Culture of Vietnam

The culture of Vietnam is very diverse. There are many cultures present with influences from many places. Beginning in the Bronze Age, Đông Sơn was an ancestor to Vietnam's ancient history. China ruled large portions of Vietnam during the 1000 years of Northern rule. Because of this, Vietnamese culture was heavily influenced by Chinese culture. Vietnam is often considered part of the East Asian cultural sphere with China, South Korea, North Korea, and Japan.
After gaining independence from China in the 900s, Vietnam expanded to the South into the land of other people groups. This lead various cultural influences. Later, Vietnam became a French colony. Vietnam gained religious and linguistic influences from France.
Characteristics of Vietnamese culture include the following: honoring one's ancestors, respecting the community and the family, manual labor and living at peace with nature.