The second century CE is a time…

The second century CE is a time of rebellion in Giao Chi, Cuu Chan, and Nhat Nam, largely due to the declining quality of the Han administrators, who concentrate their energies on making their fortunes and returning north as soon as possible.

Revolts against corrupt and repressive Chinese officials are often led by the Han-Viet families.

The fall of the Han dynasty in China in 220 further strengthens the allegiance of the Han-Viet ruling elite to their new society and gives them a sense of their own independent political power.

Meanwhile, among the peasant class there is also a heightened sense of identity fostered by the spread of Buddhism by sea from India to Vietnam by the early third century.

The new religion is often adapted to blend with indigenous religions.

Buddhist temples are sometimes dedicated to the monsoon season, for example, or identified with the guardian spirit of agricultural fertility.

Although ruling-class Vietnamese tend to cling to Confucianism, various local rulers patronize the Buddhist religion, thus helping to legitimize their own rule in the eyes of the common people.