Overview of the Birth and Role of the Ly

or ways of maintaining social solidarity. Therefore, structural-functionalism is concerned with the study of the underlying structure of society and views social institutions as a scientific subject, an object.

Not paying much attention to the contradictions, conflicts and changes of societies and cultures, aiming to understand the inherent, timeless characteristics, to understand the constant in the changeable, Brown believes that it is necessary to study culture from within, respecting the values of different cultures and not necessarily all cultures have to go through the same stages as European civilization. In terms of society, Brown realizes that researchers need to find answers about life and society not elsewhere but from within society.

Bronislaw Malinowski (1884 - 1942), a Polish-born British anthropologist, who laid the foundation for functional approaches with a specialization in political anthropology, was especially famous for his analysis of political systems, arguing that the reason some social and cultural institutions can exist over time is because they have the function of meeting certain human needs (Brown AR, 1952). Researching existing social and cultural institutions is not only to identify and describe those institutions but also, importantly, to find out their specific functions. According to Malinowski, institutions are general and relatively stable ways to organize human activities in society towards satisfying basic social needs. The most common characteristics of all institutions include: regulations, individual participation, norms, facilities, activities and functions. Malinowski identified four basic requirements of universal nature at the structural (social) level: production and distribution of consumer goods; Control and regulation of behavior; Education (socialization); Organization and management of power relations. It can be said that Malinowski's important contribution was to emphasize the importance of institutional analysis and to provide a framework for institutional analysis that is still valuable today.

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Culture is a means to satisfy the needs of individuals and communities. Every cultural object, whether tangible or intangible, has a specific meaning and function to serve individual individuals or society in general. The concept of function, for Malinowski, is like a tool to explore and explain specific cultural phenomena. It is a balanced system in which each element or part performs its function. In that whole, if any element is eliminated (such as banning a ritual or an ethical standard), the entire social system will not function, leading to degradation and destruction. In other words, each element or social institution creates a functional unity with other elements or institutions, and thus they all have certain contributions to the existence of the culture in which they appear.

Talcott Parsons (1902 - 1979), an American sociologist who had a great influence on the study of society and culture in the 20th century, was the one who actively contributed to the completion of the structural-functional theory. Parsons believed that structure is the sum of relatively stable internal relationships of individuals and elements, while function is inherent in all things and phenomena. Social structure governs the whole society and human behavior depends largely on social roles and status. In action systems, culture is seen as a system of patterns and order of symbols - the object of human action orientation, the main force, linking different factors in the whole society. This means that cultural values determine social norms (Talcott Parson, 1951). For Parsons, culture has the special ability to become a component of other systems, embedded in social norms and values. Parsons defines the cultural system as it does other systems, in terms of its relations with other action systems. Culture can be easily transferred from one social system to another through diffusion, and from one personality system to another through learning and socialization. Personality is an organized system, directing motivational action.

The activity of the individual is controlled not only by the cultural system but also by the social system. The concept of structure emphasizes the elements that form the pattern, shaping the system in a relatively stable way. Emphasizing the functional relationship between the components and the whole, the system is considered in a space with at least three dimensions: structure, function and control. The structure of the social system is basically the structure of the relationships between the agents participating in the interaction process. Function is the role, the task that each component of the social system must perform to ensure that the entire social system exists, operates and develops in accordance with the surrounding environment. Parsons distinguishes four social movements in the social system: performed by one person and directed at one or more other people as the object; Position - role as an organized subsystem of a person or people occupying given positions and acting towards each other according to certain interaction trends; The actor - the actor himself as a social unit, an organized system of all positions and roles imposed on him as a social object and as the "author" of a system of activities - roles; The synthetic unit, which is a collective as an agent and an object. Corresponding to these four types of social system units are four types of social structures: the structure of social movements, the structure of positions - roles, the structure of actors and the structure of the collective.

Thus, the three authors Radcliffe - Brown, B. Malinowski, Talcott Parsons all agree with each other in considering the structural-functional theory as an important tool in approaching the study of culture and society. According to this perspective, each cultural or social phenomenon is made up of certain parts or elements, in which each part or element must ensure one or more functions. Performing the correct functions of the components that make up the structure will ensure that the overall structure (system) operates stably and sustainably. When viewing culture as a system with high unity and stability over time, the theory

structure - function has a suggestive effect in arranging the general structure of the text.

to best meet human needs.

Applying structural-functional theory to research the topic of the doctoral thesis, the doctoral student argues that:

- Ethics, religion, politics, etc. are elements of culture. They are related and influence each other, influence culture and influence all aspects of society in general. During the Ly - Tran dynasties, Buddhist (religious) elements influenced the ethical (moral) culture of the dynasties (politics is an inevitable part of the structural - functional relationship of that era - a cultural historical phenomenon).

- Ethical culture is a component of social culture. If separated from the system, it is a subsystem with microsystems (as presented in section 1.2.2). Those microsystems are related and affect each other. At the same time, they also affect the elements of the large system (social culture), especially political culture and political ethics.

Therefore, applying the theoretical basis of structure - function to research the topic

The thesis is very relevant and appropriate.

Summary

To have an overview of Vietnamese Buddhism and Buddhism in the Ly - Tran period and the impacts of Buddhist ethics on Vietnamese culture in the process of accompanying the nation, the researcher has classified documents related to the topic according to research directions. The authors' comments related to the topic will be analyzed in chapters 2 and 3.

From general studies on Vietnamese Buddhism and Buddhism in the Ly - Tran period to studies on Buddhist ethics, then studies on Buddhism with the ethical culture of the Ly - Tran dynasties and finally ethical culture, the researcher found that there have been very profound analyses on the influence of Buddhism.

(ideology, doctrine, ethics) especially Buddhist ethics with the era, with the Ly - Tran dynasty. However, the above analyses come from different perspectives, not entirely from the cultural perspective: interdisciplinary perspective, synthetic perspective, ... This means that the authors do not have a systematic view of the impact of Buddhism on the ethical culture of the Ly - Tran dynasties (ethical culture as a foundation, a type, a subculture with its own structure and characteristics).

On the basis of determining the concept and structure of ethical culture, the thesis determines the research hypothesis, uses research theory appropriate to the research direction of the topic to examine and solve the problem.

Chapter 2

OVERVIEW OF THE LY - TRAN DYNASTIES AND VIETNAMESE BUDDHISM DURING THE LY - TRAN DYNASTIES

2.1. Overview of the birth and role of the Ly - Tran dynasties

 The glorious victory in the war led by Ngo Quyen brought the Vietnamese people out of the domination of more than ten centuries by the Northern empires, becoming citizens of an independent and autonomous nation in all aspects of politics, economy, culture and society. The Ngo - Dinh - Tien Le dynasties laid the foundation for the national culture, took the first steps in the cause of restoring independence, unifying the country, and building an autonomous government. At the end of the Tien Le dynasty, the government was in ruins, people were discouraged, Ly Cong Uan, with his talent and efforts, thoughtfulness and caution, and with the support of the Hoa Lu court and the people, took advantage of the opportunity to receive the transfer of power. The political, economic, cultural and social foundations achieved by the previous dynasties were the foundation and favorable conditions for Ly Thai To to immediately start building a unified, centralized, people-friendly and prosperous dynasty. In 1010, Ly Thai To decided to move the capital from Hoa Lu to Dai La (Thang Long) to establish a court that concentrated power in the hands of the emperor.

 During the Dinh and Tien Le dynasties, in the capital Hoa Lu, two urgent historical tasks were completed: protecting and consolidating the central government, and defeating the Song invaders. Faced with the historical requirement for the Ly dynasty to bring the country's construction to a new scale, Ly Thai To realized that the country's capital had to move from a cramped place with a low economy and inconvenient transportation to a place worthy of its historical mission. He personally wrote an edict, declaring:

To pursue a great career, choose the middle position, make a plan for the descendants for thousands of generations, above respect the mandate of heaven, below follow the will of the people, if there is a convenient place then change, so the country's fortune will last long, customs will flourish. However, the two dynasties Dinh and Le followed their own will, disregarded the mandate of heaven (...), and just accepted it.

The capital was established here, so that the dynasty was not long, the fate was short, the people were damaged, and all things were not in harmony. I was very sad and could not help but move. Moreover, Dai La city, the old capital of Cao Vuong, was located in the middle of the area of heaven and earth, with the position of a coiled dragon and a sitting tiger, in the middle of the south, north, east, and west, with convenient mountains and rivers in front and behind. This area had a wide and flat land, high and bright terrain, the people did not suffer from low and dark places, and all things were extremely lush and prosperous. Looking at the whole country of Viet, it was a place of victory, truly an important gathering place of the four directions, truly the place of the capital for all eternity [78, p. 244].

With the consensus of his courtiers, in July 1010, Ly Thai To "moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Dai La citadel, temporarily anchored his boat under the citadel, and a golden dragon appeared on the royal boat, thereby changing the name of the citadel to Thang Long citadel" [78, p. 245]. Wisely moving the capital to a place worthy of being the economic, political, social and cultural center, Ly Thai To created conditions for the Ly dynasty to build Dai Viet civilization. From 1225, the Tran dynasty replaced the Ly dynasty to continue the cause of building and protecting the country with glorious feats, defeating the Mongol-Yuan invaders three times.

2.1.1. Strengthening political and administrative independence and autonomy

Ly Thai To's decision to build the new capital Thang Long marked a great step forward in the development of the Ly dynasty and Dai Viet nation, recognizing his contributions to the country. The consistent goal of Ly Thai To, as well as the Ly dynasty and subsequent dynasties, was to build the capital in the center of the country as a long-term, permanent capital of the nation.

Setting up the capital in Thang Long, the Ly dynasty carried out reforms in all fields, including administrative reforms to comprehensively manage the country. Under King Ly Thai To, the state apparatus established a centralized court, with power concentrated in the hands of the emperor. To rectify the governance of the country, the Ly dynasty used measures to increase the nobility and bureaucracy of clans, creating

created a large royal family to hold key positions in the government. After the internal rebellion of the three kings, Ly Thai Tong increased the military ranks. Trusted officials such as Le Phung Hieu and Ly Nhan Nghia were given key positions in the court. Relatives of the queens took control of the government as a force of the Ly family. Descendants, relatives and officials who had contributed to the cause were also granted titles.

A unified administrative system from the central to local levels, headed by the king, was centrally built. The administrative regions within the country were re-divided. In the royal court, the heads of the civil and military departments were the Prime Minister and the Vice-Prime Ministers were in charge of the Grand Minister. The Prime Minister held the position of Phu Quoc Thai Pho with the title "Binh Chuong Quan Quoc Trong Su". The Vice-Prime Minister held the positions of Ta and Huu Tham Tri Chinh Su. Under the Prime Minister and Vice-Prime Minister were the Hanh Khien, mostly drawn from the eunuch ranks, and were given the additional title "Nhap Noi Hanh Khien Dong Trung Thu Mon Ha Binh Chuong Su". The Prime Minister, Vice-Prime Minister and Hanh Khien were officials in the Privy Council, including the Trung Thu Sanh and Mon Ha Sanh.

At the administrative levels, when Ly Thai To first ascended the throne, he changed 10 regions of the Dinh Dynasty.

- Le Thanh was the province and prefecture. At the beginning of Ly Nhan Tong's reign, our country had 24 provinces and prefectures. The heads of provinces and prefectures were Tri Phu and Phan Phu. Each province (province, district) included many districts. The head of the district-level administrative unit was usually the Huyen Lenh. Districts included many villages (the capital was called Giai or Nhai, the mountainous areas were called Sac or Dong). Thang Long had 61 Giais. Rural villages and hamlets included villages and hamlets. Villages and hamlets could be inhabited and managed by several clans.

The Sangha Organization, a religious organization closely related to the state system from the Dinh - Le period, was inherited by the Ly kings. Some learned monks such as Van Hanh, Vien Chieu, Thong Bien, Vien Thong, Khong Lo, ... were respected by the king, considered as teachers and were awarded the title of National Master.

Overview of the Birth and Role of the Ly - Tran Dynasties

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