-Vietnamese War. Both sides claimed to have been victorious in the brief conflict.
In
1986, the
Communist Party of Vietnam implemented
economic reforms known as
Đổi Mới (renovation). During much of the
1990s, economic growth was rapid, and Vietnam reintegrated into the international community. It re-established diplomatic relations with the United States in
1995, one year after the United States' trade embargo on Vietnam was repealed.
Politics of Vietnam takes place in a framework of a single-party
socialist republic.A new
state constitution was approved in April 1992, reaffirming the central role of the
Communist Party of Vietnam in politics and society, and outlining government reorganization and increased market reforms in the economy. Though
Vietnam remains a one-party state, adherence to ideological orthodoxy has become less important than economic development as a national priority.
Vietnam's capital is
Hanoi. There are also four municipalities existing at provincial level:
Can Tho,
Da Nang,
Hai Phong, and
Ho Chi Minh City (Thành phố H" Chí Minh). Ho Chi Minh City was formerly known and is still referred to by many as Saigon. The remainder of Vietnam consists of 64 provinces (see main article for more information).
The country is approximately 331,688 square km (128,066
sq mi) in area, which is slightly smaller than
Germany. The topography consists of hills and densely forested mountains, with level land covering no more than 20 percent. Mountains account for 40 percent, hills 40 percent and forests 42 percent. The northern part of the country consists mostly of highlands and the
Red River Delta.
Phan Xi Păng, located in
Lào Cai province, is the highest mountain in Vietnam at 3,143 m (10,312
ft). The south is divided into coastal lowlands,
Annamite Chain (central mountains) with high
plateaus, and the
Mekong River Delta.
The climate is
tropical and
monsoonal;
humidity averages 84 percent throughout the year. Annual rainfall ranges from 120 to 300 cm (47 to 118
in), and annual temperatures vary between 5
°C (41
°F) and 37°C (99°F).
Land boundaries: Total: 4,639 km (2,883
mi)
Border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km (763 mi), China 1,281 km (796
mi), Laos 2,130 km (1,324 mi)
In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress of the
Communist Party of Vietnam formally abandoned its centralized
planned economy and began introducing
market elements as part of a broad economic reform package called "
đổi mới" ("Renovation").
In many ways, this followed
the Chinese model and achieved similar results. On one hand, Vietnam achieved around 8% annual
GDP growth from
1990 to
1997 and continued at around 7% from
2000 to
2002, making it the world's second-fastest growing economy. Simultaneously,
investment grew three-fold and
domestic savings quintupled.
On the other hand, urban
unemployment has been rising steadily in recent years due to high numbers of migration from the countryside to the cities, and rural unemployment, estimated to be up to 35% during non-harvest periods, is already at critical levels. Layoffs in the state sector and foreign-invested enterprises combined with the lasting effects of a previous
military demobilization further exacerbated the unemployment situation. The country aims to become a member of the
WTO, perhaps as soon as October 2006. In May 2006, Vietnam negotiated a bilateral trade agreement with the US that marked the completion of the bilateral negotiations with WTO members the country needed to qualify for accession to the organization. Among other steps taken in the process of transitioning to a market economy, Vietnam in July 2006 updated its intellectual property legislation to comply with
TRIPS. Vietnam is still a relatively poor country with GDP of US$43 billion (est.,
2004). This translates to US$2700 per capita. Inflation rate is estimated at 14% per year in 2004. This figure has been scaled down by the Government to 9.5% per annum to avoid the ‘double digit' classification.
The spending power of the public has noticeably increased. The reason lies in the high prices for property. In
Hanoi, the capital, property prices can be as high as those in
Tokyo or
New York City. This has amazed many people because the average income per capita of this city is around US$1,000 per annum. The booming prices have given poor land owners the opportunity to sell their homes for inflated prices.
Tourism has become an increasingly important industry in Vietnam. Some of the over 3 to 3.5 million annual visitors are Vietnam War
veterans.
According to official figures from the
1999 census, of Vietnam's then population of 76.3m, the largest of
54 government recognized ethnic groups of Vietnam were:
# Viet/Kinh: 65.8 million (86.21%)# Tay: 1.48 million (1.94%)# Thái: 1.33 million (1.74%)# Mường: 1.14 million (1.49%)# Khmer: 1.06 million (1.38%)# Hoa: 0.862 million (1.13%)# Nung: 0.856 million (1.12%)# Hmong: 0.787 million (1.03%)# Cham: 0.250 million
The majority
ethnic Vietnamese, also called
Viet or
Kinh, make up about 86 percent of the nation's population. They are concentrated largely in the
alluvial deltas and in the coastal plains. A homogenous social group, the Viets exert influence on national life through their control of political and economic affairs and their role as purveyors of the dominant culture. By contrast, the ethnic minorities, except for the
Khơ-me Crôm (Khmer Krom) and the
Hoa (ethnic
Han Chinese), are found mostly in the highlands that cover two-thirds of the national territory.
The Mường live in the mountains of north central Vietnam and speak a
Mon-Khmer language closely related to the Vietnamese language.
The
Tày people live primarily in the mountains and foothills of northern Vietnam. Their language is a member of the
Tai languages, belonging to the Central Tai subgroup and closely related to the
Zhuang language of southern China.
The Khơ-me Crôm live in the fertile
delta of the
Mekong River in southern Vietnam and are ethnically the same as the
Khmer people who make up the majority of the population of
Cambodia.
The Hoa (ethnic Han Chinese) are mainly lowlanders and, more specifically, urban dwellers. They speak predominantly
Cantonese (known to the Vietnamese as Quảng Đông), but there are also speakers of
Hakka (Khách Gia),
Min Nan/
Hokkien/
Fujian (Mân Nam/Phúc Kiến),
Chaozhou (Triều Châu), etc. Until the 1979 Vietnamese census, the Hoa were the largest minority of Vietnam. However, since the North Vietnamese took over South Vietnam in 1975 many Hoa left Vietnam, especially in the 1980s, so that at the 1999 census the Hoa were only the fifth largest minority (or the fourth largest if the Thái are not considered as a homogeneous ethnic group).
Beyond these five largest ethnic minorities, there are 48 other minorities officially recognized by the Vietnamese government, giving a total of 53 minorities altogether. Many of these 53 minority groups only have a few thousand members or so. Vietnam also has a small number of
Eurasian from the French colonization and
Amerasian of American soldiers and personnel. Furthermore, there are also a few of those descended from
Indian settlers also during the colonial era. The biracial people, the products of Vietnam War, faced discrimination very much in Vietnam [often referred to as "Children of the Dust"; many have been migrated to the United States where, due to a lack of education in Vietnam due to discrimination because of their racial mix, assume low paying occupations and live at the subsistence level in the United States; most were migrated as adults and not as children].
Officially, the ethnic minorities are referred to as "national minorities". The French used the name
Montagnard (plural Montagnards, meaning "mountain people") to refer to all the minorities (except the Khơ-me Crôm and the Hoa), no matter what their actual language. The name Montagnard is still sometimes used today. Sometimes, the name Montagnard is used specifically for the Central Vietnam minorities.
More details about 54 groups
hereSee
Việt Kiều for a discussion of the Vietnamese diaspora.
According to the 1999 Socialist Republic of Vietnam's
census numbers, 80.8% of Vietnamese subscribe to no religion. But according to the majority of
other sources, Vietnamese people are predominantly
Confucian and
Mahayana Buddhist (esp. Mainstream
Pure Land schools and
Zen-inspired syncretists), with a sizeable
Roman Catholic following and
Protestant,
Cao Đài, and
Hoa Hao minorities. The largest Protestant churches are the
Evangelical Church of Vietnam and the
Montagnard Evangelical Church. Membership to
Sunni and
Bashi Islam are usually accredited to the ethnic
Cham minority, but there are also a few ethnic Vietnamese adherents to Islam in the southwest.
According to the 1999 census, 80.8% had no religion, 9.3% were
Buddhist, 6.7% were
Catholic, 1.5% were
Hoa Hao, and 1.1% were
Cao Dai.
According to official figures, 86.2% of the population speak
Vietnamese as a native language.
Various other languages are spoken by the several minority groups in Vietnam. The most spoken of these languages are:
Tày (1.5 million),
Mường (1.2 million),
Khmer (1.05 million),
Chinese (870,000, this figure also includes speakers of all Chinese dialects),
Nùng (860,000),
H'Mông (790,000), and
Tai Dam (700,000).
French, a legacy of colonial rule, is still spoken by some older Vietnamese as a second language but is losing its popularity.
Russian " and to a much lesser extent
Czech or
Polish " is often known among those whose families had ties with the
Soviet bloc. In recent years,
Chinese,
Japanese and
English have become the most popular foreign languages, and English is an obligatory course in most schools.
In its early history, Vietnamese writing used
Chinese characters. In the
13rd century, the Vietnamese developed their own set of characters called
Chữ nôm. The celebrated epic
Đoạn trường tân thanh (
Truyện Kiều or
The Tale of Kieu) by
Nguyễn Du was written in Chữ nôm. During the French colonial period,
Quốc ngữ, the romanised Vietnamese alphabet representation of spoken Vietnamese which was a collective fruit of several Portuguese missionaries, became popular and brought literacy to the masses.
Due to Vietnam's long association with
China, Vietnamese culture remains strongly
Confucian with its emphasis on familial duty. Education is highly valued. Historically, passing the imperial
Mandarin exams was the only means for Vietnamese people to socially advance themselves.
The traditional uniform called
"Áo Dài" is worn in special occasions such as weddings or Lunar New Year celebration or festivals. Áo Dài was once worn by both genders but is worn mainly by female today, becoming a pride of Vietnamese people.
Names often follow the form: Family Name " Middle Name " Given Name (ex: Nguyễn Văn Anh). Children take the family name of their father.
Vietnamese cuisine is very healthy and flavorful, using very little oil and many vegetables. The main dishes are often based on
rice,
soy sauce, and
fish sauce. Its characteristic flavors are sweet (sugar), spicy (serrano peppers), sour (lime), umami (fish sauce), and flavored by a variety of mint and basil.
Music is slightly different according to three regions:
Bắc or North,
Trung or Central, and
Nam or South. Northern classical music is Vietnam's oldest and is traditionally more formal. Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese
opera troupe. Central classical music shows the influences of Champa culture with its melancholic melodies. Southern music exudes a lively
laissez-faire attitude.
See also:
*
Cuisine of Vietnam*
Music of Vietnam*
List of ethnic groups in Vietnam*
Vietnamese name*
Communications in Vietnam*
Foreign relations of Vietnam*
Holidays in Vietnam*
List of Vietnam-related topics*
List of Vietnamese companies*
Military of Vietnam*
Transportation in Vietnam*
Vietnam War*
Flag of South Vietnam*
Human rights in Vietnam*
Việt Kiều: Overseas Vietnamese
Government
*
Government of Vietnam (in Vietnamese)
*
Communist Party of Vietnam*
National Assembly: The Vietnamese legislative body
*
General Statistics Office*
Ministry of Foreign Affairs**
Information about Vietnam*
Ministry of Justice*
Ministry of Finance*
Ministry of Trade*
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs*
Ministry of Transport*
Ministry of Construction*
Ministry of Fisheries (in Vietnamese)
*
Ministry of Ministry of Culture and Information*
Ministry of Education and Training (in Vietnamese)
*
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (in Vietnamese)
*
Ministry of Planning and Investment*
Ministry of Industry*
Ministry of Health*
Ministry of Science and Technology*
Ministry of Natural Resources and Enviroment*
Ministry of Posts and TelematicsNews
*
Vietnam Television Portal Online : VTV1, VTV2, VTV3, HTV7, HTV9, Hanoi Television, Ho Chi Minh City Television...
*
Voice of Vietnam: State radio broadcaster
*
VTV: State television broadcaster
*
Vietnam News Agency: Official state news agency
*
Tuoi Tre (
Youth): daily newspaper with highest circulation (in Vietnamese)
*
Vietnam Net: Largest Vietnamese portal
*
VnExpress: Popular online newspaper
*
Nhân Dân (
The People): Official Communist Party newspaper
Overviews
*
BBC - Country profile: Vietnam*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vm.html CIA World Factbook -
Vietnam]
*
Encyclopaedia Britannica - Vietnam*
Open Directory Project - Vietnam directory category
*
US State Department - Vietnam includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
Images
*
Vietnam Photography: More than 20.000 photos of Vietnam
*
Photos of Vietnam*
Articles/Photos of Vietnam*
Images from VietnamOther
*
Cambodia Vietnam War Chronology*
China Vietnam War Chronology*
France Vietnam War Chronology*
Visa Information*
Laos Vietnam War Chronology*
Russia Vietnam War Chronology*
USA Vietnam War Chronology*
Vietnam Vietnam War Chronology*
Indochina - History links for French involvement in Indochina, casahistoria.net
*
Vietnam - History links for US involvement in Indochina, casahistoria.net
*
CNN.com - Vietnamese activists push for old flag
*
Living in Vietnam: Expat and Travel guide
*
Viet Nam: a transition tiger?: Review of economic development issues
*
Future of Vietnam: A debate comparing Vietnam to Thailand (In terms of growth potential)
*
Development of the Leisure Industry in Vietnam: A review of developments in Vietnam since 1988
*
Vietnam travel and hotel Guide: A New Vietnam Travel guide
zh-yue:越南
