ABSTRACT
One of the oldest cultures and nations in Southeast Asia, Vietnam traces its origins to the Bronze Age Dong Son period (500 bce-200 ce).1 Vietnam’s rich and varied cultural heritage is largely due to its location as the extensive edge of mainland Southeast Asia, which exposed its inhabitants to South China Sea trade routes. Culturally, Vietnam has been signicantly inuenced for over two millennia by the imperial dynasties of China to its north, and to a lesser extent by the kingdoms of Cambodia and Thailand to its west, and by other Pacic Asian cultures, notably Indonesia and Malaysia.
