Did the Hung Kings Establish the Country or Did the Party Establish the Hung Kings? A Critical Examination of Socialist Archaeology in the DRV

• In Event: Harnessing Foundational Myths: Hùng Kings in Three Vietnams, 1965-2015 - Sponsored by the Vietnam Studies Group

Abstract

In 1958 Bronze Age artifacts were discovered at Phùng Nguyên. Observers were quick to note the site lay only ten kilometers from the Temple of the Hung Kings, where in 1954 Hồ Chí Minh addressed troops about to take Hanoi by stating, “The Hung Kings established the country, now we must preserve it.” The task of scientifically validating President Hồ’s historical claim fell to the Institute of Archaeology and its director, Phạm Huy Thông. To prove the existence of the Hung Kings whilst demonstrating the superiority of socialist archaeology over its colonial and capitalist counterparts, Director Phạm required a vigorous scholarly offensive. The Institute of Archaeology thus held four conferences and published the proceedings in a series entitled The Hung Kings Established the Country.
From 1968 to 1971, eighty-two participants from fifteen institutions presented nearly two hundred papers addressing all manner of questions related to the Hung Kings, from radiocarbon dating to marriage and burial customs. Whereas early conferences saw a profusion of ideas and critical arguments, by the final conference Director Phạm was determined to bring things back together, summarize findings, and claim victory on behalf of the masses of Vietnam. By examining these conference records, I will show how alternative viewpoints were suppressed in the interest of fashioning a scientifically proven narrative whose outline and conclusion had been pre-ordained by Communist Party leadership.

Author

• Matthew A. Berry, University of California, Berkeley