Vietnam.

I was wondering about the name Viet-Nam.

I know that China has been the main influence on most east-Asian cultures. In Korea, the hanja "?" (meaning "south") is read "nam".

Does the "nam" in Vietnam have a Chinese origin?

yes it does.its quite interesting that china's influence went so far.

"yes it does.its quite interesting that china's influence went so far. "

Yep. China was the Rome of the East. Unlike Rome, the empire of China still exists.

The chinese "empire" still exists but the children and grand-children of Rome are spread across the globe. They occupy, beside their cradles in Europe, South America, Central America and the largest parts of the Caribbean, an increasing proportion of the population of North America, large parts of Africa on wich they have taken root, several island nations in the world (Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Asia) etc etc.

I say that's a mighty legacy. What does China has to show for it? They were born large and just kept growing and growing in the same place. They never left their homeland permanently...

<<What does China has to show for it?>> (You meant HAVE - not HAS)

Well, China had such a HUGE inluence on its neighboring countries. Virtually ALL east-Asian cultures have been learned by the Chinese. China's culture in history has been one the most sophisticated in the world. So many inventions were invented by the Chinese.

<<They were born large and just kept growing and growing in the same place.>>

China did not begin as one nation. Before the Zhou dynasty, China was divided. The divided countries would frequently have wars during the period called the Warring States Period (???? Zhànguó Shídài). China started to grow from there.

<<They never left their homeland permanently...>>

DUH!! That's because they managed to stay together. If Rome had stayed together as one empire, their only "influences" would have been their neighbors. (JUST LIKE THE CHINESE!!)

Personally, I think the fact that China never (until recently) went through social/political decline like Rome, and managed to remain intact was quite a feat.

<<...the children and grand-children of Rome are spread across the globe.>>

OMG!! I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE ROMANS DISCOVERED THE AMERICAS!! LOL!! I DIDN'T KNOW THE ROMANS WERE THE ONES TO SETTLE AUSTRALIA!! HAHAHAHA!!

Dude, that really wasn't a Roman achievement.

I just thought of something else.

The Romans never developed their own original culture. They simply adopted the Greek culture, and added to it. The Chinese culture is the Chinese culture.

Please don't misunderstand me, though. Despite what I said earlier, I do believe that the Rome was THE empire. (I'm just trying to point out the greatness of the Chinese.)