Civilization.ca - Boat People No Longer: Vietnamese Canadians

History of Vietnam - The Chinese and the Vietnamese

The Chinese dominated Vietnam for over a thousand years. As a result, a number of Chinese socio-political structures were adopted by the Vietnamese people. For example, they followed the mandarin system until the early twentieth century. To become a mandarin, or member of the emperor's court, a person had to study the concepts of Confucian ideology, which was the foundation of Chinese (and, by adoption, Vietnamese) political doctrine.

Several uprisings were instigated while Vietnam was under Chinese rule. The revolt led by the Trung Sisters in A.D. 40 is still celebrated today during the Women's Festival, which is held in mid-March. And it was Ngô-Quyên's defeat of the Chinese army at the Bach-dang River in A.D. 939 that ultimately won Vietnam its independence.

The Trung Sisters on the Battlefield Outside the City Wall
1980 - 1990
Lacquerwork on wood with mother-of-pearl inlay
CMC 91-596.3

The annual Vietnamese Women's Festival commemorates two Vietnamese heroines - Trung Trac and her younger sister Nhi - who rebelled against external rule and founded a short-lived dynasty which lasted from A.D. 39 to 43.