The Nation of Vietnam
Geography
Located
in Southeast Asia, Vietnam runs along the east coast of the Indochina Peninsula.
Its borders stretch 4,550 kilometers (2,827 miles) long. China is to the north,
Kampuchea (Cambodia) and Laos to the west. The South China Sea lies east.
The
land of Vietnam is roughly shaped like the letter "S.” North to south, “as
the crow flies,” the country extends about 1,648 kilometers (1,024 miles); at
its narrowest point from east to west it’s about 50 kilometers (31 miles) wide.
Based on its history and geography, the land divides into three basic regions:
northern (Hà Nội) central (Huế) and southern (Sài-Gòn / Hồ Chí Minh city).
Climate
The
South of Vietnam has a tropical climate with two seasons (rainy season from
mid-May to mid-September, and dry season from mid-October to mid-April).
The North has a subtropical climate with four distinct seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) and the Central coast has a tropical monsoon climate.
The North has a subtropical climate with four distinct seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) and the Central coast has a tropical monsoon climate.
Due to its considerable shoreline, Vietnam’s climate is partly
regulated by ocean winds and maritime weather patterns. Vietnam suffers five to
ten severe storms a year. Flooding is common in towns and cities.
The Vietnamese People
Who
are the Vietnamese and where do they come from?
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According to Legend
Myths tell us that Vietnamese history began
in 2879 B.C., when Kinh Dương Vương ruled the land of Xích
Quỷ. He married Động Đình Quân's daughter Long Nữ,
who gave birth to Sùng Lãm.
Sùng Lãm succeeded to the throne and
called himself Lạc Long Quân. He then married king Đế Lai's
daughter, Âu Cơ, the fairy lady of Vụ Tiên Mountain.
Legend holds that Âu Cơ gave birth to a sac of a hundred eggs, and the eggs
hatched into a hundred boys.
Lạc
Long Quân told Âu Cơ, "Sadly, we cannot be together for long. I will have
to descend to live with the sea dragons, while you will have to ascend to the
realm of the fairy gods. We have a hundred sons. You shall take fifty with you
when you leave for the mountain, and I shall take fifty down to the sea (South China Sea)."
The children later formed the Bách Việt group (meaning: the group of one hundred Viet).
The children later formed the Bách Việt group (meaning: the group of one hundred Viet).
Lạc
Long Quân's eldest son succeeded to the throne, called himself Hùng Vương
and named the country Văn Lang.
Hung
Vuong Day is a Vietnamese holiday celebrated by the Kinh people to honor King Hùng’s
role in forming the country. A traditional ritual is performed annually on
March 10th of the lunar calendar at Hung's Temple (located in Việt Trì
city, Phú Thọ province). However, this holiday is also observed in
the whole country and abroad by all the Vietnamese people.
This commemoration has been recognized by UNESCO as
This commemoration has been recognized by UNESCO as
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According to History
The
most widespread theory states that the Vietnamese originated in the region of the Red River delta. Many different groups resided in many different areas; they
were all collectively called Bách Việt, which includes Việt Thường, Lạc Việt, Âu Việt, etc.
Later, when the Chinese invaded the land, these groups were assimilated and
became the Hán people. The only group that evaded assimilation is
the Lạc Việt, who were the ancestors of the Vietnamese.
The
historical record is unclear in part because over their 1,030 years of
domination, the Chinese purposely destroyed all documentation to facilitate the
assimilation of the Vietnamese.
Ethnic
Groups and Population
Presently
the population of Vietnam is close to 95 million people. Vietnam is the 14th most
populous country in the world, and 8th most populous in Asia.
The diasporic Vietnamese population is about 4 million, in North America (2 million in the USA), in Western Europe and in Australia.
From an ethnic point of view, the Kinh represent 87%, and the remaining 13% is a combination of 53 different ethnicities within 7 groups: Tày-Thái, Kadai, Môn-Khmer, H'Mong-Dao, Nam Đảo, Hán and Tạng-Miến).
The diasporic Vietnamese population is about 4 million, in North America (2 million in the USA), in Western Europe and in Australia.
From an ethnic point of view, the Kinh represent 87%, and the remaining 13% is a combination of 53 different ethnicities within 7 groups: Tày-Thái, Kadai, Môn-Khmer, H'Mong-Dao, Nam Đảo, Hán and Tạng-Miến).
This
is what our country is and who our ancestors were. Let’s be proud to be
descendants of dragons and fairies and to look back on 4,000 years of unique
traditions and culture.
Translated by Tuấn Trần and Kitty Phạm
from "Quốc-gia Việt-Nam và dân-tộc Việt"
Read
also:
- All about Vietnamese names
http://phu-tran.blogspot.com/2017/03/all-about-vietnamese-names.html
- All about Vietnamese names
http://phu-tran.blogspot.com/2017/03/all-about-vietnamese-names.html
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Let’s celebrate Vietnamese Tet
This is a great short article a Phu. Good to get start
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