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The French Influence on Vietnam

The relationship between France and Vietnam began when the Catholic

missionaries arrived in the 17th century (Landed, 2014). During the second half of

the 19th century, the age of imperialism, Vietnam was colonized and taken control

of by The French. The main purpose of founding new colonies was to find new

sources of raw materials and new markets. And after France was able to capture

Saigon, the major city of Vietnam at that time, they extended control to Laos and

Cambodia and formed French Indochina which was the French colony in South East

Asia. Though there was a corruption and venality caused by the French

governments that were sent to Vietnam, and the old traditions were left behind,

being colonize by France did provide some benefits. Since French colonialism

lasted in Vietnam for more than six decades, education system and architecture

influenced by France were very much adapted and still remain in Vietnam.

First, the French introduced new effective education system to the

Vietnamese during the colonial period. They first developed Vietnamese education

through promoting a Romanized written script. This new writing system is called

quoc ngu. Catholic missionaries first created it in the 17th century when they

came into Vietnam in order to spread their religion (Garden, 2015). Two centuries

later, the French government brought it back again so they could conquer their

colony more efficiently. Quoc ngu was very successful. It was spread into the

countryside which the earlier Chinese base writing system never did (Gotcha,

2016). The French also brought printing presses into Vietnam which helped sharing

ideas to larger number of people. Before the colonization, education system in

Vietnam was strongly influenced by the Chinese philosophies of Confucianism. This

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old education system was later replaced with French-Vietnamese education. Three

levels of general education, infant, primary, and secondary, were established. They

also opened many French high schools in Vietnam which were called lycees. For

examples, they opened the French lycees Albert Sarrautin Hanoi and Chasseloup-

Laubat in Saigon. The Indochinese University was established in 1930s, and it

provided training in medicine, law, etc (Goscha, 2016). Now this university is

known as the Vietnamese National University which still operates in Hanoi.

Vietnamese women also had rights to study. Girls were allowed to study in the

same room with boys, which was earlier forbidden. In 1934, Henriette Bui Quang

Chieu, the daughter of the Constitutionalist leader, became Vietnam’s first woman

doctor by going through this new system. The French also provided some quota to

the Vietnamese students to study in France. But the education was only provided

in the major cities. The French didn’t try to educate poor children of the farmers.

The syllabuses at these French schools also focused on French culture. However,

France still played such an important role in developing Vietnamese education.

Without the help from the French, Vietnamese education might not improve this

fast.

Another benefit that French colonialism provided for Vietnam are French

architectural styles which are one of the French influences that still remain in

Vietnam. At that time, the French destroyed many old traditional temples,

monuments, and buildings and replaced them by French style building. Though

there are now many new buildings in Vietnam, those old French style buildings

make the cities look even more beautiful. Among all those new buildings, the

People’s Court or the Palais de Justice is one of the most interesting places. It was

one of the three colonial government buildings which was built in 1881-1885
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(Doling, 2014). It was also the first major public building in Saigon. It was the first

major work of Alfred Foulhoux, the French architect who also designed the other

famous buildings in Vietnam. This building was built in neo-classic style with two

storeys. This kind of building had never been existed in Vietnam before. This 130-

year-old People’s Court was recognized as a national heritage site in 2012. It got a

facelift in 2015 but the original design was all retained. (Another Saigon historic

building, 2015, Para. 2). Another building which is one of the most important

buildings in Vietnam is the church called Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate

Conception or Notre Dame Cathedral. It is also known as Nha tho lon among the

Vietnamese. The French built this church in order to show the influence of the

French and Christianity over Saigon. They imported all the red bricks and other

materials from France. This red brick building was the most beautiful building in

the French colonies at that time because of its neo-Romanesque style. It has two

bell towers with the height of 58 meters. The red bricks still remain colorful until

this day, and that is the reason why it is one of the most attractive places in

Saigon. Having both old Vietnamese and classic French architectural styles,

Vietnam is now the country that many tourists want to visit.

In conclusion, Vietnam was influenced by France in many aspects. Many

Vietnamese had chances to learn their own language because of the new writing

system developed by the French. The education system was also developed, and

there were many schools and universities that were established by the French.

Architectures built in the colonial era still remain in Vietnam and become the

things that attract the visitors from all around the world. So French colonists

didn’t just take the resources from Vietnam, they also used their knowledge to

help Vietnam became the country it is today.

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Landed, S. J. (2014, August 21). The French influence on modern day

Vietnam. Retrieved January 09, 2017, from https://www.justlanded.com/english/
Vietnam/Vietnam-Guide/Culture/History
Gardner, B. (2015, April 2). The French influence on Vietnamese language.
Retrieved January 10, 2017, from http://ableinnovationsblog.com/?p=2519
Order, A. M. (2017). Religion in Vietnam. Retrieved January 10, 2017, from
https://www.insideasiatours.com/insidevietnam/vietnamese-culture/religion/

Doling, T. (2014). Exploring Hồ Chí Minh City. Hà Nội: Thế Giới.

Goscha, C. E. (2016). The Penguin history of modern Vietnam. , UK: Allen
Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books.
Another Saigon historic building to get first facelift, after 130 years. (2016,
May 28). Retrieved March 01, 2017, from https://www.talkvietnam.com/2015/07/
another-saigon-historic-building-to-get-first-facelift-after-130-years/