Âu Lạc

Âu Lạc (Hán tự: 甌雒/甌駱) was a semi-legendary Vietnamese state from 257 BC[1] to 179 BC.[2] It was a merger of the former states of Nam Cương (Âu Việt) and Văn Lang (Lạc Việt)[2] but was finally annexed by the state of Nam Việt (Nanyue). Its capital was in Cổ Loa,[3] which was located in present-day Hanoi's Dong Anh district.[4]

History of Vietnam (Names of Vietnam)

2879–2524 BC Xích Quỷ 2524–258 BC Văn Lang 257–179 BC Âu Lạc 204–111 BC Nam Việt 111 BC – 40 AD Giao Chỉ 40–43 Lĩnh Nam 43–299 Giao Chỉ 299–544 Giao Châu 544–602 Vạn Xuân 602–679 Giao Châu 679–757 An Nam 757–766 Trấn Nam 766–866 An Nam 866–967 Tĩnh Hải quân 968–1054 Đại Cồ Việt 1054–1400 Đại Việt 1400–1407 Đại Ngu 1407–1427 Giao Chỉ 1428–1804 Đại Việt 1804–1839 Việt Nam 1839–1945 Đại Nam 1887–1954 Đông Pháp (Bắc Kỳ, Trung Kỳ, Nam Kỳ) from 1945 Việt Nam Main template History of Vietnam

History

Foundation

Thục Phán was the first and only monarch of Âu Lạc and used the royal title of An Dương Vương. He created the Thục dynasty by uniting the mountainous Âu Việt region (comprising what is today northernmost Vietnam and parts of southern China) with the more southerly Lạc Việt (located in the Red River Delta of what is today northern Vietnam).[2] According to old Vietnamese historical records Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư and Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục, An Dương Vương (Thục Phán) was a son of Prince Kaiming He of the state of Shu, pronounced Thục in Vietnamese.) Kaiming was a descendant of Lô Tử Bá Vương, who was the last ruler of Shu.[5][6] When Kaiming was a little kid, his relatives brought him and sought refuge in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan and then moved their people to modern-day northern Vietnam during the invasion of the Qin dynasty. Twenty-five years later, Kaiming married a Shu woman and had a child named Phán, who became a well known warrior. After assembling an army, he defeated King Hùng Vương XVIII, the last ruler of the Hồng Bàng dynasty, in around 258 BC. Then, he proclaimed himself An Dương Vương ("King An Dương"). After a successful resistance against the Qin invasion, he annexed the kingdom of Văn Langin, which was in the Red River Delta. Some modern Vietnamese believe that Thục Phán came upon the Âu Việt territory (modern-day northernmost Vietnam, western Guangdong, and southern Guangxi, with its capital in what is today Cao Bằng Province.)[7] He then renamed Văn Lang as Âu Lạc, combining the names of the conquering and conquered peoples, and established a new fortress and capital at Co Loa on a rise overlooking the Red River about 16 km (10 mi) northeast of central Hanoi.[4] An Dương Vương still kept the Văn Lang's state model, but he reformed and centralized the state with the king holding more power. He encouraged the development of blacksmiths and merchants, established towns and cities, which replaced the tribal society of previous Văn Lang. Âu Lạc encouraged trading with Chinese, Javanese, and Indians.

Downfall

Around 180 to 179 BC, Âu Lạc was conquered by Nam Việt, a kingdom that had its capital city, Panyu, around modern Guangzhou. Nam Việt rule lasted until 111 BC. In Vietnamese history, the rule of the Nam Việt kings is referred to as the Triệu dynasty.

Culture

Âu Lạc monarch family Thục probably spoke a Sino-Tibetan language that was closely related to Ancient Chinese, but civilians in the kingdom mostly were southern non-Sinitic agrarian people had a diversity of languages and cultures, such as Kra-Dai, Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Japonic and Sino-Tibetan.[8]

See also

• Đông Sơn culture
• History of Vietnam
• Zomia (geography)
• Nam Việt
• Triệu dynasty
• Triệu Đà
• Phiên Ngung
• Trọng Thuỷ
• An Dương Vương
• Tây Vu Vương
• Bách Việt

References

1. Philip Quang Phan, Vietnamese-American engineers: An examination of the leadership ... - Page 26 University of Phoenix - 2009 "The first written records of Vietnamese in leadership date back to 208 BC, with Thục Phán as King An Dương Vương of the kingdom Âu Lạc (Nguyễn, 1999). Throughout history, Asians in leadership positions was related to the following ..."
2. Taylor, Keith Weller (1991). Birth of Vietnam, The. University of California Press. pp. 23–27. ISBN 0520074173.
3. Patricia M. Pelley - Postcolonial Vietnam: New Histories of the National Past - Page 213 2002 "To bring Hanoi's singular status into sharper focus, Nguyễn Lương Bích discusses the previous capitals, beginning with Phong Châu, the capital of the prehistoric Hùng kings, and Cổ Loa, the capital of An Dương Vương."
4. Ray, Nick; et al. (2010), "Co Loa Citadel", Vietnam, Lonely Planet, p. 123, ISBN 9781742203898
5. Taylor (1983), p. 19
6. Asian Perspectives, Volume 28, Issue 1 (1990), p. 36
7. Chapuis, Oscar (1995). A History of Vietnam: From Hong Bang to Tu Duc. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-29622-2.
8. 蒋胜男 (2018-01-01). 芈月传（4）（越南语） (in Vietnamese). Beijing Book Co. Inc. ISBN 978-604-68-4031-2.

Bibliography

• Taylor, Keith Weller. (1983). The Birth of Vietnam (illustrated, reprint ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 0520074173. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
• Contributor: Far-Eastern Prehistory Association Asian Perspectives, Volume 28, Issue 1. (1990) University Press of Hawaii. Retrieved 7 August 2013.