Japan and China were attributed as role models for the people of Vietnam who sought to rule out the French and establish their identity as a nation.
(a) Taking the example of Japan, Vietnamese students went there to study in large numbers.
(b) The Vietnamese were inspired by the way Japan successfully resisted western colonisation.
(c) By defeating Russia in 1907, Japan had proved its military capabilities.
(d) On the other hand, China had set up its republic by overthrowing monarchy through popular mass movement under Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.

The development programmes undertaken by the French indirectly helped the Vietnamese people in the following ways.
(a) Development works like canal construction provided employment to many people.
(b) With the increased agricultural production, farmers got surplus output to export.
(c) Education brought modern ideas to Vietnam.
(d) Standard of living of the people improved.

The ideas behind the Tonkin Free School were predominantly based on policies of westernization.  Students were taught science, hygiene and French, and were encouraged to adopt Western styles of dressing.  This school was a typical example of colonial ideas in Vietnam on account of the aforementioned.  It rejected traditional Vietnamese education and lifestyle, and promoted western ideals and living.

The following were the challenges faced by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
(a) The French troops tried to re-establish their control over Vietnam by using the puppet emperor Bao Dai. It was after eight years that the Vietnamese were able to defeat the French.
(b) In the peace negotiations in Geneva, Vietnam was divided into north and south Vietnam.
(c) This division set in motion various events which turned Vietnam into a battlefield and brought death and destruction.
(d) Bao Dai's regime was overthrown by Ngo Dinh Diem and was followed by the setting up of repressive and authoritarian government which did not tolerate opposition. Many were arrested and killed for opposing the regime of Diem.
(e) Entry of US into the Vietnamese war turned the situation more serious. The war saw the use of chemical weapons that destructed towns and villages and made the life of the Vietnamese miserable.

(a) With the beginning of the nationalist movement in Vietnam, there emerged a new image of womanhood. Nationalist writers and political thinkers idolised women rebels. Nhat Linh's novel showed a woman leaving a forced marriage and marrying someone of her choice. This stirred the society and marked the arrival of a new woman in Vietnamese society.
(b) Rebel women of the past began to be celebrated. Nationalists like Phan Boi Chau wrote a play based on the lives of the Trung sisters who had fought against Chinese domination in the past. These sisters were depicted as patriots fighting to save the Vietnamese nation from the Chinese.
(c) Images of another rebel leader Trieu Au were popularised to inspire people to action.
(d) Magazines and journals having the pictures of women militia shooting down planes began to showcase women as young brave fighters dedicated to the service of nation.
(e) Stories about women began to be written to show how happy they felt joining army and carrying a rifle. Some stories narrated their bravery in single-handedly killing the enemy, like Nguyen Thi Xuan, who shot down a jet with just twenty bullets.
(f) Women were represented not only as warriors but also as workers. They were shown with a rifle in one hand and a hammer in the other depicting them as selflessly working and fighting to save the country. With the increase in casualties in the war, women were urged to join the struggle in larger numbers

The French had made up their mind to systemically dismantle the traditional educational system of Vietnam and establish their own. They glorified themselves, their ways and justified colonial rule. But the teachers and students did not blindly follow the new curriculum imposed on them and at times resisted openly. The teachers and students organised resistance against the French in the following ways.
(a) The teachers modified the text and criticised what was stated in the books.
(b) The students openly resisted the discrimination done against them by the French teachers in the schools. The incident of the Saigon Native Girls School was a bold protest when a Vietnamese girl sitting in one of the front seats in the class was asked to sit in back to allow a French student occupy the front seat. On refusal, the Vietnamese girl was expelled which fuelled the sentiments of other students. This led to an open protest. Fearing the situation might go beyond control, the expelled student was taken back. 
(c) In other parts of Vietnam, students resisted French efforts to prevent white-collar jobs to the Vietnamese.
(d) Vietnamese students began to organise political parties like Young Annan. Schools turned into places for political and cultural battles.
(e) Various nationalist journals such as the Annanese student were published by the students to spread nationalist sentiments.