A History of the Vietnamese [Paperback]

A groundbreaking, comprehensive history of Vietnam from the earliest times to the present day.A groundbreaking new study of Vietnamese history from the earliest times to the present day, based on primary source material and the very latest scholarship. K. W. Taylor combines a comprehensive narrative with a highly original analysis which endeavours to see Vietnam's past through the eyes of the Vietnamese people.A groundbreaking new study of Vietnamese history from the earliest times to the present day, based on primary source material and the very latest scholarship. K. W. Taylor combines a comprehensive narrative with a highly original analysis which endeavours to see Vietnam's past through the eyes of the Vietnamese people.The history of Vietnam prior to the nineteenth century is rarely examined in any detail. In this groundbreaking work, K. W. Taylor takes up this challenge, addressing a wide array of topics from the earliest times to the present day  including language, literature, religion and warfare  and themes  including Sino-Vietnamese relations, the interactions of the peoples of different regions within the country, and the various forms of government adopted by Vietnam throughout its history. A History of the Vietnamese is based on primary source materials, combining a comprehensive narrative with an analysis which endeavours to see the Vietnamese past through the eyes of those who lived it. Taylor questions long-standing stereotypes and clich?s about Vietnam, drawing attention to sharp discontinuities in Vietnam's past. Fluently written and accessible to all readers, this highly original contribution to the study of South-East Asia is a landmark text for all students and scholars of Vietnam.Introduction; 1. The provincial era; 2. The Ly dynasty; 3. The Tran dynasty; 4. The Le dynasty; 5. The beginning of inter-regional warfare; 6. The Fifty Years War; 7. The south and the north diverge; 8. The Thirty Years War; 9. The Nguyen dynasty; 10. The French colCá