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Little Saigon News Blog about happenings in Little Saigon A society or a human society is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations such as social networks. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals sharing a distinctive culture and community. Used in the sense of an association, a society is a body of individuals outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, possibly comprising characteristics such as national or cultural identity, or community. When China extended its rule over Vietnam, the people of the Red River delta were in transition from the Bronze to the Iron Age, although some stone implements were also still in use. These ancestors of the Vietnamese were already experienced at cultivating rice. They had learned how to irrigate their rice fields by using the waters from rivers that were backed up by the tides. Plows and water buffalo were still unknown (the land was prepared for cultivation with polished stone hoes), but the proto-Vietnamese are thought to have been able to produce two rice crops Originating in what is now southern China and northern Vietnam, the
Vietnamese people pushed southward over 2 millennia to occupy the entire eastern
seacoast of the Indochinese Peninsula. Ethnic Vietnamese constitute about 90% of
Vietnam's 87 million population. Cultural and historical influencesSouthVietnam today is characterized by two major river deltas, the Red River Delta in the north and the Mekong River Delta in the south. In prehistoric times a kingdom formed along the coasts north of the Mekong River Delta. It was composed of Malayo-Polynesian people and was highly influenced by Indian and Indonesian traders and religious people. This area developed into the kingdom of Champa which was similar to other Hindu-Buddhist civilizations which were being formed in Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia. Champa did not become an established kingdom until 192 AD after which time it became quite advanced with walled cities, books and archives, palaces, and monuments, many of which were built by slaves. Residents of Champa were able to grow two crops of rice per year with a sophisticated system of irrigation which was overseen by a water chief, someone selected to monitor the irrigation ditches and canals. While some cities in Champa remained centers of religion and trade, this kingdom was mostly made up of small territories in river valleys and on coastal plains, each with a local ruler who was seen by his subjects as a representative of the gods. The height of Cham civilization occurred during the 6th to 8th centuries. At this time, much trading occurred between the Chams and the highlanders who needed salt as well as with coastal villages in Vietnam and with China. Important trade items included elephant and rhinoceros tusks, cardamom, bee wax, aromatic woods and betel nut. However, when times were not going well in the small coastal city-states, the people turned to looting and pirating in other coastal towns of Champa and Vietnam. After centuries of these pirate raids, the Vietnamese began to fight back and eventually conquered Champa, but not before many aspects of Cham society were incorporated into the societies of Vietnam Cham society is organized in a cluster of City-States, not very different from ancient Greece, in contrast of centralized Vietnamese society influenced by China in the north. NorthBefore the Chinese actually colonized Vietnam, groups from southern China began to move into the Tonkin Delta in order to start new lives after being forced to leave their homelands. Thus, around the 3rd century BC, changes in China began to heavily influence the Dong Son culture which was thriving in Vietnam. One important series of changes occurred along the Yangtze River in southern China. According to historians, in 333 BC, three cultures, the Shu, the Ch'u, and the Yueh began to fight among themselves, causing the Yueh to move south in small scattered kingdoms. At the same time, the central power of northern China, the Ch'in Dynasty, began to split so that a large number of princes and members of the aristocracy also moved south to start their own small kingdoms. Cantonese "Yueh" gave the name "Viet". The people of the Red River civilizations, also known as Lac society, began to feel the effects of these newcomers who gradually moved into their homelands. Many historians believe that it was not difficult for the Yueh to be incorporated into Lac society. However, the Au Lac lords began to fight with the Ch'in princes. While they were involved in this fighting, another group from the northwest, the Thuc (who had once been the Shu of the Yangtze River) took advantage of weakness in the area and asserted their authority. The legendary citadel of Co Loa, the remains of which can still be seen today. An Dương Vương's arrival explains the origins of the legendary Au Lac kingdom which is usually associated with the height of Dong Son culture.Vietnamese language may be representative of these influences. Overseas Vietnamese(Vietnamese: Người Việt Hải Ngoại,
which literally means "Overseas Vietnamese", or Việt Kiều,
a Sino-Vietnamese word literally translating to "Vietnamese
sojourner") refers to Vietnamese people living outside Vietnam in a
diaspora. Of the about 3 million Overseas Vietnamese, a majority left Vietnam as
refugees after 1975 as a result of the Fall of Saigon and the resulting takeover
by the Communist regime.
Pictures from Windsor Vietnamese Community - Windsor Ontario Canada ( site in progress) |
