Epic poem about the Southern advance: History of opening up the country through poetry by Pham Van Thanh

This is an epic poem written in the traditional Vietnamese six-eight verse form, easy to remember and easy to get into the hearts of readers.

Writing the epic poem about the Southern advance , author Pham Van Thanh has systematized it completely. The process of the Vietnamese people moving south is an inevitable trend of history. At the beginning of the epic poem, the author writes:

Our country since the Tang Dynasty

At the beginning of the Ly dynasty, the border of Hoanh mountain

North, Ha Tinh of our country

To the south is Quang Binh and Chiem Bang.

Later the emperors

Expanding the territory, the south is vast and long

Thus, the author closely followed the country's history to express in a heroic way through simple six-eight verses to talk about the Southern expansion that lasted from the Ly Dynasty to the reign of Lord Nguyen Phuc Thuan. After that, the Tay Son Dynasty and the Nguyen Dynasty completed the Southern expansion with a unified administrative system from the central government down to the villages and communes, implementing management of the entire territory and territorial waters nationwide.

Epic book about the Southward advance

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY AUTHOR

To increase the authenticity and convince readers as a research work on the country's history in the form of poetry, the epic poem about the Southward advance by Pham Van Thanh also closely followed historical data and documents. The verses in the epic poem are all carefully cited from prestigious historical works such as Dai Viet su ky toan thu by Ngo Sy Lien, Viet Nam su luoc by Tran Trong Kim, Dat nuoc Viet Nam qua cac dynasties by Dao Duy Anh, Lord Nguyen and anecdotes of the southern land opening by Nguyen Huu Hieu... That is the carefulness of a poet when writing about the country's history.

The entire epic poem about the Southward advance has nearly 900 six-eight verses divided into 3 parts: the introduction, the middle and the conclusion. The most important part is the middle with smooth verses that Pham Van Thanh polished with the intention of clarifying the causes and the extremely great results of the Southward advance. These are the heroic verses of the epic poem when writing about King Le Dai Hanh of the Tien Le Dynasty, the heroic emperor who pioneered in opening up the country:

Our country borders the country of Champa.

The frontier is a place of unpredictable mountains and rivers.

When Vietnam is prosperous

The Great General sent a general to open the way to the South.

From the South to the land of Champa

Help Vietnamese people to enter the South easily in the future

That is a very reasonable way of looking at history and the role of great people in the way author Pham Van Thanh presents events.

Similarly, in the chapters about feudal dynasties with specific names of places and people during the Southern expansion period, Pham Van Thanh's epic poem not only highly appreciates the merits of the kings who made history but also looks at recognize them as human beings with noble virtues. For example, when the author writes about the kings of the Ly dynasty:

The Ly dynasty had wise kings.

For the people fighting in distant lands

Entering the kingdom of Champa to show the power of heaven

Make Vietnamese people praise forever...

Author Pham Van Thanh

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY AUTHOR

A more important issue is that after moving south and occupying the vast, fertile southern lands, the Ly dynasty kings knew how to establish a very humane governing system, winning the hearts of the people in the new land:

Saint Tong ruled the country

Expanding the territory is truly a heroic act.

Establish villages, establish prefectures, and migrate

Appointed governor in the far south

Vietnamese and Cham people

From now on, let's live together and not make things difficult for each other.

Thus, under the comprehensive and dialectical view of a historical researcher, author Pham Van Thanh not only honestly reflected the reality of the Southward expansion but also affirmed that the Southward expansion was a historical inevitability. The Southward expansion not only enriched the land and borders of Vietnam but also brought to the new land the humanity, cultural traditions, and humanism of the Vietnamese people that had existed since the founding of the nation long ago.

Reading the Epic of the Southward Advancement , the author has shown readers that, in any era, when their strength is large and powerful enough, they need a new territory to develop. In the development of the territory, there is also the development of human life in terms of material and spirit. That is civilization, humanity and humanity. That is an extremely great result that the Southward Advancement of the ancient kings of Vietnam has achieved and is still passed down to this day, creating a powerful Vietnam on the world map.

In the Epic of the Southern Expansion , the author not only clarifies the causes and results of the nation-building process during the Southern Expansion period, but also focuses on highlighting the heroic feats of national defense of the Vietnamese army and people through feudal dynasties to suppress rebels, repel foreign invaders to protect the achievements of the Southern Expansion.

That was General Nguyen Hoang, a general who had great contributions in the history of expanding the territory to the south. The author of the epic poem gave this general worthy praise:

Later there was General Nguyen Hoang.

Mau Ngo, then the royal court moved to the South

One is to avoid greedy people.

Two is to guard the South, two regions

Build Thuan - Quang first

After fighting Trinh to keep Nam Ha peaceful

Writing a historical epic in which many periods and many characters still have certain controversies, but as a researcher, Pham Van Thanh was very careful and had a scientific consciousness when after each verse, he included a footnote to help readers understand more clearly each issue mentioned. That is a significant and very valuable effort of the author.

With the epic poem about the Southward advance , Pham Van Thanh has successfully expressed his love for the country's history and his passion for literary composition, in which his strength is composing epic poems about history. The work is like a gift for readers on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification - as an inevitable continuation of the Southward advance in the entire development process of the country's history.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/truong-ca-ve-nam-tien-lich-su-mo-coi-bang-tho-cua-pham-van-thanh-185250327190638909.htm