The Indochina War and the French Culrure

Date : 01/24/12

Nhut Hong Le

Professor Jawed Zouari

HUM 105

THE INDOCHINA WAR AND THE FRENCH CULTURE

Like many cities in Viet Nam, Saigon did not escape the wrath of war. In the mid-nineteenth centuries, with the aids from the Spanish, the French started to invade the port and destroyed the fort, which was the beginning of the struggle between the people of Vietnam and France leading to the historical defeat of the French in 1954. When the French came to Vietnam, many Vietnamese people were killed, several cities were destroyed; however, the modern Vietnamese nation was created from French colonialism at the same time. The French, actually, wanted not only just exploit the colony but also use Viet Nam as a springboard to attack China and the whole East Asia. In result, they converted Saigon into the new-type colony, changed its face completely, especially the culture such as infrastructures, education, script, clothes, culinary and perception.

First, about the architectural development, the French left behind an impressive legacy of their colonial architecture. When they came, they forced the Vietnamese people to build several main infrastructures, such as railway networks, modern port facilities, hospitals. Many of these structures still serve as a government offices or residents private until now.

Second, the French also made a new system education in Vietnam. At the beginning, they kept the the old education and examination, which was affected by "Confucianism" culture. Because of the need in high-educated workers, translators, secretaries for their organs, companies or factories, they abandoned "Confucianism" and built the new education system in Vietnam, which consists of elementary school, high school and university. Next, they opened two international schools in 1860s in order to change the cognition of young people and propagate the France's culture. In 1990, there were approximately 2500 students studied the new education programs consequently. They also made a new generation of Vietnamese intelligentsias, which led the Vietnamese fight against them later

Next, about calligraphy, the Latin alphabet replaced Chinese characters completely at the end of nineteenth centuries. During French colonial period, Vietnamese culture received merchants influence from the Europeans, including the spread if Catholicism and the adoption of Latin alphabet. To this day, Vietnam is the only non-island nation of Indochina which uses the Latin alphabet to write the national language

Clothing and cuisine were also strongly influenced by the French. Many old traditional

Vietnamese styles were replaced by Western styles. People began to wear the western clothes,

drank coffee, ate bread in the morning. They also learned how to use fork and knife during meal.

However, several traditional values was kept and become Vietnamese symbols such as

"Ao dai" or "Pho".

For the aforementioned reasons, there is no doubt that new Vietnamese nation

was created and developed under French. Their colonial rules had brought many elements of

modernity to the Vietnamese culture, especially architecture, education and cognition. With a

harmony of the West, the East and the unique Vietnamese culture, Vietnam is obviously

one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world.

Bibliography :

S.HAWN KINGSLEY M ALARNEY. "Viet Nam: Country and their culture".

www.everyculture.com. n.p., n.d. Web

VIETNAM TOURISM KING. "Vietnam culture overview".

Novermber, 7th 2011. Web

PETER CHURCH. "A short history of South East Asia".

5th ed. July 27th 2009;