Emma's+Essay

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The Rise of Vietnam

The idea that history repeats itself isn't a new one but it may be demonstrated by the similar legacies of the Vietnamese and our own Canadian legacy. Vietnam has been able to learn from past experiences to better understand the future despite being repeatedly invaded over time. Even today, divided by different political systems, Vietnam continues to maintain its language and culture. In this way, Vietnam's greatest legacy in my opinion was its ability to keep its cultural uniqueness. Our Canadian legacy is similar in that we are considered a melting pot of cultures but still we are recognized as Canadians. The second legacy left by the Vietnamese of the period we are studying is seen in the many dynasties that were run by both men and women and at times women had the courage to take leadership roles to challenge the rulers of the time to try to create change - this is a lesson that we are learning ourselves. The final legacy I would suggest is how our understanding and reactions to diseases and epidemics has changed over time but there are still lessons to be learned that may come from the Vietnamese. __These facts demonstrate the many similarities in the legacy of the Vietnamese and what we as Canadians may leave for future generations.__

The nations that historically forced themselves on Vietnam influenced its art, literature and music yet the nation prevailed as a unique civilization. Seeing that Vietnam was mainly invaded and re-invaded by China, it’s only natural that Vietnam would take on some Chinese cultural qualities. But still Vietnam was able to make a culture that was unique. In [|Vietnam’s art] in particular we can see the cultural differences. Silk screening was used a lot and showed this difference but one of Vietnam’s most unique pieces include bowls the had colourful bits of mother of pearl embedded into them. Vietnamese literature also demonstrates Vietnam’s uniqueness. Over the course of history two civilizations, Chinese and French, attempted to take over Vietnam and teach them their alphabet and writing styles. But Vietnam was able to ward them off and retain their own writing style. Vietnam’s music on the other hand shows more of the Chinese styles in it but still sticks to Vietnam’s culture. Future Canadians will remember our history as one of blending many cultures, holidays, religions and art and still maintaining a distinct Canadian identity that is recognized and welcomed all over the world. We have not been invaded by armies, but rather by welcoming all people we have celebrated and accepted their diversity.

Vietnam is known historically for the men who ran the country, but a few historical women are incorporated into these great figureheads. The three most popular and celebrated women are: the ** two Tru’ng Sisters- Tru’ng Trac and Tru’ng Nhi and secondly, the female warrior woman Trieu Thi Trinh. These women are from different times and did extraordinary work as female warriors. They showed the equality between men and women when it comes to protecting a country. The Tru’ng sisters gathered an army that consisted of mostly women to fight off the Chinese in the [|first Chinese domination]. They are reknowned as queens and are celebrated with annual procession just like any famous male leader. Trieu Thi Trinh is known as the Vietnamese Joan of Arc and ** successfully resisted the Kingdom of Wu. These three women in the political structure greatly affected the outcome of Vietnam by showing the equality in the genders. In Canada, we will, for example, remember women who made changes in government - this year I learned about Jeanne Sauve, Adrienne Clarkson and now Michaela Jean who were all appointed to be Governor Generals.

The pandemics of today’s world reflect the outbreaks and diseases in Vietnam. Like many countries that were affected by diseases like the bubonic plague, the people of Vietnam continued to work despite the sicknesses, often in conditions that encouraged illness like filth and overcrowding. Their fear drove people to jump to [|conclusions to find easy cures]. These easy cures often lead to further outbreak. For example, some cures included bathing in human urine and keeping dead animals in your house. This is like the reaction of modern day epidemics. Fear takes the people and the world seems to stop. When epidemics occur people jump to conclusions. This is a real concern for the world today with SARS and now the H1N1 (Swine) flu. With SARS, we first downplayed the illness, then went overboard protecting ourselves and finally were able to develop logical procedures. For swine flu, a few people were reported sick and all of a sudden people were afraid to eat pork again in fear that they might get the sickness from it. If Vietnam can teach us anything about diseases it is to not jump to conclusions and try and find the better option.

In conclusion these examples of Vietnam’s legacies can be seen in Canadian life and we will be remembered similar ways. In some cases this may be the way that we will want to be seen but in other cases it may be important to change our way of life to leave a positive lasting legacy.