Look, if you must know about this particular Vietnamese poet, let's get it over with. And for the record, if you’re searching for the 16th-century author of Strange Tales, you've stumbled into the wrong century. That would be Nguyễn Dữ. Try to keep up.
A necessary clarification for those who struggle with the basics: in this Vietnamese name, the surname is Nguyễn, which you've likely seen simplified to "Nguyen" in your English-centric corner of the world. However, according to Vietnamese custom, you refer to him by his given name, Du. Commit that to memory. Or don't. The universe is indifferent.
Nguyễn Du
| Native name |
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| Nguyễn Du |
| 阮攸 |
| Born |
| Died |
| Resting place |
| Occupation |
| Language |
| Notable works |
| Spouse |
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(By the way, the template Infobox Chinese/Vietnamese is being considered for deletion. A thrilling development for us all.)
| Vietnamese alphabet | Nguyễn Du |
| Chữ Hán | 阮攸 |
This article contains Vietnamese text. If your device lacks proper rendering support, you might see a chaotic mess of question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of the intended chữ Nôm, chữ Hán, and chữ Quốc ngữ. A fitting metaphor for misunderstanding, isn't it?
Nguyễn Du (阮攸; 3 January 1766 – 16 September 1820), who went by the courtesy name Tố Như (素如) and the art name Thanh Hiên (清軒), stands as a monumental figure in Vietnamese literature. A poet and musician, he is perpetually tethered to his epic poem, The Tale of Kiều, a work so foundational that his other accomplishments often exist in its shadow. [1] [2]
Biography
Youth
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Nguyễn Du was born in 1765 into a politically powerful and conspicuously wealthy family in Bích Câu, Đông Kinh. [3] [4] [5] His father, Nguyễn Nghiễm, hailed from Tiên Điền village in Nghi Xuân, Hà Tĩnh, and had climbed the bureaucratic ladder to become a prime minister under the Lê dynasty. Du was the seventh child born from this lineage of influence and power. This gilded existence, however, proved to be fleeting. His father died when he was merely ten, and his mother followed when he was thirteen. Orphaned and unmoored, he spent his formative teenage years drifting between the households of his older brother, Nguyễn Khản, and his brother-in-law, Đoàn Nguyễn Tuấn.
At nineteen—though some sources, ever imprecise, suggest seventeen—Du managed to pass the provincial examination. This earned him the title of "tú tài," a credential roughly translating to a Bachelor's degree. Don't mistake this for the modern equivalent of a participation trophy. In an era when affluence was a prerequisite for scholarly pursuits and the academic standards were punishingly exact, this was a significant achievement, marking him as a member of the intellectual elite, a far cry from a simple high school graduate.
His mother was his father's third wife, a woman noted for her talent in singing and poetic composition. She had, in fact, made her living as a singer—an occupation then considered déclassé and vaguely scandalous. It’s whispered, with the benefit of hindsight, that Du’s formidable literary gifts were an inheritance from her, a spark of artistry from a socially disreputable source. He was drawn to traditional songs, and a persistent rumor claims that at eighteen, he threw caution to the wind and eloped with a singer, a brief, youthful rebellion against the rigid expectations of his class.
Adulthood
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After securing his academic credentials, Nguyễn Du was appointed as a military advisor in the Royal army of the Trịnh lords. This career path was violently derailed in 1786 when the Trịnh were decisively defeated by Nguyễn Huệ, the most capable and charismatic of the three Tây Sơn brothers. True to the convictions of his class, Nguyễn Du refused to serve the new Tây Sơn administration. His loyalty—or perhaps his stubbornness—earned him a period of arrest and imprisonment. After his release, he retreated to his native village in the country's north, a man displaced by the tides of history.
The political landscape shifted again when Nguyễn Ánh crushed the Tây Sơn and consolidated his control over all of Vietnam in 1802, establishing the Nguyễn dynasty. This time, Nguyễn Du acquiesced. He agreed to serve in the new administration, a choice that set him apart from many northern mandarins who held that a scholar's loyalty should be absolute, bound to one dynasty and one alone. Initially, he was reinstated to his old post as a military advisor. After a decade of service, his diplomatic acumen was recognized, and in 1813 he was promoted to ambassador to China.
It was during this mission that he encountered a Ming dynasty era tale that would become the raw material for his masterpiece, The Tale of Kiều. He translated it, but more than that, he breathed into it a new, distinctly Vietnamese life. His career continued to ascend; he was later appointed to two more diplomatic missions to Peking. However, before he could embark on the final journey, he succumbed to a protracted illness, one for which he characteristically refused all treatment, meeting his end on his own terms.
Throughout his life, Du was shadowed by a profound sense of conflict. His father had been a high-ranking minister under the Lê dynasty, and his family's fortunes were inextricably linked to their rule. By accepting a position under the Nguyễn dynasty, he was haunted by what he perceived as a betrayal of the rightful rulers of Vietnam, a moral compromise that would echo through his poetry.
The Tale of Kiều
Main article: The Tale of Kiều
The Tale of Kiều, known in Vietnamese as Truyện Kiều, was not born from a vacuum. It was an adaptation, a profound reimagining of an earlier Chinese prose narrative titled Kim Vân Kiều. [6] Nguyễn Du wrote it under a pen name, a prudent measure given that the story was a thinly veiled critique of the rigid tenets of Confucian morality that governed his society.
At its heart, it is a tragic epic chronicling the suffering of Thúy Kiều, a beautiful and talented young woman who sells herself into marriage to save her family from ruin. This single act of filial piety sets off a devastating fifteen-year odyssey of deception, degradation, and loss. The tale follows her and her true love, Kim Trọng, as they are brutally forced apart by the demands of family honor. In Vietnam, the poem's cultural penetration is absolute. It is not merely literature; it is a shared language, a repository of national identity. It is so beloved that many can recite the entire 3,254-verse epic from memory, a feat of devotion that speaks volumes about its power. [7]
The work's enduring fame rests on its profound humanism and its exploration of karmic destiny. It has been translated into more than 20 languages, including English, French, Japanese, and Korean, proving that the narrative of suffering and resilience is a globally understood currency. [8]
Other works
- Thanh Hiên thi tập (清軒詩集; Poems of Thanh Hiên)
- Nam Trung Tạp Ngâm (南中雜吟; Various Poems Made in the South)
- Bắc Hành Tạp Lục (北行雜錄; Various Records during the Travel to the North)
- Văn tế thập loại chúng sinh (文祭十類眾生; Literature of the Ten Kinds of Beings), also known as Văn chiêu hồn (文招魂)
- Văn tế sống Trường Lưu nhị nữ (文祭𤯨長劉二女)
- Thác lời trai phường nón (托𠳒𤳇坊𥶄)
Honor
In the poet’s hometown, the inevitable machinery of posthumous reverence has been at work. The Nguyễn Du Memorial Site (Vietnamese: Khu lưu niệm Đại thi hào Nguyễn Du) was constructed to honor him and his lineage. This sprawling cultural and historical complex dutifully preserves his family’s ancestral house, a worship hall, his tomb, and a museum filled with artifacts related to his life and work. [9] As if that weren't enough, the site has been officially designated a Special National Site, a title that sounds suitably important. [10]
His name, now a brand, has been stamped onto countless streets and schools across Vietnam, ensuring his memory is woven into the very fabric of the nation's geography and educational system.
Modern depiction
- He was portrayed by Quách Ngọc Ngoan in the 2010 film The Musician at the Dragon Citadel. An actor's attempt to capture a ghost.
See also
Wikiquote has quotations related to Nguyễn Du.