The term Vietnamese understood as "descendants from Vietnam" and Chinese as "citizens of China", or people who pratice Han Chinese culture are not the same.
To cut it short, my answer is NO. Vietnamese do not descend from China.
The terms China as well as Vietnam as countries didn't exist until recent centuries. Our dynasties, and civilizations, however date back thousands of years ago.
Now, did I say thousands of years?
That's true.
Present day Chinese people are proud of their glorious history and their unique culture. They trace their history up to the Shang Dynasty (1600 - 1046 BC), and then the Qin, the Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, Rep of China and the PRC.
Likewise the Vietnamese of Vietnam, identify ourselves with the various royal dynasties.
According to Đại Việt Sử Ký 大越史記 (History annals of the Great Viet Kingdom) written by renowned historian Lê Văn Hưu (1230–1322),
and later Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn thư 大越史記全書 (Great Annals of the Great Viet Kingdom) by Ngô sĩ Liên, we trace our nation back to the Lạc Việt.
Before the Han expansion to what is known as Southern China today,
the area south of Yangtze river was occupied by YUE 百越 tribes,
btw the first millennium BC to the first millennium AD.
They had lived in the low hills and small river valleys, cultivated rice farms and advanced slowly from Stone Age to Bronze Age.
Lac Viet people 雒越 were a collection of Yue tribe inhabiting the southern most land.
Accordng to our history books, they had moved from somewhere in Today's Guangxi,
over the rugged hills and mountain ranges,and settled in the Red River and Mã River deltas.
They although lived in tall, wooden houses, slowly adopted rice cultivation and gradually became lowlander.
At around 2879BC it was believed that they established the first state called Văn Lang 文郎.
The chief is Hùng kings ruled for a thousand years.
Below the King were many local tribes called lạc hầu, and military generals called lạc tướng.
They traded with upland tribes Âu Việt 歐越 who lived in a vast area between northeastern Vietnam and western Guangdong today.
At around 258 or 257 BC, the chief of Âu Việt tribes, called Thục Phán invaded the Van Lang kingdom.
He moved his capital to the Lac Viet land, and called themselves Âu Lạc 歐雒(a compound word for Âu Việt and Lạc Việt).
The new conqueror called himself the Peaceful Virile King, which was recorded as An Dương Vương.
Legend says that the Golden Turtle God helped An Dương Vương build Cổ Loa citadel, and gavs him the Magic Crossbow,
which was an effective weapons against invading Zhao Tuo's forces.
His rule didnt last long, as Zhao Tuo 趙佗, former Qin general, and founder-king of Nanyue kingdom 南越, invaded and absorbed them into his rule, in 207 BC.
An Dương Vương committed suicide.
The Nanyue kingdom was later absorbed into the Han Dynasty in 111 BC.
Since then, until 938 AD, the southern China lands, land of Vietnam (or northern Vietnam) as well as many local Yue people, underwent heavy Sinicization.
The descendants of the former Lac Viet and Au Viet tribes in northern Vietnam today gained independence in 938 AD and re-established their own sovereignty and rule over their old homeland. The later dynasties called themselves Đại Cồ Việt, Đại Việt, Việt Nam and Đại Nam, and so on.
So i don't think Vietnamese people ever descend from China. It was, in fact, the Han Chinese later annex the Yue tribes and spread Han and Chinese values to the new conquered population.
Dragon pattern of Ly Dynasty.
The Viets and Vietnamese today identify themselves as descendants of the Lac Viet.
We regard the Hung kings (chief of the Lac Viet) as our founding fathers.
We even maintained an anniversary for the Kings on the 10th of 3rd lunar month. And today, it is a national holiday.
Altar to Hung kings in a festival.
Tuesday, September 20
