The Hồng Bàng period (),Dror, p. 33 & 254 "Hồng Bàng period" also called the Hồng Bàng dynasty,Pelley, p. 151 was a legendary ancient period in Vietnamese historiography, spanning from the beginning of the rule of Kinh Dương Vương over the kingdom of Văn Lang (initially called Xích Quỷ) in 2879 BC until the conquest of the state by An Dương Vương in 258 BC.
The 15th-century Vietnamese chronicle Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (Đại Việt, The Complete History) claimed that the period began with Kinh Dương Vương as the first Hùng king ( or Vua Hùng), a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Vietnamese rulers of this period.Tucker, Oxford Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War The Hùng king was the absolute monarch of the country and, at least in theory, wielded complete control of the land and its resources. The Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư also recorded that the nation's capital was Phong Châu (in present-day Phú Thọ Province in northern Vietnam) and alleged that Văn Lang was bordered to the west by Ba-Shu (present-day Sichuan), to the north by Dongting Lake (Hunan), to the east by the South China Sea and to the south by Champa.
Origin of name The name Hồng Bàng is the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of characters "" assigned to this dynasty in early Vietnamese-written histories in Chinese; its meaning is supposedly a mythical giant (龐) bird (鴻).Thích Nhất Hạnh, Master Tang Hoi: First Zen Teacher in Vietnam and China – 2001 Page 1 "At that time the civilization of northern Vietnam was known as Van Lang (van means beautiful, and lang means kind and healing, like a good doctor). The ruling house of Van Lang was called Hong Bang, which means a kind of huge bird."
French linguist Michel Ferlus (2009)Michel Ferlus. "Formation of Ethnonyms in Southeast Asia". 42nd International Conference on SinoTibetan Languages and Linguistics, Nov 2009, Chiang Mai, Thailand. 2009. pp. 4-5 includes Văn Lang (Old Chinese: ZS *mɯn-raːŋ; B&S *mə[n]-C.rˤaŋ) in the word-family *-ra:ŋ "human being, person" of Southeast Asian ethnonyms across three linguistic families, Austroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Austronesian, together with: The ethnonym Maleng of a Vietic people living in Vietnam and Laos; Ferlus suggests that Vietic *m.leŋ is the "iambic late form" of *m.ra:ŋ. A kingdom north of today-Cambodia, Táng-míng in Sānguózhì and later Dào-míng in Tang documents; A kingdom subjected by Jayavarman II in the 8th century, known as Maleṅ [məlɨə̆ŋ] in Pre-Angkorian and Malyaṅ [məlɨə̆ŋ] in Angkorian Khmer; the kingdom's name is phonetically connected with Maleng, yet nothing further is conclusive. The ethnonym မြန်မာ Mraṅmā (1342); in Chinese transcription : OC *moːɡ-raːŋs → MC *muk̚-lɑŋᴴ → Mandarin Mù-làng. Malayic *ʔuʀaŋ "human being, person". There also exists a phonetically similar Proto-Mon-Khmer etymon: *t₂nra:ŋ "man, male".Shorto, H. A Mon-Khmer Comparative Dictionary, Ed. Paul Sidwell, 2006. #692. p. 217
The earliest historical mentions of Văn Lang, however, just had been recorded in Chinese-language documents, dated back to the Tang dynasty (7th- to 9th-century), about the area of Phong Châu (Phú Thọ).Du You, Tongdian, Vol. 184 "峰州(今理嘉寧縣。)古文朗國，有文朗水。亦陸梁地。" translation: "Feng province (now Jianing prefecture) [was] the ancient Wenlang nation; there was the Wenlang river; also a wanderers' land."Taiping Yulan "Provinces, Districts, and Divisions 18", Section: Lingnan Circuit" 《方輿志》曰：峰州，承化郡。古文郎國，有文郎水。亦陸梁地。" Translation: "'Geographical Almanacs' said: Feng province, Shenghua district. It was the ancient Wenlang nation; there was the Wenlang river; also a wanderers' land...Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties vol .38 "峯州承化下... 古夜(!)郎國之地按今新昌縣界有夜(!)郎溪" translation: "Feng province, lower Shenghua... Territory of the ancient Ye(!)lang nation. Next to the border of the current Xinchang prefecture, there is the Ye(!)lang brook." Note: not to be confused with the Yelang Kingdom in today Guizhou, China However, Chinese records also indicated that another people, who lived elsewhere, were also called Văn Lang.Taiping Yulan "Provinces, Districts, and Divisions 18", Section: Lingnan Circuit"《林邑記》曰：蒼梧以南有文郎野人，居無室宅，依樹止宿，食生肉，采香為業，與人交易，若上皇之人。'Records of Linyi' said: From Cangwu Commandery to the south there are the wild people of Wenlang. They don't dwell in houses, use large trees as their resting places, eat raw meat; their profession is fragrance-gathering and they trade with other peoples, like people during the Sovereigns' time.'Li Daoyuan, Commentary on the Water Classic Chapter 36 quote: "《林邑記》曰：渡比景至朱吾。朱吾縣浦，今之封界，朱吾以南，有文狼人，野居無室宅，依樹止宿，食生魚肉，採香為業，與人交市，若上皇之民矣。縣南有文狼究，下流逕通。" translation: "'Records of Linyi' said: Crossing Bijing to Zhouwu. Zhouwu prefecture's shores are the present borders. From Zhouwu to the south there were the Wenlang people. They dwell in the wilderness, not houses, use large trees as their resting places, eat raw meat and fish, their profession is fragrance-gathering and they trade with other peoples at the markets. Like how people lived during the time of the Sovereigns. To the south of the prefecture there is the Wenlang rapid; its lower reach is a narrow flow."
History
Pre-dynastic
The area now known as Vietnam has been inhabited since Palaeolithic times, with some archaeological sites in Thanh Hóa Province reportedly dating back around half a million years ago. The prehistoric people had lived continuously in local caves since around 6000 BC, until more advanced material cultures developed.Ancient calendar unearthed . Retrieved 2014-01-05. Some caves are known to have been the home of many generations of early humans.6,000-year-old tombs unearthed in northeast Vietnam . Retrieved 2014-01-19. As northern Vietnam was a place with mountains, forests, and rivers, the number of tribes grew between 5000 and 3000 BC.Lamb, p. 52
During a few thousand years in the Late Stone Age, the inhabitant populations grew and spread to every part of Vietnam. Most ancient people were living near the Hồng (Red), Cả and Mã rivers. The Vietnamese tribes were the primary tribes at this time. Their territory included modern meridional territories of China to the banks of the Hồng River in the northern territory of Vietnam. Centuries of developing a civilization and economy based on the cultivation of irrigated rice encouraged the development of tribal states and communal settlements.
Xích Quỷ Kingdom Legend describes a significant political event occurred when Lộc Tục came into power in 2879 BC. Lộc Tục was recorded as a descendant of the mythical ruler Shennong. He consolidated the other tribes and succeeded in grouping all the vassal states (or autonomous communities) within his territory into a unified nation. Lộc Tục proclaimed himself Kinh Dương Vương and called his newly born nation Xích Quỷ. In the Complete Annals of Đại Việt (Vietnamese: Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, chữ Hán: 大越史記全書), states that,
The name Xích Quỷ 赤鬼 is derived from Sino-Vietnamese xích 赤 "red" and quỷ 鬼 "demon". The meaning of the name is from Twenty-Eight Mansions, where 鬼 quỷ refers to the constellation 鬼宿 (Sino-Vietnamese: Quỷ tú, Vietnamese: sao Quỷ) which lies in the South (a common motif of Vietnamese place names). Red 赤 is associated with Vermilion Bird of the South (Sino-Vietnamese: Chu Tước, chữ Hán: 朱雀).
Lộc Tục inaugurated the earliest monarchical regime as well as the first ruling family by heirdom in Vietnam's history. He is regarded as the ancestor of the Hùng kings, as the founding father of Vietnam, and as a Vietnamese cultural hero who is credited with teaching his people how to cultivate rice.
Văn Lang Kingdom Starting from the third Hùng dynasty since 2524 BC, the kingdom was renamed Văn Lang, and the capital was set up at Phong Châu (in modern Việt Trì, Phú Thọ) at the juncture of three rivers where the Red River Delta begins from the foot of the mountains. The evidence that the Vietnamese knew how to calculate the lunar calendar by carving on stones dates back to 2200–2000 BC. Parallel lines were carved on the stone tools as a counting instrument involving the lunar calendar.
According to Vietnamese legend, at one point, Văn Lang had a war against Shang-China invasion, which Văn Lang came out victorious thanks to general Gióng.
The Hồng Bàng epoch finally ended in the middle of the third century BC on the advent of the military leader Thục Phán's conquest of Văn Lang, dethroning the last Hùng king.
Âu Lạc Kingdom
Văn Lang ended 258 BC when Thục Phán led the Âu Việt tribes to overthrow the last Hùng king in approximately 258 BC. After conquering Văn Lang, Thục Phán united the Lạc Việt tribes with the Âu Việt tribes to form a new kingdom of Âu Lạc. He proclaimed himself An Dương Vương and built his capital and citadel, Cổ Loa Citadel, in the modern-day Dong Anh district of Hanoi..
Organization
The first Hùng King established the first "Vietnamese" state in response to the needs of co-operation in constructing hydraulic systems and in struggles against their enemies. This was a very primitive form of a sovereign state with the Hùng king on top and under him a court consisted of advisors – the lạc hầu. The country was composed of fifteen bộ "regions", each ruled by a lạc tướng; usually the lạc tướng was a member of the Hùng kings' family. Bộ comprised the agricultural hamlets and villages based on a matriarchal clan relationship and headed by a bộ chính, usually a male tribal elder.
The Tale of the Hồng Bàng Clan claimed that Hùng kings had named princesses as "mỵ nương" (From Tai mae nang, which means princess), and prince as quan lang (From Muong word for Muong noble throughout the time).
Semi-historical source described Văn Lang's northern border stretched to the southern part of present-day Hunan, and the southern border stretched to the Cả River delta, including parts of modern Guangxi, Guangdong and Northern Vietnam.Khâm định Việt sử thông giám cương mục, Vol. 1 Such claims haven't been proved by archeological research.
According to Trần Trọng Kim's book, Việt Nam sử lược (A Brief History of Vietnam), the country was divided into 15 regions as in the table below. However, they're in fact taken from Sino-Vietnamese names of later commanderies established by the Chinese in northern Vietnam.
+Regions of Văn Lang Name Present-day locationPhong Châu (King's capital) Phú Thọ ProvinceChâu Diên (朱鳶) Sơn Tây ProvincePhúc Lộc (福祿)Sơn Tây ProvinceTân Hưng (新興) Hưng Hóa (part of Phú Thọ Province) and Tuyên Quang ProvinceVũ Định (武定) Thái Nguyên Province and Cao Bằng ProvinceVũ Ninh (武寧) Bắc Ninh ProvinceLục Hải (陸 海) Lạng Sơn ProvinceNinh Hải (寧海) Quảng Yên (a part of Quảng Ninh Province)Dương Tuyên (陽泉) Hải Dương ProvinceGiao Chỉ (交趾) Hà Nội, Hưng Yên Province, Nam Định Province and Ninh Bình ProvinceCửu Chân (九真)Thanh Hóa ProvinceHoài Hoan (懷驩)Nghệ An ProvinceViệt Thường (越 裳)Quảng Bình Province and Quảng Trị ProvinceCửu Đức (九德)Hà Tĩnh ProvinceBình Văn (平文) Ninh Binh from Day River to Mount Tara Diep
Culture and economy
Agriculture The economy was based predominantly on rice paddy cultivation, and also included handicrafts, hunting and gathering, husbandry and fishing. Especially, the skill of bronze casting was at a high level. The most famous relics are Đông Sơn Bronze Drums on which are depicted houses, clothing, customs, habits, and cultural activities of the Hùng era.
The Hùng Vươngs ruled Văn Lang in feudal fashion with the aid of the Lạc Tướng, who controlled the communal settlements around each irrigated area, organized construction and maintenance of the dikes, and regulated the supply of water. Besides cultivating rice, the people of Văn Lang grew other grains and beans and raised stock, mainly buffaloes, chickens, and pigs. Pottery-making and bamboo-working were highly developed crafts, as were basketry, leather-working, and the weaving of hemp, jute, and silk.