CHANGE AND EMPOWERMENT IN THE CULT OF GUAN GONG IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM

Abstract

Cultural practice is a kind of expression and reflection of real livelihood into human mind and experience, is a set of knowledge, values, faiths and social standards constructed by the whole community; therefore, it contains the rhythm and breath of life and can be changed to meet the demands. Regarding socialenvironment, the communities always keep going on the processes of developing and diversifying their culture through acculturation, exchange and localization, which finally constructs the social norms, goals and driving forces for their advancement. Among various approaches and methodologies, the change in  empowerment in cultural practices actively offers the optimized values in functional standardization and implementation. The final value is undoubtedly the social capital. This research is to investigate the introduction, development, change and empowerment of the Chinese-rooted Guan Gong belief in Vietnam, through which emphasizes the process and nature of the cult during the deep absorption in Vietnamese history of anti-foreign invasions throughout the last two centuries, and enriches local values of a characteristic belief and a symbolic icon of multicultural exchanges in Vietnam, especially in the Southern region. Thispaper applies the theories of deconstruction and empowerment under cultural studies perspective in order to analyze and explain the processes of  deconstruction, restructuring and empowerment in the cult of Guan Gong in Southern Vietnam as well as extract the regular principle of cultural exchanges locally.