The culture of Vietnam (, ) are the customs and traditions of the Kinh people and the other ethnic groups of Vietnam. Vietnam is part of Southeast Asia and the Sinosphere due to the influence of Chinese culture on Vietnamese culture.
Ancient Vietnamese cultural artifacts, such as Dong Son drums were found spread throughout Southeast Asia and South China, suggesting a spread of ancient Viet (Yue) culture all the way south to Indonesia. Vietnamese culture was also influenced by Chinese culture due to the "1000 years of Northern Rule" (111 BCE – 939 CE). From this period until the 19th century, Classical Chinese (Hán văn) was the language used for formal writing. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, popular literature and folk songs were written in the Vietnamese language using a Vietnamese script (chữ Nôm) derived from Chinese characters (chữ Hán).
Following independence from China in the 10th century, Vietnam began a southward expansion and annexed territories formerly belonging to Champa and Khmer, resulting in various influences on the Vietnamese. During the French colonial period, Catholicism, and a Latin script romanizing the Vietnamese language, the Vietnamese alphabet (), were introduced in Vietnam.
Some elements considered to be characteristic of Vietnamese culture include ancestor veneration, respect for community and family, and living in harmony with nature.
Language
Vietnam is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in Southeast Asia. Although Vietnamese is set as the official language of Vietnam, there are currently more than 100 spoken languages in the country. They belong to five different major linguistic families: Austronesian, Austroasiatic, Hmong–Mien, Sino–Tibetan, and Kra–Dai. The Vietnamese language contains a large body of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary.
The Vietnamese language is an Austroasiatic language, with monosyllabic and tonal features, sharing similarities with some other Northern Austroasiatic languages, such as Bolyu. The writing of Vietnamese started with Vietnamese script (chữ Nôm) in the 13th century which used Chinese script as a basis, to the current Latin iteration (chữ Quốc Ngữ).
The current Vietnamese alphabet uses diacritics (glyph added to a letter) to represent tones in Vietnamese writing. When computerised, digraphs are used. For example, input 'a' generates 'a', but input 'aa' generates â.
The Vietnamese Latin alphabet uses the horn for the letters "ơ" and "ư"; the circumflex for the letters "â", "ê", and "ô"; the breve for the letter "ă"; and a bar through the letter "đ".
It also has six tones: "á", "à", "ả", "ã" and "ạ", the five tones used for vowels along with flat tone "a".
Literature
The first evidence of writing in Vietnam appeared after the Han conquest of Nanyue (111 BC) with the introducing of Old Chinese and Classical Chinese in modern-day North and Central Vietnam. They, however, only had been materialized in form of fragments, short sentences engraved on bricks and coins. The first surviving literature in Vietnam is the Sanskrit Võ Cạnh inscription (4th century AD) near Nha Trang, which belongs to either Funan or Chamic culture. Following Võ Cạnh is the Old Cham Đông Yên Châu inscription near Trà Kiệu, dating from late 4th century, was erected by King Bhadravarman I of Champa, and was written in Old Southern Brahmic script. It remains today as the oldest attested epigraph of any Southeast Asian language, predating Mon, Khmer, Malay by centuries.
Historically Vietnamese literature was initially written in chữ Hán and then chữ Nôm. Literature using Nôm script began roughly in the 10th century. Up until the 21st century, there had been two components existing at the same time: works written in Literary Chinese (with poems and prose demonstrating Vietnamese history and realities; thus, they are regarded as Vietnamese literature) and works written in Nôm script (mostly poems).
Since the 1920s, literature has been mainly composed in the national language script (Vietnamese alphabet) with profound renovations in form and category such as novels, new-style poems, short stories and dramas, and with diversity in artistic tendency. Written literature attained speedy development after the August Revolution, when it was directed by the Vietnamese Communist Party's guideline and focused on the people's fighting and work life.
Classical literature include Truyện Kiều (The Tale of Kieu) (Nguyễn Du), Cung Oán Ngâm Khúc (Complaint of a Palace Maid) (Nguyễn Gia Thiều), Chinh phụ ngâm (Lament of the soldier's wife) (Đặng Trần Côn), and Quốc âm Thi Tập (Poetry Collection) (Nguyễn Trãi), all of which are transliterated or annotated in chữ Quốc ngữ. Some famous female poets include Hồ Xuân Hương, Đoàn Thị Điểm, and Bà Huyện Thanh Quan.
Modern Vietnamese literature has developed from romanticism to realism, from heroism in wartime to all aspects of life, and developed into ordinary life of the Vietnamese. Modern Vietnamese fables have recently been introduced in English as well.
Poetry
Vietnam has had a diverse range of cultural poetry throughout its history. Historically, Vietnamese poetry consists of three language traditions. Each poetry was written exclusively in Classical Chinese and later incorporated Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary. It was also often centered around the themes and traditions of Buddhism and Confucianism. This style of poetry remained prominent until the 13th century. Thereafter, poetry and literature in the Vietnamese language emerged as the primary rival to literature written in Classical Chinese in Vietnam.
The chữ Nôm writing system for the Vietnamese language was adapted for poetry as well. This writing system was also supported by the Vietnamese government and recognized as the primary language of the nation. It remained as the main writing system for Vietnamese poetry until the end of the 20th century.
However, this changed upon the advent of foreign European rule with the introduction of the romanized script (known as chữ Quốc Ngữ) As a result, although the Latin alphabet provided widespread literacy and access to the Vietnamese language in terms of oral and written literacy, the precise meaning and beauty of Vietnamese poems in Hán-Nôm may have gotten lost in the translation process to the Latin alphabet of chữ Quốc Ngữ.
Visual arts
Traditional Vietnamese art is a part of art practiced in Vietnam or by Vietnamese artists, from ancient times (including the elaborate Đông Sơn drums) to post-Chinese domination art which was influenced by Chinese Buddhist art, and Taoism and Confucianism. The art of Champa and France also played a smaller role later on.
The Chinese influence on Vietnamese art extends into Vietnamese pottery and ceramics, calligraphy, and traditional architecture.
Calligraphy Calligraphy previously used chữ Hán along with chữ Nôm. Most modern Vietnamese calligraphy instead uses the Roman-character based Viẹtnamese alphabet.
In the past, when literacy in the old character-based writing systems of were restricted to Vietnamese scholars, calligraphy still played a part in Vietnamese life. On special occasions such as Lunar New Year, people would go to scholars to make them a calligraphy hanging (often poetry, folk sayings or even single words).
Silk painting
Vietnamese silk painting is favored for the mystical atmosphere that can be achieved with the medium. During the 19th and 20th centuries, French influence was absorbed into Vietnamese art and the liberal and modern use of color especially began to differentiate Vietnamese silk paintings from their Chinese, Japanese and Korean counterparts. Vietnamese silk paintings typically showcase the countryside, landscapes, pagodas, historical events or scenes of daily life.
Woodblock prints
A folk art with a history in Vietnam, Vietnamese woodblock prints have reached a level of popularity outside of Vietnam.Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David: Vietnam Past and Present: The North (History and culture of Hanoi and Tonkin). Chiang Mai. Cognoscenti Books, 2012. ASIN: B006DCCM9Q. Organic materials are used to make the paint, which is applied to wood and pressed on paper. The process is repeated with different colors.
Performing arts
Music Vietnamese music varies slightly in the three regions: North, Central, and South. Northern classical music is Vietnam's oldest and is traditionally more formal. Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese opera troupe. Central classical music shows the influences of Champa culture with its melancholic melodies. Southern music exudes a lively laissez-faire attitude.
Vietnam has some 50 national music instruments, in which the set of percussion instruments is the most popular, diverse and long-lasting such as đàn đáy, đàn tranh, đàn nhị, đàn bầu ... The set of blowing instruments is represented by flutes and pan-pipes, while the set of string instruments is specified by đàn bầu and đàn đáy.
Vietnamese folksongs are rich in forms and melodies of regions across the country, ranging from ngâm thơ (reciting poems), hát ru (lullaby), hò (chanty) to hát quan họ, trong quan, xoan, dum, ví giặm, ca Huế, bài chòi, ly. Apart from this, there are also other forms like hát xẩm, chầu văn, and ca trù.
Two of the most well-known Vietnamese traditional genres are: Imperial Court music: When referring specifically to the "Nhã nhạc" form it includes court music from the Trần dynasty on to the Nguyễn dynasty. It is an elaborate form of music which features an extensive array of musicians and dancers, dressed in extravagant costumes. It was an integral part of the rituals of the Imperial court. Ca trù: An ancient form of chamber music which originated in the imperial court. It gradually came to be associated with a pansori-type of entertainment where talented female musicians entertained rich and powerful men, often scholars and bureaucrats who most enjoyed the genre. It was condemned in the 20th century by the government, being tied falsely with prostitution, but recently it has seen a revival as appreciation for its cultural significance has grown. Ca trù has been recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity since 2005.
In the 20th century, in contact with the Western culture, especially after national independence, many new categories of arts like plays, photography, cinemas, and modern art had taken shape and developed strongly, obtaining huge achievements with the contents reflecting the social and revolutionary realities. Up to 1997, there have been 44 people operating in cultural and artistic fields honored with the Hồ Chi Minh Award, 130 others conferred with People's Artist Honor, and 1011 people awarded with the Excellent Artist Honor. At the start of 1997, there were 191 professional artistic organizations and 26 film studios (including central and local ones). There have been 28 movies, 49 scientific and documentary films receiving international motion picture awards in many countries.
Theatre
Hát tuồng (also known as Hát bội): Traditional Vietnamese opera: A theatre form influenced by Chinese opera, it transitioned from being entertainment for the royal court to travelling troupes who performed for commoners and peasants, featuring many well-known stock characters. Cải lương: A kind of modern folk opera originating from south Vietnam, which utilizes extensive vibrato techniques. It remains very popular in modern Vietnam when compared to other folk styles. Hát chèo: Chèo is a form of generally satirical musical theatre, often encompassing dance, traditionally performed by Vietnamese peasants in north Vietnam. It is usually performed outdoors by semi-amateur touring groups, stereotypically in a village square or the courtyard of a public building, although it is today increasingly also performed indoors and by professional performers
Water puppetry