The culture of Vietnam is one of the oldest in Southeast Asia; the ancient Bronze age Dong Son culture is considered to be one of its most important progenitors.[1] Due to 1000 years Chinese rule, Viet culture is influenced by Chinese culture in terms of politics, government and Confucian social and moral ethics, Vietnam is considered to be part of the East Asian cultural sphere.[2]
Following independence from China in the 10th century, Vietnam began a southward expansion that saw the annexation of territories formerly belonging to the Champa civilization (now Central Vietnam) and parts of the Khmer empire (today southern Vietnam), which resulted in minor regional variances in Vietnam's culture due to exposure to these different groups.