Vietnam's History Revealed in Ancient Art

Thắng Huỳnh Quang

The source provides an overview of Vietnamese history as revealed through its ancient art and artifacts, arguing that these objects function as the nation's unwritten origin story. The text traces the development of early Vietnamese culture chronologically, beginning with the Neolithic Bắc Sơn culture (c. 10,000–12,000 years ago) whose pottery and stone tools reveal early signs of symbolic thought and spiritual life. The narrative then shifts to the Bronze Age Dong Son culture (c. 1000 BCE), emphasizing the colossal bronze drums as masterpieces that functioned as symbols of power and detailed visual records of early society. Finally, the source discusses the contemporary Sa Huynh culture, noting their unique use of ceramic burial jars and extensive maritime trade networks, concluding that these parallel cultures demonstrate the complex and diverse origins of the Vietnamese people.

Transcript

00:00You know, when we think about history, we usually think about books, right?

00:04We read stories of kings and epic battles and the rise and fall of empires.

00:09But what if I told you that some of the most profound national histories,

00:13the real origin stories, aren't found in books at all?

00:17So just think about that for a second.

00:18What if a nation's entire story, its very soul,

00:23wasn't put into words for thousands and thousands of years?

00:27What if, to understand where it came from,

00:29you had to look somewhere else entirely?

00:32Well, for ancient Vietnam, that's pretty much exactly what happened.

00:36The earliest chapters of its national epic weren't written down,

00:40nope, they were cast in bronze and molded from clay.

00:43Okay, so let's dive in and decode the incredible secrets hidden in Vietnam's most ancient art.

00:49Our journey starts deep, and I mean deep, in the past.

00:53We're heading into the misty mountains of northern Vietnam,

00:55going back 12,000 years to find the very first sparks of creativity

01:00that would eventually light up an entire culture.

01:03And this timeline, wow.

01:06It really gives you a sense of just how deep these roots go.

01:10We are talking about a continuous thread of cultures stretching back 12,000 years.

01:15Long before there were kingdoms,

01:16people in places like the Boksan region were already creating.

01:20This wasn't just about surviving.

01:21This is where art and ritual first started to bloom.

01:25So what did archaeologists actually find in these ancient sites?

01:29Well, in caves, they've dug up not just really well-made stone tools,

01:33but also simple ceramic pottery, decorated with patterns.

01:36And maybe most profound of all, they found burial sites,

01:39places where people were laid to rest, wearing jewelry made from shells.

01:43I mean, think about what that means.

01:45Even 10,000 years ago, these weren't just people trying to get by.

01:48They had a sense of beauty, a need to create, and a belief in something more.

01:53Of course, every nation needs an origin story, a foundational myth.

01:57And Vietnam's, it's honestly one of the most beautiful you'll ever hear.

02:01It all starts with Lach Long Kwan, the dragon lord of the sea,

02:05and Oker, an immortal mountain fairy.

02:07And from their love came 100 children, the ancestors of all Vietnamese people.

02:12But here's where it gets really interesting.

02:15The dragon lord belonged to the water,

02:17and the mountain fairy belonged to the land.

02:20So they decided to part, each taking 50 of their children.

02:24Lach Long Kwan led his half to the coast to master the sea,

02:27while Oker took her half up into the highlands to master the land.

02:31It's this incredible story of a people born from a dragon and a fairy,

02:36split between the mountains and the sea,

02:37that perfectly mirrors the geography and the very soul of Vietnam itself.

02:41Ok, so for myth, we come forward into this explosive new chapter.

02:46We're going to follow those children of the dragon lord,

02:48the ones who went to the coast and settled in the fertile Red River Delta.

02:51Because here, during the Bronze Age, their descendants made a revolutionary leap.

02:55They became master metallurgists,

02:57and they created one of the most iconic artifacts in all of Southeast Asian history.

03:01And when I say iconic, I mean these things were absolutely colossal.

03:06A single Dong Sung drum could weigh over 150 pounds and stand several feet tall.

03:11So yeah, these were not just instruments.

03:13They were incredible symbols of power and status,

03:16owned only by the most powerful chieftains.

03:18People believed their booming sound could literally connect them to the gods.

03:21But here is the real secret, the thing you have to understand about these drums.

03:27They weren't just for making noise.

03:29They were history books.

03:31This is such a key idea.

03:32These artifacts totally challenge idea of what history even is.

03:36We think of history as words on a page, something written down.

03:39But the Dong Sung people show us that history can be cast in metal,

03:42preserving the entire world of a civilization on a single bronze surface.

03:47So let's crack open one of these storybooks and see what's inside.

03:51The surface of every drum is like a universe in miniature.

03:55You start at the very center, and right there, you always find a star or a sun,

03:59the heart of their cosmos.

04:01In orbiting it, we see these long-tailed lakebirds in flight,

04:04the sacred animal totem of these ancient people.

04:08And then, as you move outwards, you start to see the people themselves.

04:12And just look at the detail here.

04:14You can see warriors wearing these incredible feathered headdresses,

04:17paddling longboats across the water.

04:19This tells us they were a sophisticated society,

04:22skilled in both fighting and sailing.

04:24The true children of the dragon lord of the sea.

04:27The level of detail is just mind-blowing.

04:29We see scenes of everyday life.

04:31People pounding rice.

04:32Musicians playing instruments.

04:34Figures dancing in ceremonies.

04:36We even get a clear look at their homes,

04:38these unique stilthouses,

04:39which were perfectly adapted for life in the river deltas.

04:42It's like a snapshot.

04:43A direct window into their entire world.

04:45Okay, and you've gotta love this part.

04:48This might be my favorite detail of all.

04:50On the most famous drum ever found, the Naoglu drum,

04:53there's actually a scene of people playing the drums in a ceremony.

04:57It's this amazing meta moment,

05:00an image of the object being used,

05:02which confirms just how central these drums were

05:04to their spiritual and cultural life.

05:06But here's the thing.

05:08As powerful and as brilliant as the Dong San culture was,

05:11they weren't alone.

05:13While they were dominating the north,

05:15a totally different, but just as vibrant and sophisticated,

05:18culture was thriving down along the southern coast.

05:21Ancient Vietnam was a much richer,

05:23more diverse place than we often imagine.

05:25This table breaks it down perfectly.

05:28In the north, you've got the Dong San and the Red River Delta.

05:31They're focused on farming and fighting.

05:33And their symbol is the giant bronze drum.

05:36But then you go south to the coast,

05:38and you find the Sa Huynh.

05:39These were the masters of the sea.

05:41Their entire culture revolved around maritime trade.

05:44And their defining artifacts weren't drums,

05:47but these huge, beautifully decorated ceramic jars

05:49they used for burials.

05:51It shows a completely different way of life.

05:54And if you want proof of just how far their reach went,

05:56look no further than this one specific artifact,

05:59the Ling Ling Oh.

06:00It's this unique three-pronged earring,

06:02often made of jade.

06:03Now, finding this exact same design

06:06in places as far away as the Philippines and Taiwan,

06:09that's the smoking gun.

06:10It proves the Sa Huynh were expert sailors

06:12and key players in a massive maritime trade network

06:15long before the big trade routes

06:17with India or China were established.

06:19This tiny object tells a huge story.

06:22Okay, so we've seen stone.

06:24We've seen bronze.

06:25We've seen two very different cultures.

06:27But what does it all add up to?

06:29How do these ancient echoes

06:30still shape the nation today?

06:33What's so cool is that you can actually see

06:36this direct line,

06:37this artistic DNA,

06:39being passed down through the centuries.

06:42It all starts with those simple

06:43Neolithic pottery shards.

06:45That fundamental skill evolves

06:47into the revolutionary bronze casting

06:49of the Dong Sun.

06:51That mastery of form then influences

06:53the grand architecture of later dynasties.

06:55And ultimately,

06:57it leads to the world-renowned ceramics

06:59that Vietnam is famous for today.

07:02And really,

07:02that's what this is all about, isn't it?

07:04These beautiful objects

07:05are so much more than just old relics.

07:07They're an immortal message of ingenuity,

07:09of identity,

07:10and of resilience.

07:12They remind us that a nation's story

07:13isn't just written

07:14in what its kings and generals do,

07:16but in the timeless beauty

07:17that its people create.

07:18From a simple piece of clay

07:20in a mountain cave

07:21to a giant storybook cast in bronze,

07:23the soul of ancient Vietnam

07:25was shaped by its artists.

07:28And it really makes you wonder,

07:29doesn't it?

07:30What other incredible histories

07:32from cultures all around the world

07:34are still out there,

07:35not written in any books,

07:37but just waiting for us to find them?

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