History of Vietnamese indicated in archaeological findings show that the oldest known human settlements of northern Vietnam date back as far as approximately half a million years ago and may have been among the first East Asians to practice agriculture around this area. The Bronze Age, the time of the Dong So culture in Vietnam, dates at around 3rd century BC and is another advance level of civilization.

Chinese Rule (circa 200 BC - AD 938)
The Chinese conquest of the Red River Delta in the 2nd century BC truly had fateful consequences in the Vietnam history. There was not only an increase in Chinese settlements which was taking over the large tracts of land but the Chinese immigrants also tried to impose their culture and political system on the Vietnamese. Although these efforts were failed because of the locals' strong sense of national identity, some of the Chinese influences still remain in Vietnam. Such influences are Confucianism and Taoism that became the official ideology, Chinese language that was introduced as the medium of official and literary expression, and Chinese ideographs which were adopted as the written form for the Vietnamese spoken language. Many Chinese scholars had come to Vietnam as administrators and refugees. However, there were numerous major and minor rebellions occurred in this era against Chinese rule (which was characterized by tyranny, forced labor and insatiable demands for tribute)

Funan and Champa
Meanwhile in the south of what is now known as Vietnam was a part of the Funan kingdom which was rather influenced from Indian civilization than Chinese ruling power as in the North. Archaeological excavations have yielded an evidence of contact between Funan and China, Indonesia, India, Persia, Mediterranean or even Roman Empire from 1st to 6th century. On the other hand, at around the same time, the Hindu kingdom of Champa appeared in the present Danang in the late 2nd century and by the 8th century Champa had extended farther south to include what it is now Nha Trang and Phan Rang.

Independence from China (10th century)
Back to the Red River Delta, in the beginning of 10th century, Tang dynasty in China was collapsed and the Vietnamese revolutionaries, leaded by Ngo Quyen, defeated Chinese troops in the final of repeated revolts, ending a thousand year of Chinese rule in 938. Ngo Quyen then set up an independent state of Vietnam and died in a few years later. After his death, Vietnam was left with an anarchy and strife until early 11th century when the first of the great Vietnam dynasty was found.

Ly Dynasty (1010-1225)
Ly dynasty, found by Ly Thai To, ruled Vietnam for 200 years from the 11th to 13th centuries. The emperors of this dynasty reorganized the administration system, found the first nation's university (the Temple of Literature in Hanoi), promoted agriculture and built the first embankments for flood control along Red River. During this period, Confucianism was depreciated and Buddhism was promoted.

Tran Dynasty (1225-1400)
By the end of Ly dynasty, the beginning of the 13th century, Vietnam became prosperous and began to expand its territory towards Mekong Delta. China, in contrast, had not abandoned their historic objective of occupying the Red River Delta and therefore a Mongol warrior, Kublai Khan, came to Vietnam for the conquest. However, Vietnamese, under Tran hung Dao, resisted and after several bitter battles, the armies of China were defeated and droved back across the border. On several occasions, Cham armies of the Champa kingdom attacked and occupied the city near Hanoi but were repelled. More frequently, the Vietnam troops were victorious and gradually drove the people of Champa to the south. In the 15th century, Vietnamese forces finally captured the Cham capital which is the present Danang and virtually destroyed the kingdom.

Later Le Dynasty (1428-1524)
Vietnam advance to the south coincided with the new challenge in the north. In 1407 Vietnam was again conquered by Chinese troops for two decades until in 1428 when Vietnamese revolutionary, Le Loi, defeated and declared himself as the first emperor of the Le dynasty. To this day, Le Loi is revered as one of the country's greatest national heroes. The Le dynasty retained its vigor for more than a hundred years until declining in the 16th century and nearly collapsed by the late 18th century.

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