List of Vietnamese inventions and discoveries

This is a list of Vietnamese inventions and discoveries which includes technological, cultural and historical inventions. This list is incomplete.

Academia

• Circular law conjecture in random matrix theory: a conjecture, established by Terence Tao and Vietnamese mathematician Vũ Hà Văn, asserts that for large random matrices with i.i.d. entries of zero mean and unit variance, the scaled eigenvalues asymptotically follow a uniform distribution over the unit disk in the complex plane, regardless of the specific distribution of the matrix entries.
• Inverse Littlewood-Offord theorem: a result in additive combinatorics that addresses the structure of sets that exhibit concentration of linear combinations of elements. It builds on the classical Littlewood-Offord theorem, which estimates the probability that a random sum of weighted vectors lands in a small region. The theory was developed by Vietnamese mathematician Vũ Hà Văn and Terence Tao.
• Phong reflection model: an empirical model of the local illumination of points on a surface designed by the computer graphics researcher Bui Tuong Phong, who published it in his 1975 Ph.D. dissertation. It was published in conjunction with a method for interpolating the calculation for each individual pixel that is rasterized from a polygonal surface model; the interpolation technique is known as Phong shading, even when it is used with a reflection model other than Phong's. Phong's methods have proven popular due to their generally efficient use of computation time per rendered pixel.
• Phong shading algorithm: an interpolation technique for surface shading invented by computer graphics pioneer Bui Tuong Phong. Phong shading interpolates surface normals across rasterized polygons and computes pixel colors based on the interpolated normals and a reflection model.
• Proof of Fundamental lemma for automorphic forms: in the mathematical theory of automorphic forms, the fundamental lemma relates orbital integrals on a reductive group over a local field to stable orbital integrals on its endoscopic groups. The fundamental lemma, a problem that had been open for decades, was solved by Vietnamese mathematician Ngô Bảo Châu. His work earned him the Fields Medal in 2010, the most prestigious award in mathematics.
• Shamir conjecture in random graph theory: Vietnamese mathematician Vũ Hà Văn along with Johansson and Kahn solved the Shamir conjecture in random graph theory. Among others, they established the sharp threshold for the existence of a perfect matching in a random hypergraph.
• The Erdos-Folkman problem: Vietnamese mathematician Vũ Hà Văn solved the Erdos-Folkman problem in 2003, answering the following question in number theory: How dense should a set of positive integers be so that every sufficiently large integer can be represented as a subsum?
• Thermobaric Weapon Development: Vietnamese-American scientist Dương Nguyệt Ánh is credited with developing the thermobaric weapon, a powerful non-nuclear bomb used extensively by the U.S. military in Afghanistan. This weapon utilizes oxygen from the surrounding environment to create a high-temperature explosion, increasing its effectiveness.

Arts

• Đông Hồ painting: a genre of Vietnamese art originating in Đông Hồ village (Song Hồ commune, Thuận Thành District, Bắc Ninh Province).
• Hàng Trống painting: a genre of Vietnamese woodcut painting that originated from the area of Hàng Trống (vi) and Hàng Nón streets in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam. In the past, Hàng Trống painting was an essential element of the Tết Nguyên Đán holiday in Hanoi, but today this tradition almost has disappeared and authentic Hàng Trống paintings are found only in museums or fine art galleries. However, the art of making Hàng Trống paintings is always considered a symbol of traditional culture and aesthetic value of Vietnam.
• Vietnamese calligraphy: includes calligraphic works using a variety of scripts, including historical chữ Hán (Chinese characters), chữ Nôm (Vietnamese-derived characters), and the Latin-based Vietnamese alphabet. Historically, calligraphers used the former two scripts. However, due to the adoption of the Latin-based chữ Vietnamese alphabet, modern Vietnamese calligraphy also uses Latin script alongside chữ Hán Nôm.

Entertainment & Theatre

• Cải lương: a form of modern folk opera that blends southern Vietnamese folk songs, classical music, hát tuồng (a classical theatre form based on Chinese opera), and modern spoken drama. It originated in Southern Vietnam in the early 20th century and blossomed in the 1930s as a theatre of the middle class during the country's French colonial period. Cải lương is now promoted as a national theatrical form. Unlike the other folk forms, it continued to prove popular with the masses as late as the 1970s and the 1980s, although it is now in decline.
• Chèo: a form of generally satirical musical theatre, often encompassing dance, traditionally performed by Vietnamese peasants in northern Vietnam. It is usually performed outdoors by semi-amateur touring groups, stereo-typically in a village square or the courtyard of a public building, although it is today increasingly also performed indoors and by professional performers. Chèo has been a popular art form of the Vietnamese people for many generations and has fostered the national spirit through its lyrical content.
• Chú Tễu: a typical puppet in Vietnamese water puppetry. Tễu is bigger than other puppets. This character usually introduces the performance and makes humorous actions for the audience.
• Hát tuồng: a form of Vietnamese theatre. Hát tuồng is often referred to as classical "Vietnamese opera" influenced by Chinese opera. However, the first one to lay the foundation for the art of tuồng in Vietnam is Dao Duy Tu. Under the Nguyen dynasty which he served for, tuồng reached its highest point and was favored by Nguyen kings. Many great playwrights including Đào Tấn were also in this time.
• Water puppetry: (Vietnamese: Múa rối nước) a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century, when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta, in the north of the country. Vietnamese water puppetry is a variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition.

Food

A typical Vietnamese bánh cuốn dish.

• Bánh Chưng: a traditional Vietnamese food which is made from glutinous rice, mung beans, pork and other ingredients. Considered an essential element of the family altar on the occasion of Tết, the making and eating of bánh chưng during this time is a well-preserved tradition of Vietnamese people.
• Bánh Cuốn: a Vietnamese dish made from a thin, wide sheet of fermented rice batter filled with a mixture of cooked seasoned ground pork, minced wood ear mushroom, and minced shallots.
• Bánh Mì: a Vietnamese baguette sandwich that is a fusion of meats and vegetables from native Vietnamese cuisine such as chả lụa (Vietnamese sausage), coriander (cilantro), cucumber, pickled carrots, and pickled daikon combined with condiments from French cuisine such as pâté, along with red chili and mayonnaise.
• Bún bò Huế: a Vietnamese rice noodle (bún) dish with sliced beef (bò), chả lụa, and sometimes pork knuckles. The dish originated from the city of Huế in central Vietnam in the late 1500s and early 1600s, when the city was ruled by the Nguyễn Lords. In its native city Huế, bún bò is typically served only in the mornings as a main meal rather than a breakfast item. However, in other major Vietnamese cities, it can be found at various meal times.
• Bún chả: a dish consisting of charcoal roasted pork served in a sweet/salty soup with rice noodle vermicelli and lettuce. Bún chả originated from and remains very popular in Hanoi and throughout Vietnam.
• Chả cá Lã Vọng: a Vietnamese grilled fish dish, originally from the capital Hanoi. The dish is traditionally made with hemibagrus (or cá lăng in Vietnamese), which is a genus of catfish. The fish is cut into pieces and marinated in a turmeric-based sauce, which often includes shrimp paste or fish sauce, ginger, and chili peppers. The dish is served in a hot pan coated with marinade sauce and herbs, particularly dill. Other herbs, such as scallions or basil, may be included. It is eaten with vermicelli rice noodles (bún in Vietnamese) and peanuts. Chả cá Lã Vọng is considered a delicacy in Vietnam, as it is nearly exclusively served in restaurants and is not found in street food.

  

  Vietnamese spring rolls (gỏi cuốn).

  

  A bowl of beef phở.

• Gỏi Cuốn: a Vietnamese dish traditionally consisting of pork, prawn, vegetables, bún (rice vermicelli), and other ingredients wrapped in bánh tráng (commonly known as rice paper or cold roll). In the West, these rolls are called by several different English names, including "salad roll", "spring roll" and "summer roll." Sometimes the word "Vietnamese" is added at the beginning of these words; for example, in Hong Kong, they are called "Vietnamese rolls", and in Australia and the United States they may be called "Vietnamese spring rolls."
• Nem chua: a fermented pork meat dish served as is or fried, coated by fried rice (thính gạo), mixed with pork skin and then wrapped in country gooseberry leaves (lá chùm ruột) or Erythrina orientalis leaves (lá vông nem).
• Phở: a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles (bánh phở), herbs, and meat (usually beef (phở bò)), sometimes chicken (phở gà). Originating from Van Cu, Nam Dinh province, the dish is traditionally served with a variety of herbs to enhance its flavor. Nowadays, there are many different ways to prepare and flavor phở. In Vietnam, there are different names to distinguish them: Northern phở (in the North), Huế phở (in the Central region), and Saigon phở (in the South).

Language

• Chữ Nôm: (𡨸喃, IPA: [t͡ɕɨ˦ˀ˥ nom˧˧]) a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters (chữ Hán) to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represented by new characters created using a variety of methods, including phono-semantic compounds. This composite script was therefore highly complex and was accessible to less than five percent of the Vietnamese population who had mastered written Chinese.
• Vietnamese Language: an Austroasiatic language spoken primarily in Vietnam where it is the national and official language. Vietnamese is spoken natively by around 85 million people, several times as many as the rest of the Austroasiatic family combined. It is the native language of the Vietnamese (Kinh) people, as well as a second or first language for other ethnic groups in Vietnam, and still used by Vietnamese diaspora in the world. It belongs to the Vietic branch and is closest to the Mường language.

Music and instruments

Folk music

• Ca Huế.
• Ca trù, an ancient Vietnamese music genre.
• Chầu văn.
• Nhạc tài tử.
• Quan họ.
• Vọng cổ.
• Xẩm.

Musical instruments

The musician on the right playing the đàn bầu.

• Bro, a traditional musical instrument of the Bahnar, Sedang, Rhađe, Jarai, and Giẻ Xtiêng peoples of the Central Vietnam Highlands. It is a tube zither.
• Cảnh.
• Dong Son drum.
• Đàn bầu, a Vietnamese stringed instrument in the form of a monochord (one-string) zither.
• Đàn đá.
• Đàn đáy.
• Đàn môi.
• Đàn gáo.
• Đàn nhị.
• Đàn sến.
• Guitar phím lõm.
• Gong.
• K'lông pút.
• K'ni.
• Ngoc Lu drum.
• Phách.
• Sáo.
• Sênh tiền.
• Song loan.
• T'rung.
• Trống cái.
• Trống chầu.
• Trống cơm.

Sports

• Vovinam: a Vietnamese martial art founded by Nguyễn Lộc in 1938 with the intent of providing practitioners with an efficient method of self-defense after a short period of study. Nguyễn believed martial arts would contribute to freeing Vietnam from colonial rule, which had been ruled by France since 1859, and from outside domination. Vovinam added elements of Chinese and Japanese systems to traditional Vietnamese martial arts, systems, which were thus partially created as a response to the French occupation, meant to promote a sense of national identity for the Vietnamese people. Hence, it is similar to taekwondo in that it is an eclectic system with combined elements of Japanese and Chinese martial arts within an indigenous framework.

Technology

• ATM machine: the co-inventor of the ATM machine is Vietnamese-born inventor Do Duc Cuong.
• BKAV antivirus: a leading Vietnamese cybersecurity company known for its antivirus software, which has garnered international attention for protecting against malware and cyber threats. The company has also been involved in developing smart home devices and systems in Vietnam.
• NanoDragon: a satellite built by the Vietnam National Satellite Center.
• pdfTeX: a sophisticated computer program developed by Vietnamese developer Hàn Thế Thành.
• Viettel Group: one of the largest telecommunications companies in Vietnam. The company has significantly contributed to global advancements in 5G technology and telecommunication networks. The company's R&D in digital transformation has influenced telecom infrastructure development in several developing countries.
• Vinfast Electric Vehicles: Vietnam's first major automobile manufacturer to produce electric vehicles (EVs) for the international market. The company is pioneering the growth of EVs in Southeast Asia.
• VNG Corporation: Vietnam's first unicorn start-up and developer of Vietnam's most popular text messaging app, Zalo.
• VNI: a software company known for developing an encoding (VNI encoding) and a popular input method (VNI Input) for Vietnamese. Developed by Vietnamese computer programmer Hồ Thành Việt.

Video Games

• Axie Infinity: an NFT-based blockchain game developed by Vietnamese developer Sky Mavis. The game was built on the Ronin network, an Ethereum-linked sidechain, and uses Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies for its in-game economy.
• Flappy Bird: a 2013 casual mobile game developed by Nguyễn Hà Đông who grew up in Vạn Phúc, a village near Hanoi. Flappy Bird was created and developed by the Vietnamese video game artist under his game development company .Gears in just two to three days. The bird character, Faby, was originally designed in 2012 for a cancelled platform game. The gameplay was inspired by the act of bouncing a ping pong ball against a paddle for as long as possible. Initially the game was significantly easier than what became the final version, but Nguyen said he found this version to be boring and subsequently tightened up the difficulty.
• Shadow Era: a free online digital collectible card game created by Vietnamese developer Wulven Studios. The game is supported on PC, iOS, and Android, and it was released on February 24, 2011.
• Tam cúc: a multi-trick card game popular in North Vietnam that uses a deck of 32 Chinese chess cards divided into two suits: red and black.
• Tổ tôm: the origin of tổ tôm is still unclear, but by the 19th century in Vietnam, this card game was very popular, especially among the upper class who considered it an elegant game that required a lot of intelligence.
• 7554: Glorious Memories Revived: a first-person shooter video game developed by Vietnamese video game developer Emobi Games for Windows. It was released for Vietnamese markets on December 16, 2011.