''For the district in Lang Son Province, see Van Lang, Lang Son

Văn Lang (Hán tự: 文郎) was the first nation of the ancient Vietnamese people, founded in 3079 BC and existing until 258 BC. It was ruled by the Hùng Kings. Its history is mostly myth and legend, as little reliable historical information is available. The people of Văn Lang were referred to as the Lạc Việt (雒越/駱越/貉越; Chinese: Luòyuè), or sometimes simply the Lạc.

According to the 15th century book Đại Việt Sử ký Toàn thư (Đại Việt Complete History), this nation had its capital in Phong Châu (楓周; now in Phú Thọ Province). It was bordered to the east by the South China Sea, to the west by Ba Thục (巴蜀; today Sichuan), to the north by Dongting Lake (Hunan), and to the south by Lake Tôn (Champa). The country was divided into 15 regions: Giao Chỉ, Chu Diên, Vũ Ninh, Phúc Lộc, Việt Thường, Ninh Hải, Dương Tuyền, Lục Hải, Vũ Định, Hoài Hoan, Cửu Chân, Bình Văn, Tân Hưng, Cửu Đức, and Văn Lang was the King's capital.

Việt Sử Lược (Việt Brief History) notes that Văn Lang consisted of 15 regions; in it there are 10 names recorded similar to those given in Đại Việt Complete History (Giao Chỉ, Vũ Ninh, Việt Thường, Ninh Hải, Lục Hải, Hoài Hoan, Cửu Chân, Bình Văn, Cửu Đức, and Văn Lang), and five regions with different names (Quân Ninh, Gia Ninh, Thang Tuyền, Tân Xương, and Nhật Nam).

Other documents say that Văn Lang consisted of northern Vietnam and three current provinces, Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, and Hà Tĩnh.

The founder of Văn Lang was Hùng Vương (King Hùng). The Hùng Vương throne was hereditary. The Hùng Kings were military commanders and religious leaders at the same time.

Văn Lang was supposedly ruled by 88 Hùng Kings, but only 18 names had written:

1. Hùng Dương (Lộc Tục)
2. Hùng Hiền (Lạc Long Quân)
3. Hùng Lân (vua)
4. Hùng Việp
5. Hùng Hy
6. Hùng Huy
7. Hùng Chiêu
8. Hùng Vỹ
9. Hùng Định
10. Hùng Hy
11. Hùng Trinh
12. Hùng Võ
13. Hùng Việt
14. Hùng Anh
15. Hùng Triều
16. Hùng Tạo
17. Hùng Nghị
18. Hùng Duệ

Văn Lang ended when, in roughly 258 BCE, the Âu Việt tribe invaded. The Âu Việt king, Thục Phán, defeated the last Hùng Vương, uniting the two kingdoms, naming the new nation "Âu Lạc," and proclaiming himself King An Dương Vương.

References

See also

• Van Lang University
• Hồng Bàng Dynasty