East Asian Empires
Lin Deng & Savanna
Dai Viet
Dai Viet is a former name of Vietnam that refers particularly to northern Vietnam. It had many dynasties, and cycled time after through periods of rise, success, and decline. As a whole, the country lasted nearly a thousand years, between 939 and 1874.
Geography
Geography
The geography of the region comprises several mountain ranges cut through by hundreds of rivers, the greatest of which is the Red River, which starts in China and runs through northern Vietnam to empty into the Gulf of Tonkin. The Red River's vast delta area offers fertile soil and an abundance of water for growing crops, primarily rice. But it can also cause destructive flooding, especially during the wet season when moist monsoon winds bring heavy rain and even occasional typhoons.
Beginnings of Dai Viet
Beginnings of Dai Viet
In 111 B.C., China conquered the area that would become Dai Viet. Despite revolts that would happen on occasion, China held the land as one of its territories for a thousand years. Not until 939 A.D. did Dai Viet determinately establish itself as an independent state, seizing the chance in the turmoil surrounding the fall of the Tang Dynasty of China. Dai Viet's first dynaties were brief and ill-fated until eventually the much stabler Ly Dynasty established itself in 1010.
Dai Viet's Prime
Dai Viet's Prime
Vietnamese culture especially flourished during the successful Ly, Tran, and Le Dynasties. Founded in 1009 by Ly Thai To, the Ly Dynasty was the first dynasty of Dai Viet to last a significant length of time. Other societies such as present-day China and Cambodia attempted to conquer them, but in the end none were very successful.The Ly Dynasty combined several elements from other civilizations to build a government and culture all its own. The land was divided into twenty-four provinces. Technically, the king owned all land, but fiefdoms were given to royal family members and noblemen to manage, and the peasents that worked the land only had to pay taxes to their feudal lord in most cases, not the king. There were also mandarins, or high ranking scholar-officials, an idea boorowed from China. Over time, the mandarins formed a bureaucracy. Dai Viet was a largely agrarian society, and agriculture was very important not only for the sake of survival but also as a part of Dai Viet's culture. Even the king would ceremonially plow a plot of land every spring. In order to maximize the land's potential, the Vietnamese made many endeavors to control water through the construction of canals, dykes, dams,and other such means, particulaly around the Red River to control its flooding.
Vietnamese culture flourished during the Ly Dynasty. Buddhism and Confucianism was strong during this period, and the first Vietnamese university was established of what is today Hanoi on the Red River delta. Many beautiful works of art were produced duiring this period, and
3
4
3