VIETNAM'S FOUNDING FATHERS
by the Department of Culture
Vietnamese Federation of San Diego
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INTRODUCTION
The formation of Vietnam as a nation can be traced way back in the history of mankind. Human civilization has been recorded since 4,241 B.C.. The very first Vietnamese king was Kinh Dương Vương who was crowned in 2,879 B.C., 14 centuries after the first human civilization had been documented. When the first Vietnamese kingdom was recorded, the Egyptians had already invented the calendar, created musical instruments, melted copper, silver, gold, and alloys; Cities were built in the Mesopotamia. The Chinese civilization was also advanced before and during the Vietnamese Hồng Bàng Dynasty.
There are two theories tracing the Vietnamese origin. The first believes that the Vietnamese race originated from the Tam Miên people of China, who then fled the Hán's occupation to the south where present-day north and northen central Vietnam are. The second theory speculates that the Vietnamese are of Malaysian origin. It is reasonable to assume that before the Hồng Bàng Dynasty, the Vietnamese ancestors had lived in the basins of the Mã (in Thanh Hóa province) and Hồng rivers. Under the Hùng Dynasty, the Vietnamese society was well organized, and became the Văn Lang nation. Under the thousand year long Chinese domination, southward migrations of the Hán people, as well as the integration with the Chàm and Cambodian races have resulted in the present-day Vietnamese people. While the Vietnamese absorbed many Hán and other islanders' ways of life, they retain their Vietnamese rather homogeneous characteristics, and a unique culture.
It is noteworthy that what happened during the Hùng Dynasty were not prehistoric. Many archaeological, linguistic, cultural, and traditional evidences have confirmed that they did take place in history. Equally important was the fact that while the early Vietnamese did not worship totems, their Fairy and Dragon legend of the Hùng ancestors carried philosophical meaning of a people who had a very early and bright civilization.
History indicated that Đế Minh - a Chinese emperor - in a field trip over Ngũ Lĩnh mountain of south China, married Vụ Tiên’s daughter who gave birth to a son named Lộc Tục. In 2,879 B.C., Đế Minh appointed his two sons - Đế Nghi and Lộc Tục - to become kings of the northen and southern areas respectively. Lộc Tục was crowned Kinh Dương Vương who was the first Vietnamese king. Kinh Dương Vương married Long Nữ (Động Đình Quân's daughter), and their son - Lạc Long Quân aka Hùng Hiền Vương - took over their kingdom. Lạc Long Quân wedded Âu Cơ who was Đế Lai's daughter (who was Đế Minh's grand daughter). Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ gave birth to 100 sons. One day, Lạc Long Quân told Âu Cơ: "I'm of Dragon's descent, and you Fairy's; Coming from two different worlds, it would be difficult for us to live together for long. We must each go our own way!" Âu Cơ led their 50 sons to the mountains. Lạc Long Quân took their 49 sons to his sea domain, after crowning the eldest son King Hùng Quốc Vương in Phong Châu (Vĩnh Yên province, north Vietnam). Hùng Vương named his country Văn Lang. This is the reason many Vietnamese believe that they are of Fairy-Dragon descent.
According to the Hùng Vương's royal register, the Hồng Bàngs - starting from Kinh Dương Vương - had 18 main royal titles. The first two royal titles ruled the country of Xích Qủy which was much larger than Văn Lang under the rest of the empires. Each royal title had, on the average, 4 kings who shared the same title. The Hồng Bàng ruled for
2,622 years. The royal register recorded 45 kings, from the 6th royal title to the 17th's. On the average, each king ruled for 30 years. In 258 B.C., the Hùng Vương Dynasty was replaced by Thục An Dương Vương who renamed the country Âu Lạc.
It was likely that there were many drastic events taking place in the country during the long period between Lạc Long Quân and the first King Hùng, resulting in several royal title changes. Nevertheless, history indicated that the Hùng Dynasty did establish a well organized, independent, and prosperous Vietnamese nation for 22 centuries, over 4,800 years ago.
THE VĂN LANG NATION
After the legendary kingdoms of Kinh Dương Vương and Lạc Long Quân, Kings Hùng ruled the Văn Lang nation. Văn Lang had about 1 million citizens living in the basins of the Hồng, Mã, and Chu rivers in Thanh Hoá province,
spreading to the south of Quảng Bình province. Văn Lang was divided into 15 regions with specific names and geographical descriptions.
The dividion of power was well defined: supreme authority was King Hùng, followed by Lạc Hầu who was in charge of cultural affairs, and Lạc Tướng for military activities; lower administrators were called Bồ Chính. Văn Lang's
capital was established in Phong Châu (in today's Vĩnh Yên province). The working classes included fishmen (with tattoo customs), peasants (in the stories of "the Earth and Sky cakes", and "An Tiêm's planting the Watermelon"), and blacksmiths (as related to the Bronze Drum, and the story of "Phù Đổng Thiên Vương"). Commerce was also developed with other nations (as told in the story of "Chử Đồng Tử"). There was a national military academy set up in Cẩm Đội. During this period, there were no mention of any major wars or invations, except the Ân rebellion during King Hùng the 6th.
This relatively peaceful time allowed the Vietnamese to build a society
with a solid family foundation (as told in "Sự Tích Trầu Cau" (the Legend of the Betel)) and well defined customs, long before the Chinese influence took place.
SOME LEGENDS DURING KINGS HÙNG DYNASTY
Most of these legends reflect a peaceful and healthy society.
1. Phù Đổng Thiên Vương: During King Hùng the 6th, the ÂNn pirate invaded the country. The King solicited capable warriors to save the country. In the village of Phù Đổng, there was a 3 year old boy who requested to be provided with an iron horse and a steel sword to fight against the invader. When those were delivered, the boy stretched himself into a giant, riding the iron horse which exhaled fire, swinging the sword and crushed the Ân invader. The warrior then proceeded to Mount Ninh Sóc, and ascended to heaven. King Hùng made him a deity "Phù Đổng Thiên Vương" (a.k.a.
Thánh Gióng).
This story, together with the Bronze Drum, indicated that during Kings Hùng Dynasty, metal workings were refined and quite advanced. The technology helped defend the country during critical times.
2. Legend of the Betel (Tích Trầu Cau): In the far northern kingdom of Vietnam there lived two identical twin brothers, Cao Tân and Cao Lang. One day, their teacher's daughter served them both with one bowl of rice soup and intentionally, just one pair of chopsticks. She identified the elder brother as the one who helped himself first with the food. She then asked her parents to arrange her marriage to the older brother. The younger brother who also loved the girl, became love sick, left the house, and died at a place far from home. After a time, there grew where he died an areca palm-tree. The older brother found out about his brother's love, felt guilty, went to look
for him. He found the areca palm-tree and died at its side, becoming a white lime stone. The wife, feeling responsible, went looking for the two brothers, also died at the site of the tree and the stone, and became a betel plant whose vines clung to both the white stone and the tree. King Hùng one day visited the site, chewed a nut from the tree, a leaf from the plant, and a pellet of lime from the stone. The king enjoyed the unique taste of the three ingredients mixed in the red juice of the chewed betel. Moved by the love story of the twin brothers and their lady, the king ordered the betel nut,
the leaf of betel pepper, and a pellet of lime - three symbols of a love that could not be destroyed - to be used in all marriage ceremonies in Vietnam. Until this very day, this tradition is still being followed.
The story showed a painful experience of an unfortunate love, brotherhood,
and husband-wife love, at the same time revealed that during King Hùng Dynasty, marriage and family were a well defined entity. This was not an influence from the Chinese who did not come into the picture until much later in the 1st century (when the Chinese governor by the name of Nhâm Diêm who was documented as first teaching the Vietnamese marriage and forming families). The story also showed that in the early Vietnamese society, the women did have a determining role in choosing their husbands.
3. The Chử Đồng Tử Legend: Chử Đồng Tử was a dutiful son in a very poor family. When his father died, he buried him with the family's only loin-cloth. One day, King Hùng the 3th's daughter, Tiêu Dong vacationing in Chử Xá village, set up a tent on the sand to take a shower, without knowing that Chử Đồng Tử was also in the area, trying to cover his lower body with sand. The princess saw Chử Đồng Tử 's body as the water from the tent washed away the sand covering him. She thought it must have been God's will and married him. King Hùng was very angry at her decision. Instead of going home, Tiêu Dong and her husband moved around, setting up trading stores which made them more and more prosperous.
One day, Chử Đồng Tử made a business trip at sea, learned some magic, came home and taught his wife the trick. They would carry with them a stick and a hat. Wherever they stuck the stick and covered it with the hat, buildings, riches, and prosperity for the people were created. King Hùng regarded that a treacherous intention, and ordered the area crushed. Tiêu Dong did not resisted until one night, she performed her last magic to make the whole area ascend to heaven.
This story showed that the love between two good persons overcame the social classes bringing to practice freedom of marriage, self sufficiency, business endeavours to meet practical needs.
These stories, together with others such as "Trương Chi - Mỵ Nương", "the Earth and the Sky Cakes", "An Tiêm and the Watermelon", "Sơn Tinh-Thủy Tinh", all originated from the Hùng Dynasty, suggested deep implications, and reflected the humanistic nature of the early Vietnamese people.
KING HÙNG'S ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL
The King Hùngs' Monument was built on Nghĩa Lĩnh mountain, Cổ Tích hamlet, Hy Cương village, Lâm Thao district, Phú Thọ province, north Vietnam. It is noteworthy that the person who ordered the building was Thục An Dương Vương, the king who terminated the Hùng Dynasty.
Kings Hùng's Anniversary used to be celebrated on the twelth day, third lunar month which was Kinh Dương Vương's anniversary. In 1922, at the completion of the Hùng Monument restoration, King Khải Định moved the Hùng's Anniversary to the 10th day, third lunar month. Traditionally, the Hùng Memorial festival lasts 10 days starting on either the 9th through 11th
day, third lunar month. It happens that during this time of the year the Vietnamese peasants take rest from harvesting, making it more convenient for them to celebrate the event.
CONCLUSION
For over 4,800 years, the Vietnamese people have survived and endured,
starting as a small country, evolving to a large nation. With a rather large population, the Vietnamese have retained and maintained their own unique and homogeneous characteristics. The Vietnamese were not assimilated by the Chinese thanks to their ancestors' success in resisting against foreign influences in many different ways. The Vietnamese resistance was, at times, aggressive when defending themselves from foreign colonization, and protective when preserving their spiritual and mental assets during foreign domination, or selective in assimilating foreign humanistic and technological values to enrich their own culture.
The 1975 incident caused the exodus of two million Vietnamese. The Vietnamese people in exile are committed to find ways to protect, enrich and expand their invaluable culture. The responsibilities now rest on the younger Vietnamese generations who must continue to carry on the same mission.
Department of Culture
Vietnamese Federation of San Diego
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