THE CURRENT CHANGES OF VILLAGE CULTURE INHOAI DUC DISTRICT, HA NOI CITY

HO CHI MINH NATIONAL ACADEMY OF POLITICS

THE CURRENT CHANGES OF VILLAGE CULTURE IN
HOAI DUC DISTRICT, HA NOI CITY
(Case study of Van Lung, Lai Du and Ngu Cau villages)

SUMMARY OF PHD THESIS
Field of study: Cultural Studies
Code: 9229040

HA NOI - 2022


The doctoral thesis is completed at
Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics

Supervisor: Assoc Prof , Dr

Reviewer 1:

Reviewer 2:

Reviewer 3:

The thesis shall be defended in front of the Thesis Committee at
Academy Level organized at Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics
At
hour
date
month
2022

The thesis can be found at: The National Library
The library of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics


1
INTRODUCTION
1 The necessity of the thesis
Vietnamese culture is an inherently attractive topic Regardless of the angle, researchers
have identified in the Vietnamese culture the commonalities about the essential role of
Vietnamese villages in the structure of family - village - country The village is a solid
stronghold, fully promoting its strength in the course of the Vietnamese history Vietnamese
villages have attracted many people, especially scholars who have deeply studied village
culture in different directions They have not only described cultural traditions but also
surveyed the changes of village culture
The Vietnamese village like all things and phenomena with its property of constant
change is not constant but changes to adapt to the impact of the environment All of the urban
expansion, the application of science and technology, and the development of the market
economy are realities that affect the village culture Although many works have been
published since Renewal (Doi moi), they still do not keep up-to-date on the reality of
development These gaps need investigating and further clarifying, especially in the current
period of rapid changes
Hoai Duc district, belonging to an ancient strip of land in the suburban of Hanoi city
along the left bank of the Day river, has formed and developed in the process of building and
defending the Vietnamese country for over the past thousand years The villages and its
culture have been established, maintained, and fostered by its residents for many generations,
creating its characteristics of rural areas In the process of Renewal, the development of the
market economy, urbanization and the industrialization - modernization, especially the
application of State's policies over the past 10 years, the villages have been in great changes
The village changes reflected in all aspects, including the village culture

The thesis "The current changes of village culture in Hoai Duc district, Hanoi city (case
study of Lai Du, Van Lung and Ngu Cau villages)" investigates the changes of village culture
in Hoai Duc from 2008 to 2020 How has the village culture changed to adapt to the strong
impact of factors that have never seen before? It is the change in the environment of the
natural land, society and the activities of the cultural subjects performing in those spaces
Urban lifestyle, industrial manner of working also interact to influence agricultural lifestyle
Gaps in the movement of village culture in that context are contents that need to be further
clarified in terms of village's landscape, people's material life, community organization, and
spiritual life This will provide one more case to the already diverse situation of research on
village cultural change
2 The purpose and tasks of the research:
2 1 Purpose: From clarifying the theoretical basis, the practical basis and surveying the
reality of village cultural changes in Hoai Duc district, the thesis proposes recommendations
to contribute to promoting the change of village culture in Hoai Duc to develop towards
progress and civilization in the current period
2 2 Tasks:
- Reviewing literature, clarifying the theoretical and practical basis of village culture
changes in Hoai Duc
- Surveying the reality of village culture changes in Hoai Duc district, in focus on the
case study of Van Lung, Lai Du and Ngu Cau villages
- Generalizing trends, pointing out problems and proposing recommendations to promote
the change of village culture in Hoai Duc district to develop towards progress and civilization


2
3 The research object and scopes
- The research object of the thesis is the change of village culture in Hoai Duc district,
Hanoi city in the current period
- Research scopes:
+ Research problem: The thesis studies the changes of village culture in Hoai Duc

district on the total aspects, including the village landscape, material life, community
organization, and spiritual life
+ In terms of space: The thesis examines the change of village culture in Hoai Duc
district, Hanoi city, mainly focuses on the case study of Van Lung, Lai Du and Ngu Cau
+ In terms of time: The study is carried out between 2008 (Hoai Duc belongs to Ha Noi)
and 2020
4 Methodology and research methods
4 1 Methodology
The thesis conducted on the basic of methodology of Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi
Minh's thought, Vietnamese Communist Party's views on culture and development as well as
the approach of cultural studies
4 2 Research Methods
Case study is a specific application method in selecting a typical case to prove a
hypothesis However, the cases are not completely the same; this is an intermediate step in
finding the commonalities Therefore, the combination of research methods is used in a
broader context:
- Documentary research methods: used in exploiting and searching for documentary
information Those are the theories of cultural changes, the factors of influences, the policies
of government, including books, research works, theses, journals; statistics and reports; legal
documents, regulations of cultural village
- The comparative method indicates the changes of cultural life in specific aspects
Through the site survey, the comparison will clarify the common and unique points in the
transformation process
- The participant observation method helps to build a profile about daily life, production
activities, rituals and practices (funerals, weddings, festivals, etc ); diary recording and
pictures are specifically useful supplements reflecting the moments of cultural life
- Interdisciplinary research method helps to avoid a split view in research This is the
unique method of culturology, an interdisciplinary science, helping to have an overview of
village culture
- In-depth interview method applied in exploiting information from the important people

(leaders and managers) and people's opinions (various ages) helps reinforce the vital
arguments
- Sociological survey: 300 Anket questionnaires with 20 questions distributed according
to the size of village population in Van Lung, Lai Du, Ngu Cau (1108 households/4070
people, 324 households/1437 people and 1043 people, respectively 120/60/120), 272 valid
votes collected (August 2020)
- Analytical and synthesis methods used in analyzing and processing information and
data collected from the survey process From there, there are generalizations and assessments
of village culture changes


3
5 Research questions and hypotheses
5 1 Research questions
1 What are the theoretical and practical bases for the survey and assessment of village
cultural changes in Hoai Duc district?
2 How is the reality of village cultural changes in Hoai Duc in focus on the case study of
Van Lung, Lai Du and Ngu Cau villages?
3 What needs to be done to promote the change of village culture in Hoai Duc, Ha Noi
city to develop towards progress and civilization and eliminate the negative trends?
5 2 Research hypothesis
1 The study of village cultural changes in Hoai Duc should be based on the theories of
cultural change and the researches on the change of village culture
2 For the past time, the village culture in Hoai Duc district has had a rapid change in all
aspects, including the village's landscape, material life, community organization, and spiritual
life The change of village culture has both positive and negative respects, posing many
problems need to be solved
3 In the coming time, to get the village culture developed towards progress and
civilization, it is necessary to have practical solutions to promote the positive and to eliminate
the negative in village culture changes in Hoai Duc district

6 Contributions of the thesis
6 1 Theoretically
- The thesis contributes to clarifying the theoretical issues about the change of village
culture in our country in the current period; raising the theoretical awareness of village culture
changes, especially the trend of change at the impact of the process of industrialization modernization and urbanization
- The thesis can be used as a reference for studying, researching and teaching majors in
cultural studies, social sciences and humanities
6 2 Practically
- From the analysis of the reality of village culture changes in a suburban district of
Hanoi city, the thesis contributes to providing scientific data for the government
administration to improve their awareness about village culture changes as well as the basis to
improve their performance of management in the construction of cultural villages, new rural
areas and civilized cities
- Contribute to providing important arguments as a firm foundation for adjusting policies
and guidelines on building and developing village culture in Hoai Duc district in particular
and village culture in general
7 Structure of the thesis
In addition to the introduction, conclusion, the author's works, references, the thesis
consists of 4 chapters:


4
Chapter 1
LITERATURE REVIEW
1 1 RESEARCH WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS

1 1 1 Researches on village culture and village cultural change
1 1 1 1 Research on village culture
The village of Vietnam is a typical example of a rural society organization The village is
the self-governing level below the rural commune The commune is the lowest level in the

administrative system The village also has many customs, practices, and habits This wideranging aspect has many works both at home and abroad mentioned right from the late 19
century to the first half of 20th century They are The Annamite commune at Tonkin by Paul
Ory (1894), Dan Tri Publishing House (republished in 2020); The peasants of the Tonkin
delta: a study in human geography by Pierre Gourou (1936), Youth Publishing House, Ho Chi
Minh City (republished in 2003); Vietnamese Customs by Phan Ke Binh (1915), published by
the Ho Chi Minh Publishing House (republished 1990) They are also Introduction to
Vietnamese culture by Dao Duy Anh (1938), Culture and Information Publishing House
(republished in 2000); History of Vietnamese Civilization (Civilization annamite) by Nguyen
Van Huyen (1939), Writers' Association Publishing House (republished in 2018)
The village is a miniature country with its sustainable material and spiritual vitality
The village is the basic unit of the country with the production of wet paddy rice as a main
livelihood, associated with handicrafts In this group, there has many researches such as Study
of Vietnamese cultural identity by Tran Ngoc Them, Ho Chi Minh City Publishing House
(1997); Culture of villages and communes in the land of Hung Vuong's ancestors by Vu Kim
Bien, the UNESCO Center for Information and Documents on Vietnamese history and culture
and Phu Tho province Department of Culture, Information and Sports (1999) They are also
Organizational structure of traditional Vietnamese villages in the North by Nguyen Tu Chi,
Hanoi Social Science Publishing House; Rural Sociology by Tong Van Chung, Hanoi
National University Publishing House (2001)
Some researches considered the village culture at a specialized angle on its convention,
customs, and habits There are Ancient village conventions in the Northern Delta by Vu Duy
Men, Hanoi Social Science Publishing House (2001); Village conventions in the North of
Vietnam in comparison with the village law Kan To in Japan, in XVII-XIX centuries by Vu
Duy Men, Minh Loi Hoang (2001); The village God (Emperor) in Vietnam and Shinto in
Japan by Trinh Cao Tuong, Institute of History, Hanoi (2005); Finding the old Vietnamese
village by Vu Duy Men, Hanoi Social Science Publishing House (2018) Some works
studying the customs and practices of the village can be mentioned as: Vietnamese village law
in the folk memory by Ho Duc Tho, Hanoi Culture and Information Publishing House (2005);
Cultural Customs by Hoang Quoc Hai, Hanoi Women's Publishing House (2005); The old
habits - Vietnamese villages by Toan Anh, Ho Chi Minh Publishing House (2005);

Vietnamese culture from a cultural model of people by Do Lai Thuy, Hanoi Culture and
Information Publishing House (2005)
There are also several other researches that considered village culture as a whole Both
Research on Vietnamese Traditional Culture, Education Publisher (2007) and Village Culture
in Vietnam, Hanoi Information and Culture Publishing House (2011) are works by Vu Ngoc
Khanh They are also The Red River Delta residents' culture by Vu Tu Lap, Social Sciences
Publishing House, Hanoi (1991); Village culture in Phuc Tho by Nguyen Van Truong,


5
National Political Publishing House (1997); Village Culture and Cultural Villages in Quang
Ngai by Nguyen Van Manh, Thuan Hoa Publishing House (1999); Vietnamese people in the
Northern Delta by Diep Dinh Hoa, Social Sciences Publishing House (2000) The richness
and diversity of works proves the interest of people in the village culture with the peasants'
life, farming and traditional styles in the countryside
1 1 1 2 Research on the change of village culture
Vietnamese villages with its ability to transform in the condition of environmental
changes have been attracting the researchers both at home and abroad
Firstly, the works survey on the wide range of areas They are Facing the future,
reviving the past: a study of social change in a Northern Vietnamese village by John Kleinen,
Da Nang Publishing House (1999); Villages in the Red River Delta - an open issue by Olivier
Tessier, Philippe Papin in collaboration with Nguyen Duy Quy, Le Ba Thao, published by
National Center for Social Sciences and Humanities (2002); The role of culture in the cause of
rural, agricultural industrialization and modernization in the Red River Delta, by Le Quy
Duc, Culture and Information Publishing House and Institute of Culture (2005); The influence
of the traditional village model on the change of villages in the Red River Delta, by Nguyen
Lam Tuan Anh, Journal of Culture and Art, No 4, (2005)
Secondly, the researchers saw the changes from different angles Regarding the
village's fine arts, there are Fine Arts in the communal house of the Northern Delta, by
Nguyen Van Cuong, Hanoi Culture and Information Publishing House (2006); The village

gates of Hanoi in the past and at present, by Vu Kiem Ninh, Hanoi National Culture
Publishing House (2007) Referring to the opportunities and challenges for village culture,
Thanh Duy had two books: Vietnamese culture in the face of globalization- opportunities and
challenges, Culture Publishing House and Institute of Culture (2007); Vietnam national
Identity and Culture, National Political Publishing House (2004) From the perspective of
cultural development, Phan Dai Doan had "Vietnamese Villages-Economic, cultural and
social issues", National Political Publishing House (2008)
Thirdly, they considered the changes as a whole of many aspects Nguyen Thi Phuong
Cham had Cultural change in rural villages today: The case of Dong Ky, Trang Liet and Dinh
Bang villages in Tu Son district, Bac Ninh province, Hanoi Information Culture Publishing
House (2009) Nguyen Van Quyet had the cultural change of agricultural-rural communities
during the development of industrial zones (the thesis, 2013) Pham Quynh Chinh had Village
culture in the process of urbanization in the Red River Delta today, Hanoi University of Social
Sciences and Humanities (thesis, 2016) Some other articles that can be mentioned include:
Some changes in village culture in the Northern Delta, by Vu Thi Phuong Hau, Political
Theory magazine, No 8-2017; the change in the cultural values of villages in the process of
urbanization by Nguyen Thi Hue, Journal of Culture and Art, No 396 (2017)
There are also many studies on cultural changes in the village, but it is unable to
analyse in detail here due to the thesis's regulatory limitation Some domestic and foreign
authors that can be typically listed are Le Thi Mai, To Duy Hop, Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen,
Nguyen Van Thang , Nguyen Thi Hong Tam, Hy Van Luong, Steffanie Scott, Shigehisa
Misaki and Miyazawa Chihiro Their works provide important arguments, supplementing
information from different angles, providing the basis for a scientific approach to the study of
village culture changes


6
1 1 2 The researches on the village culture changes in Hoai Duc
1 1 2 1 Researches on changes village culture in Hanoi in general
Firstly, before Hanoi expanded its administrative boundaries in 2008, most of the

researches focus on the periphery of the capital Hanoi Tran Duc Ngon had "Traditional
culture of villages in the suburbs of Hanoi under the influence of the market economy",
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (2004) Nguyen Huu Minh had "Socio-economic
changes on the periphery of Hanoi in the process of urbanization", Journal of Sociology No
89 (2005); Ngo Van Gia had Changes in traditional cultural values in Hanoi suburban
villages during the renovation period, National Political Publishing House (2007)
Secondly, after Hanoi expanded its administrative boundary, the studies mainly
focused on the impact of urbanization From a psychological perspective, Phan Thi Mai
Huong had Psychological changes of peri-urban residents in the process of urbanization,
Bach Khoa Dictionary Publishing House (2010); Phan Thanh Ta had Traditional culture in
Vietnamese villages today, Labor Publishing House (2011), a case study in focus on Da Ton,
Ninh Hiep, and Bat Trang villages From the perspective of sociology, Tran Thi Hong Yen
had Social and cultural changes in rural villages in the process of urbanization in Hanoi,
National Political Publishing House (2013) Nguyen Dinh Tuan had the thesis Cultural
change in urbanized communities (2013), surveying Dinh Cong and Minh Khai wards from an
anthropological perspective on urban development in Hanoi
Thirdly, a number of works mentioned the change of village culture in various aspects,
including livelihoods and craft villages In Industrialization, urbanization and livelihood
change in the periphery of Hanoi, Hanoi Knowledge Publishing House (2014), Nguyen Van
Suu had approached livelihood and livelihood changes in the village In the thesis "The
change of traditional craft village culture in Hanoi today (2015), Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy
had considered the livehood of craft villages surveying the two villages of Trieu Khuc and
Thiet Ung
In addition, many works considered the whole of culture in many aspects Nguyen Thi
Phuong Cham, Do Lan Phuong in Suburban village and cultural change: The case of Xuan
Dinh village, Tu Liem district, Hanoi city, Hanoi Social Science Publishing House (2016),
surveyed the changes in many dimensions such as livelihood, lifestyle, entertainment,
customs, beliefs, festivals, etc Geographically, Li Tana had Peasants on the move: Rural Urban Migration in Hanoi region, 1996); Philippe Papin had History of Hanoi, World
Publishing House, 2014) Trinh Thi Phuong had The current employment situation of people
with land acquisiton by the State in Hanoi city, case study of Ha Dong, Quoc Oai, Thach That,

Hoai Duc, 2010) These works mainly referred the impact of urbanization, migration and
urban lifestyle as well as new way of cultural enjoying
1 1 2 2 Researches on the change of village culture in Hoai Duc
First, the researches examine the aspects of cultural life Tran Thi Hong Yen had an
article "Using labor in La Phu, Hoai Duc, Ha Tay craft villages", Ethnographic Review, No
(2) 2006 Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh had "The changes in ritual life in La Phu craft village, Hoai
Duc, Ha Tay", Ethnology Magazine, No (4), 2006, (the custom of distinctive feature: "Mr Pig"
procession) Nguyen Thi Lan Anh with "Family culture in the countryside in Hoai Duc
district, Hanoi (a case study in three communes Yen So, Van Canh, Lai Yen, 2010) examines
the family culture in rural areas at the challenges of innovation This research can be a
comparison with "The change of urban family culture in Hanoi from 1986 to present" by Vu
Thi Hue Nguyen Trung Thuan with Developing craft villages in Hoai Duc district, Hanoi


7
(2012), surveys 51 of 53 villages: According to the craft village criteria by Ha Tay Provincial
People's Committee, there are 12 villages passed Nguyen Dinh Phuc had "Impacts of safety
box making on village life", Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, No 32, (2015), assessing the
impact of the job (safety box production) on economic life village (case study of Dai Tu
village, Kim Chung commune)
Second, several studies' authors drew comparison between the village cultural change
in Hoai Duc village and the change in other localities Le Quang Hung had The change of
traditional culture in the suburbs of Hanoi in the context of urbanization, World Publishing
House (2015) The study researched Kim Chung and An Khanh communes of Hoai Duc
district and Phu Thi commune of Gia Lam district Vu Dieu Trung had Cultural change of
craft villages in the Red River Delta, Ethnic Culture Publishing House (2016), comparing
statistics of craft villages, including 12 in Hoai Duc surveyed
In addition, there are a number of authors giving a general description of the cultural
space of the village and having articles on few areas of cultural life in Hoai Duc They are Bui
Xuan Dinh (Journey to an ancient Vietnamese villages, Hanoi Encyclopedia Publishing

House, 2008); Vuong Ngoc Thinh (Implementing the law on democracy at grass root level in
Hoai Duc district); Le Thi Diem (The State management of craft villages in Hoai Duc
district); Nguyen Trung Thuan (Development of craft villages in Hoai Duc district); Lam Thi
Thanh Xuan (Funeral rites change in Yen So under the influence of Buddhism) These works
are considered as supplementary references providing an overall picture of material, spiritual
life and community organizations in the district over the past decade
1 2 SOME COMMENTS

1 2 1 Issues that have been studied in depth
Firstly, the overview shows that village culture has been studied from many different
angles and clarified many issues First, the works have shown the diversity of the village
(farming villages, craft villages, trading villages ) and describe the village culture in many
historical periods (under Feudalism, Resistance, Renewal) Second, the village culture is
identified with many common characteristics The village is a common economic community,
basically self-sufficient; is an autonomous community; has its own spiritual element (the most
typical is worshiping the village god) Third, in addition to good customs and practices, it also
contains conservative and backward elements such as hierarchies, problems of localism, (ating
and drinking) It's also the village's inactivity, stagnation and "bad customs and practices"
Secondly, the studies have shown adaptation in changes from many angles First, from
the angle of interaction, village culture changed at the Western civilization in the modern era,
under the impact of the renovation, industrialization - modernization and the development of
the market economy, especially the process of urbanization Second, from the angle of
content, the change of village culture is diverse in many aspects: landscape space, festival
beliefs, funerals, weddings Third, from the angle of research methods, it can be generalized in
5 groups They are the group of changes in tangible cultural values and in intangible cultural
values; the change in the cultural elements (livelihood, psychology, ethics, festivals ); the
overall approach group (economic, political, educational culture, family and religious beliefs);
the change group of the cultural structure (upper and lower layers); and the group of cultural
values from levels (village - family - personal values)
Thirdly, the value of theses works relates to the doctoral thesis First, the results obtained

in previous scientific works are the reference sources for the thesis Second, scholarly studies
of village cultural change are methodological guidelines necessary for the thesis to be on the


8
right track Third, the studies of village culture changes in Hanoi city, including directly
researches in Hoai Duc district are the basis to have an overall picture and the basis for
comparison with current changes
1 2 2 Issues that need further research
The villages and communes of Hoai Duc district after 2008 are in the process of building
a new countryside with the Program of National Targets, concretizing the Resolution of 10th
Central Committee on agriculture, farmers, rural areas (2010), and the process of Co-op
transformation (The Cooperative Law 2012) This is a direct impact on the cultural life of the
villages Hoai Duc is also in the process of urbanization in the context of unprecedentedly
rapid progress in science and technology, especially in IT (Information technology)
globalization Therefore, this is one of the typical cases in the new period of development
The research works on the change of village culture in Hoai Duc district mainly stopped
in the early years of the twentieth century Most of the individual studies have not kept up
with the change of the district in reality Under the influence of unprecedented factors, the
village culture has changed in both positive and negative way The industrial working manner
and urban lifestyle evidently intertwine with the agricultural lifestyle
The approach to the change of village culture in Hoai Duc district as a whole object is
basically small in number, mainly at other levels (by commune) and in individual aspect The
reality of Van Lung, Lai Du, and Ngu Cau villages in the case study has never been
investigated separately, especially the changes in the last 10 years The recent changes in the
past decade have not been updated besides some villages deeply surveyed such as Son Dong,
Dai Tu and La Phu
Thus, the gaps between the reality of changes and the studies of village cultural change
need to be clarified in the face of unprecedented impact factors pose problems Firstly, the
village landscape culture with typical rural images is also a sign for identification Second,

with the change in the village's livelihood of villagers, how is the culture of material life
reflected in food, clothing, accommodation and transportation Third, how about the culture of
community organization before the changes taking place in villages that have only pure
agriculture on the basis of a new economy (coop organizations, clan/ family organizations)
Fourth, how are the traditional ties in spiritual life, traditional relations in society, especially
the lifestyle of the villagers before the impact of urban lifestyle and industrial working
manner Fifth, from that situation, the thesis needs to propose recommendations to promote
the change of village culture in Hoai Duc district to develop towards progress and civilization
Chapter 2
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BASIS OF VILLAGE
CULTURE CHANGE IN HOAI DUC
2 1 THEORETICAL BASIC

2 1 1 Basic concepts
Culture is an organic system of values created and accumulated by people in practical
activities to adapt to the environment, exposed in all aspects of life for the sake of survival and
development
Village is a traditionally residential unit in the countryside forming a material, spiritual
living space in the structure of Family-Village-State and in the process of practical activities
for the sake of survival and development


9
Village culture is the totality of values created and accumulated by the villagers in the
process of practical activities to adapt to the environment, exposed in all aspects of village life
for the sake of survival and development
Cultural change is the change of values created by people in the process of practical
activities, receiving new values and eliminating deviant and outdated factors to adapt to the
new conditions of living environment for the sake of survival and development
Village culture change is the change of the values created and accumulated by the

villagers in practical activities, receiving new values and eliminating deviant and outdated
factors to adapt to the new conditions of living environment for the sake of survival and
development
2 1 2 Some theories and approaches to cultural change
2 1 2 1 Theories of cultural change
The theories of cultural change have a very broad meaning like the concept of culture
itself, including social factors Therefore, to study the change of village culture, the thesis
inherits and applies a combination of the following theories First, the evolutionary theory
describes that the process of movement, continuity, and evolution through the cultural stages
developing from low to high Second, acculturation theory shows that the change of culture is
the process of transmission and absorption The acculturation process often entails
reformatting borrowed elements to fit them into the pre-existing cultural order of their
existence Third, the structural-functional theory defines that cultural change is the process of
adapting to keep a certain function stable at the change of environment Fourth, the
contradiction (conflict) theory emphasizes the conflict relationship and explains that the
change in practice is the resolution of conflicts, creating a driving force for development
Besides these theories, cultural change also has been referred by many other theories,
especially the value theory In culturology, the truth-goodness-beauty is the universal value
system of culture Culture is built according to the laws of beauty The totality of values
created and accumulated by people is always on the movement towards the good in material
and spiritual life This is the fundamental basis for the research The points of other theories
are focused on discussing and explaining the change of village culture
2 1 2 2 Approaches
Firstly, the system approach The reality shows that there is no single theory that can
explain every diverse and complex phenomenon impacted by specific historical
circumstances This approach stands on the assumption that breaking down of a complex
concept into simple, easy to understand units helps in better understanding of the complexity
Therefore, the system approach is neccessary with the panoramic view solving the problems
in order of their organization and wholeness (tangible and intangible objects
Secondly, the value system approach The results of conscious human activities,

especially creative labor meeting the requirements of existence and development In cultural
studies, the cultural values can be in the forms of items, tools, means of transport, living
materials (tangible cultural values), or in the forms of thought, language, science, belief,
custom (intangible cultural value) In general way, culture is a total system of material and
spiritual values that is the result of creative activities by human labor
Thirdly, to apply the previous theories and research The theory of functional structure
is the main axis in the survey that help to identify three aspects of a system They are
components, the relationship among them and their functions in the system It is considered
that the theories of acculturation and conflict are usefull complements in analyzing and


10
explaining the change of village culture At the same time, previous studies are specific
applications in the case study with a reference for the correct approach The change of village
culture is the transformation of cultural elements (village culture of landscape, production
organization, people relations, beliefs, festivals and customs ), restructuring and integration
of new elements that change traditional values and form new values to meet the people's
requirement
2 1 3 Influential factors and analytical framework
2 1 3 1 Factors affecting the change of village culture
First, the urban lifestyle and new working manner (Industrial) are the result of a process
of living activities in an environment that's different from the countryside, affecting the life of
rural society The agricultural lifestyle, which is seasonal, slow and flexible, is changing as an
inevitable consequence of the shift of production from agriculture to industry and services
Second, the development of a market economy awakens people's mind about the
concept of economic values The villagers aim to create more and more economic value to
ensure the satisfaction of material life to meet the increasing demands Farmers have a chance
to enjoy exotic dishes, new forms of arts, of games The behavior way of traditional
agriculture (borrowing tools, exchanging labor), is fading in the market economy Instead,
they hire labour and contract workers to do jobs that are based on the law of price, supply and

demand The traditional community consequently operates towards the economic laws
Third, the process of urbanization changes the appearance of traditional villages The
construction in the villages follows carefully architectural designs; the alleys and footpath are
paved, concreted and named The blocks are numbered like urban areas The village farmers
moved to other production areas that lead to the change in their livelihood The urbanization
make the village population increases in the mechanical way Employees in the needs of living
near their working places located in the area mainly buy land to build houses and rent houses
Fourth, the application of the achievements in the science and technology, especially in
information tech currently makes the world change unprecedentedly Previously, the villagers
did not know any other stoves besides burning wood and straw, coal and gas Today, due to
intruduction of electricity, they refuse toxic coal, dangerous gas to change mainly to the
electric equipment (water kettles, rice cooker) However, technology is also producing
unwanted by-products such as environmental pollution and toxicity (growth stimulants in
cultivation, weight gainers in livestock) Intentional practices such as the discriminatory use of
chemicals (products for home and for the market) are the negative side of the new selfish
lifestyle
Fifth, the State policy is the strongest and most direct contributing factors to change The
villages of Hoai Duc district after 2008 are included in the process of new rural construction
(National Target Program, CPV's Central Resolution on agriculture, farmers and rural areas)
That is the process of transforming the coop model (Cooperative Law 2012) The decisions to
acquire the local land of cultivation to widen roads, develop infrastructure after merging
HoaiDuc and other districts into Hanoi These policies have brought great signals of
development for the district, directly affecting the village culture
2 1 3 2 Analytical framework
First, two value parts - the past and the new The two parts of value are the past value
crystallized into the product and the newly created value part The village culture is the totality
of values created and accumulated by people crystallized from the past of the village and the


11

existing values being "produced" The difference between these two parts reflects the various
changes of village culture
Second, the cultural elements of village From the perspective of a system of elements,
depending on the researchers' view, village culture could be divided and seen in different
aspects such as material culture, organizational and spiritual culture (psychological, moral,
recreation culture)
Third, the expressive forms of village culture The three-part structure of village culture
maintains a harmonious relation in the face of environmental change Firstly, the tangible
(material) culture is reflected in two aspects of the village landscape and the villagers' material
life They may be rice fields, banyan trees; the tiled roof houses, brick yards, village ponds,
and village gates; and exposed in eating, wearing, livings, using (technical equipment)
Secondly, the culture of community organization is in the forms of village structure They are
the traditional agricultural cooperatives, socio-political bodies, clans, groups, and family
(same age, same interest, and household model, funeral, and wedding) Thirdly, the spiritual
culture is reflected in folk knowledge and agricultural experience (knowledge of calendar,
geography, medicine, and treatment methods) They are also taboo beliefs, worship and
entertainment activities (clubs' activities, taking care of plants and pets, and virtual games)
Fourth, the nature of village culture changes The change is a way to adapt to
environments, exploit resources and ensure life It is also a process of receiving new values
and supplementing the missing elements leading to the transformation in the traditional
elements of village culture All changes are development-oriented to operate the system of
cultural elements, balance their relationships and maintain development
Analytical Framework:
Village culture change

Impact
factors

Material
life

Community
organization

Spiritual
life

Generalization

2 2 PRACTICAL BASIS

2 2 1 Overview of Hoai Duc district
Hoai Duc is a long historical land where the Vietnamese community settled early They
chose to live, built villages and made dikes to prevent floods During the period of northern
domination and domination resistance, Hoai Duc was officially named in Sino-Vietnamese
script ( 懷懷) During the period of Dai Viet, the villages built lots of spacious communal
houses and pagodas along the dyke During the French colonial period, the district was a
stronghold In the early 20th century, people accepted Catholicism During the period of


12
Renewal, the villagers in the district have promoted many rural village crafts, profoundly
changed from the village appearance of the landscape, the material life to the spiritual life
Hoai Duc belongs to the former Ha Tay province, bordered by North Tu Liem and
South Tu Liem to the east, by Quoc Oai, Dan Phuong, Phuc Tho to the west and north and by
Ha Dong district to the south Since 2008, Hoai Duc has become a district of Hanoi city with
20 administrative units, including a town The whole district has 54 villages, 132 residential
areas with 73 grassroots Party cells
Hoai Duc has some 8,493 hectares of natural land, a convenient transportation system,
good labor resources (262,943 people in 2018) People in the working age account for about

51% They are educated, diligent, and capable of absorbing new technology and different
occupations, especially those in the market economy Hoai Duc district meets the need to
reduce the pressure of downtown center and provides the agricultural and handicraft products
of the villages to the city
2 2 2 Overview of Van Lung, Lai Du, Ngu Cau villages
The villages of Van Lung, Lai Du, Ngu Cau belonged to the old Son Tay town, to Hanoi
under the Nguyen Dynasty, to Ha Dong under the French period These villages with long
cultural history belong to two communes in the south of district now An Thuong commune
including Lai Du and Ngu Cau, has a total land area of approximately 785 hectares There
were nearly 15,400 people (3861 households) in 2010 An Khanh has five villages (including
Van Lung) and two resident zones, had a population of 14,225 in 2008
By 2008, the villages's people were mainly engaged in agricultural production The roads
were slippery in the rainy season, dusty in the dry season and far from the district center
Farmers do two rice crops a year (spring-summer and summer-autumn); in the winter crops
they grow potatoes, eggplants and temperate vegetables on their contracted fields Supplement
occupations such as animal husbandry, knitting nets, weaving wool, knitting are maintained to
provide food and increase income for the household
Criteria for choosing research sites
These villages were selected as representative examples in the current period
Van Lung village in An Khanh commune is located adjacent to the urban areas while Lai
Du and Ngu Cau villages in An Thuong commune are on the western edge and outside the
urban areas, respectively The research sites are original villages with a long cultural history
that ensure accuracy The representative sample was selected at random to ensure objectivity
Other villages are also compared for generalization
The conversion degree of land use and changes in socio-economic structure are the most
important criteria for sample selection They are main factors causing the change of village
culture Since becoming a district of Hanoi, the villages in Hoai Duc have a modern transport
system connecting They have transformed the coop model; modernized the infrastructure of
electricity, water and telecommunications A lot of policies are prioritized for implementation
in the area (NQ 15/2008/QH12 on adjustment of administrative boundaries; Decision No

1259/QD-TTg on construction of Hanoi Capital; Decision No 563/QD - People's Committee
of Ha Tay province on allocation agricultural land to implement Nam An Khanh new urban
project; National target program on new countryside; Decision No 491/QD-TTg on new
countryside; Law on cooperatives) Some basic data of the three villages are shown below:


13
Communes
Villages

Area of land

Population

Square
The
Number Immigration People/household
Conversion
(2008 or
left
(year)
(**)
(2020)
year)
(2020)
An Khanh
846,8 ha
~ 670 ha
0 ha
17,351

43,994/12,503
762,0 ha
~50%
~50% 13,445
16,838/4,128
An Thuong
(2010)
1/4/2019
1,1
Van Lung
100%
0 ha
700
4,070/1,108
sao*/person
1,2
1,437
Lai Du
~ 4 ha
70 ha
200
1,650/406
sao/person
(2015)
1,1
Ngu Cau
50%
70 ha
420/112
3,900/1,043

sao/person
Source: Hoai Duc Police; *360m2/sao; and ** Heads of villages for statistics
(July/2020)
These three villages represent the three groups of villages First, they are purely
agricultural villages Urbanization and industrial zones planning made the agricultural land
acquired, directly affecting farmers' life (An Tho, Phu Vinh, Yen Lung) Representing for this
group is Van Lung village Second, villages have been acquired most of their agricultural
land Village farmers still rely on agriculture for a living, however they divided into different
occupations (An Ha, Dao Nguyen, Ngai Cau) Representing for this group is Ngu Cau village
Third, villages have not had their land acquired, developed towards modern and transformed
model of agricultural production They do not rely on traditional pure agriculture
Representing for this group is Lai Du village
In addition to randomly selecting sample, there are some notable points in these villages
Firstly, the social structure changed from agriculture to non-agriculture, the farmers were
"detached from agriculture" but not "out of village", still living and maintaining the village's
customs and practices Secondly, the fact that the village infrastructure connected to the
modern transport system is an unprecedented phenomenon (Thang Long Avenue, Le Trong
Tan Str ; Vinschool, St Paul American International School, Academy of Policy; Paradise
Park; Industrial zones - An Binh, An Khanh; and apartment blocks- Golden, Gelmek,
Gleximco, Alpha) Thirdly, the source of labor concentrated in the villages because of many
jobs for workers and the low cost of living in the villages
Chapter 3
REALITY OF VILLAGE CULTURE CHANGES IN HOAI DUC DISTRICT
3 1 THE CULTURE OF LANDSCAPE AND MATERIAL LIFE

3 1 1 The culture of landscape and environment of the village
Hoai Duc is an agricultural district, so in the past most of the people lived in rural
villages There is not any sight of urban areas After 2015, 65 projects of urban, resettlement
and social housing areas had changed the view of villages It is easy to recognize the changes
in the landscape of the village

Regarding the landscape outside the village, by 2020, the common fields of Dao
Nguyen, An Ha and Ngu Cau villages (An Thuong commune); An Tho, Yen Lung, Van
Lung, Phu Vinh villages (An Khanh commune) in the early years of the 21st century were


14
changed into urban areas (Hado, Vinhomes and Nam An Khanh) The industrial zones,
Paradise Park, and apartment complexes have now replaced those colorful fields before 2008
In terms of road space, before 2008, inter-village and inter-commune roads were just
dirt or red gravel, slippery in the rainy season and dusty in the summer By 2020, all roads in
the areas are paved and concreted (road from An Khanh Commune People's Committee to the
villages with 4 76 km/4 76 km in total) All villages' alleys are paved with asphalt and
concrete with a total length of 3 7 km and 29 4 km, respectively Some of them are installed
with a modern light system Roads around Lai Du and Ngu Cau villages have been concreted
The landscape of the village was renovated By 2020, the villages will have hundreds
of blocks of modern houses with wide gates, and glossy paint According to the survey, more
than 1,100 households in Van Lung, nearly 1,040 households in Ngu Cau and 400 households
in Lai Du built new modern high-rise buildings (mainly 3-4 floors) There still has been
dozens of traditional tile houses, including old style house (about 30 only in Van Lung, less
than 10 in Ngu Cau) These old style houses are mostly for traditional education rather than
for living The leaders of clans run them for the purpose of worship, keeping the large brick
yards These houses are decorated in an old-fashioned way with parallel sentences and
couplets Today, the Vietnamese language is added next to the Han Nom script (Hoang Ba
clan; Dao Van, Hoang Quoc)
Regarding the traditional tile house, the survey results show that, until 2010, there is
about 50% of respondents confirmed their existence of tile houses Basically, the tile house
has a separate kitchen with a separate cooking compartment, a storage space for tools, and a
pig house That model is both suitable for a secondary economy (raising cattle below, poultry
in the upper attic) and for creating green manure for agriculture In front of the house, there is
a drying brick yard and a raining water tank The house has 4-5 compartments (grain storage

room, bedroom, and 2-3 middle rooms) The central compartment has an altar, a table and
chairs By 2020, hundreds of multi-storey buildings have replaced these typical images
Regarding the craft village, the landscape image of traditional crafts villages is
quite prominent such as rice paper rolls, vermicelli, bamboo blinds, and sun-shading net
In Ngu Cau village, rice paper rolls are dried on regular rows of bamboo sheets, spread
all over the village road In Van Lung, bamboo-drying racks are dotted creating images
in the village space
However, the images of landscape in some sectional areas of the village are not still
good-looking The electrical wires look like spider webs; the road surface was dug to install
water pipes, causing the loss of smooth surface (near the communal house of Ngai Cau)
Outside the village, the areas for gathering domestic and construction waste are rather mess
Some land is abandoned with lots of garbage and dust
3 1 2 Culture of material life
The strong economic foundation thanks to the diversified allocation of resources is the
basis for the material life of the village to improve First, some of agricultural laborers
changed their jobs in the farm to work in factories and companies Second, some of farmers
focus on the self-employment, including transportation services, construction, painting and
small size trades Third, some of farmers develop the traditional craft of village and establish
large-scale production enterprises (Van Lung bamboo blinds, Ngu Cau spring rolls rice
paper) Fourth, some of farmers change their agricultural production model in the direction of
modern science Changing the resource allocation in the livelihood culture has diversified their
income sources and increased income for households Compared to 10 years ago, the


15
proportion of people with high incomes (over VND 4 6 million/month) increased, accounting
for nearly 50% In 2020, there are not any poor households in these two communes This is
the foundation for a comfortable material life
In terms of eating and drinking, people now have several new points Firstly, about the
dining space, kitchen room and dining room are separated from other rooms in the new house

The image of kitchen equipment, dining table, refrigerator and neat cabinets are typical
Secondly, old fuels (straw, coal) and surface water sources (village ponds, wells) have been
replaced by gas, electricity and tap water The phrase "blowing fire to cook rice" (thổi cơm) is
replaced by "plugging in" (cắm cơm an electric rice cooker) Thirdly, the time of meals is
flexible; the dishes are diverse The village restaurants are popular, serving from traditional
dishes (pho, vermicelli, sticky rice, rolls) to new dishes (imported drinks-Taiwanese milk tea)
The demands for family reunions and eating out appear
Regarding the villager's clothes, today's highlight was suitability Observations show
that, in the early morning, those participating in the club (sports, keep fit, aerobics) wears their
own uniforms; the officials wear office clothes; the workers in industrial zones wear protective
clothing During class time, students have their school uniforms to go to class In the evening,
most people walk, relax and choose to soft clothes Besides, in the specialized farms (Lai Du),
farmers wear protective helmets when spraying pesticides They care the usefulness associated
with their jobs
Regarding means of transport, by 2020, the use of carts that cattle (buffaloes and cows)
pulled in the village has been eliminated The cart containers are attached to the motorcycle
Bicycles are for the elderly to do sports and for children to go to school Motorcycles help
workers run business According to the survey, the using frequency of motorbikes "regularly"
accounts for 83%, of which the "always" level accounts for 30% However, the rapid
development of personal vehicles, especially cars in the past few years, is signaling many
problems, such as considerable pressure on traffic system in the village
Regarding home equipment, modern houses have complete systems of electricity,
water and network cables About running water, pipes are installed to each hamlet for
households to connect By July 1st, 2020, An Khanh commune has 4,533 households using tap
water About electricity, 100% of households have access to the national electric grid
Regarding the telecommunications network, Internet gateways are available for the village
people to subscribe to buy services Regarding the habit of using modern appliances, ("electric
fans, steam", "washing machines" and "air conditioners") the "regular" frequency has a high
rate (86%, 79% and 54%) "Rarely" and "never" use coal, firewood to heat account for a high
percentage (90%) Frequency of regular use of TVs and computers connected to the network

is quite high (69%); and 74% is the rate of smartphone use
Regarding the application of virtual technology (internet), the village's virtual market
on apps is unprecedented for the village "Ngu Cau Market, Ngai Cau Market, Van Lung
Market" are virtual market addresses on Zalo and Facebook Due to the modern tech, the rural
villages are not only visible in the real world but also in the virtual world of cyberspace
However, negative effects, addiction to video games, detached from reality, confusion of
virtual life in the game with real life are showing clear worrisomeness
3 2 CULTURE OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

3 2 1 Socio-political organizations and co-op organizations
The socio-political organizations in the village and the village's co-op organization,
which have traditionally been linked together, have changed to suit the new development The


16
village co-op organization changed under the period of household land using contract and now
continues to change First, the farming area in some villages has been acquired Second, the
co-op work is reduced due to the partial acquisition of land Third, farmers change production
models according to the Target program of new countryside and new co-op model Farmers
are no longer members of co-op but become users of service co-op organizations (providing
services of electricity, domestic waste collection)
Regarding socio-political organizations, the village now has a village leader under the
leadership of the Party cell The Youth Union, Mass mobilization group, and Committee of
Fatherland Front are the extended arms supporting the propaganda of the Party's policies and
State's laws at the grassroots level The Farmers' Union and the Village Women's Union are
the cores of the superior associations The Elderly People's Association and the Veterans'
Association are organizations of people who have retired
Regarding the role of community orientation, village socio-political organizations play
a decisive role in traditional agricultural co-op, especially in production management
According to current survey data (2020), the level of influence of organizations is generally

quite weak The criteria "moderate" and "strong" account for approximately 50% while the
"low" and "slightly low" levels are above 50% Influences from the activities of the "Village
meeting", "Youth union", "Mass mobilization", "Front", "Farmer's association", "Women's
association," and "Village leader" for people's lives is not strong In contrast, people's interest
in these organizations' activities is also not high In fact, in addition to the development of
communication technology, the commune radio also broadcasts to every hamlet in the village
The one-stop procedure also helps farmers have guidance Since then, the role of these
organizations' members has decreased
3 2 2 The activities of villages'clans and groups
Regarding the organization of clans, the movement of clan activities over the past 10
years has been quite active First, the "Clan ancestral anniversary and feast" done every year
accounts for 90%; "Ancestral graves visiting" takes place every year, accounting for 71%
Second, the clan affairs such as taking care of the clan house for worship, writing a genealogy,
and raising funds (living funds, study promotion funds) are all clearly defined Third, the
current clans do not distinguish between boys and girls (only male in the past) in honoring
good studies and success
Regarding the traditional male organization, although it no longer exists in the village,
its influence is still quite strong in the activities of communal house At present, the
arrangement of sitting positions in the village's communal house is based on the age of men
only, at least 49 years old According to the custom of respecting the elderly, the elderly sit in
solemn seats The newcomers (49 years old) have the task of serving and supporting the
village holy work For the group under the age of 49, they set up associations of the same age
(male) Each village now has about two dozen associations depending on the village
population
Regarding women's organizations, those at the age of 50 (lunar calendar) join the
association of women and take refuge in the Three Jewels at their village pagoda (village
Buddhist association) In turn, the "new Buddhist ladies" take turns in charge of the village's
pagoda (cleaning, preparing incense lamps, offerings, blessing ) As for other village pagodas
in the region, on the occasion of the death anniversary of the pagoda ancestors (pagoda abbot),
the Buddhist association organizes offerings to the Buddha, worships the ancestors, and eats

vegetarian food together


17
Regarding the clubs, groups of similar interests, according to statistics of An Khanh
People's Committee, the number of clubs in the whole commune is 16; 7/7 villages
(residential areas) have their sports fields Ngu Cau and Lai Du have many clubs such as
volleyball, keep fit, paper fan dance for the old, Aerobics for the young, the young/elderly Art
clubs Chinese chess clubs became a trend They are the nucleus for the games and
performances at the annual village festival
3 2 3 Family organization
In terms of family scale, the family organization changed drastically The onegeneration families are the ones of both parents who let their children live separately; the
nuclear families are the ones of two-generation of young couple with children; the threegeneration families are the nuclear with only grandfather or grandmother, living with children;
the four-generation ones with great grandparents are rare The survey shows that nuclear
families make up the majority (57%), three generations 35% and four generations about 1%
The quantity of family members reflects that’s clearly: 67% from three to five members;
above five accounted for 25% The ratio of 2-3 generation families accounts for 92%, with an
average of four members This is a new trend in the area of traditionally agricultural
production
Regarding the wedding, maintaining the "traditional rites" is a cultural feature besides
the civilized lifestyle First, many steps of traditional wedding (introduction, proposal
ceremony, engagement, wedding present requirement, the bride receiving, the newly wed first
visit) are flexibly integrated into the proposal, the engagement and the wedding ceremony
The cumbersome procedures are eliminated (closes the bride's house gate, ties the rope, the
bride's mother avoids) Second, the good or bad times are for reference, while the Catholic
followers do not care Third, the marriage registration reflects the improved The pre-marriage
registration increased; Family arranged marriage no longer exists; the young couple's decision
of their marriages increase Fourth, a series of customs has been flexible: Using "betel and
areca" to invite is not much; congratulatory gifts are popular with cash; party time moved to
the night before and partying place at the village's culture house are on the rise Fifth, the size

of feast is larger while the days of feast decrease
Regarding the mourning, many old customs have changed First, the burial coffin
keeping for a long time has decreased significantly According to the survey, about 50% of
people do not perform to wait for the good hours and to avoid the bad days; 34% perform, but
only during the day Second, few families invite the shaman In Van Lung, the practice of
casting magic spells and summoning souls was completely abandoned Third, the "meal"
prepared to invite relatives to the funeral is small The number of families that do not make
accounted for 11% Many customs were removed such as the deceased's children lying under
the coffing during the funeral procession Votive paper is not spread out to the street The loud
dreary drumming also decreased Lai Du had a team of western trumpets going to mourning
families (four parents) to perform ritual music About the method of burial, the villages have
separated the newly burial area and the remains reburial area The area of the grave is
regulated by the village and indicates the location Many cases chose the one-time burial and
cremated However, several cases built oversize graves
3 3 SPIRITUAL CULTURE

3 3 1 Folk knowledge
Firstly, the role of agricultural experience of the elderly is less influential The reason is
that the family labor force is differentiated from traditional pure agriculture: do hired and


18
contracted work Next, the application of engineering, biological and astronomical knowledge
is popular (weather information) Then, the mass media disseminate knowledge updated via
radio, TV, especially smartphones Therefore, the experience gradually lost its role For
example, 24 climate periods a year unused has 45% the answers; the frequent use accounts for
less than 10%
Secondly, traditional knowledge of geography and medicine varies greatly in
application First, the calculation of day time such as "the rooster's crow, the sun at bamboo
tops, standing shadow" are almost unused (nearly 80% "not used" or "rarely used"); The lunar

day "frequently used" is about 40% The purpose is not for planting, but for worshiping and
ancestral anniversaries Second, folk medicine, the habit of healing with plants is still
maintained In addition to the traditional healers used, herbal remedies are also trusted in the
region However, urban planning changes the area of the garden, so it is difficult to find Some
said they had to go to the market to buy Third, about geography, feng shui knowledge is used
relatively flexibly Most consider it as a reference Fourth, Han Nom characters are used with
Vietnamese characters added The Han Nom script considered to be a decoration of the old
style and the tradition in the village is still respected
Thirdly, farmers' measurement methods are variable Traditionally the length is
measured by fingers, hand spans, arm spans, bamboo poles; the depth of water measured for
seedling, land field pouring, dropping duckweed is measured to the ankle (foot), knee and
belly The survey shows that, the "always use" estimate is less than 17%; "not used" and
"rarely used" are 43% and 44%, respectively The units of "thuoc" (24m2) and "sao" (360m2)
are still used, but not much Kilogram and litre are preferre At Van Lung market and Ngu
Cau communal market, to measure rice and beans, peanuts, people use table scales…
3 3 2 Religious beliefs
Firstly, the taboo practices of farmers are quite flexible First, the term "turning power" is
applied in many things to choose good from evil, for example in "marriage", "transporting
remains" before the funeral Second, the custom of abstaining from names and surnames
(grandparents, grandparents) has a response rate of about 20% for the four criteria "never,
rarely, occasionally and often" Abstaining from "calling holy names, avoiding the same names"
is not much Third, the rate of not abstaining from people believed to have "evil spirits" and
"welcoming people with good spirits" (before going to market doing business) has a high rate of
51% and 63%, respectively "Frequently abstaining" and "always abstaining" from evil spirits
accounted for 11% and 2%, respectively However, abstaining to keep healthy with the
vulnerable (women and young children) received 50% people of frequent practice
Secondly, the practice of Tet festivals shows the signs of change First, Tet holidays
such as Lunar New Year, Kitchen Gods, Mid-first lunar month festival, Cold food festival,
Grave-visiting festival, Double-fifth (Dragon Boat) festival have a high number of replies
while Rice harvest festival and Double-ninth festival have only 30% and 15%, respectively In

particular, many nuclear families do not celebrate Rice harvest festival (Tet 10/10) or even not
have the concept of "new rice" (maybe it is because they no longer plant seasonal paddy rice)
Second, the worship in the village has three levels: in the family, in the alley, and in the
village In the family, every house has a family altar; in the alleys, there are a few shrines in all
three villages (insignificant) Almost all of the alleys in Ngai Cau (a village of An Khanh


19
commune) have shrines, some still remain shrine buildings and yards In the village, people
worship their villages' Gods at the communal houses About 73% people celebrate on the first
day and full moon day every lunar month, mainly for blessings and good fortune
Thirdly, about religion in these villages, people mainly follow Buddhism and
Catholicism About 500 people in Lai Du and Van Lung are Catholic followers (introduced in
1927 and 1936), having their own habits under the instructions of the church (in the marriage,
funeral) Regarding the current ritual practice, it is not necessary to have the whole family
present at the church, but representing members Regardless of the big or small church, many
young families living in the apartment go to Van Lung church to worship at weekends
Regarding Buddhism, all three villages have pagodas, even Lai Du has two pagodas, 46% of
people are Buddhist, 5% are Catholic, and 49% are non-religious In fact, the number of nonreligious people still goes to pagoda Almost all of the women at the age of 50 start going to
pagoda to take refuge in Three Jewels Tam Bao and being responsible for regular activities at
the village pagoda Young people tend to go to pagoda, especially on spring festival - Tet
holidays
3 3 3 Leisure activities
It can be seen that in the "spring festival of the village, the village's entertainment and
recreation activities have become prominent features of the rural country side In addition to
spring festival days, in today's daily life, various types of Entertainment such as club,
entertainment activities thanks to technology are contributing to filling the gaps when
neighborly relations are becoming increasingly loose
Regarding technology, by 2020 the internet, which is quite popular in the village, has
provided additional types of entertainment Listening to entertainment programs from the

commune radio is only passive Internet-connected TVs, computers, and smartphones bring
new forms of entertainment: playing games, playing chess, listening to music, watching
movies Farmers actively approach many kinds of movies and read e-books from different
views and updated hourly The survey shows that the highest frequency of "daily use" is TV,
computer and smartphone in all forms of entertainment, accounting for 49% However, there
are also harmful images, clips, and even negative views that cause anxiety for many people
Some have health effects when overused
In terms of family entertainment, dining together, family reunion has become a
necessity of life with a diversity of livelihoods The percentage of families that organize
weekly and monthly meals for their children and grandchildren accounts for 59% ("monthly"
is 39% and "every week" is 20%) Gardening with many farmers today has become a hobby
Many groups with the same hobby of pets, cockfighting, and bonsai form playgroups
In terms of club entertainment, fitness activities, arts, and game skills training have
formed groups of similar interests About sports, young men play soccer, girls dance, and
dance to music Elderly people join the club of nursing (Van Lung village); fan dance, air
volleyball (Ngu Cau) Young girl group with Aerobics club About the art, people who like
folk songs or karaoke join the arts club In terms of game competition skills, practicing chess
became a trend when many villages restored the folk game of traditional "human chess" with
prizes in the spring festival Today, a number of clubs are recognized by the People's
Committees of communes encouraging development with their active roles


20
Chapter 4
VILLAGE CULTURE CHANGE IN HOAI DUC DISTRICT: TRENDS,
ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
4 1 TRENDS

4 1 1 Reordering elements, prioritizing development
Firstly, it is given the priority to the foundation of material values First, farmers' desire

of getting rich to increase economic value is a priority trend in livelihood culture The
economy of self-sufficiency has changed to promote the new thinking of emphasis on value of
time, money and exchange possibility The household economy is no longer confined to the
village; it has become a part of the social economy Second, the transformation of production
models to prioritize the culture of new rural livelihood The traditional part-time jobs of the
village became the main full-time occupation (making bamboo mats, rice paper, noodles)
Small-scale production becomes large-scale (soybean juice; pig, chicken rising for meat and
eggs) Growing fruit trees turned into the industrial crops of high economic value (Long'an
fruit) Third, the value of material life achieved in adapting to new conditions appeared in
landscape culture, material comforts, and means of transportation, technological equipment
towards modern civilized life, health care, and beauty
Secondly, traditional spiritual values are reinforced First, the village festivals of long
tradition that arouse people's pride and love for the homeland Second, restoring, and
embellishing relics, popularizing historical stories, linking tradition with the modern times
form the symbolic image of the homeland Third, worshiping the village Lords who honored
the beauty of the homeland (Van Lung), established the land to build the village (Lai Du) and
protected the homeland (Ngu Cau) becomes the village's own spiritual symbol Fourth, the
restoration of folk games in the spring festival, associated with the village history (such as
playing on swings) has created more cohesion in the community Fifth, the village clans'
activities strengthen solidarity and the spirit of the next generation for development
4 1 2 Accumulating new elements, adding insufficient values
First, freedom, democracy in obedience to the law For the village, this great content
prominently displayed in the village convention (Huong Uoc) The village convention is the
old name; the convention of cultural village is the present name, built based on the village
convention, distilling the traditional beauty of unity and order of the village The cultural
village convention is a standard, a set of rules and a measure of behavior in the village that
adds the new era's values The cultural village convention aims at protecting people's interests,
eliminating bad practices, and superstitions, creating democracy and solidarity The cultural
village convention is implemented based on self-discipline, high self-governance to each
family without breaking the law The cultural village convention is built by the villagers

themselves, placed under the supervision of the local People's Committee according to the
process: Drafted by the village, submitted by the commune and approved by the district
Second, receiving the scientific and technological values The development of
information technology, specifically including smartphones has made a "revolution" for rural
people in a short time The folk knowledge is re-identified for development Applying new
knowledge is to complement empiricism (empiricism about fertilizers, seedlings, weather)
The calculation method of estimation gradually reduced its role, move towards scientific
accuracy instead The improvement of production facilities (rice paper machine; spokes
splitter, spokes stripper, bamboo curtain knitting machine) is to optimize use value, improve
and enhance productivity


21
4 1 3 Causing problems that need correcting
Firstly, the conflict in socio-economic relations First, farmers' haste in converting
production and setting up workshops on arable land conflict with the land management (Lai Du
village's cause) Second, the transformation of cooperative model makes the value commonly
serving the village's normal life waste (individuals' benefit) Third, the land planning affects the
living environment, causing the conflict with the famers' interest when many adjacent plots of
land are not suitable for production Fourth, the interest conflict between immigrants and local
people includes localism (the right to be buried in the village cemetery)
Secondly, the traditional relationship is loose First, in the family, household size tends to
be nuclear family and the private space of individuals requires a relative separation (parents
with children) with many rooms Second, in the alley, neighbors rarely interact; the houses
have closed gates, high walls, and frequently conflicts over land boundary when the many
new houses are built in a short period Third, at the village level, cemeteries have the
phenomenon of encroaching on construction area; the belief of a small number of people who
"follow the religion, do not go to the communal house" also contributes to the loosening of
community relations
Thirdly, social awareness needs to be raised First, the process of urbanization,

modernization, and industrialization does not mean an eradication of agriculture but village
agriculture always plays an important role in economic development and social stability
Second, in the short term, secularization and sanctification exist side by side Secularization
helps to reduce many cumbersome procedures desecrated by scientific explanatory However,
the development of science always has a lag, therefore, to bridge the gap and balance the
spiritual life, sanctification can be a part of practical life for the time being
4 2 ISSUES

The change of village culture in Hoai Duc district over the past decade has raised
several problems as well as shown the remaining and limitations related to many aspects of
people's lives
Firstly, the investment in the cultural institutions and public spaces That is the
implementation of stereotypes, inflexibility and detached from the reality, especially in the
context of rapid mechanical population growth due to immigration The village cultural
houses' equipment (electricity, water) and means (auditory, visual) serving entertainment
activities need to be supplemented That is supplementing the land use planning and
investment building schedule to meet the urgent needs of the people
Secondly, the efficient issue of socio-political organizations Although the operation is
quite active, the approach has not been changed to suit new conditions Therefore, there are
still limitations, including the effectiveness in the propaganda and dissemination of policies
and laws There are several reasons They may be the development of information technology
(easily access legal documents), the convenience of the one-stop-shop mechanism (directly
receive advice and solutions) and the compensation regime (poor payment for complex and
troublesome tasks in the village)
Thirdly, raising people's awareness The social awareness in general needs to be on par
with development That is the perception of urbanization, industrialization; the spirit of
secularization and sanctification; and awareness of preserving the environment, a healthy
lifestyle in the face of traditional social relations tends to be loose and to adjust to deviant
lifestyles, especially the "liberal anarchy" (time routine, garbage dumping, etc )

22
Fourthly, taking advantage of ethical issues for personal gain First, there is a wasteful
use of resources from people's donations, spent freely, difficult to quantify, but easy to
overcharge Second, there is a lack of management of moneymaking activities from the
common resources of the village (the lease of cultural house, public land) Third, the
unfortunate circumstances of illness and disaster thoroughly unexplained, the young of
ignorance dragged into unhealthy activities easily being taken advantage of
In addition, the problem lies in the livelihood and psychological disturbances in the early
stages of arable land acquisition It is necessary to prepare, adjust as well as change jobs,
especially settle the "service land" and relieve anxiety for farmers in the initial stage of land
acquisition
4 3 RECOMMENDATIONS

Firstly, recommendations to the legislative body including the City People's Council and
directly Hoai Duc District People's Council First, the steps of planning and implementation
after the Law on Planning takes effect (01/01/2019) from the province to the district needs to
follow strictly The planning must be overall with a long-term vision It is ensured that there
are enough functional areas and reserved land funds to avoid the additional planning and lack
of uniformity (former Ha Tay) It is necessary to strengthen the implementation of policies to
ensure the participation of the people right from the planning stage Second, the approval of
the planning should be definitive and timely to avoid many arable land areas being divided
and unfit for production, and to protect farmers from the activities leading to law violations
Third, it is vital to ensure a good preparation for the change of occupation, vocational training,
and employment, especially strengthen the agreement mechanism between investors and
people Fourth, the planning by the State in general and by Hanoi in particular should consider
the urban-rural model Urban area has a belt of villages for agriculture in the direction of
intensive farming to meet the demand of market of the adjacent urban area Finally, the City
People's Council should consider and decide to have a reasonably better remuneration policy
for those who operate the villages' complex and troublesome tasks law in a non-professional

manner as prescribed by law
Secondly, recommendations to managers at all levels, directly the State administrative
management at the commune level First, it is necessary to strengthen and perfectly complete the
system of cultural institutions and facilities; strictly manage public cultural services, including
Public Internet, Café, Karaoke, massage ; encourage folklore activities (contests and festivals),
forms of social activities Second, it is vital to strengthen the inspection and supervision of
approved construction and repair activities; closely manage land, especially agricultural land; use
effectively the remaining land fund to serve local public needs Third, they should organize
activities to preserve the environment such as the collection of domestic waste, especially in the
craft villages, livestock farms; strictly handling the abuse of chemicals in farming, animal
husbandry, preservation of agricultural products; popularizing safe, green and clean production
models; encouraging appropriate forms of burial, gradually abolishing outdated practices of
unhygienic burial Fourth, more attention should be paid to the migration process, to ensure equal
rights; to require household and temporary residence registration; take measures to combat
crimes, social evils and deviant lifestyles Fifth, it is necessary to enhance the movements such as
"All people unite to build a cultural life", "Cultural family", "Cultural village; advanced residential
area" and "All people protect national security" In addition, the management agencies at the
commune level need to propagate legal policies such as environmental protection and publish
documents on planning and planning adjustment to the villagers


23
Thirdly, recommendations to the residential community - both cultural creators and
beneficiaries First, it is necessary to uphold the spirit of studying, understanding the law and
strengthening the family moral foundation The achievements have their own scientific basis,
not just a random luck The risk of disease is largely due to a polluted environment,
indiscriminate use of chemicals, and unscientific habits The lack of law knowledge makes it
easy to violate the law unintentionally; lack of financial management skills and indulgence
easily make children spoiled In the family, the position of the elderly with agricultural
empiricism shaken in the new trend, the decline in health, so it is important to set a good

example for them to promote their role and unite generations of descendants Second, it is
necessary to strengthen the use of the right to know, discuss and decide as well as the right to
supervise and participate in social management in accordance with the provisions by law
Third, people need to maintain and further promote their good deeds and actively participate
in local movements, especially sports training and keep fit Each person needs to raise the
awareness of building a healthy lifestyle, fighting with negative, deviant factors and unite to
help each other in difficulties In addition, in the current development process, villagers should
maintain multiple forms of service delivery The village market is remarkable form in the
village interspersed in the urban areas The belt of villages not only meets the needs of
villagers but also meets the needs of residents living in neighboring apartment's blocks and
urban areas Particularly, the villagers should promote "the virtual market of the village" in the
era of the technology
Finally, it is a recommendation to the agency of personnel organization for the local
staff/official at the grassroots level To meet the new requirements, besides the ethical
qualities and qualifications, they also need to have prestige in the village The government
should pay special attention to the cadastral staff, the police and the village chief The security
forces are not only available at the commune level, but also in villages with a population of
some 4000 people They need to keep close relation with the villagers and to coordinate well
with the superior level units to take advantage of the IT achievements, of being close to
villagers as a supplement to the blanks in the grassroots activities at the current context
CONLUSION
1 Hoai Duc undergoing the major changes is an outstanding area of village cultural
transformation over the past decade Generally, the change of village culture here is a creative
process to adapt to exploit resources and ensure life when the environment changes The
change of village culture is the process of receiving new values, adding incomplete elements,
and promoting good traditions towards development The changes taking place in all cultural
aspects They are the culture of material life, culture of community organization and culture of
spiritual activities Their trends are positive, but mixed with some manifestations of deviation,
making a significant impact on the process of development
2 The thesis studies the change of village culture in Hoai Duc district from 2008 to

2020 The thesis has identified a number of instrumental concepts such as culture, village,
village culture, cultural change, and village cultural change Based on the Marxist-Leninist's
methodology, Ho Chi Minh's thought and the Party's views on culture and development as
well as appropriate theories, the thesis has built a theoretical and practical basis for the case
study of three villages The thesis uses the case study method in combination with the
application of some other suitable methods such as fieldwork, sociological survey,