Brill’s Encyclopedia of China

1. Pre-Modern Times The Sino-Vietnamese relationship has a history of more than 2000 years during which elements of cooperation, cultural influence, and conflict have been closely, sometimes almost inextricably, linked. The analysis of this intricate network of ambivalent relations has become significantly complicated by a rather unbalanced body of source material. Although there have been numerous archaeological findings, written sources up to the 14th century are only available from Chinese archi…

A major part of China's population still lives in villages, which number more than one million. Owing to the size of the country and its geographical diversity, villages may greatly differ from each other, for example with regard to construction types. In the north, houses are built from mud or wood, whereas red clay bricks or bamboo are commonly found in the south (housing). Caves in loess soil serve as dwellings in villages in the northwest, and pile-dwellings are found in the south. Modern bu…