History has randomly chosen culture as the crossover point for the French – Vietnamese relationship. Perhaps due to their many similarities, this combination quickly occurred in many fields such as: architecture, art, lifestyle, cuisine. The French influence in Vietnam has become legacies to this day
History
The French first came to Vietnam to evangelize in the 17th century and this became the base of developing the modern Vietnamese language. (a Portuguese cleric who named Alexandre compiled the Vietnamese alphabet system). By the second half of the 19th century a shadow had formed over the relationship between the two countries due to an order from Ming Mang, the second Emperor of the Nguyen dynasty to close the harbor. This led to the acculturation of French culture in the Southern Vietnam before the French army captured Ha Noi in 1884. From the very beginning, the French oriented to build Ha Noi as a Western model city. More buildings were sprouting such as schools, post offices, railway stations, banks, administrative houses … That gave birth to Indochina architecture style, a combination of French and indigenous architecture. Many people then called Ha Noi as “the Paris of Vietnam”.
The influence on Vietnamese cuisine
The French did not actively assimilate culture, so the core values of Vietnamese culture were still intact. Instead they continued to preserve the local custom while at the same time creating a new lifestyle in Vietnam. Thus, the image of people speaking French and eating with chopsticks was a symbol of Vietnamese people during this period. Vietnamese street food has always elicited the taste of international visitors. However, only few know that Vietnamese outdoor cooking and eating habits were influenced by French Cafe style. The use of bread, pate, butter, coffee, … are all influences from French cuisine which were saved and developed by Vietnamese people until now.
Art and education
French culture also had a strong influence on Vietnam’s intellectual and political class who create the new poetic movements, modern music, drama, chamber music and Ha Noi Opera, Saigon Opera, Cinema Palace are the clear demostrations today. By the 90s France also proactively offered training to many Vietnamese artist for the subjects: dance, film, theater, fine art, … They also organized many of exhibitions, seminars, workshops to improve the qualifications of artists on both sides.
The French culture has had a strong positive influence on education and lifestyle in Vietnam. For these reasons we can say that French cultural imprints have enriched Vietnamese culture and this enhanced the beauty of Vietnam.
(Justin Ngoc Pham)
