VIETNAM IN MY EYES Culture and Customs of Viet Nam Viet Nam 2021 2 CONTENTS I Viet Nam in my Eyes 3 II Land, People and Language 4 III History and Institutions 10 IV Thought and Religion 12 V Literatu.
VIETNAM IN MY EYES Culture and Customs of Viet Nam Viet Nam 2021 CONTENTS I Viet Nam in my Eyes II Land, People and Language III History and Institutions 10 IV Thought and Religion 12 V Literature 14 VI Art and Architecture 14 VII Cuisine 23 VIII Family, Gender, and Youth Culture 29 IX Festivals and Leisure Activities 32 X Performing Arts 42 I Viet Nam in my Eyes The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, widely known as Vietnam, is not a strange name to the whole world Although this country is ravaged by a series of wars which causes serious damages, Vietnam in the eyes of the world is nice and peaceful Vietnam is located in the eastern Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia, with Hanoi as its capital With an area of 331,690 sq kilometers, to the north of Vietnam is China, to the west is Laos and Cambodia, to the east is Gulf of Tonkin and East Sea, and to the south is Thailand Gulf The land is a center of trading, cultural interaction, and even conflicts for centuries It proves that Vietnam has an advantageous position in the region with long coastline and numerous attractions Having a tropical climate, Vietnam is well known for from magnificent scenery and colorful hill tribes to wide terraced fields in Red River Delta and Mekong River Delta, to majestic mountains, and white sandy beaches Vietnam, nowadays, is one of should-not-miss destinations in Asia Traveling to Asia in general in Vietnam in particular becomes of great appeal to tourists from all over the world in recent time Asia is no longer a hard place to go With several greatly important milestones in its history such as lifting of embargoes, economic reform and the opening door policy, Vietnam increasingly becomes a popular tourist destination in the region and in the world II Land, People, and Language Land Whole Vietnam's territory runs along the eastern coast of the peninsula, in which the mainland extends from the longitude 102°8'E to 109°27'E and between the latitude 8°27'N and 23°23'N In addition, Vietnam also considers Parcel Islands and Spratly Islands as its territory The S-shaped country has a north-to-south distance of 1,650 kilometers and is about 50 kilometers wide at the narrowest point The country also has a land border with China (1,281 km), Laos (2,130 km), Cambodia (1,228 km) and a long coastline, adjacent to the Gulf of Tonkin, South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand Located in the area of tropical monsoon climate with high humidity of over 80% all the year round, with the diversification in topography, three main regions of Vietnam stretch in different climate zones The climate in Vietnam varies from North to South, from mountains to plains and coastal The divisions of Vietnam weather may cause certain effects on travel decisions of tourists Often, the Vietnamese government groups the various provinces into eight regions: Northwest, Northeast, Red River Delta, North Central Coast, South Central Coast, Central Highlands, Southeast, and Mekong River Delta These regions are not always used, and alternative classifications are possible On the First Tier, Vietnam is divided into fifty eight province (Vietnamese: tỉnh) and five municipalities under the command of the central government Municipalities are the highest-ranked cities in Vietnam Municipalities are centrally-controlled cities and have special status equal to the provinces Northeast Vietnam is one of the most advantageous regions in Vietnam This part plays an essential role in the development of the whole country This region has advantages of both geography and economy In this region, most of population is Kinh people, and a number of ethnic minority groups, which creates diversity in culture, customs, and lifestyle Owning many wonderful landscapes and seascapes with various cultural identities, Northeast Vietnam appeals a large number of tourists and investors annually Population in Northeast Vietnam is about over 13 million of people, accounting for about 15% of Vietnam population The population growth rate of this region is high, but the rate has signals of decrease in recent years The living standard of people in this region is higher than that of the entire country and other regions Northeast Vietnam has the most diverse ethnic structure in Vietnam with 40 ethnic groups living together Ethnic minority groups reside in certain places where there are favorable conditions to conduct policy of the government, organized their lives going with practiced customs From the charm of Tay girls, the flexibility of H ‘Mong women to the refinement of Dao and Cao Lan people, all have created a colorful cultural space in Northeast Vietnam in particular and in North Vietnam in general North Central Coast is the northern part of Central Vietnam with the geographical area from the south of Tam Diep Mountain Range to the north of Hai Van Pass North Central is one of seven economic regions assigned to plan socio-economic overall by the Government This region consists of six provinces: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue North Central Coast region in Vietnam is adjacent to North and Central key economic region on the North - South transport axis of the railway; many motorways in east west direction (7, 8, 9, and 29) connect Laos with South China Sea In addition, the region retains an convenient transportation system of airports (Vinh, Dong Hoi, Phu Bai), ports (Nghi Son, Cua Lo, Cua Hoi, Vung Anh, Son Duong, Cua Gianh, Nhat Le, Cua Viet, Thuan An, Chan May ), and high ways which lead to an important tourism center of the country (Phong Nha - Ke Bang, Hue Ancient Capital…) and promote economic exchanges among Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar The Southeast is situated in a special position which plays an important role in socio-economic development, transportation, and national security The land also has favorable conditions to develop industries, services, tourism and become a leader in the industrialization and modernization, especially the development of high technology industry, electronic industry, and telecommunication services and so on The Southeast of Vietnam consists of provinces including Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Dong Nai The natural area of this land is 23, 605 square kilometer, which accounts for 7.1 % the total area of Vietnam This is a new land in the developing history of the country The west and southwest of the region share a border with the Mekong Delta, which has a great potential for agriculture and also the largest granary in Vietnam The Southeast also borders with the South China Sea in the east and southeast having rich marine resources and favorable conditions for the construction of seaports In addition, the northwest shares border with Cambodia, which contains Tay Ninh border gate to promote widespread exchanges with Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar With these favorable conditions in the Southeast Vietnam geography, this region becomes an important transport hub not only for the south provinces of the country but also for foreign countries Besides, belonging to the southern climate, the region has features of equatorial climate with high temperature and virtually no changes in a year Especially, it has the profound seasonal differentiation consistent with the operation of the monsoon People and Language As being a nation of 54 ethnic groups, Vietnam absolutely has a colorful culture with various traditional customs and cultural identity Vietnamese culture is affect much by main religions as Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, and Cao Dai Most of Vietnamese people thought that they not follow any religious, yet they go to temples and pagodas annually to pray for luck and happiness H’mong tribe from Northern Viet Nam Tonal (has to tones depending on a district), monosyllabic, isolating language (words don’t change their forms), has three writing systems, with only the latest Quoc Ngu used today Vietnamese language is permeated with indicators of status and of the relationship between speaker and interlocutor In family relationships are based in terms of age, sex, generation, paternal and maternal lineage, and marriage It is customary to address people by given names Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam About 85% of the population speaks Vietnamese as their mother tongue, while the minority ethnic people speak this language as their second language As being spoken by a large number of native speakers, surpassing some other languages like Turkish and Italian, Vietnamese is regarded as one of the most important languages in the world According to the world’s statistics, there are at least about 80 million people speaking Vietnamese all over the world, of course, in Vietnam, the figure is overwhelmed in Vietnam itself Although some Vietnamese words are borrowed from Chinese words, Vietnamese language has its own features with Latin alphabet, or Vietnamese alphabet Vietnamese education is in the progress of integration There are four education levels in Vietnam: primary, secondary, high school, and university III History and Institutions Pre-Colonial Institutions o Four Confucian classes: sholars (si), peasants (nong), artisans (cong), and merchants (thuong) o Basic administrative and social unit – the village o Appearance of three main cities: Hue (preeminent administrative city, where the Emperor resided), Ha Noi (strategically well positioned, capital until now), and Sai Gon (prominent for commercial reasons) Viet Nam Under French Domination 10 entrance to all temples is free of charge, where you can see monks and locals holding candlelit ceremonies Hoi An Lantern Festival takes place in UNESCO-listed Hoi An, but the best place to celebrate is along the Ancient Town area Held until late, the streets are also filled with musicians playing traditional instruments, Chinese chess, poetry readings, and lantern-making classes Buddha’s Birthday Buddha’s Birthday is celebrated by devotees throughout Vietnam, despite being a communist country Taking place on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, many temples are adorned with lavish decorations with locals offering fruit, flower garlands, and various 40 Vietnamese dishes This event often draws thousands of visitors looking to partake in street parades and prayer sessions Hoi An is arguably the best place to enjoy this festivity Held at Phap Bao Pagoda, the day starts with a procession of monks along the streets of Hoi An Ancient Town, before locals flock to the temple to perform religious rites, listen to Buddhist scriptures In the evening, expect a lively parade along the main road of the Old Town, where animals are released while flower garlands and lanterns are placed along the riverbank Aside from experiencing the local culture, Buddha’s Birthday is also a great time to enjoy vegetarian dishes sold by street vendors in Hoi An 10 Phu Giay Festival Phu Giay Festival draws in worshippers of the goddess Lieu Hanh to Phu Giay Pagoda, where they pray for good fortune whilst carrying decorated bamboo relics and wearing traditional costumes 41 Located 88km east of Hanoi, the temple also hosts various games such as capture-the-flag, human chess, lion dancing, and wrestling, resulting in a vibrant atmosphere throughout the day Visitors can also enjoy folk dance and classical songs such as Trong Quan, Cheo (satirical musical theatre) and ca tru (chamber music) Phu Giay Festival is only celebrated by villages within the Kim Thai Commune, with the best place to celebrate being the Phu Giay Temple X Performing Art Vietnamese art has a long and rich history: o Music can be divided into traditional and modern; o Within the traditional: court, folkloric, chamber, and liturgical music; o Vietnamese music is pentatonic in scale, stressing the voice more than the instrument; o Folk songs have been ”modernized” recently to attract younger audiences; o Modern music emerged in 1930s; o These days Western-style music is on the high 42 Traditional performing arts of Vietnam and theatre is extremely diverse, consisting of many different styles varying from region to region Some of the most widely known genres include: Ca Tru Singing, Vietnam Cai Luong, Chau Van Singing, Cheo Singing, Then Singing, Hue's Royal Court Music, Quan Ho Singing, Tay Nguyen Gong Music, Tuong Singing, Vietnam's Water Puppetry, Xoan singing, etc especially the Ca Tru singing, Quan Ho, Tay Nguyen Gong Music, Xoan singing and Hue's royal court music was officially proclaimed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO Ca Tru Singing Ca Tru is native to Vietnam’s north and dates back more than 1000 years to the Ly dynasty Ca Tru has many names, depending on each locality, each period of time, it is also called A dao singing, Cua dinh singing, Cua quyen singing, Co dau singing, Nha to singing, Nha tro singing and Ca cong singing 43 This is a long-standing and unique form of art which has special meaning in the musical treasures of Viet Nam, associated with the traditional festivals, customs, religions, literature, music, thoughts and philosophy of the Vietnamese Vietnam Cai Luong Vietnam Cai Luong is a type of performance coming from the South Vietnam and formed from the traditional music of the Mekong River Delta.in the early 20th century, and blossomed in the 1930s as a theatre of the middle class during the country's French colonial period Cải Lương is now promoted as a national theatrical form Unlike the other folk forms, it continued to prove popular with the masses as late as the 1970s and the 1980s, although it is now in decline 44 Chau Van Singing Chau van (or frequently called Trau Van) is an ancient form of art performance that is featured with religious color It originated in the Red River Delta of Northern Vietnam in around 16th century and widely spread to surrounding areas Chau van singing and dancing used for extolling the merits of beneficent deities or national heroes Its music and poetry are mingled with a variety of rhythms, pauses, tempos, stresses and pitches Chau van singing has acquired over centuries both quintessence and folksy characteristics and proven to be a strong attraction to musicologists at home and abroad! Listening to chau van singing means further touching to one unique feature of Vietnamese culture! 45 Cheo Singing Cheo singing is a form of popular theatre in Vietnam that has its roots in ancient village festivals "Cheo" is a form of art performance that is very popular in the North of Vietnam ancient village festivals It derives from folk traditions It was transmitted by oral, including a combination between traditional set pieces and improvisational routines suite for amateur theatre A message of satirical criticism of the existing social order is carried in Cheo’s songs Some musical instruments are used mostly in traditional music such as fiddle, flute “Cheo” originated in Hoa Lu ancient capital (Ninh Binh Province now) under Dinh Dynastry (around 10th century) Till 15th century, King Le Thanh Tong allowed “cheo” performance in the 46 royal palace That form of art performance had rapidly developed and flourished in 19th century There are many famous “cheo” plays which made deeply impression to several generations of audiences like “Quan Am Thi Kinh”, “Luu Binh - Duong Le”, “Truong Vien”, “Kim Nham”, etc Since 20th century, scripts of “cheo” plays have been modernized with the content about contemporary life Then Singing The Then singing of Viet Nam’s Tay and Nung ethnic minority groups is of particular importance to people in the northeast region these provinces Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Ha Giang, Lang Son, and Tuyen Quang Province 47 Some documents indicated that “then” singing’s origin is from Mac Dynasty (in 16thcentury) “Then” singing is combination of singing, music and dance It’s usually performed by a group of vocalists who can be males or females They sing “then” melodies at traditional liturgies of celebrating a new house, weddings, longevity parties, Long Tong Festival; as well as religious rites of praying for health, harvest, funerals Hue's Royal Court Music Nha Nhac meaning “elegant music” refers to a broad range of musical and dance styles performed at the Vietnamese royal court from the fifteenth to the mid-twentieth century.Hue's royal court music has 48 become an essential part of Hue Imperial City as well as Vietnamese culture in general Hue royal court music history Nha Nhac developed during the Le dynasty (1427-1788) and it only reached the peak at the Hue Court under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) It is believed that Nha nhac did not truly reach the pinnacle of its development until the Nguyen Dynasty, when it was synthesized The Nguyễn emperors declared it as the official court music, and it became an essential part of the extensive rituals of the royal palace As a symbol of the dynasty’s power and longevity, Nha Nhac became an essential part of the court’s many ceremonies However, the role of Nha Nhac was not limited to musical accompaniment for court rituals: it also provided a means of communicating with and paying tribute to the gods and kings as well as transmitting knowledge about nature and the universe Quan Ho Singing Quan Ho Singing was born about the 13th century in the Bac Ninh province and was always heard during spring festivals, especially of the Buddhists Bac ninh is the province where numerous pagodas were built, therefore, big Buddhist offering ceremonies were celebrated each year in spring Boys and girls came to adore Buddha and after that, 49 gathered together in front of or inside the pagoda orin the field to sing "Quan ho singing" Unlike the simple lullabies, which were inspired by daily works, quan ho was always searching for new content and new reforms Virtually, all songs heard in festivals express personal subject like addressing the beautiful nature and the satisfaction after harvesting crops together Love in quan ho is not sad and pessimistic as it is in lullabies (ru) or in calls (hò) On the contrary, the tune of this type is rich in tunes and rhythms because it received all the influences of lullabies, poem recitation, etc Tay Nguyen Gong Music Tay Nguyen Gong Music is a traditional form of art that came from the Tay Nguyen region, Central Highlands, in Vietnam This type 50 of music is commonly played in communal activities of ethnic minorities such as the Gia Rai, Ba Na, Co Ho, Brau, and Ede Kpah among others The gong is an instrument that is made of a mixture of gold, bronze, silver, or brass Tay Nguyen Gong Music is a unique kind of music that has religious and artist values It also represents time-honored culture and communal spirit of local ethnic groups The space of gong culture in Central Highlandswas recognized by UNESCO as an oral-transmitted masterpiece and intangible cultural heritage of the humanity in 2005 Tuong Singing : "Tuong Singing", also called "Boi" singing or "Luong Tuong", is the most classical and scholarly drama of Vietnam and developed 51 from literature with folk songs and traditional dance Till the end of the 18th century, "Tuong" was totally developed with great scripts and performances “Tuong” has developed for hundreds of years The person who set the ground for “Tuong” in Vietnam was Dao Duy Tu (1572 - 1634), a poet, artist and diplomat in “Đàng Trong” in the times of Nguyen‘s Lords But Dao Duy Tu couldn’t make “Tuong” the most prominent art performance of the South Vietnam but Dao Tan (1845 - 1907) Dao Tan was born in Binh Dinh Province which is the cradle of “Tuong” nowadays He was the author of hundreds of poems and the teachers of many bands as well as the great director and ideologist 10 Vietnam's Water Puppetry Water puppet is a characterized culture of Vietnam It includes puppet show on land and water puppet You can enjoy these water puppet shows in Thang Long Water Puppet Theater Address: 57b Dinh Tien Hoang Street - Hoan Kiem District - Ha Noi City – Vietnam 52 Vietnam Water Puppets is a form of folk arts originating in the Red River Delta in the north of Vietnam, dating back in the 11th century Many town and villages in Vietnam have communal ponds that 53 are perfect stages for these impromptu performances, enhancing the widespread development of the art form Presently, water puppetry is showed in a pool of water with the water surface being the stage Today's Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition Puppets are made of wood and then lacquered to be watertight and endurable During performances, puppets are controlled via a pole-and string apparatus hidden under the water surface by puppeteers standing in waist-deep water behind the stage While puppets play their roles according to the direction of puppeteers, singers of Cheo (a kind of traditional theater in Vietnam) sing songs to tell the story in words The theme of the play concentrates on the daily life of rural people and folklores that are imparted from generation to generation, not mention to stories of legends and national history Above all, water puppetry created a relaxing space for rural citizens in the past; both watching and playing water puppetry was a good way for the local to entertain, escaping from their daily worries and hardworking life After finishing hanoi tours with Impress Travel, you will have a chance to watch water puppet show in Hanoi AT THE END! 54 ... Vietnam, the figure is overwhelmed in Vietnam itself Although some Vietnamese words are borrowed from Chinese words, Vietnamese language has its own features with Latin alphabet, or Vietnamese... marriage It is customary to address people by given names Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam About 85% of the population speaks Vietnamese as their mother tongue, while the minority... Leisure Activities 32 X Performing Arts 42 I Viet Nam in my Eyes The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, widely known as Vietnam, is not a strange name to the whole world Although this country is ravaged