Van Lang
Encyclopedia
Văn Lang was, according to tradition, the first nation of the ancient Vietnamese people
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
, founded in 2879 BC
3rd millennium BC
The 3rd millennium BC spans the Early to Middle Bronze Age.It represents a period of time in which imperialism, or the desire to conquer, grew to prominence, in the city states of the Middle East, but also throughout Eurasia, with Indo-European expansion to Anatolia, Europe and Central Asia. The...
and existing until 258 BC
258 BC
Year 258 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calatinus and Peterculus...
. It was ruled by the Hùng Kings of the Hồng Bàng Dynasty. There is, however, little reliable historical information available. Hùng Vương is the title of a line of kings and the Văn Lang kingdom are attested in Chinese (Ch'in
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
and T'ang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
dynastic) sources. The people of Văn Lang were referred to as the Lạc Việt, or sometimes simply the Lạc.
According to the 15th century book Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (Đại Việt Complete History), this nation had its capital in Phong Châu; now in Phú Thọ Province
Phu Tho Province
Phú Thọ is a province in northeastern Vietnam. The province's name derives from Sino-Vietnamese and its capital is Viet Tri City, which is away from Hanoi and from the Noi Bai International Airport...
). It was bordered to the east by the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
, to the west by Ba Thục 巴蜀; today Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
), to the north by Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake, or Lake Dongting is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River . Hence the lake's size depends on the season...
(Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
), and to the south by Lake Tôn (Champa
Champa
The kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...
). According to Tran Trong Kim
Tran Trong Kim
Trần Trọng Kim was a Vietnamese scholar and politician who served as the Prime Minister of the short-lived Empire of Vietnam, a puppet state created by Imperial Japan in 1945...
in the book Việt Nam sử lược (A Brief History of Vietnam), this country was divided into 15 regions as in the table below:
| Name | Present-day location |
|---|---|
| Phong Châu (King's capital) | Phú Thọ Province Phu Tho Province Phú Thọ is a province in northeastern Vietnam. The province's name derives from Sino-Vietnamese and its capital is Viet Tri City, which is away from Hanoi and from the Noi Bai International Airport... |
| Châu Diên | Sơn Tây Province |
| Phúc Lộc | Sơn Tây Province |
| Tân Hưng | Hưng Hóa (part of Phú Thọ Province Phu Tho Province Phú Thọ is a province in northeastern Vietnam. The province's name derives from Sino-Vietnamese and its capital is Viet Tri City, which is away from Hanoi and from the Noi Bai International Airport... ) and Tuyên Quang Province Tuyên Quang Province Tuyên Quang is a province of Vietnam, located in the northeastern part of the country to the northwest of Hanoi, at the centre of Lo River valley, a tributary of the Red River. The delta formation in the province is called the Tonkin Delta. Its capital is Tuyên Quang Township... |
| Vũ Định | Thái Nguyên Province Thai Nguyen Province Thái Nguyên is a province in northeastern Vietnam. It is a mountainous, midland province with natural area of 3534.45 square kilometres and a population of 1,149,100 people as of 2008... and Cao Bằng Province Cao Bang Province Cao Bằng is a province of northeastern Vietnam. The province has borders with Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang, Bắc Kạn, and Lạng Sơn provinces within Vietnam. It also has common international border with Guangxi province of the People's Republic of China... |
| Vũ Ninh | Bắc Ninh Province |
| Lục Hải | Lạng Sơn Province Lạng Sơn Province Lạng Sơn is a province in far northern Vietnam, bordering Guangxi province in China. Its capital is also called Lang Son, which is a strategically important town at the border with China and is northeast of Hanoi connected by rail and road... |
| Ninh Hải | Quảng Yên (a part of Quảng Ninh Province Quang Ninh Province Quảng Ninh is a large province located along the northeastern coast of Vietnam. The province is home to Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage Site. The provincial capital is Ha Long. Nearly 80 per cent of the province is mountainous with abundant land, forest water and mineral resources. Nearly 90 per... ) |
| Dương Tuyên | Hải Dương Province Hai Duong Province Hải Dương is a province in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. Its name derives from Sino-Vietnamese , meaning "ocean", though in fact, the province is landlocked.-Geography of Hai Duong:... |
| Giao Chỉ | Hà Nội, Hưng Yên Province Hung Yen Province Hưng Yên is a province in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam.-Administrative divisions:The province comprises one city and nine districts:#Ân Thi#Khoái Châu#Kim Động#Mỹ Hào#Phù Cừ#Tiên Lữ#Văn Giang#Văn Lâm#Yên Mỹ... , Nam Định Province and Ninh Bình Province Ninh Bình Province -Festivals:* Thai Vi festival * Truong Yen Festival* Yen Cu Festival* Non Khe Festival-Transportation:... |
| Cửu Chân | Thanh Hóa Province |
| Hoài Hoan | Nghệ An Province |
| Việt Thường | Quảng Bình Province Quang Binh Province Quảng Bình , formerly Tiên Bình under the reign of Le Trung Hung of the Lê Dynasty, this province was renamed Quảng Bình in 1604) is a province in the North Central Coast of Vietnam.... and Quảng Trị Province Quang Tri Province Quảng Trị is a province on the North Central Coast of Vietnam, north of the former imperial capital of Huế.-Geography:Located in North Central Vietnam, Quang Tri Province is surrounded by Quang Binh Province on the north, Thua Thien-Hue Province on the south, Savannakhet Province of Laos on the... |
| Cửu Đức | Hà Tĩnh Province |
| Bình Văn | unknown |
Việt Sử Lược (Việt Brief History) notes that Văn Lang consisted of 15 regions: in it there are 10 names recorded similar to those given in Đại Việt Complete History (Giao Chỉ, Vũ Ninh, Việt Thường, Ninh Hải, Lục Hải, Hoài Hoan, Cửu Chân, Bình Văn, Cửu Đức, and Văn Lang), and five regions with different names (Quân Ninh, Gia Ninh, Thang Tuyền, Tân Xương, and Nhật Nam).
The founder of Văn Lang was Hùng Vương
Hung Vuong
Hùng Vương is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Vietnamese rulers of the Hồng Bàng) period. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Vietnam...
(King Hùng). The Hùng Vương throne was hereditary. The Hùng Kings were military commanders and religious leaders at the same time.
Văn Lang was supposedly ruled by 88 Hùng Kings, but only 18 names are recorded (or, according to recent research, 18 names of 18 Dynasties, like Ancient Egyptian):
- Hùng Dương (Lộc Tục)
- Hùng Hiền (Lạc Long Quân)
- Hùng Lân (vua)
- Hùng Việp
- Hùng Hy
- Hùng Huy
- Hùng Chiêu
- Hùng Vỹ
- Hùng Định
- Hùng Hy
- Hùng Trinh
- Hùng Võ
- Hùng Việt
- Hùng Anh
- Hùng Triều
- Hùng Tạo
- Hùng Nghị
- Hùng Duệ
Văn Lang ended when, in roughly 258 BC
258 BC
Year 258 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calatinus and Peterculus...
E, the Âu Việt tribe invaded. The Âu Việt king, Thục Phán, defeated the last Hùng Vương, uniting the two kingdoms, naming the new nation "Âu Lạc", and proclaiming himself King An Dương Vương
An Duong Vuong
An Dương Vương is the title of Thục Phán , who ruled over the ancient kingdom of Âu Lạc from 257 to 207 BCE, after defeating the state of Văn Lang and uniting the two tribes Âu Việt and Lạc Việt...
.
See also
- Van Lang UniversityVan Lang UniversityVan Lang University is one of the first private universities in Vietnam under the administration of the Ministry of Education of Vietnam. The university is located in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Van Lang University was established in 1995...
- Hồng Bàng Dynasty
- Việt Nam Sử LượcViệt Nam sử lượcViệt Nam sử lược was the first Quoc Ngu history text compiled by Vietnamese historian Trần Trọng Kim. It covered the period from Hồng Bàng Dynasty to the time of French Indochina. The book was first published in 1921 and reprinted many times to this day...
- Đông Sơn Culture