Viet Nam is home to more than 50 ethnic minorities, many of which have distinctive clothing and weaving traditions linked to antiquity. Beginning with silk production in the Bronze Age cultures of the Red River, this book covers textiles in Viet Nam through the centuries of Chinese rule in the north, a number of independent feudal societies and the brief period of French colonial rule.

Việt Nam is the home of more than fifty ethnic minorities--such as the Cham and Thai--many of which have distinctive clothing and weaving traditions linked to antiquity. The tight-fitting tunic called ao dai, widely recognized as a national symbol, has its roots in the country's 2,000-year history of textiles.

Beginning with silk production in the Bronze Age cultures of the Red River, this book covers textiles in Việt Nam--including bark-cloth, kapok and hemp--through the centuries of Chinese rule in the north, a number of independent feudal societies and the brief period of French colonial rule.