The biography of the Hồng Bàng Clan is considered as a legend, a semi-historical document and an important part of the Viet’s cultural heritage. According to this work, the Viet people are the descendants of Shen Nong (an ancestor of the Han Chinese), migrating from China to the Red River Delta. A large number of scholars have built a Hundred Viet/ 百越 hypothesis, also known as “migration-from-the-north hypothesis” from this document. Throughout the long history, Hồng Bàng legend has created popular misunderstandings of the Viet about their origin and misconceptions for later researchers of various subjects, such as literature, linguistics, history, and ethnology. By using the interdisciplinary and ethnographic methodology, this research provides an overview of the Hồng Bàng legend, points out illogical statements, and gives a plausible hypothesis for it. In addition, by analyzing ancient historical documents and examining modern molecular biology, this paper supplies the supportive arguments for the “migration-from-the-south hypothesis” which plays a crucial role in determining Vietnamese ancient history.
Keywords: Hồng Bàng, Viet, legend, ethnic origin, molecular biology evidence.Anh, D., D. (2012). Lịch sử cổ đại Việt Nam [Ancient Vietnamese history]. Culture and information Information publisher Publisher.
Barlow, Jeffrey J. G. (1997). Culture, ethnic identity, and early weapons systems: Sino-Vietnamese frontier. Research Institute for Comparative Literature and Cross-Cultural Studies, University of Alberta.
Chamberlain, J. R. (2016). Kra-Dai and the Proto-History of South China and Vietnam. Journal of the Siam Society,. 104 (1), 27–77.
Chi, N. H. (2013), Văn học Cổ cận đại Việt Nam – Từ góc nhìn văn hóa đến các mã nghệ thuật [Vietnamese old literature under the cultural aspect and artistic codes]. Education Publishing House.
Cuong, D. K. (2014). Một giả thuyết về nguồn gốc người Việt dựa trên bằng chứng nhân chủng học phân tử [A hypothesis about Vietnamese origin, which is based on evidence of molecular biology]. Nghe An Culture, 77 (7), 34-–35.
Don,. L. Q. (1978). Đại Việt thông sử [Complete history of Dai Viet], (2nd ed.), 108-109. Social Sciences Publishing House.
Frayer, D.W.; Wolpoff, M. H.; Thorne, A.G.; Smith, F. H.; Pope, G.G. (1993). Theories of modern human origins: the paleontological test. American Anthropologist journal, 95 (1), 14–50. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1993.95.1.02a00020.
Gian, P. T. (1998). Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục [Imperially commissioned itemized summaries of the comprehensive mirror of Viet history]. Education Publishing House.
Gordon, RaymondR., G. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the world, (Fifteenth 15th edition.). SIL International.
Gudykunst, W. B., & Kim, Y. Y. (2003). Communicating with Strangers: An Approach to Intercultural Communication (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Jeanne, C. (1946). Les Mương – Géographie humaine et sociologie [The Muong - Human geography and sociology]. Institut d`ethnologie.
Jin. L [金力] et. al (1998), Hypothetical ancestral migration routes to the Far East. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. (pp. 293-302). United States National Academy of Sciences.
Jingyang Government. History of Shuyang (泾阳历史). (2019 May 2). SnjingyangPage. Retrieved from http://www.snjingyang.gov.cn/zjjy/lswh/22214.htm
Leeming, D. A. (2010). Creation myths of the world: An encyclopedia, (1 (3), 270-271x ed., Vol. #). Abc-Clio Inc.
Liam, C. K. (2012). The Biography of the Hồng Bàng Clan as a Medieval Vietnamese Invented Tradition, Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 7(2), 87-130. https://doi.org/10.1525/vs.2012.7.2.87.
Liem T. N., Vinh S. L K., (2019). A Vietnamese human genetic variation database, Human Mutation, 40 (7), 1 – 12, https://doi.org/10.1002/humu.23835.
Lien, N. S. (2013). Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư [Complete book of the historical records of Đại Việt] (Liam L. C. Kelley., Trans.). (2019, May 2). Viet Texts (Published online) Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/viet-texts/
Lien, N. S., Huu, L. V., & Tien, P. P. (2009). Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư [Complete Annals of Đại Việt]. 5nd ed, 18-21. Literature Publishing House
Meacham, & William. (1996). Defining the hundred yue. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association journalsJournals,. 15 (1), 93–100.
Oldstone-Moore. (2002). Confucianism. 2 (1), 54–60. Oxford University Press.
Phap, T. T. (2019). Lĩnh nam chích quái/ 嶺南摭怪 [The Arrayed Tales of Selected Oddities from South of the Passes]. Kim Dong Publishing House.
Phuoc, H. H. (2016). Đi tìm vật tổ (Totem) người Việt, Minh giải truyền thuyết "Con rồng cháu tiên" dưới ánh sáng của lí thuyết Totem [Finding Vietnamese totem and explaining "Children of Dragon, Grandchildren of Immortal Sages" legend in point of Totemism view]. In Proceedings of Researching and teaching literature in Education University (pp. 237-252). Education Publishing House.
Quoc, P. Dân tộc Mường có từ bao giờ? [When did the Muong people appear?]. The Journal of Cultural Heritage Page, (2019, May 4) Retrieved from http://thegioidisan.vn/vi/dan-toc-muong-co-tu-bao-gio.html.
Sima Qian/ 司馬遷 (2018). The grand scribe`s records, vol 1: The basic annals of Ppre-Han China (William W. H. Nienhauser,. Trans.). Indiana University Press.
Staal, F. (1979). Oriental ideas on the origin of language. Journal of the American Oriental Society,. 99 (1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.2307/598944.
Steinkraus, W. (1980). Socrates, Confucius, and the Rectification of Names. Philosophy East and West Journal. 30 (2), 261. https://doi.org/10.2307/1398850.
Tac. L. (2001), An Nam Chí Lược [安南志略/ Abbreviated records of An Nam]. Hue University Publishing House.
Taylor, K. W.; Whitmore, J. K. (1995). Essays into Vietnamese pasts. SEAP Publications.
Them, T. N. (2004). Tìm về bản sắc văn hóa Việt Nam [Discovering the identity of Vietnamese culture]. Ho Chi Minh city City Press.
Thuan, N. K. (2005). Danh tướng Việt Nam [Prominent Vietnamese generals]. Education Publishing House
Thuy, H. T. (2016), Góp phần nhận thức lại lịch sử văn hóa việt [Contributing the awareness of Vietnamese cultural history]. Publishing house House of Writers Association.
Wolpoff, M.H., A.G. Thorne, F.H. Smith, D.W. Frayer, & G.G. Pope. (1991). Multiregional Evolution: A World-Wide Source for Modern Human Populations, in Origins of Anatomically Modern Humans. 2, 99- 175. Plenum Press.
Wu, X. (2010). On the origin of modern humans in China. Quaternary International journal. 117(1). 131-140.
Xianfan, H. (1994). General history of the Zhuang. 2, 1–66. National Press.
Yu, T., Qin S., Lan R., Liang X., & Qin, C. (1988) The History of the State of Ancient Yue. 2, 179-188. Guangxi Renmin Chubanshe.