In the past, Asian countries like Japan, Korea had the name for its people the same name with their nation from very earliest, usurped strong identity. Japanese, or Nipponese. Goguryeo-Goryeo, or Korean. Unlikely, the term “Vietnamese” was never used for point Vietnamese people before 1945, when a Japanese puppet state “Empire of Vietnam” was created.
Since 938 when Ngo Quyen defeated Nanhan army in battle of Bach Dang river, the ancient Vietnamese dynasties regarded its people as “Hán nhân” (Hanren), “Hán tộc” (Hanzu), “Kinh people”, “Kinh tộc” (Jinzu), “An Nam nhân” (Annanren) in their censuses, regarded Vietnam as “Trung Hoa” (Middle kingdom), saw southern kingdoms like Champa, Khmer, Javanese … and northwest and western tribes like Hmong,Thai, Burma,… as “man di” (uncivilised barbarians).
The earlier Vietnamese monarchs considered themselves as descendants of Hua Xia (Han Chinese) people, migrated to south because northern Xiongnu and Xianbei hordes. Not fantasy, in fact, nearly all Vietnamese monarchs had Chinese origins. Ngô Quyền was a Tang general, Lý Công Uẩn (founder of later Ly dynasty) was descendants of Tang family in Fujian, Trần dynasty migrated from Fujian, Hồ Quý Ly also had Zhejiang ascentry, Nguyễn came from Shanxi and Shantung…
The term “Vietnam” and “Vietnamese” were coined after 1945 by nationalists and still in debating which proper names should be put for ancient Vietnamese people.
An interesting read actually, but what would you suggest then as their name instead? I myself don’t see the vietnamese as a bad name for them. Especially if it’s under a debate as you said, what they should be called, then which of the options they are debating over should’ve been chosen instead and with what merits?
Why such designation?
Is it actually a fact or a discrimination created by you?
That was Sinocentric belief of ancient Vietnamese monarchs to discriminate against minorities.
I wouldn’t apply modern concepts regarding race and culture to the middle ages, Discrimination was very common everywhere in the world. I don’t know much about the Vietnamese specifically, but in that part of the world the thought that outsiders were uncivilized barbarians was popular in China and Japan.