The work "Prison Diary" is a collection of 133 poems, written in Chinese, born in a special situation. In August 1942, Nguyen Ai Quoc took the name Ho Chi Minh as a representative of the Vietnam Independence League and the International Anti-Aggression Section of Vietnam to work in China. When he arrived in Tuc Vinh, Guangxi, he was unjustly imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek's government, and from here began a 13-month journey full of hardship and suffering, going through 18 prisons in 13 districts of Guangxi province. During those months (August 1942 - September 1943), he composed the collection of poems "Prison Diary".
President Ho Chi Minh and comrade Tran Duy Hung, Chairman of the Hanoi City Administrative Committee, participated in the construction of Thong Nhat Park. Photo: VNA
The collection of poems truthfully reflects the prison system and a part of Chinese society under Chiang Kai-shek. Prisons are places where many social evils (gambling, trading, bribery, etc.) take place, with many injustices, injustices, exiles, and oppressions of people in miserable conditions.
Each poem in the Diary is the author's voice, deeply depicting the soul, thoughts and feelings of Uncle Ho during his time imprisoned in a foreign land. It is a passionate patriotism, always yearning for the Fatherland, wishing to return and join the fight of his comrades and compatriots. Despite suffering hardship and oppression, he always gave love and care to everyone, especially the prisoners around him. His immense, boundless love was not only for all human lives, regardless of class or ethnicity, but also for nature, blending into all landscapes.
The entire Diary exudes a revolutionary optimism, faith in a bright tomorrow, his strong and resilient will, his iron determination. The courage of a communist soldier, his great spiritual strength brought him through exile and prison, to the day of freedom, to return to his beloved Fatherland, to lead the entire people to gain independence and freedom for the nation. The work has become a national treasure of Vietnam, praised by international friends and translated into many languages around the world.
With this translation by poet Quach Tan, readers who love "Prison Diary" have another choice besides the familiar translation by Nam Tran and other Confucian scholars. The pages of poetry are translated and presented in a new and unique way in the publication, allowing us to understand and appreciate more about the translation talent, especially the feelings of poet Quach Tan towards beloved President Ho Chi Minh.
Known as a leading translator of Tang poetry in our country, however, in this translation, Quach Tan has broken the mold, converting some poems from "Prison Diary" into other traditional Vietnamese poetic forms such as the six-eight verse form, because according to the poet, "There are many poems that I find more meaningful when translated into six-eight verse." For this reason, Quach Tan has humbly called it a "translation."
Especially with this edition, readers will be able to "admire" Uncle Ho's poems with the handwritten Chinese characters by calligrapher Tran Thuc Lam, a literary friend of Quach Tan, and the beautiful handwritten Vietnamese characters by the poet himself.
According to VNA/Tin Tuc Newspaper
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