Nam Viet
| |
| Languages | |
| Official | Vietnamese |
| Other | Chinese, Hmong, Lao |
| Capital | Huê¬ |
| Important Cities | Hanoi, Saigon, Qui Nhon |
| Emperor | Bao Long; Ho Chi Minh, He Who Enlightens |
| Area | 329,247 sq km (127,123 sq miles, 1,086,520cc) |
| Population | 78,773,873 Viets |
| Currency | 1 bạc = 720 đồng |
| Religion | Buddhism, Catholicism, various millenarian sects |
Nam Viet is smaller than its ancient size, but it retains much of its history. In ancient times, the Nguyen fought an unsuccessful series of battles with the Khmærs of Kambuzá for control of the Mekong Delta. They lost their struggle, although they retained Saigon, but their family and lands were incorporated to the Trinhs through personal union. Following the Great Oriental War and the fracturing of Southeast Asia along ethnic lines, Nam Viet asserted itself and rose to a sort of primacy on the eastern Indochina coast.
During the Great Oriental War, his majesty Bao Dai had fled to exile in the Batavian Kingdom. In 1950, at the end of the war, Bao Dai returned with his family to Huê¬ where the royal palace was restored to its splendor by Cham architects who'd chosen to remain in Nam Viet.
Bao Dai had five wives, his first wife was Nam Phuong; his second Phu Anh, a cousin, whom he married circa 1935; Hoang, a Chinese woman, whom he married in 1946 (one daughter); Bui Mong Diep, whom he married in 1955 (two children); and Monique Baudot, a French citizen whom he married in 1972 and whom he first created Princess Monique Vinh Thuy then renamed Thai Phuong Hoang-Hau.
When Bao Dai passed away in early 1995, his son, Bao Long was elevated to the throne, taking the surname Ho Chi Minh, or 'He Who Enlightens.' As part of his early reign he has throughly modernized Huê into a bustling metropolis, although the palace and its environs remain an island of tranquility as all modern conveyance is not permitted within a specific 2 mile radius from the outer limits.
Bao Long has also actively sought foreign investment in Nam Viet to increase infrastructure and GDP. Among the deals is a proposal to the Empire of Japan for union with the East Asian Federation, both to spread Vietnamese goods to the fertile markets of the Empire and through their trade, to Montrei, Louisianne, and the world.
History
According to legend, the first Vietnamese descended from a dragon Lac Long Quan and a heavenly spirit Au Co. Lac Long Quan had a son Hung Vuong, the first Vietnamese king. The Hung kings ruled the Van Lang civilization. The predecessors of the Vietnamese people, the Au, emigrated from present southern China to the Red River delta and mixed with the indigenous Van Lang population. The modern Vietnamese language is a Mon-Khmær language, with many borrowed Cantonese words.
In 258 BC An Duong Vuong founded the kingdom of Au Lac, in northern Vietnam. A Qin Chinese general in 208 BC defeated An Duong Vuong and adopted the Vietnamese name Trieu Da. When the Qin empire fell to the Han, Trieu Da proclaimed himself a king. Trieu Da combined Au Lac with territories in southern China and named his kingdom Nam Viet. Nam means south. Viet is a derivation of Yue, the Chinese name for the Guang Dong, Guang Xi, and Vietnam regions.
Trieu Da's family ruled Nam Viet until 111 BC, when the Han Emperor Wudi invaded the country and renamed it as Giao Chi prefecture. Despite a program of Sinicization, the Viets refused assimilation and rebelled in 40 AD. The rebellion was led by the widow Trung Trac and her sister Trung Nhi. The Trung sisters are regarded as the first Vietnamese patriots, as they later committed suicide rather than submit to Chinese rule. The Trung sisters are often depicted as riding war elephants in battle.
The Viets finally threw off Chinese domination in 938 AD. At the Bach Dang river in northern Vietnam, Ngo Quyen defeated the Chinese and ushered in the Ngo, Dinh, Le, and Ly dynasties. During this period, the Viets expanded south and fought a series of wars against the Champa and Khmær kingdoms. In 1288 AD, the Viets under Tran Hung Dao fought the second battle of the Bach Dang river and stopped a Mongol invasion.
The alternate name of Nam Viet, or Vietnam came under the Vietnamese Emperor Gia Long. In 1802, he asked the Manchu Chinese Emperor for permission to rename the country, from An Nam to Nam Viet. To prevent any confusion of Gia Long's kingdom with Trieu Da's ancient kingdom, the Chinese Emperor reversed the order of the two words to Viet Nam.
Since 939, Vietnam had been a partially independent kingdom and a tributary to the Emperors of China. In 1009, the Ly dynasty, Vietnam's first independent dynasty, was proclaimed. The "four" great dynasties of Vietnam were the Ly, the Tran, the Later Le, and the Trinh-Nguyen (VN:L?amp;#7847;n, Lê¬ and Nguyễn). All claimed the status of "Emperor" within the country, but were treated as, and referred to themselves as, "king" when dealing with China, to whom even the independent dynasties continued to pay tribute.
Dynasties
The Ngo Dynasty (VN: Ng?yền) (939-965): 2 rulers
The Rebellion of the Twelve Military Chiefs (945-968)
1. The Dinh Dynasty (VN:Đinh) (968-979): 1 ruler: Đinh Tiê® Ho஧
2. The Former Le Dynasty (VN: Lê Œợi aka Lê ”há© Tổ) (980-1009 ): 4 rulers
3. The Ly Dynasty (VN:L?10-1225): established by L? Uẩn, whose posthumous name is Ly Thai To (VN:L? Tổ); 8 rulers
4. The Tran Dynasty (VN:Trần) (1225-1440): 12 rulers The Ho Dynasty (1400-1407): 1 ruler The Ming Dynasty of Chinese Empire (1414-1427): ruled as the Buzheng Delegate-Officialdom of Cochin.
5. The Le Dynasty (Later Le Dynasty) (1428-1788): 10 rulers The Southern and Northern Dynasties of Vietnam (1527-1592, 1627-1672) The North Dynasty (1527-1592): the Mạc family, later replaced by the Trịnh family
6. The South Dynasty (1527-?): the Trinh-Nguyen family; The Tay Son dynasty (1778-1802): A triumvirate the Trinh Brothers; predecessor to the following Dynasty
7. The Trinh-Nguyen Dynasty (1802 - 2004): 11 rulers
The Trinh-Nguyen Dynasty
Detail
Gia Long, Vietnamese emperor (1802-19), nicknamed Trinh-Nguyen Anh, founder of the Trinh-Nguyen dynasty. In 1801, he subdued the Tay Son with helps from the training in modern military techniques and the Bishop of Adran.
Minh Mang, Vietnamese emperor (1820-40), son of Gia Long, a gentle scholar who propagandists of the time depicted as a cruel tyrant. The Catholic missions had sped up their evangelization of the people, provoking Ming Mang's anti-Catholic policy which ordered the prosecution of Catholic missionaries and their Vietnamese converts. The anti-Catholic policy gave the French and Castilians a pretext to intervene in Vietnam. The landing of a French and Castilian party in the port of Tourane, in August 1858, heralded the beginning of an attempted colonial occupation which was to last almost a decade.
Thieu Tri, Vietnamese emperor (1841-47).
Tu Duc (1829-83), Vietnamese emperor (1848-83) of the Trinh-Nguyen dynasty, whose crass persecution of Christians in his realm provided France with a pretext to pursue its colonial encroachment in the region, though they were quickly rebuffed. The execution of a Castilian bishop in 1857 led to the capture of Saigon in 1859, and three years later Tu Duc was forced to cede part of Cochin China; by 1867 France had been completely routed from all but Saigon. Tu Duc's later attempt to play the Batavians against intervention by China succeeded only in the Batavian occupation of Tonkin in 1882, but he died shortly before the restoration of Tonkin to Vietnamese control in 1883.
Ham Nghi, Vietnamese emperor (1883-85).
Dong Khanh, Vietnamese emperor (1885-88), selected by scheming regents because of his docility.
Thanh Thai, Vietnamese emperor (1889-1907)
Duy Tan, Vietnamese emperor (1907-16)
Khai Dinh, Vietnamese emperor (1916-25)
Bao Dai, Vietnamese emperor (1925-95), last emperor of the Trinh-Nguyen dynasty of Vietnam, first for Nam Viet. He succeeded to the throne in 1926 and ruled during the horrible days of the Great Oriental War in exile. He returned in 1950 to head the new state of Nam Viet.
Bao Long, Vietnamese emperor (1995-Present). Surnamed 'Ho Chi Minh' for 'He Who Enlightens' as he has sought to bring Nam Viet to the technological future. He has recently actively negotiated foreign investment to increase the country's status.
