
What ordinary Vietnamese and high-level intellectuals think about China
The average Vietnamese believes that China is Vietnam’s enemy, while the high-level intellectual class tends to believe that China is the ancient Rome of East Asia, which has shaped them. Vietnam has been ruled by China three times in history, which is generally called the Northern period. During these times, in their view, China’s rule was somewhat similar to the role of the Romans in Europe. China conquered Vietnam by force, and then immigrated and imported Chinese culture to carry out cultural conquest. In ancient times, China was the cultural core of East Asia and regarded itself as Huaxia, while Vietnam was a barbarian land.










