At the present day that part of the French possessions which occupies the eastern coast of Asia is divided into Tonkin, Annam and Cochin China. The Annamites are predominant in all three provinces and the language and religion of all are the same, except that Cochin China has felt the influence of Europe more strongly than the others. But before the sixteenth century the name Annam meant rather Tonkin and the northern portion of modern Annam, the southern portion being the now vanished kingdom of Champa.
Until the tenth century A.D.[900] Annam in this sense was a part of the Chinese Empire, although it was occasionally successful in asserting its temporary independence. In the troubled period which followed the downfall of the T'ang dynasty this independence became more permanent. An Annamite prince founded a kingdom called Dai-cô-viêt[901] and after a turbulent interval there arose the Li dynasty which reigned for more than two centuries (1009-1226 A.D.). It was under this dynasty that the country was first styled An-nam: previously the official designation of the land or its inhabitants was Giao-Chi[902]. The Annamites were at this period a considerable military power, though their internal administration appears to have been chaotic. They were occasionally at war with China, but as a rule were ready to send complimentary embassies to the Emperor. With Champa, which was still a formidable antagonist, there was a continual struggle. Under the Tran dynasty (1225-1400) the foreign policy of Annam followed much the same lines. A serious crisis was created by the expedition of Khubilai Khan in 1285, but though the Annamites suffered severely at the beginning of the invasion, they did not lose their independence and their recognition of Chinese suzerainty remained nominal. In the south the Chams continued hostilities and, after the loss of some territory, invoked the aid of China with the result that the Chinese occupied Annam. They held it, however, only for five years (1414-1418).
In 1428 the Li dynasty came to the throne and ruled Annam at least in name until the end of the eighteenth century. At first they proved vigorous and capable; they organized the kingdom in provinces and crushed the power of Champa. But after the fifteenth century the kings became merely titular sovereigns and Annamite history is occupied entirely with the rivalry of the two great families, Trinh and Nguyen, who founded practically independent kingdoms in Tonkin and Cochin-China respectively. In 1802 a member of the Nguyen family made himself Emperor of all Annam but both he and his successors were careful to profess themselves vassals of China.
Thus it will be seen that Annam was at no time really detached from China. In spite of political independence it always looked towards the Chinese Court and though complimentary missions and nominal vassalage seem unimportant, yet they are significant as indicating admiration for Chinese institutions. Between Champa and Annam on the other hand there was perpetual war: in the later phases of the contest the Annamites appear as invaders and destroyers. They seem to have disliked the Chams and were not disposed to imitate them. Hence it is natural that Champa, so long as it existed as an independent kingdom, should mark the limit of direct Indian influence on the mainland of Eastern Asia, though afterwards Camboja became the limit. By direct, I do not mean to exclude the possibility of transmission through Java or elsewhere, but by whatever route Indian civilization came to Champa, it brought its own art, alphabet and language, such institutions as caste and forms of Hinduism and Buddhism which had borrowed practically nothing from non-Indian sources. In Annam, on the other hand, Chinese writing and, for literary purposes, a form of the Chinese language were in use: the arts, customs and institutions were mainly Chinese: whatever Buddhism can be found was imported from China and is imperfectly distinguished from Taoism: of Hinduism there are hardly any traces[903].
The Buddhism of Annam is often described as corrupt and decadent. Certainly it would be vain to claim for it that its doctrine and worship are even moderately pure or primitive, but it cannot be said to be moribund. The temples are better kept and more numerously attended than in China and there are also some considerable monasteries. As in China very few except the monks are exclusive Buddhists and even the monks have no notion that the doctrines of Lao-tzŭ and Confucius are different from Buddhism. The religion of the ordinary layman is a selection made according to taste from a mass of beliefs and observances traceable to several distinct sources, though no Annamite is conscious that there is anything incongruous in this heterogeneous combination. This fusion of religions, which is more complete even than in China, is illustrated by the temples of Annam which are of various kinds[904]. First we have the Chua or Buddhist temples, always served by bonzes or nuns. They consist of several buildings of which the principal contains an altar bearing a series of images arranged on five or six steps, which rise like the tiers of a theatre. In the front row there is usually an image of the infant Śâkyamuni and near him stand figures of At-nan (Ănanda) and Muc-Lien (Maudgalyâyana). On the next stage are Taoist deities (the Jade Emperor, the Polar Star, and the Southern Star) and on the higher stages are images representing (a) three Buddhas[905] with attendants, (b) the Buddhist Triratna and (c) the three religions, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. But the arrangement of the images is subject to much variation and the laity hardly know who are the personages represented. At side altars there are generally statues of Quan-Am, guardian deities, eminent bonzes and other worthies. Representations of hell are also common. Part of the temple is generally set apart for women who frequent it in the hope of obtaining children by praying to Quan-Am and other goddesses. Buddhist literature is sometimes printed in these Chua and such works as the Amitâyurdhyânasûtra and collections of Dhâraṇîs are commonly placed on the altars.
Quan-Am (Kuan-Yin) is a popular deity and the name seems to be given to several goddesses. They would probably be described as incarnations of Avalokita, if any Annamite were to define his beliefs (which is not usual), but they are really legendary heroines who have left a reputation for superhuman virtue. One was a daughter of the Emperor Chuang of the Chou dynasty. Another (Quan-Am-Thi-Kinh), represented as sitting on a rock and carrying a child in her arms, was a much persecuted lady who passed part of her life disguised as a bonze. A third form, Quan-Am-Toa-Son, she who dwells on the mountains, has an altar in nearly every temple and is specially worshipped by women who wish for sons. At Hanoi there is a small temple, rising on one column out of the water near the shore of a lake, like a lotus in a tank, and containing a brass image of Quan-Am with eight arms, which is evidently of Indian origin. Sometimes popular heroines such as Cao Tien, a princess who was drowned, are worshipped without (it would seem) being identified with Quan-Am.
But besides the Chua there are at least three other kinds of religious edifices: (i) Dinh. These are municipal temples dedicated to beings commonly called genii by Europeans, that is to say, superhuman personages, often, but not always, departed local worthies, who for one reason or another are supposed to protect and supervise a particular town or village. The Dinh contains a council room as well as a shrine and is served by laymen. The genius is often represented by an empty chair and his name must not be pronounced within the temple. (ii) Taoist deities are sometimes worshipped in special temples, but the Annamites do not seem to think that such worship is antagonistic to Buddhism or even distinct from it. (iii) Temples dedicated to Confucius (Van mien) are to be found in the towns, but are generally open only on certain feast days, when they are visited by officials. Sometimes altars dedicated to the sage may be found in natural grottoes or other picturesque situations. Besides these numerous elements, Annamite religion also includes the veneration of ancestors and ceremonies such as the worship of Heaven and Earth performed in imitation of the Court of Peking. To this must be added many local superstitions in which the worship of animals, especially the tiger, is prominent. But a further analysis of this composite religion does not fall within my province.
There is little to be said about the history of Buddhism in Annam, but native tradition places its introduction as late as the tenth century[906]. Buddhist temples usually contain a statue of Phat To[907] who is reported to have been the first adherent of the faith and to have built the first pagoda. He was the tutor of the Emperor Li-Thai-To who came to the throne in 1009. Phat-To may therefore have been active in the middle of the tenth century and this agrees with the statement that the Emperor Dinh Tien-Hoang Dê (968-979) was a fervent Buddhist who built temples and did his best to make converts[908]. One Emperor, Li Hué-Ton, abdicated and retired to a monastery.
The Annals of Annam[909] record a discussion which took place before the Emperor Thai-Tôn (1433-1442) between a Buddhist and a sorcerer. Both held singularly mixed beliefs but recognized the Buddha as a deity. The king said that he could not decide between the two sects, but gave precedence to the Buddhists.