During the Vietnam War, the country was divided at the 17th parallel. About 140 kilometres north of this dividing line is a mountain pass called Ngang pass. The land south of this pass, about 60 per cent of present-day Vietnam, was occupied for centuries by the kingdoms of Linyi, Funan and Zhenla. But most people either have not heard of them or have only vague ideas about them. This book is about these kingdoms. North of Ngang pass, Giao Chau, was ruled by northern dynasties for nearly a thousand years from the 2nd century BCE to 10th century CE, barring a few intervals of independence. This volume also tells how the people of Giao Chau came out of this long period to become an independent nation and why they did not want to become part of dynastic China. This is Volume II of the book series, “A Traveller’s Story of Vietnam’s Past”; it continues where Volume I, “The Bronze Drums and The Earrings”, ends. The book contains 73 figures and illustrations. It tells the stories of familiar Vietnamese heroes like the Trung sisters, Lady Trieu, the Black Emperor and Ngo Quyen. It also discusses the beginning of Buddhism in Vietnam and the stories of Shi Xie’s clan.