Vietnam under Chinese rule in the context of "Socialist Republic of Vietnam"

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of Mainland Southeast Asia. With an area of about 331,000 square kilometres (128,000 sq mi) and a population of over 100 million, it is the world's 15th-most populous country. One of two communist states in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east; it also shares maritime borders with Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to the south and southwest, the Philippines to the east, and China to the northeast. Its capital is Hanoi, while its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam was inhabited by the Paleolithic age, with states established in the first millennium BC on the Red River Delta in modern-day northern Vietnam. The Han dynasty annexed northern and central Vietnam, which were subsequently under Chinese rule from 111 BC until the first dynasty emerged in 939. Successive monarchical dynasties absorbed Chinese influences through Confucianism and Buddhism, and expanded southward to the Mekong Delta, conquering Champa. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Vietnam was effectively divided into two domains of Đàng Trong and Đàng Ngoài. The Nguyễn—the last imperial dynasty—surrendered to France in 1883. In 1887, its territory was integrated into French Indochina as three separate regions. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the Viet Minh, a coalition front led by the communist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, launched the August Revolution and declared Vietnam's independence from the Empire of Japan in 1945.

Hanoi (/hæˈnɔɪ/ han-OY; Vietnamese: Hà Nội [hàː nôjˀ] ) is the capital and second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red and Black Rivers). The city encompasses an area of 3,358.6 km (1,296.8 sq mi), and as of 2025 has a population of 8,807,523. Hanoi had the second-highest gross regional domestic product of all Vietnamese provinces and municipalities at US$48 billion in 2023, behind only Ho Chi Minh City.

In the third century BCE, the Cổ Loa Capital Citadel of Âu Lạc was constructed in what is now Hanoi. Âu Lạc then fell under Chinese rule for a thousand years. In 1010, under the Lý dynasty, Vietnamese emperor Lý Thái Tổ established the capital of the imperial Vietnamese nation Đại Việt in modern-day central Hanoi, naming the city Thăng Long [tʰɐŋ loŋ], 'ascending dragon'). In 1428, King Lê Lợi renamed the city to Đông Kinh [ɗoŋ kīŋ̟], 'eastern capital'), and it remained so until 1789. The Nguyễn dynasty in 1802 moved the national capital to Huế and the city was renamed Hanoi in 1831. It served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1945 and French protectorate of Tonkin from 1883 to 1949. After the August Revolution and the fall of the Nguyễn dynasty, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) designated Hanoi as the capital of the newly independent country. From 1949 to 1954, it was part of the State of Vietnam. It was again part of the DRV ruling North Vietnam from 1954 to 1976. In 1976, it became the capital of the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In 2008, Hà Tây Province and two other rural districts were annexed into Hanoi, almost tripling Hanoi's area.

The culture of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Văn hoá Việt Nam, chữ Hán: 文化越南) are the customs and traditions of the Kinh people and the other ethnic groups of Vietnam. Vietnam is part of Southeast Asia and the Sinosphere due to the influence of Chinese culture on Vietnamese culture.

Ancient Vietnamese cultural artifacts, such as Dong Son drums were found spread throughout Southeast Asia and South China, suggesting a spread of ancient Viet (Yue) culture all the way south to Indonesia. Vietnamese culture was heavily influenced by Chinese culture due to the "1000 years of Northern Rule" (111 BCE – 939 CE). From this period until the 19th century, Classical Chinese (Hán văn) was the language used for formal writing. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, popular literature and folk songs were written in the Vietnamese language using a Vietnamese script (chữ Nôm) derived from Chinese characters (chữ Hán).

Ngô Quyền (chữ Hán: 吳權) (April 17, 898 – February 14, 944), often referred to as Tiền Ngô Vương (前吳王; "First King of Ngô"), was a warlord who later became the founding king of the Ngô dynasty of Vietnam. He reigned from 939 to 944. In 938, he defeated the Southern Han dynasty at the Battle of Bạch Đằng River north of modern Haiphong. The battle is celebrated in Vietnamese national history as it ended 1,000 years of Chinese rule over Vietnam dating back to 111 BC under the Western Han dynasty. A central district in modern Haiphong is named after him.

Spoken and written Vietnamese today uses the Latin script-based Vietnamese alphabet to represent native Vietnamese words (thuần Việt), Vietnamese words which are of Chinese origin (Hán-Việt, or Sino-Vietnamese), and other foreign loanwords. Historically, Vietnamese literature was written by scholars using a combination of Chinese characters (Hán) and original Vietnamese characters (Nôm). From 111 BC up to the 20th century, Vietnamese literature was written in Văn ngôn (Classical Chinese) using chữ Hán (Chinese characters), and then also Nôm (Chinese and original Vietnamese characters adapted for vernacular Vietnamese) from the 13th century to 20th century.

Chữ Hán were introduced to Vietnam during the thousand year period of Chinese rule from 111 BC to 939 AD. Texts in Vietnam were written using chữ Hán by the 10th century at the latest. Chữ Hán continued to be used as the official administrative script until the 19th century with the exception of two brief periods under the Hồ (1400–1407) and Tây Sơn (1778–1802) dynasties when chữ Nôm was promoted. Chữ Nôm is a blend of chữ Hán and unique Vietnamese characters to write the Vietnamese language. It may have been used as early as the 8th century but concrete textual evidence dates to the 13th century. Chữ Nôm never supplanted chữ Hán as the primary writing system and less than five percent of the educated Vietnamese population used it, primarily as a learning aid for chữ Hán and writing folk literature. Due to its unofficial nature, chữ Nôm was used as a medium for social protest, leading to several bans during the Lê dynasty (1428–1789). In spite of this, a sizable body of literature in chữ Nôm had accumulated by the 19th century, and these texts could be orally disseminated by individuals in villages.

The Hoa people, also known as Vietnamese Chinese (Vietnamese: người Hoa, Chinese: 華人; pinyin: Huárén; Cantonese Yale: Wàhyàhn; or Chinese: 唐人; Jyutping: Tong4 jan4; Cantonese Yale: Tòhngyàhn), are an ethnic minority in Vietnam composed of citizens and nationals of full or partial Han Chinese ancestry. The term primarily refers to ethnic Chinese who migrated from southern Chinese provinces to Vietnam during the 18th century, although Chinese migration to the region dates back millennia. While millions of Vietnamese may trace distant Chinese lineage due to centuries of Vietnam under Chinese rule, the Hoa are defined by their continued identification with Chinese language, culture and community. They remain closely connected to broader Han Chinese identity. "Chinese-Vietnamese" usually refers to these individuals, in contrast to those who have assimilated into Vietnamese society and are no longer regarded as culturally Chinese.

The Hoa have historically maintained a prominent role in Vietnam's commercial and urban life. Under French Indochina, colonial authorities often favoured the Hoa for their commercial acumen. From the late 19th century to the early 1970s, the Hoa dominated the private sector, with estimates attributing 70 to 80 percent of pre-1975 Saigon's privately owned businesses to them. After 1975, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) seized power and targeted many Hoa businesses and properties for confiscation. Hoa individuals were accused of political disloyalty and collaboration with foreign powers. The situation worsened in the period preceding and throughout the Sino-Vietnamese War, prompting a mass exodus of Hoa as boat people fleeing persecution.

Vietnam, with its coastal strip, rugged mountainous interior, and two major deltas, became home to numerous cultures throughout history. Its strategic geographical position in Southeast Asia also made it a crossroads of trade and a focal point of conflict, contributing to its complex and eventful past. The first Ancient East Eurasian hunter-gatherers arrived at least 40,000 years ago. Around 4,000 years ago during the Neolithic period, Ancient Southern East Asian populations, particularly Austroasiatic and Austronesian peoples, began migrating from southern China into Southeast Asia, bringing with them rice-cultivation knowledge, languages, and much of the genetic basis of the modern population of Vietnam. In the first millennium BCE the Đông Sơn culture emerged, based on rice cultivation and focused on the indigenous chiefdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc.

Following the 111 BCE Han conquest of Nanyue, much of Vietnam came under Chinese dominance for a thousand years. The period nonetheless saw numerous uprisings, and Vietnamese kingdoms occasionally enjoyed de facto independence. Buddhism and Hinduism arrived by the 2nd century CE, making Vietnam the first place which shared influences of both Chinese and Indian cultures.

Hanoi (/hæˈnɔɪ/ han-OY; Vietnamese: Hà Nội [hàː nôjˀ] ) is the capital and second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red and Black Rivers). The city encompasses an area of 3,358.6 km (1,296.8 mi), and as of 2025 has a population of 8,807,523. Hanoi had the second-highest gross regional domestic product of all Vietnamese provinces and municipalities at US$48 billion in 2023, behind only Ho Chi Minh City.

In the third century BCE, the Cổ Loa Capital Citadel of Âu Lạc was constructed in what is now Hanoi. Âu Lạc then fell under Chinese rule for a thousand years. In 1010, under the Lý dynasty, Vietnamese emperor Lý Thái Tổ established the capital of the imperial Vietnamese nation Đại Việt in modern-day central Hanoi, naming the city Thăng Long [tʰɐŋ loŋ], 'ascending dragon'). In 1428, King Lê Lợi renamed the city to Đông Kinh [ɗoŋ kīŋ̟], 'eastern capital'), and it remained so until 1789. The Nguyễn dynasty in 1802 moved the national capital to Huế and the city was renamed Hanoi in 1831. It served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1945 and French protectorate of Tonkin from 1883 to 1949. After the August Revolution and the fall of the Nguyễn dynasty, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) designated Hanoi as the capital of the newly independent country. From 1949 to 1954, it was part of the State of Vietnam. It was again part of the DRV ruling North Vietnam from 1954 to 1976. In 1976, it became the capital of the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In 2008, Hà Tây Province and two other rural districts were annexed into Hanoi, almost tripling Hanoi's area.