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Origins of the Vietnamese people Relatively little is known about the origins of the Vietnamese. They first appeared in history as the so-called "Lac" peoples, who lived in the Red River delta region, in what is now northern Vietnam. Some scholars have suggested that the Lac were closely related to other peoples, known as the Viet (called the Yüeh by the Chinese), who inhabited the coastal region of East Asia from the Yangtze River to the Red River delta during the 1st millennium BC. Others have expressed doubt about this supposition, noting that modern-day Vietnamese share many cultural and linguistic traits with other non-Chinese peoples living in neighboring areas of Southeast Asia. It is now generally believed that the Lac peoples were the result of a mixture between Australo-Melanesian inhabitants who had lived in the area since Paleolithic times and Asiatic peoples who later migrated into the area from China. Linguistic research, which offers a relatively reliable way of distinguishing the various ethnic groups of Southeast Asia, supports the mixed ethnic and cultural origin of the Vietnamese people. Although the Vietnamese language is distinct, it nevertheless can be described as a fusion of Mon-Khmer, Tai, and Chinese elements. From the monotonic Mon-Khmer language family, Vietnamese derived many of its basic words; from the Tai languages, it took tonality and a number of grammatical elements; and from the Chinese, who at that time were somewhat more culturally advanced than the peoples of the Red River delta, it acquired not only a script but also most of its political, literary, philosophical, and technical vocabulary. Ethnographic study also reveals the degree to which ancient Vietnamese culture was a composite of elements found among many other peoples within the region. Totemism, animism, tattooing, the chewing of betel nuts, teeth blackening, and many marriage rituals and seasonal festivals indicate the relationship between the Vietnamese and the neighboring peoples in Southeast Asia. Although Chinese civilization later became the main force in shaping Vietnamese culture, the failure of the Chinese to assimilate the Vietnamese people underscores the fact that strong elements of an authentic local culture must have emerged in the Red River valley long before China established its millennium of rule over Vietnam.
More history of Vietnam |
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