Nature of Social Relationships in a Vietnamese Family - Coursework Example

Nature of Social Relationships in a Viet se Family Family as Core Socio-economic Unit Vietnam’s social order has undergone considerable changes inthe 20th century as violent wars and Communist rule closed it to much of the world. However, the start of economic ‘renovation’ (doi moi) policies in 1992 somewhat opened the country once again to outside influence. Vietnam, therefore, is a nation currently undergoing transition from an East Asian agrarian country into a gradually industrialising society (Jamieson, 1995). At the heart of every society is the family, the core social and economic unit where individuals are trained and integrated into the nation’s social network. This is where children are socialised to societal norms and values through intra- and inter-family interactions. The family’s position and role in the social structure provides a point of reference from which a nation’s social system – networks, relationships, and values – can be understood. Whilst modernisation may tend to diminish the family’s role, notably in a nation that is changing fast such as Vietnam, this paper looks at the nature of social relationships in a Vietnamese family to gain a deeper understanding of its key characteristics and provide insights on the consequences of the social and economic changes taking place. Basic Foundations of the Vietnamese Family Indispensable to this study is a knowledge of the values and influences that helped shape the form of the Vietnamese family through the centuries. Its geography as a nation at the crossroads of Indochina, to the east of India and south of China, has opened it to these two cultures. Its long eastern coastline likewise opened it to a Western wave of Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French colonisation beginning in the 17th century. These conquests and occupations shaped present Vietnamese society into a complex mixture of East and West. The predominant religions in Vietnam are Buddhism from India and Confucianism and Taoism, both from China. Although Confucianism is more a code of behaviour than a religion, its combination with the other two explains to a great extent the evolution and development of the Vietnamese family to its present form. The influence of Catholicism coming from the more recent wave of western explorers has not been substantial, except for the Vietnamese alphabet which a French missionary transformed from Chinese characters to a system that uses the Roman alphabet (Luong, 1989). The significance of this quirk of history is that it keeps the country open to the outside world. Buddhism teaches enlightenment, the quest for perfection, and the value of balance, presenting therefore an ideal foundation where other spiritual and cultural influences can take root. Confucianism emphasises filial piety and obligation, respect for authority in the form of parents and teachers, the importance of social rites, being kind to others, and the belief that man creates his own destiny. Taoism teaches that the goal of becoming an Ultimate and Unconditioned being can be achieved through thrift, humility and compassion. Taoists may worship several authorities or gods and value simplicity, patience, and contentment. They avoid confrontation and strive for harmony both amongst men and between man and nature. Some Taoists also worship deities or other religions. They have an organised clergy and temples. Though many Vietnamese do not practice this religion, Taoism has strongly influenced Vietnamese culture (Jamieson, 1995). To these three major beliefs can be traced our understanding of the social nature of the Vietnamese family that has evolved through the centuries. Jamieson’s (1995) thesis that the Vietnamese societal structure – from the family through literature to religion to economic and political systems – is composed of the Taoist yin and yang components is a simple but complex verbalisation of the mystical combination arising from centuries of spiritual and cultural influences: simple in capturing its essence, but complex in providing its meaning. The Vietnamese Family Like in other traditional East Asian agrarian nations, Vietnam’s social structure is focused around family relations. The family plays an important role for personal survival, and family ties and traditional patterns of authority are characteristic of the social networks that act as mechanisms to connect the individual to society, providing patterns of social interaction, social cues, and social identities (Inglehart and Baker, 2000). Normally, as a society modernises, social networks move from their emphases on family to work, causing changes in the way people deal with each other and the system of values they live by. In developing countries, for example, where the work environment is still centred on the farming community, family ties remain strong. In industrialised nations, however, the nuclear family has evolved, as the offspring after marriage set out on their own, far from the ancestral home and closer to the workplace. The formation of institutionalised social networks such as community groups, sports clubs or cultural groups also usually comes with economic development and the transformation of the workplace (Liljestrom and Lai, 2001). In Vietnam, a nation in transition, traditional family structures remain despite the threat of changes due to recent political and economic developments. A recent survey (Dalton et al., 2001) shows that despite almost a decade since it opened itself once again to the world, Vietnamese family structures have remained intact, although it may be too soon to conclude that this would not change in the coming years as the country continues to develop. The Vietnamese family in its traditional form can be characterised as patriarchal, patrilineal, and patrilocal, all of which are the result of Confucian cultural influence. There are often more than one generation living in the same home where the immediate nuclear family lives with the husband’s parents and the grown sons’ spouses and children. Many families are extended as to include family members of the same name and relatives residing close to each other (Liljestrom and Lai, 2001). Nature of Social Relationships Given these broad characterisation of the Vietnamese family, we can describe the nature of the social relationships that take place within. It is patriarchal, meaning that the head of the family is the husband. He is the authority leader when delegating tasks and involving others in making decisions. He also leads the family in ancestor worship. As the breadwinner, he works outside the home and expects his wife to take care of the children and manage the household. Usually, the parents of the husband live with them and help out in child-rearing and doing some chores. The tenets of Confucianism bestowed higher status on men rather than women, and sons are valued more highly than daughters. As the authority figure, the patriarch is consulted and informed on everything that happens in the home, and no decisions are made without his consent. It is patrilineal. Authority is passed on from the husband to the eldest son once the latter marries, starts his own family, and becomes a father. Until such time, the husband-father has the ultimate responsibility for the family. This authority is passed on through the eldest surviving sons who are married, so a younger son can inherit this authority if the elder son remains unmarried. However, this is normally not an option for eldest sons, who are under tremendous pressure to marry as soon as they can, usually as soon as they turn twenty. It is patrilocal, as married sons live under the same roof or, more increasingly in recent years, in close proximity to the patriarchal home, which is getting to be more the case in small dwellings. This characteristic of living close to the patriarchal home is a means of exercising authority over the family, so that major family decisions (such as deciding on the marriage of a sibling or dividing family assets) can be made quickly. In modern Vietnam, where the nature of work takes some children far away from their patriarchal homes, the children make it a point to visit their parents on a regular basis, in some cases even weekly. These family visits are occasions to be updated on family affairs so that consultations can be made on major issues. In many instances, these major decisions are not made until the patriarch, whether the husband or eldest son who may be working far from home, is present. The extended family is therefore a source of social and emotional support, an aspect of family structures common in Asia that is very strong in Vietnam. Siblings maintain very intimate contact with their parents, consulting them for major decisions such as whom to marry, which occupation to take, or where to work. All family members are expected to work and behave for the good of the group, and whilst families may publicly pronounce significant family achievements to reinforce this behaviour, they also publicly denounce a member who is not behaving according to the accepted family norms (Luong, 1989). According to Vietnamese tradition, an ideal man should develop through four steps. First, he must learn how to cultivate himself and to govern his family. If he does this successfully, he can rule the country, and pacify the world. To do this he must be merciful and kind, adhere to the rites and ceremonies of family and social hierarchy, help the needy, be strong and determined, and be trustworthy and loyal. These qualities are reflections of the yin and yang nature of family and society, where personal perfection is a state that is attained by establishing harmony with the self, the family, the rest of society, and the universe (Liljestrom and Lai, 2001). What about women? Some ancient writings pointed out the presence of a matriarchal society in Vietnam until it was overpowered by Confucian elements from China. For this reason, unlike in most East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures, Vietnamese women have a higher status compared to women from other Asian cultures. A woman is trained in three basic tenets of Confucianism: submission to her father, obedience to her husband, and if widowed, obedience to her eldest son. Their traditional upbringing prepares them to be homemakers, good cooks, modest and graceful, all signs of virtue, together with being ideally soft spoken and above reproach for her moral conduct. She is the yin, symbol of grace and beauty, to the patriarchal yang, the symbol of power and strength, the member of the family structure who works at keeping a continually adjusted balance between structure and feeling, duty and compassion. The mother is responsible for family harmony, administering the budget, and coordinating family schedules and activities. She makes decisions together with the patriarch, is consulted for important decisions, and is relied on far more in running the home (Liljestrom and Lai, 1991). Women grew in power during the war against the United States, when fathers were absent from home and women became more independent out of need. Whilst Vietnam appears to have blended East Asian Confucian culture in family organisation, the family has developed a different degree of flexibility as to the roles of women and men and the obligations that are characteristic of Southeast Asian family structure (Luong, 1989). Due perhaps to her role as a balancing counterforce, the woman has contributed much to the stability of Vietnamese society despite the many years of war, conflict, and suffering that may permanently damage weaker family structures in other cultures. Through the efforts of the patriarch and his wife to maintain the family as a symbol of harmony and unity, the family, village, and nation have become stabilising factors that insulated Vietnamese society from the destructive forces of change. If the existing social relationships within the family are maintained, development would not lead to destruction but in increased density of these networks, expanding the capacity to connect individuals to society, continue helping form Vietnam’s social and political identities and make it stronger and more stable in the future. Reference List Dalton, R.J., Hac, P.M., Nghi, P.T., and Ong, N.T. (2001). Social relations and social capital in Vietnam: The 2001 World Values Survey. Stockholm: Institute for Future Studies. Inglehart, R. & Baker, W. (2000). Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65, 19-51. Jamieson, N. (1995). Understanding Vietnam. Berkeley: University of California. Liljestrom, R. and Lai, T. (1991). Sociological studies on the Vietnamese family. Hanoi: Social Sciences Publishing. Luong, H. V. (1989). Vietnamese kinship: Structural principles and Socialist transformation in Northern Vietnam. Journal of Asian Studies, 48, 741-756. Read More