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Vietnam is the coastal areas of the Indo-China Peninsula bordering the South China Sea. The country is shaped by an an elongated S at the farthrest corner of mainland Southeast Asia. It varies in width along the extensive coast. The country is dominated by the Red River Valey in the north and the Mekong Delta in the south, one of the most productive rice growing areas in the world. Vietnam has enormous topographic variety, mountains, fertile deltas, primeval forests. major rivers, and beautiful beaches. Overtime rgional states of varying strength have controlled the noth Red Rivert Delta), central (central highlannds), and south (Mekong Delta). There is also a page on a Vietnamese region, the Mekong Delta. There is also ethnic diversity with minorities of considerable importance in the central highlands. The country's climate is also complex. The country is located within the tropics, but its range of latitude, altitude, and weather patterns result in considerable climatic variation. Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, and the South China Sea to the east. Historic emnities exist with the Kymer people (Cambodians) and the Kymer Empire which built Ankor Wat dominatd Southeast Asuian for centuries. Viet Nam's greatest challenge, however, came from the north--China. Vietnam was integrated within Chinese empires for centuries (until the 10th century). Since then the Vietnamese have struggled to maintain their independence. The Vietnamese resisted efforts of the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties (11th, 15th, and 18th centuries) to conquer Indo-China. We do have a page on Assam/Vietnam royalty. We alo have a Vietnamese history page and there is a page on the Vietnam War. The victory of the Communists in the Viet Nam War meant that Communism was imposed on the country and free markets suppressed. The Vietnamese like the Chinese have found that communism is an economic dead end which left the potentially rich country one of the poorest in Asia. The Communist goverment has begin expeimenting with free market reforms. Spiritual life has been an important part of Vietnamese culture. Here Vietnam has been strongly influenced by China with Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism which origninated in India. The French intriduced Christianity. Tam Giao (triple religion), a combination of Taoism, popular Chinese beliefs, and atraditional Vietnamese animism is also practiced. It is not clear how Communist atheism is affecting the country's traditional spiritual life. We have little information on activitis, another aspect of culture. The most important holiday is Tet. We have a page on youth groups.
Vietnam is the coastal areas of the Indo-China Peninsula bordering the South China Sea. The country is shaped by an an elongated S at the farthrest corner of mainland Southeast Asia. It varies in width along the extensive coast. The country is dominated by the Red River Valey in the north and the Mekong Delta in the south, one of the most productive rice growing areas in the world. Vietnam has enormous topographic variety, mountains, fertile deltas, primeval forests. major rivers, and beautiful beaches. The country is basically divided into three unique areas: north, central, and south. The north is known for its alpine peaks, the Red River Delta, the plains of Cao Bang and Vinh Yen, enchanting Halong Bay, and historic Hanoi, as well as for the diversity of its ethnolinguistic minorities. Central Vietnam is home to many ethnic minorities and is characterized by high temperate plateaus rich volcanic soil and by spectacular beaches, dunes, and lagoons. It is also the location of the ancient imperial city of Hue. In the South, visitors encounter modern life in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and the fertile alluvial delta of the Mekong River. Vietnam's territory also encompasses a large continental shelf and thousands of archipelagic islands.
Overtime rgional states of varying strength have controlled the north Red Rivert Delta), central (central highlannds), and south (Mekong Delta). There is a page on a Vietnamese region, the Mekong Delta. The country's climate is also complex. The country is located within the tropics, but its range of latitude, altitude, and weather patterns result in considerable climatic variation. Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, and the South China Sea to the east.
Historic emnities exist with the Kymer people (Cambodians) and the Kymer Empire which built Ankor Wat dominatd Southeast Asuian for centuries. Viet Nam's greatest challenge, however, came from the north--China. Vietnam was integrated within Chinese empires for centuries (until the 10th century). Since then the Vietnamese have struggled to maintain their independence. The Vietnamese resisted efforts of the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties (11th, 15th, and 18th centuries) to conquer Indo-China. We do have a page on Assam/Vietnam royalty. Vietnam along with Laos and Cambodia was colonized by ghe French as Indo-China (19th century). The French colony was seized by the Japanese in a run up to the Pacific War. Under Japanese control, a terrible famine was orcestrated in the north, possibly causing the death of some 5 million pople. We also have a Vietnamese history page and there is a page on the Vietnam War.
The victory of the Communists in the Viet Nam War meant that Communism was imposed on the country and free markets suppressed. The Vietnamese like the Chinese have found that communism is an economic dead end which left the potentially rich country one of the poorest in Asia. The Communist goverment has begin expeimenting with free market reforms.
We have little information on activities, another aspect of culture. The most important holiday is Tet. We have a page on youth groups.
Vietnam has a poulation of some 85 million people. Accounts vary, but nearly 90 percent of these appear to be ethnic Vietnamese or Kinh people. (The Vietnamese used the term Vietnamese as a natiuoinal term and the Kinh for the specifically Vietnamese ethnic group. The earliest known name for the ancient Vietnamese people is Lạc. The word Việt is a shortened from of Bách Việt, a name used in ancient times. Nam refers to 'south' meaning what thecChinese would see as south. The ethnolinguiustic pattern of the Vietnamese is extrodunarily complex, affected by the different peoples who inhabit Southeast Asia and the rise and fall of powerful empires over several millennia. The Vietnamese/Kinh people inhabit the Red River delta, the central coastal delta, the Mekong delta and major cities. The Vietnamese majority was substanially Sinicized during a millennium of Chinese rule during the first millennium of the modern era (ending 939 AD). This of course was most pronounced in the north. Although geographically and linguistically Vietnam is categorized as part of Southeast Asians, the Chinese domination and influence meant that culturally the Vietnmese are more a part of East Asia. Ethnically they are largely Southeast Asian with an important Chinese admixture. Modern DNA evidence help to show relationships long lost to history. Obe study reports southeast Asian/Oceanic origins (83 percent), East Asian (12 percent), and Southern Asia (3 percent). [National Geographic Society] East Asian rfers here to China and South Asia to India. The Nationl Geographic Researchers reoport, "The large Eastern Asia and Southeast Asia percentages are representative of two separate migrations to the region, with the Southeast Asian component likely representing a composite of some of the earliest settlers of the region." There is considerable ethnic diversity between north and south with minorities of considerable importance in the central highlands. There has also been an Indian influence, albeit smaller. It is most pronounced among the Cham and Khmer minorities in the central and southern regions. The Cham were the majority population in the Indianized kingdom of Champa which dominated central Vietnam (2nd-15th centuries AD). The Cham remain in the south-central coastal plain and in the Mekong delta, especially near the Cambodian border. The Khmer (Cambodians) are found throughout Mekong delta. The non-Vietnamese/Kahn ethnic minorities are composed of more than fifty separate ethnic groups. Their major destinguishing cultural characteristic is that they were less Sinicized than the Vietnmese. The French referred to them as Montagnards, meaning mountain or hill people. They lived in the hills because the dominnt Vietnamese seized the best agricultural land. The larger minoritities are Tay, Thai, Muong, Hoa, Khmer, and Nung with about 1 million people each. The Vietnam War appears to have affected the population mix. Many of the miborities opposed the North Vienanese in basion of the South and suffered as a result of the Communist victory. About seven million of these ethnic minorities are members of the hill tribes or montagnards (French for mountain people), making their homes and livelihoods in the spectacular mountains of the north and central highlands.
Spiritual life has been an important part of Vietnamese culture. Here Vietnam has been strongly influenced by China with Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism which origninated in India. The French intriduced Christianity. Tam Giao (triple religion), a combination of Taoism, popular Chinese beliefs, and a traditional Vietnamese animism is also practiced. It is not clear how Communist atheism has affecting the country's traditional spiritual life.
National Geographic Society. "Reference Populations – Geno 2.0 Next Generation".
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Created: 5:26 AM 2/4/2014
Last updated: 4:59 AM 9/19/2018
