Ancient Vietnamese History

[Dreamfinder]

Hey All--
Lately I've been doing some personal research into a bit of a tricky topic: ancient Vietnamese history (i.e the ancient Annamite and Nam Viet kingdoms, as well as anything before or between). Does anyone know of any good websites out there that have pics, info, etc. on this subject? I would be very interested in seeing some pics of ancient settlements, artifacts, or anything like that.

Also, if anyone has any personal info about ancient Vietnamese history, please share with those of us who are interested in the subject!:-D

Many, many thanks in advance and look forward to reading more!
Josh (Dreamfinder)

P.S.
It's been a while since I last posted here, so it's good to be back!

[doman]

Try these some:
http://www.ibiblio.org/vietnam/history.html

About Thang Long citadel's vestigers, Hanoi.
http://zdfree.free.fr/diendan/HAthanglong/thanglongp1.html

http://www.asian-nation.org/vietnam-history.shtml

http://www.vietnam-museum.com/view.php?cid=136

http://www.viettouch.com/index.html

Shamed on us, other states have more documents about Vietnam than Vietnam.:)

[vladokan]

Very interesting sites, that was what I and my brother were searching for.
I was very amaized about that there were paper (leaf) banknotes in Viet Nam in 14 century, lol.
http://www.viettouch.com/numis/
When I look one article about the first banknotes and money at all I was amaized that acording to the artcle "In 2005, Bulgaria issued the world's first hybrid paper-polymer banknote.". I have never heard about that and I can't even find any info in Bulgarian about that. So may be it is truth taht we can find more info about our countries abroad

[doman]

Hi Vladokan !

If you have a hobby about numis, you can have a look here:

http://forum.viet-numis.com/

Hope you've got a lot interest infomations there.

[vladokan]

Cám ơn bạn :D

[Dreamfinder]

Doman--
Many thanks for looking up and sharing those sites with us! Those go above and beyond what I was looking for and I think they'll be helpful for a lot of people who come by this board!

I'll be sure to give those lots of study and learn more about the history and culture of Vietnam in the process!

Many thanks again and also to anyone else who may have any other sites to share with us!

Josh (Dreamfinder)

[giotbuon]

Hi Josh--

For more information about the ancient civilization of An Nam, I would recommend these books:

** Connaissance du Vietnam - Pierre Huard and Maurice Durand (translated into English as Viet Nam: Civilization and Culture)

This book has everything! There is information about how the Vietnamese used to hunt and the styles of clothing they wore; how they prepared their foods; old laws; what types of entertainment they had, etc. And there are lots of illustrations. It's an awesome book.

** Văn Minh Việt Nam - Nguyễn Văn Huyên (translated into English as The Ancient Civilization of Vietnam)

Nguyễn Văn Huyên's book is more of an anthropological study of the Vietnamese people than a historiography of Việt Nam. It is divided into three main parts: the family (nhà), the commune (làng), and the state (nước). If you are interested in how these three institutions have helped to build the nation of Việt Nam, this is the book to read.

** Việt Nam: Borderless Histories – edited by Nhung Tuyet Tran and Anthony Reid

Out of the three books, I find this one the most interesting. Both Viet Nam: Civilization and Culture and The Ancient Civilization of Vietnam provide the readers with information about Vietnamese culture and history, but not much analysis. Việt Nam: Borderless Histories brings it up another level, by taking a critical look at that history and culture.


These books are available on Amazon.com. They are expensive, but in my opinion, they are worth the investment.

[Dreamfinder]

Hi Giotbuon--
Many, many thanks for the book recommendations! I will most certainly check those books out, either by buying from Amazon or through inter-library loan. I recall seeing that first book at some point (possibly at a nearby used bookstore) and it looked very extensive. It should have just about all the info I'm looking for.

The other two look very fascinating as well and should be particularly informative about the history and institutions of ancient An Nam. I definitely won't overlook those.

Thanks again for sharing those book titles and info with us!

Josh (Dreamfinder)