Vietnamese Culture
Thesis Statement: The Vietnamese culture, a rich heritage on many different levels. Through exploring its religion, population, language, education, government, art and economics, an appreciation can be developed for the important contributions Vietnamese people make in American society.The early inhabitants of the area were Negritos. Some 4,000 years ago Austronesian (Indonesian) migrants from the north were moving into the area that is now North Vietnam. Later, Austro-Asiatic (Mon-Klimer and Maylayo-Polynesian) peoples arrived. Then, about 2500 years ago Viet (Yueh) and Tai peoples moved down from southern China. Out of this mixture of genes, languages, and cultures arose Van Lang, considered to have been the first Vietnamese Kingdom. In mid-third century B.C Van Lang was over run by and incorporated into another state to the north, forming the kingdom of Au Lac. Then Au Lac was incorporated into an even larger and more powerful state: Nam Viet. (Levison 284) Historically speaking, Vietnam (officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as of 1992) has struggled for independence for at least two thousand years, primarily from China. There have been brief periods when the country has itself p
In spite of its long relationship and physical closeness to China, Vietnam has for most of historical time "defined itself as China's enemy, a fact memorialized in folk song and legend" (301). The difference exists in the manner in which a Communist government chooses to enforce its power. Vietnam's soul is in its rice paddies. Christians, of whom there are very few in Vietnam, celebrate Christmas and Easter. "Sometime women feel called to worship a particular spirit or deity and illness is the penalty for failure to make offerings" (Levison 287). "The regulation had the greatest effect in the cities, where a slash of rice rations. "Despite efforts to mechanize agriculture, water buffalo and human beings still do most of the farm work" (286). About 20 percent of all Vietnamese people live in cities, the majority of these in two or three room apartments. The most widely observed festival is the Midyear (otherwise known as wandering souls). " Ethnic Vietnamese constitute 85-90 percent of this population" (295); even though the Chinese account for less than two percent of the country's people, they are still Vietnam's most influential minority group. But it has only been since 1648 that written Vietnamese has not been overwhelmed by that which marks the Chinese language, which is its character. "Relative age, rank, titles, degrees, and other status markers remain significant determinants of attitudes and behaviors in social interaction" (Levison 286). Its uniqueness vies in the fact that one word can have several meanings depending on what pitch is used. "Water puppetry is a remarkable performing art that dates back to 1121 under the Ly Dynasty" (Contreas 25). In terms of language, this is Vietnam's alone, meaning it is basically quite unlike Chinese although due to the long-term extent of Chinese influence it is true that the Vietnamese language has appropriated a great number of Chinese words.
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Acceptance Essays
