History

Influence by many foreign invaders: Over the centuries, the Vietnamese have been influenced by many foreign invaders. The Chinese and French influenced their culture’s food. The French Barquette is very popular bread in the South of Vietnam. Like the soy sauce for the Chinese cuisine, the Vietnamese have a similar sauce made out of fish.

Also, their different religions through Vietnam have been influenced by other countries. The Chinese introduced Buddhism to Vietnam during the conquest. The doctrine of Buddhism is that people were born in this world to suffer because of their cravings for wealth, power and material goods. The Vietnamese found this religion to be appealing because of the long history of warfare. Also, the virtue of Buddhism such as right thought, right conduct, and right livelihood are equivalent to the cultural values of the Vietnamese. Confucianism and Taoism are religions that the Chinese introduced. These religions emphasize the importance of family life and social values which are important principles in the Vietnamese culture. Christianity was introduced to Vietnam by Portuguese, Spanish and French missionaries in the sixteen century.

Although, the Vietnamese have been influenced by many different countries, the Vietnamese have distinctive values. Vietnamese culture emphasizes the importance of family, community, harmony, respect and education.