These are Vietnam’s national heroes who, over the last 2000 years, have led the country in its repeated expulsions of foreign invaders and whose exploits have inspired subsequent generations of patriots." Visitors to Vietnam can’t help but notice that the same names pop up again and again on the streets of every city and town. If only the planners back in Washington had paid just a little more attention to the history of this very proud nation, then Vietnam might have avoided the trauma and tragedy of a horribly brutal war. The Americans were simply the last in a long line of invaders who had come and gone through the centuries and, no matter what was required or how long it took, they too would be vanquished. Later came the French and the humbling period of colonialism from which Vietnam was not to emerge until the second half of the 20th century. Vietnamese civilisation is as sophisticated as that of its mighty northern neighbour China, from where it drew many of its influences under a thousand-year occupation. Sure, the American War in Vietnam captured the attention of the West, but centuries before that Vietnam was scrapping with the Chinese, the Khmers, the Chams and the Mongols. Many Southeast Asians regard the Vietnamese as fighters and are not particularly fond of them.Īccording to Lonely Planet: "Vietnam has a history as rich and evocative as anywhere on the planet. Culturally, in many ways, the Vietnamese have more in common with Confucian China than Buddhist Southeast Asia. Vietnam is a country with a long and complex history and cultural traditions that vary a good deal in the different regions.
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