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At the
beginning of the Bronze Age, the Viet tribe
groups had settled down in the North and in the
north of Central Vietnam. There were about 15
groups of Lac Viet tribesmen living mainly in
the northern highland and delta and a dozen Au
Viet groups of tribesmen living in Viet Bac, the
northern region of old Vietnam.
♦
Van Lang (2876 BC – 258 BC)
At that time, the two ethnic tribes of the Lac Viet and
Au Viet lived together in many areas with other
inhabitants. Due to the increasing need to control
floods, fight against invaders, and exchange culture and
economy, these tribes living near each other tended to
gather together and integrate into a larger mixed group.
Among these Lac Viet tribes was the Van Lang, which was
the most powerful tribe. The leader of this tribe joined
all the Lac Viet tribes together to found Van Lang
Nation, addressing himself as King Hung. The next
generations followed in their father’s footsteps &
kept this appellation. Based on historical documents,
researchers correlatively delineated the location of Van
Lang Nation to the present day regions of North &
north of Central Vietnam, as well as the south of
present- day Kwangsi (China). The Van Lang Nation
approximately lasted from the beginning of the 1st B.C. to the 3rd century B.C.
♦
Au Lac (257 BC – 207 BC)
In 221 BC, Qin Shihuangdi (Tan Thuy Hoang), King of Qin
(China), invaded the land of the Viet tribes. Thuc Phan,
the leader of the alliance of Au-Viet tribes was
respected as the chief of the resistance war against the
Tan enemy that later, in 208 BC, was forced to withdraw.
With his imposing power, Thuc Phan nominated himself as
King An Duong Vuong and founded Au Lac Nation with
groups of Lac Viet and Au Viet tribes. In 207 BC, Trieu
Da, King of Nam Viet (China), invaded Au Lac
country. The resistance of An Duong Vuong failed soon
after this invasion. As a result, the northern feudalist
took turns dominating the country over the next seven
centuries, establishing their harsh regime in the
country and dividing the country into administrative
regions and districts with unfamiliar names. However,
the country’s name of Au Lac could not be erased from
the people’s minds in their everyday life.
♦
Van Xuan (544-602)
In the spring of 542, Ly Bi rose up in arms and swept
away the Chinese administration, liberating the
territory. He declared himself King of Van Xuan
Kingdom in February 544, acknowledging the national
superiority complex of the independent spirits to live
in eternal peace. However, the existence of Ly Bi’s
administration was very brief. He was defeated by the
Chinese imperial army, and the country returned to
feudal Chinese domination again in 602. The name Van
Xuan was restored only after the victory over the Han
army at the Bach Dang River led by General Ngo Quyen in
938. This victory marked the end of the Chinese
domination period in Vietnam.
♦
Dai Co Viet (968 – 1054)
In 968, Dinh Bo Linh defeated the twelve lords and
unified the country. He declared himself King and named
the country Dai Co Viet. This name
remained throughout the Dinh Dynasty (968-980), Pre-Le
Dynasty (980-1009) and the beginning of Ly Dynasty
(1010-1225).
♦
Dai Viet (1054 – 1802)
In 1054, a flaming bright star appeared in the sky for
many days, which was considered a good omen. As a
result, the King Ly changed the name of the country to
Dai Viet. This name remained until the
end of Tran Dynasty (1126 - 1400). The name Dai Viet
remained under the Le Dynasty (1428-1788) and the Tay
Son Dynasty (1788-1802).
♦
Dai Ngu (1400 – 1406)
In March 1400, Ho Quy Ly usurped the throne of King Tran
Thieu De, founded the Ho Dynasty and changed the
country’s name to Dai Ngu, meaning
peace in the ancient language. This name only lasted for
very short time, until April 1407, when the Ming enemy
invaded Dai Ngu and defeated the Ho Dynasty (1400-
1407).
After 10 years of resistance against the Ming occupation
(1418-1427), Le Loi had achieved a victorious triumph.
In 1428, Le Loi declared himself King of Le Dynasty and
changed the name of the country back to Dai Viet. At
this time, the territory of Vietnam had expanded to the
region of present-day Hue.
♦
Viet Nam
In 1802, Nguyen Anh claimed his coronation to become the
first King Nguyen, starting the Nguyen dynasty and
changing the country’s name to Viet Nam.
This name was officially recognized in many diplomatic
missions in 1804. However, the words "Viet Nam" had
already appeared very early in history. In the 14th
century, there was a book of code entitled "Viet Nam the
Chi", edited by Doctor Ho Tong Thoc. In the book by
scholar Nguyen Trai entitled "Du Dia Chi" at the
beginning of 15th century; the words "Viet Nam" were
repeated several times. Doctor Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem
(1491-1585) had written on the first page of his work
"Trinh Tien Sinh Quoc Ngu" the following: "... Viet Nam
have constructed its foundation..." The words "Viet Nam"
were also found in some carved stelae of the 16th - 17th
century in Bao Lam Pagoda, Haiphong (1558), in Cam Lo
Pagoda, Ha Tay (1590), in Phuc Thanh Pagoda, Bac Ninh
(1664), etc. In particular, in the first sentence on the
stele Thuy Mon Dinh (1670) at the landmark on the border
at Lang Son, it was written: "This is the gateway of
Viet Nam that guards the northern frontiers...". In terms
of meaning, there are many theories that prove the words
"Viet Nam" are created by combining two racial and
geographic elements, which is understood as "Viet people
from the south". During the reign of King Minh Mang
(1820-1840), the name of the country was changed to Dai
Nam, but Viet Nam was still widely used in many literary
works, civil business affairs, and social relations.
Following the triumph of the August Revolution on August
19th, 1945, which had entirely swept away Vietnamese
feudal and French colonial oppression and began a new
era in the country, President Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the
nation’s independence and the national name
Democratic Republic of Vietnam was born on
September 2nd 1945. Although Vietnam suffered from war
and separation in the following 30 years, the sacred
words "Viet Nam" were very popularly used from the North
to the South, and were deeply imprinted in the hearts of
the Vietnamese people.
Following the liberation of Southern Vietnam on April 30
1975, the entire country of Vietnam was completely
unified. In the first meeting of the National Assembly
of the Unified Vietnam on July 2nd 1976, the assembly
decided to name the country
The Socialist
Republic of Vietnam. The constitution of 1980,
and 1992, continued its affirmation of the country’s
official name, legally and actually. |
