Văn Lang

Not to be confused with Vãn Lãng District, Lạng Sơn.

Map of Van Lang in 500 BC.

History of Vietnam

Hồng Bàng dynasty prior to 257 BC Thục dynasty 257–207 BC Triệu dynasty 207–111 BC First Chinese domination 111 BC–39 AD Trưng sisters 40–43 Second Chinese domination 43–544 Early Lý dynasty 544–602 Third Chinese domination 602–905 Autonomy 905–938 Ngô dynasty 939–967 Đinh dynasty 968–980 Early Lê dynasty 980–1009 Lý dynasty 1009–1225 Trần dynasty 1225–1400 Hồ dynasty 1400–1407 Fourth Chinese domination 1407–1427 • Later Trần dynasty 1407–1413 Later Lê dynasty 1428–1527 Mạc dynasty 1527–1592 Restored Later Lê dynasty 1533–1788 • Trịnh Lords 1545–1787 • Nguyễn Lords 1558–1777 Tây Sơn dynasty 1778–1802 Nguyễn dynasty 1802–1945 • French imperialism 1858–1945 Republic from 1945 Related topics Champa Dynasties 192–1832 List of Vietnamese monarchs Economic history of Vietnam Prehistoric cultures of Vietnam

Văn Lang (Hán tự: 文郎) was, according to tradition, the first nation of the ancient Vietnamese people, founded in 2879 BC and existing until 258 BC. It was ruled by the Hùng Kings of the Hồng Bàng Dynasty. There is, however, little reliable historical information available. Hùng Vương is the title of a line of kings and the Văn Lang kingdom are attested in Chinese (Ch'in and T'ang dynastic) sources. The people of Văn Lang were referred to as the Lạc Việt, or sometimes simply the Lạc.

According to the 15th century book Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (Đại Việt Complete History), this nation had its capital in Phong Châu; now in Phú Thọ Province). It was bordered to the east by the South China Sea, to the west by Ba Thục 巴蜀; today Sichuan), to the north by Dongting Lake (Hunan), and to the south by Lake Tôn (Champa). According to Tran Trong Kim in the book Việt Nam sử lược (A Brief History of Vietnam), this country was divided into 15 regions as in the table below:

Regions of Văn Lang

Name	Present-day location
Phong Châu (King's capital)	Phú Thọ Province
Châu Diên	Sơn Tây Province
Phúc Lộc	Sơn Tây Province
Tân Hưng	Hưng Hóa (part of Phú Thọ Province) and Tuyên Quang Province
Vũ Định	Thái Nguyên Province and Cao Bằng Province
Vũ Ninh	Bắc Ninh Province
Lục Hải	Lạng Sơn Province
Ninh Hải	Quảng Yên (a part of Quảng Ninh Province)
Dương Tuyên	Hải Dương Province
Giao Chỉ	Hà Nội, Hưng Yên Province, Nam Định Province and Ninh Bình Province
Cửu Chân	Thanh Hóa Province
Hoài Hoan	Nghệ An Province
Việt Thường	Quảng Bình Province and Quảng Trị Province
Cửu Đức	Hà Tĩnh Province
Bình Văn	unknown

Việt Sử Lược (Việt Brief History) notes that Văn Lang consisted of 15 regions: in it there are 10 names recorded similar to those given in Đại Việt Complete History (Giao Chỉ, Vũ Ninh, Việt Thường, Ninh Hải, Lục Hải, Hoài Hoan, Cửu Chân, Bình Văn, Cửu Đức, and Văn Lang), and five regions with different names (Quân Ninh, Gia Ninh, Thang Tuyền, Tân Xương, and Nhật Nam).

The founder of Văn Lang was Hùng Vương (King Hùng). The Hùng Vương throne was hereditary. The Hùng Kings were military commanders and religious leaders at the same time.

Văn Lang was supposedly ruled by 88 Hùng Kings, but only 18 names are recorded (or, according to recent research, 18 names of 18 Dynasties, like Ancient Egyptian):

1. Hùng Dương (Lộc Tục)
2. Hùng Hiền (Lạc Long Quân)
3. Hùng Lân (vua)
4. Hùng Việp
5. Hùng Hy
6. Hùng Huy
7. Hùng Chiêu
8. Hùng Vỹ
9. Hùng Định
10. Hùng Hy
11. Hùng Trinh
12. Hùng Võ
13. Hùng Việt
14. Hùng Anh
15. Hùng Triều
16. Hùng Tạo
17. Hùng Nghị
18. Hùng Duệ

Văn Lang ended when, in roughly 258 BCE, the Âu Việt tribe invaded. The Âu Việt king, Thục Phán, defeated the last Hùng Vương, uniting the two kingdoms, naming the new nation "Âu Lạc", and proclaiming himself King An Dương Vương.

See also

• Van Lang University
• Hồng Bàng Dynasty
• Việt Nam Sử Lược
• Đông Sơn Culture