Name: Vuong T. DangTime: 5:10

Vietnam’s History

Hi everybody, have you ever been in a time machine? I am Vuong, and today I will put

you on a time machine and take you on a trip to the past, to the history of my country – Vietnam.

Do you know which species the ancestor of human is? There are many theories about the

origin of the human being. And every culture has its own myth about the origin of its people.

Vietnamese people are proud of being descendants of the “Dragon Lord” and the “Mountain

Fairy”, a legend transmitted from generation to generation. Thousands of years ago, in a land

called Lac Viet, there was a lord named Lac Long Quan, whose mother was a water goddess and

could transform herself into a sea dragon. Lac Long Quan inherited superhuman strength and

magical powers from his mother. One day, as he wandered through the land of Lac Viet, he saw

a monstrous black bird swoop down and seize a white crane. Lac Long Quan began a bitter fight

and killed the Demon Bird. Eventually, he rescued the crane whose true form is a very beautiful

fairy named Au Co. They felt in love at the first sight. They got married and lived happily

together. Their happiness was complete when Au Co gave birth. She bore an egg sac from which

hatched 100 children. However, despite their love, she desired to be in the mountains again and

he yearned for the sea. They separated, and each took 50 children. So it was that fifty children

followed Au Co into the mountains. The other group followed Lac Long Quan to the coast. Thus,

the hundred children became the ancestors of the Vietnamese. That is the reason why

Vietnamese people believe that all Vietnamese are brothers and sisters. Although that is just a

myth, it is true that by about 1000 BC, the early Vietnamese kingdom, Van Lang, appeared and

the Dong Son culture, which is notable for its bronze drums, was founded.

Even though Vietnam – my nation – is just a small country, I am proud of being

Vietnamese because of our 4000-year heroic history. Do you know that Vietnamese people had

to struggle with China over 1000 years and with Western countries over 100 years for

independence? During these long periods, Vietnamese people had to suffer the burden of strict

policies of the colonizers. However, we never abandoned our national pride and never stopped

fighting for our freedom and independence.

Many dynasties were founded, which gave our people a better life, especially the Ly and

Tran dynasties. These periods are considered as the golden eras because they not only

consolidated the military but also innovated education, economy, culture, and so on. For

example, during this time Vietnamese repelled three major Mongol invasions that resulted in the

conquest of most of Eurasia, built a new capital named Thang Long, founded our first university

called Quoc Tu Giam, created Nom script – a system of writing for Vietnamese, and organized

new system of taxation. After a long and hard fight, finally, under the leadership of the

revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, who is known and admired by many people, Vietnam regained

independence on September 2nd 1945. In 1976, Vietnam was renamed the Socialist Republic of

Vietnam, a name which is officially used nowadays.

There are many other interesting things, which I can’t tell you today because of our

limited time. Thank you for listening!

Next, I want to introduce you my friend __________________, who comes from an

amazing country – __________________.