Vietnamese people
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
| Người Việt | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 75 million | |
| Significant populations in: | Vietnam: 72,000,000 United States: Vietnamese communities of uncertain numbers in Cuba, Finland, Norway, Senegal, Sweden, Taiwan, and elsewhere. | |
| Language: | Vietnamese | |
| Religion: | Predominantly Confucian and Mahayana Buddhist (esp. Pure Land sects, and some Zen-inspired syncretists); with Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hoa Hao and Cao Dai minorities. | |
| Related ethnic groups: | Muong people, Gin people of China | |
The Vietnamese people (Vietnamese: người Việt) are an ethnic group originating from what is now northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 88% to 90% of the population, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam. In the People's Republic of China, they are among the recognized minority groups based especially in or around Guangxi Province and are known in Mandarin through their derivative name Jing/Gin (京). Although geographically and linguistically labelled "Southeast Asians", long periods of Chinese domination and influence has placed them culturally closer to their immediate northern neighbours, the Southern Chinese and other tribes within the proximity of South China.
Origins
According to legend, the first Vietnamese descended from the dragon lord Lạc Long Quân and a heavenly spirit Âu Cơ. They married and had one hundred eggs, which hatched to one hundred children. Their eldest son Hùng Vương ruled as the first Vietnamese king. The predecessors of the Vietnamese people emigrated from present southern China to the Red River delta and mixed with the indigenous population.
In 258 BC An Dương Vương founded the kingdom of Âu Lạc in what is now northern Vietnam. In 208 BC, Chao Tuo (known as Triệu Đà in Vietnamese), a former Qin general from China, allied with with the leaders of the Yue peoples in modern-day Guangdong and declared himself King of Southern Yue. He defeated An Dương Vương and then combined Âu Lạc with territories in southern China and named his kingdom Nam Việt, or Southern Yue (南越). Nam means south. Việt is a derivation of yuet 越, the pronounciation of Yue in ancient Chinese and some modern southern Chinese dialects. The term was used for various peoples in the region south of China, including the regions of northern Vietnam.
Distribution
Originally from northern Vietnam and Southern China, the Vietnamese have conquered much of the land belonging to the Champa Kingdom and Khmer Empire over the centuries. They are the dominant ethnic group in most provinces of Vietnam, and constitute a significant portion of the population of Cambodia. Under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, they were the most persecuted group. Tens of thousands were murdered in regime-organized massacres. Most of the survivors fled to Vietnam.
During the 16th century, some Vietnamese migrated back north into China; although somewhat more Sinicized, their descendants still speak Vietnamese and form the Gin people of China.
When the French left Vietnam in 1954, some Vietnamese people immigrated to France. However, there already have been ethnic Vietnamese residing and/or studying in France since at least the end of World War I. As a result of the partition of North and South Vietnam, about 2 million northern Vietnamese migrated to the south to escape persecution.
The end of the Vietnam War prompted many others to leave the country. Most resettled in North America, Western Europe and Australia. The United States has a large Vietnamese-American community.ka:ვიეტნამელები vi:người Việt
