Vietnamese Independence Essay

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Vietnamese Independence (950 - 1859) In 965, Dinh Bo Linh, a man of peasant background, proclaimed himself King of Northern Vietnam, taking the title of Emperor in 968. Dinh Bo Linh attempted to bring together Chinese and Vietnamese political theory by using both Vietnamese and Chinese titles and incorporating both Buddhist and Daoist rituals and priests into court life. His court facilitated the fusion of Buddhism with the animist and mystical teachings of Daoism, appealing to the people of the village. Dinh Bo Linh also established the 10 Circuit Army, an army of 100,000 men that is the predecessor of today's Vietnamese Army. The dynasty founded by Dinh Bo Linh survived only until 980 when Le Dai Hanh overthrew it and inaugurated the short-lived Early Le Dynasty (980-1009). From the 11th to 13th centuries, the independence of the Vietnamese Kingdom (Dai Viet) was consolidated under the emperors of the Ly Dynasty, founded by Ly Thai To in 1009. The emperors of this dynasty reorganized the administrative system, founded the nation's first university (The Temple of Literature in Hanoi), promoted agriculture and built the first embankments for flood control along the Red River. During the Ly Dynasty, the Chinese, Khmers, and Chams repeatedly attacked Vietnam, but were repelled, most notably under the renowned strategist and tactician Ly Thuong Kiet (1030-1105), a military official of royal blood who is still revered as a national hero. The Ly dynasty fought wars against the weakening Champa state and the eventual conquest of Cham territory greatly increased size of the emerging Vietnamese state. This conquest accompanied by an aggressive policy of colonization that imposed northern social and political structures onto the newly settled territories, destroying the Cham civilization. A chain of homogenous villages was built that stretched from the Chinese border to

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