The Legacy of the Vietnamese Boat People

By Lê Quang Vinh

FOREWORD

I have visited Việt Nam (Vietnam) on more than a dozen occasions, mainly for business but I have also travelled through the country as a tourist. However, my knowledge and understanding of Vietnamese history, society and culture is limited so in no way am I in a position to speak authoritatively on the historical contents or any interpretation of events described in this book, The Legacy of the Vietnamese Boat People. It is written by my colleague and friend Lê Quang Vinh, who with his family are boat people. Much of what I know about Việt Nam has been gleaned from my visits to the country and informed by the author of this book, particularly when I was travelling with him on many of my visits to the country.

Clearly, I am not in a position to provide an informed critique of the contents of this publication so instead I shall focus my comments on certain characteristics, beliefs and behaviours of the author that have driven him to undertake the massive task of producing this book which covers over 4,000 years of Vietnamese history and culture. In this book he gives his own interpretation of the importance of many of the significant events that occurred in the history of Việt Nam, with particular emphasis on the period since 1900. The book provides an even deeper focus on more recent events around the civil war in the country and the political, social, and cultural changes that occurred after the conclusion of hostilities in 1975.

My initial contact with the author was early in the first decade of this century when he approached me as the then Principal of Tuart College about promoting the College's educational programs to the local Vietnamese community. He had identified that the adult ethos of the institution and its educational programs which were supported by a strong English as a Second Language program would be invaluable to assist local Vietnamese aiming to undertake tertiary education. Due to the author's knowledge of the local Vietnamese community, his enthusiasm and commitment to encouraging local Vietnamese to take up the educational opportunities offered by the College, and the promotional efforts he made, this project was successful both for local Vietnamese and the College.

Buoyed by this success, he then turned his attention to promoting the College to students in Việt Nam who were aspiring to undertake their tertiary education studies in Australia, particularly in Western Australia.

It was on this educationally and commercially successful project that I worked most closely with him over about seven years before I retired in 2010. During this time that I went through a massive learning curve about the Vietnamese educational system, individual schools with whom I developed particular relationships, Vietnamese teachers and their students, the aspirations Vietnamese parents had for their children and the Vietnamese society and its culture. The author's contribution to developing my knowledge base about and the success of the venture in Việt Nam was vital and invaluable.

The author is a man whose life experiences and interests are many and varied, and during the time I have known him I have come to recognise his many admiral character traits.

He has demonstrated that he is a keen and conscientious worker with a lovely sense of humour and with a thoughtful and compassionate nature that expresses itself in his willingness to help people improve their lives and develop their potential as fully as possible.

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: United Buddhist Publisher
• Release date: Mar 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798201804442

Book preview

FOREWORD

I have visited Việt Nam (Vietnam) on more than a dozen occasions, mainly for business but I have also travelled through the country as a tourist. However, my knowledge and understanding of Vietnamese history, society and culture is limited so in no way am I in a position to speak authoritatively on the historical contents or any interpretation of events described in this book, The Legacy of the Vietnamese Boat People. It is written by my colleague and friend Lê Quang Vinh, who with his family are boat people. Much of what I know about Việt Nam has been gleaned from my visits to the country and informed by the author of this book, particularly when I was travelling with him on many of my visits to the country.

Clearly, I am not in a position to provide an informed critique of the contents of this publication so instead I shall focus my comments on certain characteristics, beliefs and behaviours of the author that have driven him to undertake the massive task of producing this book which covers over 4,000 years of Vietnamese history and culture. In this book he gives his own interpretation of the importance of many of the significant events that occurred in the history of Việt Nam, with particular emphasis on the period since 1900. The book provides an even deeper focus on more recent events around the civil war in the country and the political, social, and cultural changes that occurred after the conclusion of hostilities in 1975.

My initial contact with the author was early in the first decade of this century when he approached me as the then Principal of Tuart College about promoting the College’s educational programs to the local Vietnamese community. He had identified that the adult ethos of the institution and its educational programs which were supported by a strong English as a Second Language program would be invaluable to assist local Vietnamese aiming to undertake tertiary education. Due to the author’s knowledge of the local Vietnamese community, his enthusiasm and commitment to encouraging local Vietnamese to take up the educational opportunities offered by the College, and the promotional efforts he made, this project was successful both for local Vietnamese and the College.

Buoyed by this success, he then turned his attention to promoting the College to students in Việt Nam who were aspiring to undertake their tertiary education studies in Australia, particularly in Western Australia.

It was on this educationally and commercially successful project that I worked most closely with him over about seven years before I retired in 2010. During this time that I went through a massive learning curve about the Vietnamese educational system, individual schools with whom I developed particular relationships, Vietnamese teachers and their students, the aspirations Vietnamese parents had for their children and the Vietnamese society and its culture. The author’s contribution to developing my knowledge base about and the success of the venture in Việt Nam was vital and invaluable.

The author is a man whose life experiences and interests are many and varied, and during the time I have known him I have come to recognise his many admiral character traits.

He has demonstrated that he is a keen and conscientious worker with a lovely sense of humour and with a thoughtful and compassionate nature that expresses itself in his willingness to help people improve their lives and develop their potential as fully as possible.

In addition, there is one aspect of his character that has special relevance and significance to the completion of the challenging task of writing this book, namely his love for his country of birth and the society and culture that he experienced in the early years of his life in Việt Nam. This led him to believe that it was essential to write a detailed history of Việt Nam, from his personal point of view and present his interpretation of the evolution of the country into the society it is today. He also had the belief and concern that many young people whose family roots were, and probably to at least some extent, still are, in Việt Nam were losing contact with their ethnic history and culture. He felt that the publication he had in mind would raise individual awareness and interest in their heritage and help them understand the views of many southern Vietnamese, particular The Boat People, who had lived through the turbulent years of the Vietnamese War.

Another of the extremely important reasons the author has written this opus is his belief that many Vietnamese do not have a true or clear understanding of their history, particularly the events of the last 100 years or so. This is particularly the case for many people whose ethnic, and possibly emotional and spiritual connections, are to Việt Nam, but now do not reside in the country, often living in Western, English- speaking countries. Specifically, the author was concerned about the significant numbers of Vietnamese who fled the country after 1975.

Many of these are referred to as ‘The Boat People’, of whom the author is one. He was particularly concerned about the descendants of those who left Việt Nam for other countries and consequently were not born in Việt Nam.

The author has a passionate belief that many Vietnamese, particularly the younger generations, know very little about their ethic country of origin’s long, diverse, and interesting history and culture.

He has expressed concern that this information could largely be forgotten due to the changes in Vietnamese politics, society, and culture since the conclusion of the open conflict in the country in 1975.

As the history of a country that has experienced internal conflict is usually written by the perceived victors, the author feels strongly that he needs to put on record his personal experiences and views of the outcomes of the civil war in which he was on the side of the vanquished. He hopes that his detailed and extensive account will be invaluable to the Vietnamese community, particularly the younger generation and those of Vietnamese origin who now live outside Việt Nam.

People who should read this book are the many Australians of Vietnamese ethnicity and others with similar ethnic backgrounds from other English-speaking countries, as well as people in Việt Nam with suitable English language skills. Those who make the effort to read this challenging and informative publication (and forgive the author’s occasional imperfect use of English, his non-native tongue) will be rewarded with an increased knowledge and understanding of the depth and complexities of Vietnamese history and culture, particularly the momentous events of the last 100 years.

Regardless of readers’ personal views of the material and the interpretations of events described in this book, what should be very apparent to all that read it with an open mind is that the author is a man who loves the country of his birth and is committed to promoting his view of the circumstances and decisions that have created Việt Nam as it is today, some of which he is quite critical of and unhappy about, but a who is man of integrity and honesty who still has an abiding affection for the country of Việt Nam.

John Anderton

November 2022

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated with love to all young Vietnamese generations from now to the future. I hope, through reading this, you will come to appreciate the oppression under Communism that our older generations suffered through lost experiences and over the bones and blood of our ancestors.

It’s the time to forgive, but not forget the past!

After 70 years of Communism in the North of Việt Nam and 47 years they ruled in the South, they brainwashed three generations.

We could not wait for anyone to claim our freedom for us. We fled, not as cowards, but as loving people who wished only a decent world for our children to grow up in.

English General Ian Masshelder wrote: ‘History is not there for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from. And, if it offends you, even better, because you are likely to repeat it. History is not yours to change or destroy.’ With all due respect, please read this book, then read it again. Then teach your children, and grandchildren, about what we lost.

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the following:

•  My Vietnamese predecessors who built up and preserved our nation for more than four thousand years.

•  My parents who looked after and educated me through my life, especially since Communism developed in Việt Nam.

•  Soldiers, both from North and South, who sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy in our beloved Fatherland. Let’s we forget!

Special thanks to:

•  Rev B J Hickey, former Archbishop of Perth,

•  Rev Father Nguyễn Kim Sơn,

•  Rev Father Nguyễn Mộng Huỳnh,

•  Rev Father Đồng Văn Vinh,

•  Rev Father Phạm Quang Hồng,

•  Pastor Lý Văn Quang,

•  Master Buddhist Thích Phước Nhơn,

•  Senator Fred Chaney,

•  Senator John Martyr,

•  Dr Ian Keer,

•  Professor John William of Curtin University,

•  RSL Chief Executive John McCourt,

•  Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas,

•  Master Caodaist Huỳnh Được,

•  Master Hoahaoist Hồ Hữu Phối,

•  President Republic of Vietnamese Veterans Association WA Nguyễn Văn Thanh,

•  President of Vietnamese Community in WA Dr. Nguyễn Anh Dũng,

•  John Anderton, former Principal of Tuart College,

•  Ted and Annet Avery,

•  Sunita and Michael McGowan,

•  Karen and Malcom Anderson,

•  Pauline and Richard Quakernaut,

•  Tom Byers, former Principal of Perth Modern School,

•  John Young, Principal of Girrawheen Senior High School,

•  Lesley and Lynda Brook,

•  Leonine Ryan,

•  Kaye Oates,

•  Chris O’Brien,

•  Natalie Kagi,

•  Karl Powell,

•  Stanley Quinn,

•  All my friends who have supported me since the war and being special friends when I have been in Australia.

My appreciation also goes to:

•  General Trần Quang Khôi, Dr. Đào Bá Ngọc, Dr. Võ Duy Khánh, Dr. Phạm Vĩnh HỘi, Dr. Trần Quốc Đông, Dr. Trần Thanh Nhơn, Dr. Nguyễn Bảo Toàn, Dr. Bùi Trẩn Thường, Dr. Bùi Trọng Cường. Dr. David Sang, Dr. Thuần Nichol, Dr. Nguyễn Đức Tài, Dr. Ching Shuan Tan, Colonel Trần Công Liễu, Colonel Nguyễn Thành Chuẩn, Colonel Võ Đại Tôn, Colonel Vũ Ngọc Hướng, Lieutenant Colonel Lê Văn Ngôn, Major Vương Mộng Long, Major Đinh Văn Đoan, Major Nguyễn Ngọc Bảo, Captain Lê Thanh Tùng, Captain Nguyễn Thành Bá, Diplomat Lưu Tường Quan, Journalist Ngọc Hân, Kiều Hà, Trần Công Hoàn, Lê Minh, Mỹ Ngọc Huỳuh, Nguyễn Hiệp. Đào Xuân Rơi, Quan Văn Cẩn, Hứa Như Sơn, Sáu Bảo, Tuấn Phượng, Trần Hữu Tâm, Văn Công Chấn, Nghĩa Đinh, Trần Văn Tuyền, Nguyệt Phạm, Mai Vân Huỳnh, Thảo Võ, Quang Nga, Đức Hạnh, Tâm Dung, Venessa Nguyễn and former students of Perth Modern School and Central Perth Institute of Technology.

And to my dear friends who kindly allowed me to interview them for this book:

•  Counselor Hugh Nguyễn, Trần Thàng Công, Nguyễn Hữu Đức, Trần Bá Nhân, Dương Long Đức, Trương Văn Thiệt, Nguyễn Thành Báu, Trần Lâm Trang Tâm, Nguyễn Văn Sữu, Nguyễn Phi Phong, Phạm Văn Duật, Phạm Hữu Liêm, Nguyễn Thành Thoả Nhiên, Mị Nguyễn, Trần Văn Sinh, Lê Văn Tân, Phan Văn Vinh, Nguyễn Văn Điền, Lê Đình Quý, Nguyễn Văn Thiện, Trần Văn Liên, Trần Bá Phúc, Bùi Tá Trinh.

My love to my relatives:

•  Lê Phương Mai, Lê Quang Kiệt, Lê Hữu Hoàng, Lê Văn Muôn, Lê Văn Ban, Xum and David Brooks. Wherever you live, my heart is always with you.

Lastly, a really big thank to journalists Norman Aisbett and David Tanner (without whose support the book would never been published) and my editors Peter and Sophie Ramshaw.

A special thanks to my partner and her relatives for always encouraging me to finish the book and to my children:

•  Lê Quang Trung, Lê Mỹ Dzung, Lê Vinh Quang and their families for their love, support and understanding, I love you all from the bottom of my heart.

Finally, I want to say thanks to so many of my friends who have enriched my life, but whom I may have not mentioned here by name.

The reason is that you are living in Việt Nam. However, I hold you all in my heart with great love and gratitude.

I am eternally grateful to you all.

Lê Quang Vinh November 2022 INTRODUCTION Famous Vietnamese scholar, poet, and teacher, Nguyễn Khuyến, was born in Yên Đổ village on the 15th of February 1835 in Hà Nam Province and studied to become a mandarin (the governing class of Việt Nam).

Although he was intelligent and knowledgeable, he did not initially fare well in his examinations (as tutored by Phạm Văn Nghị).

Nevertheless, in 1864 Nguyễn Khuyến passed the Cử Nhân (bachelor degree) at first rate.

But a year later, he failed his doctorate examination. Devastated but undeterred, he journeyed to Hà Nội to study at Quốc Tử Giám (the National University) where he passed the Hội Nguyên degree and the Đình Nguyên degree after just one year’s study (1871). This was an extraordinary accomplishment at the time, rarely seen throughout history, so he was offered an honourable name: Tam Nguyên Yên Đổ (Yên Đổ’s village first-rate graduate in Three Degrees).

After graduating, he was appointed a mandarin in the age of the French invasions.

History unfolded like the thesis he wrote in his Doctorate examination years before: ‘As a carriage does not go forward, because the horses do not want to pull, the political situation does not improve when the people do not want it to. Are there no talents in life? It is not completely untrue.’ When the patriotic movement ‘Needs the King’ was extinguished and his dream of Trị Quốc, Bình Thiên Hạ (‘Leadership of the country, Pacifying the world’) was not recognised, he comprehended his powerlessness to change conditions in the country and became deeply aware of the decline of Vietnamese feudalism, becoming one of the first Vietnamese people to criticise the system as conservative and unrealistic.

In 1884, Nguyễn Khuyến withdrew from public life and moved back to his hometown where he supported the Vietnamese resistance against the French invaders. There he found peace in his soul through a simple and tranquil life in the countryside.

In his later life, the more adversity he met, the more talented he became in his writings. He was the nexus between classical and modern Vietnamese literature. He was both a prominent lyric poet and an outstanding satirical one, reaching the peak of Nôm letters literature (which are different from Chinese characters) and was the first Vietnamese poet to express opinions about current matters in classical poems.

Among his best poems is a group of three poems about Autumn: Fishing in Autumn, Drinking in Autumn, and Versing on Autumn but his most famous was Listen to a National Bird Crying which expresses the sadness and loneliness of the person who has lost a nation.

It is, therefore, the perfect introduction to this book, The Legacy of The Vietnamese Boat People.

NGHE QUỐC KÊU

Khắc khoải sầu đưa giọng lửng lơ,

Ấy hồn Thục Đế thác bao giờ.

Năm canh máu chảy đêm hè vắng,

Sáu khắc hồn tan bóng nguyệt mờ.

Có phải tiếc xuân mà đứng gọi,

Hay là nhớ nước vẫn nằm mơ?

Thâu đêm ròng rã kêu ai đó?

Giục khách giang hồ dạ ngẩn ngơ!

In English, this roughly translates as:

LISTEN TO A NATIONAL BIRD CRYING

[I hear] The melancholy of sadly depressed, dandled crying.

Is it Thục Đế’s long-passed soul? Overnight summer was crying until the blood [began] leaking, Full day his soul harmony in the moon ethereal.

You are sorry to grudge spring and crying, Are you dreaming an evoke font remembering country?

Whole night crying someone without uninterrupted?

Hasten a Knight Errant’s heart, thoughts astounded!

[Chinese legend held that Thục Đế was the King of Thục’s country. One day, barbarians from Mongolia swarmed in and destroyed his Kingdom. He was killed and his soul turned into a bird. Every summer the bird/ Thục Đế laments: ‘My nation, my nation!...’] This poem, taught in Year Ten throughout the South Vietnamese Education system, influenced my own life from the time I began studying at Nguyễn Đình Chiểu High School in Mỹ Tho.

Early Việt Nam

Before recorded history (somewhere in the Bronze Age), Vietnamese people lived in an ancient conglomeration of Việt tribes in what is, today, Guangxi in Southern China and the lowland plains of Northern Việt Nam (particularly the marshy, areas of the Red River Delta).

Feudalism began in around 1028 when the first King (Lý Thái Tổ) focused on the elevation of ancient Vietnamese culture to a new level. The first Dynasty established a basic money monetary system to facilitate the development of Dynasties to come.

In addition, all aspects of culture (such as religious activities, beliefs, literature, arts, and folk festivals) were promoted and nurtured.

At the same time, the first signs of Confucian ideology appeared in the Lý Dynasty. The ‘rule of law’ became more important. The main ideology of Laws at the time was expressed in two main concepts: the role of the people and the virtue of the King (who represented the virtue of the people). These ideologies influenced the imported brand of Chinese Confucianism and determined the social relationships that everyone must follow. These were noble goals. However, the feudal monarchy is hereditary and, inevitably some King’s children were not of such good virtue, and they proved, instead, to be brutal characters wo destroyed the culture and depraved their ancestors’ Kingdoms.

The French colonialism of Việt Nam lasted more than six decades. The decision to invade was made by Napoleon III in July 1857. Although Catholic missionaries had been active in the country for some time, after 1850 there began an upsurge in French capitalism at home. This generated the need for overseas markets and, consequently, the desire for a large French share of the Asian territories conquered by the West. By the late 1880s, Việt Nam, Laos and Cambodia were all controlled by France, collectively referred to as French Indochina.

But few occupations that far from home last forever.

In 1941, disaffected Vietnamese formed a broad nationalist alliance called ‘The League for the Independence of Việt Nam’ (which subsequently became known as ‘The Việt Minh’). This movement grew along with opposition to the occupying forces and violence began.

In May 1954, the French were shaken by the fall of their garrison at Điện Biên Phủ and agreed to negotiate an end to the war at an international conference in Geneva. However, under the terms of these Geneva Accords (1954), an ideological war between Communism and Freedom appeared in Việt Nam to fill the vacuum left by the French- Vietnamese conflict. A young Democratic society had been developed in the South under the leadership of Ngô Đình Diệm while, in the North, under the dictatorship and totalitarianism of Hồ Chí Minh, Communism reigned. Under the Accord, both North and South were to exist for two years as temporary transitional states. However, both had already begun to develop separate national entities. The divisions between North and South Việt Nam widened, reducing the likelihood of peaceful reunification or free elections to determine any future reunification.

The bigger and more aggressive Communist north continued to conduct guerrilla activity in the southern provinces.

Thousands of Communist Việt Minh agents and guerrilla soldiers, acting on orders from Hà Nội, ignored the migration amnesty of 1954-1955 and remained underground in South Việt Nam. Hồ Chí Minh in the North, who doubted the 1956 elections would take place, secretly organised underground activities in the south occupied zones. By the early 1960s, he had organised the Southern Liberation Movement Guerrillas (Việt Cộng) uprising in Bến Tre. Hồ Chí Minh ordered the beheading all of local landlords under the banner: ‘Dig to the root. Uproot the landlords, petty bourgeois, and southern government.’ In addition to the landlord assassination atrocities, Communist guerrillas ambushed local soldiers and officials, sabotaged the roads, destroyed bridges and sewers, and infiltrated religion at all levels.

Students called for protests against these abominations against the Republic South Vietnamese government. Fearing the spread of communism through these guerrilla and gruesome means, the United States began providing increasing levels of support to South Việt Nam.

By 1965, large numbers of American ‘peacekeeping’ troops were arriving and, inevitably, the fighting escalated into a major conflict which raged through the South for twenty years.

The Fall of Sài Gòn occurred on the April 30, 1975, a day the South Vietnamese called, alternately, ‘the day we lost the country’, Black April or the National Day of Resentment. The Communists renamed the city after Hồ Chí Minh and, from that day, all schools were closed and replaced by temporary prisons.

One million South Vietnamese soldiers and officials were captured and put in these so-called ‘Reduction Camps’, the numbers of which grew extensively through the South, Central and Northern regions.

An ‘Iron Curtain’ fell on Việt Nam and many tragedies were inflicted on the local people. For example, the Communists set up ‘New Economic Zones’ in which they confiscated all houses from officials of any level of the old government administration. They decreed that ‘wealthy businesspeople’ must move into jungle or the empty swamp areas if they were to build new homes!

Southern Vietnamese were discriminated against both in the North and the South. The Northern Communist Politburo added to its policy oppression through warlords and landlords by introducing the even harsher disciplines of Stalinism.

Once communist rule has been fully established, no elections were allowed, no freedom of speech remained... and the country was completely ruled under a true Communist Totalitarian Dictatorship.

Life like this was intolerable for many. Since that Iron Curtin covered the whole of Việt Nam, a tsunami of refugees began leaving Việt Nam any way they could. Most decided they would rather die in the sea than live under such Communist oppression.

A Vietnamese Communist journalist, who studied at Harvard University, wrote: ‘Trương Huy San was a thirteen-year-old boy wrestling playfully with a friend on a hillside in the North Việt Nam on the April 30, 1975, when his village loudspeakers announced triumphantly that Sài Gòn had been ‘liberated’.

‘According to what we had been taught at school,’ Trương Huy San wrote long afterwards in his book The Winning Side, ‘this would be the end of two decades of misery for South Việt Nam. I thought: We must quickly set about educating its misguided children.’ However, in 2012 that same journalist observed: ‘Many people who have carefully reviewed the past... are stunned when they realise that it feels like the side that was really liberated was the North. South Việt Nam has proved the historic victor, because its values increasingly dominated the entire country.’ My own study of the history of Việt Nam tells a very different story. This book has been written to set the record straight.

I believe we must help the young Vietnamese generations (and foreigners) to have some general understanding of its true history, and just why there are Vietnamese refugees spreading around the world. We are on this journey together and, to find out why, we must delve into the history, culture and trauma of the pitiful situation which befell the once-beautiful Việt Nam.

A helicopter evacuating people from Sài Gòn

GLIMPSES OF VIỆT NAM HISTORY

The history of Việt Nam can be traced back more than 4,000 years. Archaeologists’ findings in 1965 show the remains of two hominids closely related to Sinanthropus, dating as far back as the Middle Pleistocene era, roughly half a million years ago.

Pre historic Việt Nam was home to some of the world’s earliest civilisations and societies, making them one of the world’s first people to practice agriculture. The Red River (Sông Hồng) valley forms a natural geographic and economic unit, bounded to the north and west by mountains and jungles, to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng Sông Hồng).

The need to have a single authority to prevent floods of the Red River, to cooperate in constructing hydraulic systems, trade exchanges and to fight invaders, led to the creation of the first mythological Việt Nam country in approximately 2879 BC. (However, archaeologists suggest the Đông Sơn Culture (Văn Hoá Đông Sơn) was founded in Northern Việt Nam, Guangxi (Quảng Tây) and Laos around 700 BC.) Việt Nam’s peculiar geography made it a difficult country for an enemy to attack, which is why Việt Nam, under the eighteen Kingdoms of Hùng Vương was, for so long an independent and self- contained country.

Once, however, Việt Nam succumbed to Chinese’s rule, for more than 1,000 years it was successively governed by a series of Chinese Dynasties: The Western Hán, Xin, Eastern Hán, Eastern Wu, Western Jin, Western Jin, Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang, Sui, Tang, Wu Zhou and Southern Hán.

During this miellenuium there were many uprisings against Chinese domination and, at certain stages Việt Nam was independently governed under Triệu Đà and his children’s generations. Trưng Trắc, Trưng Nhị, Triệu Thị Trinh, Early Lý, Khúc Hạo, Khúc Thừa Mỹ, and Dương Đình Nghệ, fermented uprisings although their triumph and reigns were temporary. During the Chinese domination of Northern Việt Nam, several civilisations flourished in, what is today, central and south Việt Nam.

From the 10th century onwards, Vietnamese people emerged in their heartland of the Red River Delta and began to settle down and develop their civilisation. When Ngô Quyền (the first king defeated the Southern Chinese Hán in 938) sovereign power was restored in the country.

The next millennium was advanced by the accomplishment of successive Dynasties: Ngôs, Đinhs, Early Lês, Lýs, Trầns, Hồs, Later Trầns, Later Lês, Mạcs, Trịnhs, Nguyễn, Tây Sơns and again Nguyễns. At various points during these imperial dynasties, Việt Nam was ravaged and divided by civil wars and witnessed interventions by the Chinese Dynasties: Song, Yuan, Cham, Minh,[1] Siamese, Qing, and also the French.[2]

Following the Second World War, Việt Nam also fell under Japanese occupation. Political upheaval and Communist insurrection put an end to the monarchy and the country was divided into two parts: the 17th Parallel to the North belonged to Communism, with a leader called Hồ Chí Minh; the 17th Parallel to the South was a Republic, and the leader was Ngô Đình Diệm. This period was the most devastating to the infrastructures of Việt Nam’s society, culture, religion and education system!

A NOTE ABOUT NONCLEMENTURE

Việt Nam: Came from the King Gia Long and was changed from the two names of An Nam and Việt Thường, until finally it changed to Việt Nam in 1805, with two toponyms mentioned in ancient Chinese records where located in northern and southern Việt Nam respectively, to symbolised the reunification of the country. It’s a compound noun of two separate words with tone marks over or under the main vowel: Việt is the name of a group from the original hominid tribes in China. Nam is the South. Therefore, the correct Vietnamese way of using the name of the country is Việt Nam. I will not use the western use of Vietnam because I would like Westerners to understand the Vietnamese culture. You will find the reason that Việt Nam’s name was changed to many different names over time throughout this book.

Names: Vietnamese’s culture puts their Surnames first, then the Middle name and finally the given name is at the end (the opposite to Anglicized names). People used to call each other by their given name. Example: My full name in Vietnamese is ; but Vietnamese people called me Vinh or Mr. Vinh. In this book you will find a lot of Vietnamese names that may be confusing for you to remember them all. However, I hope that the second generation or later many more generations who are living overseas will find out about their history and culture that are related to these events in time and space.

NATURAL GEOGRAPHY OF VIỆT NAM

Việt Nam is located in South East Asia. The north borders three Provinces of China: Yunnan (Vân Nam), Guangzhou (Quảng Đông) and Guanxi (Quảng Tây). The west borders Laos and Kampuchea. To the East is The Pacific Ocean with the Sparely Islands. To the South is the southern Pacific Ocean looking towards Malaysia.

Việt Nam is shaped like the letter S. It’s narrow in, the middle and larger at the top and the bottom. The area is about 312,000 square kilometres. In 2021 population in Việt Nam was about 98 million. After 30th April 1975, when the Communists took over the South, large numbers of refugees (about 2 million) escaped from the mainland and settled around the world; mainly living in America, Canada, England, France, Australia, and New Zealand.

The highest mountain, Hoàng Liên Sơn (3,141metres), is in the North. The lowland of the Red River has rich fertile soil and its many tributaries supply the rice fields and provide good fishing for people who live along the river banks.

The Centre of Việt Nam is narrow. The Trường Sơn mountain range joins the North and South and provides a border with Laos. In the centre, the narrow Territory is too arid for agriculture and people make a living by fishing along the coast and going into the forest to hunt for food and chop wood to build tree houses.

The weather during the Monsoon season causes storms and floods every year!

The South has the Mekong’s Delta with nine tributaries draining into the Pacific Ocean. There are four main Rivers: the Tiền Giang, the Hậu Giang, the Vàm Cỏ and the Đồng Nai. These Rivers make the Mekong’s Delta very rich and fertile for the many large rice fields, coconut plantations, orchards, and other agriculture and fresh fisheries. Life is easier for the South Vietnamese compared with other parts of Việt Nam.

Việt Nam is hot and humid due to its tropical climate. That said, the weather differs between the North and the South. The North has four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. While in the South from Đà Nẵng the climate has two: six months of sunshine and six months of rain (much like Northern Australia’s ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ seasons)! In June and July storms, with heavy rain and water from the mountains to the delta plain, sometimes may destroy the rice fields and demolish many Dikes, damaging property and people throughout the Centuries when Science and Technology were not developed to deal with this. Therefore, from the stone ages, the Vietnamese people have fought empty handed against nature with big challenges and incredible situations.

In the highlands of the North, there are many Ethnics groups like the: Thượng, Thái, Thổ, Mường, Mán, Mèo, Nùng, Yao, and Lô Lô. Ethnic groups in the highlands of Central of Việt Nam (the Monta guards) mainly belong to two ethic families (Astronesia – Highland Charmic and Austroasiatic – Baharnic). The largest groups are the Tày, Thái, Mường, Yao, Khmer and Nùng.

Each of these populations contains about 1 million people though some are much smaller, with the Bran, Koman, and Odu having only a few hundred members each.

The jungle of the South is home to the Mọi, Chàm.

In the city Indian, Chinese, and Cambodians live together in relative harmony.

CHAPTER 1. THE BEGINNING: VIỆT NAM’S GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY VIETNAMESE PEOPLE

Vietnamese people have yellow skin. Peasants, working hard in the rice field, and fishermen tend have darker skin. As you’d expect, people working in an office have a lighter skin colouring. Vietnamese are not tall, averaging from 150m-170m. They have prominent bone structured faces, with a wise forehead, black hair and eyes, flat noses, and often, especially in the North, have protruding teeth. Their bodies are slender and solid. The women are slim and have soft manners.

Vietnamese men’s dress in the stone age was a long black dress for worshipping at Temples, Weddings and Funerals. The peasant people wore shorts and a brown or black shirt suitable for working in the rice fields. They used bark to weave clothes, and knew how to make weapons in bronze, tin knifes, swords, and bells. Archaeologists found, in Chiết Giang Province, the helmet of General Phạm Lãi used during the battle against Ngô Phù Sai around 333BC.

Vietnamese women leave their hair long and tie it in a knot behind their head. Everyone used to chew betel and Areca- nuts. They wore black or brown long dresses to go to the market or to businesses. They have very good virtues and they work hard in the rice fields making sacrifices for the lives of their children and husbands.

The majority of Vietnamese are smart, skilful in handicrafts, love literature, and are very polite and hospitable. The peasant people are industrious, brave and strongly self-disciplined. They always remember who their benefactors are.

However, like most cultures, a few Vietnamese have some very bad characteristics like: superficial knowledge, gambling, worshiping statues, drinking too much, and believing in ghosts. Currently people living along the coasts and next to the mouth of rivers build many little chapels for annual ceremonies to worship Whales. They believe that Whales protect them while they are fishing in the Ocean. Spoken Languages have slightly different intonations from the North, Middle and South but the people can understand each other very well. Việt Nam societies in the Feudal Regime had five levels: Scholars , Farmers, Workman, Business, and Soldiers. They respected each other and worked harmoniously in the society.

THE ORIGINS OF VIETNAMESE

French Archaeologists believe that the origin of the Vietnamese people occurred a long time ago in the Stone ages, before the disciplines of Science, Anthropology, History and Geography were developed! The Nation itself was probably established more than 4000 years ago. History has shown that Vietnamese life was first established in the Middle of China, next to the Yang-see River and that they moved to the Mekong’s Delta of today.

Mr. Leonard Aurouseau discovered that the Vietnamese belonged to Việt’s Ethnic group (Xuân Thu) in China. During the rein of King Câu Tiễn (The end of The Six Century BC) the capital was the Citadel Thiệu Hưng, Chiết Giang today. In the year 333 BC the Sở’s King defeated the Vietnamese, then the Vietnamese moved to the South and separated into different branches:

• Đông Âu was located South of Chiết Giang

• Mân Việt was located in Phúc Kiến Province

• Nam Việt was located in Quảng Đông and the North of Quảng Tây

• Lạc Việt was located South of Quảng Tây, the North of Việt Nam today.

GIAO CHỈ AND VIỆT THƯỜNG

A scholar, Đào Duy Anh, carried out scientific research during the first establishment of China. He found that the Chinese lived North of the Yellow River and Vị Thuỷ River. Meanwhile, in the South of the Yang See River, a different ethnic group called Man-Di lived next to the riverbank, the Damp, the Động Đình Lake. They lived by fishing, diving into the river and hunting for food. They believed the river had a strange big fish called Giao Long that might kill them. Therefore, they tattooed their bodies with the same pictures of Giao Long in the hope Giao Long would think they were the same species and so he would not kill them.

The Chinese called the people living in the Giao Chỉ area Man Di meaning ‘Backward People’ because the people worshiped a Strange Fish. They built wooden houses on high bamboo stilts. They lived next marshes, rivers, and mountain falls. The end of the Chu Dynasty (one of the first Chinese Nations) a nation called Việt Thường King’s envoy to Chu Thành Vương offered pink Flamingo Birds. Archaeologists have discovered many Flamingos printed on the face of a Bronze Drum.

The Việt Thường Nation began to disintegrate when Sở Country developed in Hồ Nam and Hồ Bắc Province today. It belongs to the Chinese historian Vũ Cống. Việt Thường and Giao Chỉ are Việt Ethnic groups that lived along the Yangtze River from Tứ Xuyên Province through to the eastern Pacific Ocean of China.

BÁCH VIỆT PEOPLE

In pre-Chinese history in the Chu Dynasty there were the Bách Việt who were living spread out from Yangtze River to the south of China. This group had the following legend story of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ: Once upon a time a King named Lạc Long Quân took his troops to patrol in the South of China. One afternoon he ordered his troops to rest next to Động Đình Lake close to the Yangtze River. That evening he saw an Angel appear, her name was Âu Cơ. They fell in love and decided to live together. After a while Âu Cơ became pregnant and gave birth to a huge egg that hatched one hundred boys! When the children grew up the country had many wars with the Han’s Dynasty, who invaded and tried to assimilate with the Vietnamese at that time! The King Lạc Long Quân told his wife: ‘I belong to the King of Ocean. You are the Angel and live in the high mountain. The war is getting worse. The best way to protect our children is if for me to take 50 children down to the south next to Pacific Ocean. You have to take 50 children up to mountains to escape the barbarous Han’ Dynasty.’ They separated in tears. From that time, they were very proud parents to the Dragon and the Angel children.

Especially, they used the term of expressing: Đồng Bào to show the same Egg of Ethics the same fellow citizens; compatriot.

In the Stone Ages the Bách Việt had many tribes: Đông Việt, Mân Việt, Nam Việt, Tây Việt and Lạc Việt. They were from the same Ethnic group and united they were called Bách Việt (Bách in Chinese means a hundred Việt groups). It could be the 100 children born from the same Egg? They developed farms to raise pigs, poultry, cow, and goats. They also produced oxs’ horns, elephants’ tusks, ivory, pearls, precious stones, silver, and bronze.

By the end of the Sixth Century, the Ngô Dynasty King Hạp Lư was angry that the King of Việt country, Doãn Thường, had not sent his troops to fight Sở country. Hạp Lư defeated Doãn Thường in Tuy Lý (Gia Hưng Province). When Doãn Thường died, his son Câu Tiễn gathered his troops to take revenge for his father. Câu Tiễn killed Hạp Lư. Hạp Lư’s nephew Phù Sai also wanted revenge and so he destroyed the Việt Nation. Câu Tiễn was captured and became a slave for the Phù Sai Kingdom. Câu Tiễn swallowed this bitter pill. He ate the leek, endured all indignities and used a women’s expedient Tây Thi, a most beautiful girl, offered to Phù Sai and waited for the day to defeat Phù Sai. Câu Tiễn had two great Scholars and Generals, Phạm Lãi and Văn Chủng who supported and destroyed the Ngô Nation. Câu Tiễn announced a great Emperor in Hoài Nam in the year 402 BC. Câu Tiễn’s children and grandchildren governed for 600 years then the Sở Nation occupied Việt and assimilated their cultures, language and abolished Việt’s history!

NAM VIỆT COUNTRY

This Việt group moved to the south of China. Nam means South. The Ch’in (Tần Thuỷ Hoàng) Qin (221-206BC) Chinese Dynasty defeated all the other leaders in China and united his Kingdom. During this period The Ch’in Qin Dynasty was very strong and asked their General Triệu Đà to invade the Nam Việt.

An Dương Vương chose Phong Khê as the place for his capital. He ordered his soldiers to build a strong Citadel made of soil and mud. However, when the monsoon season arrived the Citadel had fallen down. The King was very sad and one day he asked his advisers to build an altar next to the Pacific Ocean so he could pray to Heaven to bless him and protect his Kingdom and people so they could live in peace. On that day a Big Holy Turtle appeared and told An Dương Vương: ‘You must build a large, fortified Citadel in the shape of a shellfish and call it Cổ Loa. You must dig very deep moats and dikes around the Citadel and plant bamboo around the Citadel and moats to provide a strong foundation and to prevent water erosion. Only this strategy will protect your Kingdom. Then the Holy Turtle took one of his claws and gave it to An Dương Vương to make a Holy Cross-Bow. When the enemy attacks you must use the bow to shoot them, no one will be able to invade your Citadel’.

After that the Holy Turtle slowly dived into the Ocean.

The King asked General Cao Lỗ to make a Holy Cross-Bow exactly as the Holy Turtle advised. Since that time Vietnamese lived peacefully.

Triệu Đà attacked many times, but he couldn’t defeat An Dương Vương. He thought of using tricks to try to make peace with An Dương Vương. He asked his son Trọng Thuỷ to take precious stones, pearl and gems and offer them to An Dương Vương to propose a cease fire. In the mean time Trọng Thuỷ met and fell in love with Princess Mỵ Châu and he asked for her hand in marriage. The King An Dương Vương was so happy to see the country had peace and the two countries become agreeable. Trọng Thuỷ and Mỵ Châu were in love and they lived happy together in Âu Lạc. Trọng Thuỷ stayed in Âu Lạc with Mỵ Châu who loved him dearly. One day he asked the Princess: ‘I heard that our father has a Holy Cross Bow, it’s interesting this magic weapon! Could you show me this Holy Cross Bow?’ Mỵ Châu did not agree and told him: ‘The King keeps it in a very secret temple. No one is allowed to go near there. We do not have permission to go there. If we disobey the King he will execute us!’ Trọng Thuỷ tried to persuade her. ‘We love each other with deep felt sentiments, but do you not trust me?’ He pretended to resent her lack of trust and expressed feelings of humiliation. She, worried that her husband was angry and getting sick, so she said: ‘One dark night I will take you to the Temple.’ Trọng Thuỷ smiled and laughed. They were again happy together.

One night as she promised, Mỵ Châu took Trọng Thuỷ to the secret Temple and showed him the Holy Cross Bow. Trọng Thuỷ held the Cross Bow looked at it carefully and was full of admiration. After that time, Trọng Thuỷ secretly made a fake Cross Bow which he substituted for the genuine Holy Cross Bow!

One day Triệu Đà’s envoy ambassador arrived and said that Triệu Đà was very sick and he needed to see his son Trọng Thuỷ before he passed away!

Trọng Thuỷ took the Holy Cross Bow with him saying to Mỵ Châu as he left: ‘While I am away, whatever happens to you, take this Brocade court rope made of white Swan Feathers, extract the feathers and mark your way. I will follow these tracks and find you! They separated with sorrow and tears!’ Triệu Đà was so happy to see Trọng Thuỷ back with the Holy Cross Bow. He secretly organised his troops to invade Âu Lạc. On the day Trọng Thuỷ took his soldiers inside Loa Thành, An Dương Vương asked Mỵ Châu to ride with him on the back of his horse. They rode to Mộ Dạ mountain next to the Ocean. He stopped and remembered the Holy Cross Bow. He looked at the Heaven and lamented: ‘Prostrate Holy God! I have done nothing wrong. Why does the enemy always try to destroy our people and Kingdom?’ Suddenly, The Holy Turtle appeared and told him: ‘The enemy is at your back.’ The King looked back and saw that Mỵ Châu was spreading the white feathers to mark the way. Enemy were roaring nearby! The King was angry that his daughter Mỵ Châu had betrayed him. He drew his sword and executed her by cutting off her head. The King rode away to Mộ Dạ mountain next to Pacific Ocean and drowned himself in the sea. Trọng Thuỷ arrived too late and found Mỵ Châu’s dead body, he burst out crying with his heart rending! He decided to end his own life and with Mỵ Châu body he jumped into the well at Cổ Loa Citadel.

Today the Monument of An Dương Vương and Trọng Thuỷ Well is in Cổ Loa Village, Đông Anh District, about 30klm from Hà Nội. From that time Vietnamese worshiped the Holy Turtle called ‘Thần Kim Qui’. General Triệu Đà defeated An Dương Vương, occupied Nam Việt and declared that he was the Emperor of Hán Việt which means Chinese Vietnamese. After the Việt people were suppressed by Triệu Đà, a small group like U-Việt ran to Quảng Đông, Quảng Tây, Phúc Kiến and gathered with the same Ethnic Mân Việt and Đông Âu. The aristocracy formed Tribes and declared a chieftain of the Vietnamese which then spread to Chiết Giang Province to the South East of China. They formed tribes and started to govern like a Feudal Society.

LẠC VIỆT COUNTRY

Scholar Đào Duy Anh and French archaeologist L. Aurousseau found out that a group of Vietnamese during that time thought they belonged to the spirit of Flamingo Birds that migrate to the South when Winter arrives; when Summer returned they flew back to return to their old nests.

They named their Ethnic group Lạc Việt (Pink Flamingos Việt). They placed Flamingo feathers in front of their heads and around their bodies. Today we can see on the Bronze Drums Ngọc Lũ, that the archeologists dug up in Đông Sơn, the printed Flamingo Birds around the face of the Drum. The Lạc Việt lived in the South of China next to the Nhị Hà and Mã Rivers and they were fishermen and rice field farmers.

Through years of the Hán suppression, the Lạc Việt moved to what is now Northern Việt Nam. The Lạc Việt are the bravest ethnic group, and they still keep their culture and language and have not assimilated with the Chinese. The history of the Hồng Bàng Dynasty was formed in the North of Việt Nam nearly 30 Centuries BC. The King Hùng Vương established for 18th Kings from father to son, hereditariness. Today there is a Monument and vestiges remains at Cổ Tích hamlet, Hy Cương Village, Việt Trì District and Phú Thọ Province.

VIETNAMESE’S LIFE IN ANCIENT TIMES

In ancient times people were illiterate, there was a lack of books and written languages. We could imagine life was very difficult, people had to live in caves. They lived as groups with wild animals in the jungles. They used leaves to cover their bodies and made tree houses. They ate fresh meat because they did not know how to make fire, they moved from place to places like nomadic shepherds. Daily they had to fight the wild animals and reptiles. They thought that man was too little and weak in the mysteries of the universe, and they entrusted their lives to the Holy Spirits. They follow Animism, the waterfalls, big tree branches fell down, tornadoes, stones falling down, Tsunami or tigers roaring at nights.

They thought that this is a phenomena of the Holy Spirit punishing people for their immoral actions and not obeying the heavens. They believed in thunderbolts, rain spirits, wind spirits, river spirits, soil spirits, water spirits and mountain spirits. These customs and superstitions are still worshiped in some remote areas today!

The time has gone from backwards living in caves to stones ages where they knew how to make stone blades for farming. They found out how to use the damp marsh to cultivate rice, vegetables and to breed pigs and poultry. They started forming little tribes, at home they followed the ways handed down from their ancestors, and in small communities the respected head of a tribe or chieftain had absolute authority. From the beginning of this time there is historical evidence that influences marriage and the current way of life.

In the olden day there were two twin brothers with the surname Cao. Their parents passed away and the brothers looked after each other, as their parents had left a block of land to them in their will.

One day, when the two brothers were mature the older brother married a beautiful girl in the village. One day both brothers were working in the fields when the older brother asked the younger one to go home to get water for them to drink. When the 5 younger brother got there, his sister-in-law mistook him for his brother and hugged him to welcome him home. The younger brother was so embarrassed and guilty that he decided to run away in shame. When he arrived at a small waterfall, he was exhausted and lay down to die beside the riverbank and his body turned into limestone. The older brother waited for him for months but the younger brother did not come home and so he diced to go and find the other. He came to the waterfall where his brother had lain and saw his body. He too was ashamed of what had happened, and he could not go home either, so he too died next to his brother and his body turned into a betel nut tree. The wife waited without any news of the two but eventually ventured out to find them. When she arrived at the waterfall she was dismayed and vowed to stay there with them until she too died, and her body turned into a betel nut creeper. Many years passed and people found a betel nut creeper growing around a high palm tree above a limestone outcrop. They took the petal nut leaves, chewed them, mixed them with high palm nuts and limestone to make a red powder like lipstick. They thought this symbolised royalty and from that day, during wedding times the groom’s family members have to bring these things to the bride’s family to celebrate.

The marriage was arranged by grandparents or parents, the children had no choices at all! They believed the dead have their souls and that they follow and protect the children, who are still alive. Therefore, children must worship their grandparents and parents when they pass away. That is the reason when you visit some Vietnamese families, you can see an altar for worshiping grandparents and parents in the middle of the house.

The French archaeologist G. Coedes wrote in Les civilisations de L’Indochine that: ‘Vietnamese were not influenced by Chinese Customs, however before the Chinese assimilated in the second Century BC. Vietnamese were influenced by Austrian- Asiantique customs, meaning India and Indonesia. Therefore, they worshiped in the family Community Temples of each village and each town. The Chinese did not have this Custom. The Vietnamese learnt from different Customs and kept their own characters and local civilisation.’

HỒNG BÀNG DYNASTY - 18 KINGS OF HÙNG VƯƠNG 2879 - 258 BC

The name Hùng Vương is a combination of the two Hùng, which means ‘Brave’ and Vương means ‘King’. The Hùng Vương was allegedly the head chieftain of Văn Lang/Âu Lạc which at the time was composed of feudal communities of Rice Cultures. According to the Hùng Kings they belonged to the Hồng Bàng Dynasty, that ruled over the northern part of Việt Nam in antiquity.

The earliest references to the Hùng Vương Kings are found in early collections of myths and legends. The first known reference is purportedly found in a story called Tale of Mountain Spirit and Water Spirit in 1329 Việt Điện U Linh Tập (Collection of legends and biographies of heroes and founding spirits) compiled by Lý Tế Xuyên, where the Hùng Vương Kings was merged rulers.

The next appearance is in the fourteenth fifteen century Lĩnh Nam Chích Quái (Arrayed Tales of Selected from South of Passes), a collection of myths and legends compiled by various authors.

Mr. Từ Nguyên Hoàng Thúc Trâm analysed two words of Hồng and Bàng:

Hồng means ‘Hồng Hạc’ the name of Pink Flamingos, these birds migrate very far away from their Birthplace in the Winter, but they always return to their Birthplace when Summer arrives. They have complex senses that enable them to navigate and change directions during flight.

Bàng means full, huge but not united. Hồng Bàng was the Ethnic Tribe belonging to Kinh Dương Vương and his son Lạc Long Quân who reigned during the above years. Lạc Long Quân married Âu Cơ. If we take the two words of Âu and Lạc:

• Âu: A surname of the Angel Âu Cơ and also a name of the river in Zhejiang (Chiết Giang) Province, today in China called Âu Giang.

• Lạc: A surname of the King Lạc Long Quân.

In the Ninth Century, the Âu Lạc Dynasty or Hồng Bàng was in power. The aristocracy family produced 18 Kings of Hồng Bàng to rule the country. The following are the names of these Kings:

1.Kinh Dương Vương

2.Lạc Long Quân

3.Hùng Quốc Vương

4.Hùng Việt Vương

5.Hùng Hi Vương

6.Hùng Huy Vương

7.Hùng Chiêu Vương

8.Hùng Vị Vương

9.Hùng Định Vương

10.Hùng Uy Vương

11.Hùng Trinh Vương

12.Hùng Vũ Vương

13.Hùng Việt Vương

14.Hùng Anh Vương

15.Hùng Triều Vương

16.Hùng Tạo Vương

17.Hùng Nghị Vương

18.Hùng Duệ Vương

In the year 30BC Chinese (Hán) lived along the Yellow River in what is the North West of China today. In the North of Yangtze Valley there were two aboriginals named Miêu and Man. At the south of the Yangtze River next to Động Đình Lake and Phiên Ngung Province, there were Việt Ethnic groups living scattered around the Ngũ Lĩnh mountain. They lived by growing rice.

One Aristocrat taught them how to cultivate the land. The people were grateful for his knowledge and called him a Holy Agriculture Spirit. Since that time, people build temples and each year they celebrate the Thần Nông (Holy Agricultural Spirit) and pray for a good season of rain.

According to the Chinese Historian Vũ Cống, the nephew of the third generation of Thần Nông (Holy Agricultural Spirit) went to Ngũ Lĩnh Mountain to marry a beautiful lady. They had one son named Lộc Tục. Lộc Tục was the first King of Việt Ethnic group and he set up a Kingdom in the south of the Yangtze River on the land of two Provinces: Kinh Châu and Dương Châu. He changed the national name to Xích Quỉ.

Lộc Tục called his first son Kinh Vương Dương. Kinh Vương Vương married a princess from Động Đình called Long Nữ. They had one son named Sùng Lãm. When Lộc Tục passed away, Sùng Lãm was announced as the Lạc Long Quân King. Lạc Long Quân married Âu Cơ, a princess of the neighbouring Âu Nation. From here we are missing a part of the history!

When the Chinese Hán Dynasty invaded the south they met resistance from the Sở Nation and Xích Quỉ country.

In order to stand up against the Hán Dynasty, Xích Quỉ organised 100 hundred nobles to announce that they belonged to the lineage of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ or Âu Lạc.

In 24BC the capital of Việt Thường was Phiên Ngung next to Động Đình Lake in China. The King of Việt Thường wanted to keep peace with his neighbours. He asked the Ambassador to pay tribute to King Đế Nghiêu by giving a Big Turtle and a Pink Flamingo to the King Chu Thành Vương.

Before XII BC King Hùng Dịch conquered two Ethnic groups Miêu and Man who lived along the Yangtze River. Hùng Cừ took all the annexed Provinces in Hồ Bắc (Hubei) and appointed his first son Khang to rule Cú Đảm Province, the second son Hồng ran Ngạt Province and the third one ran Chấp Tỳ and was declared the King of Việt Chương.

This was the reason Vietnamese are proud to be children of Hùng King. Vietnamese at that time were defeated by the Chinese Hán Dynasty. They had to spread out, and small groups moved to the Ngũ Lĩnh mountain. The majority moved to the South next to the Pacific Ocean. They gathered one hundred groups in Guangzhou Province and Guangxi province. From that time they called Bách Việt (One hundred Việt).

In the year 538BC the children of