History
• Hue:
– Capital of the last Dynasty (Nguyen, since 1802)
• Impact:
– Preserve many material or immaterial cultural heritages of Vietnam and the World.
• Impact:
– Open-minded, dynamic,…
Ho Chi Minh City
Thank you!
• Impact:
– Easy to make a living, can take risk. – Immigrants: open-minded, dynamic…
Geography
• Hilly in the South, • Coast and plateau in the Central, • (Mekong) Delta in the South
• Impact:
– Hard to make a living, need a lot of past experiences. – Hard to interact with outsiders: keep going with traditions.
Geography
• South:
– Delta of the Mekong River: much better farms than the delta of the Red River. – Surrounded by people from the North, Cambodia, Indonesia…
• Impact: diversity in geography results in diversity in religions, traditions, ethnics…
History of Vietnam
Vietnamese History in Brief
• Kinh Duong Vuong, Lac Long Quan, Au Co, Vua Hung (?), • Chinese control (111 BC – 938 AD), • Ngo Quyen earned independence (938), • Ly Dynasty chose Hanoi as capital (1010), • Tran Dynasty fought against the Mongols 3 times, • Quang Trung: unified Vietnam (1789), • French control (1858-1945), • Socialist Republic of Vietnam
History
• Hanoi:
– Capital since 1010, – Through almost all dynasties.
• Impact: strong Confucius culture
– Order in the family, school,… – Stroellite view of Vietnam
Geography
• China in the North • India not-too-far West • Impact: both Buddhism and Confucius flourish.
– Buddhism: popular in 10th, 11th. – Confucius: from 12th, still very strong now.
Impacts of Geography and History on Vietnamese Culture.
UIUC Oct. 26, 2005
Questions we will answer
• Why Vietnamese alphabet is in Latin?
Questions we will answer
Thanh Noi - Hue
History
• Ho Chi Minh City:
– Established about 300 years ago. – Mostly immigrants from other parts of the country – Much interactions with foreigners.
• How come southerners are dynamic and northerners have stronger traditions?
Questions we will answer
• Why Vietnam is small geographically, but so diverse in religions, traditions, ethnics…
A natural map of Vietnam
Geography
• A very long coast, so commercial interactions with Westerners started very early. • Impact: western missionaries came to Vietnam to propagate Catholic, Protestant, Muslim…
– Current Vietnamese alphabet was invented by missionaries to teach the Bible.
Geography
• North:
– Delta of the Red River: small and having regular floods almost every year. – Hilly regions, surrounded by mountains.