Bringing Vietnamese literature onto the "track" of world literature
The Tale of Kieu is a Nom work, consisting of 3,254 verses in the six-eight meter. The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du has contributed to bringing Vietnamese literature beyond the national boundaries, becoming a part of the quintessence of human culture, marking Vietnamese literature on the international poetry scene. The great poet Nguyen Du has also been recognized as a World Cultural Celebrity.
To date, The Tale of Kieu has been translated into more than 20 languages around the world, including more than 10 translations in French, more than 10 in English and Korean, and 5 in Japanese... According to Professor Dao Duy Anh, with The Tale of Kieu, "Nguyen Du is the one who laid the foundation for the modern literary language of our country".
For a long time, many people who love the Tale of Kieu thought they knew it by heart, but in fact there are still many new things, the more you explore, the more attractive and interesting it becomes. According to Mr. Pham Xuan Nguyen - a literary researcher, in 10 centuries of written literature (from the 10th to the 19th century), the 18th century was the century when literature had a breakthrough.
In this century, Vietnamese classical literature began to have a sense of individuality, with elements of realism in many works such as: Chinh phu ngam, Cung oan ngam khuc, Truyen Kieu, Ho Xuan Huong's poetry, Ba Huyen Thanh Quan's poetry...
It is not by chance that they began to be aware of human status and women are the place where human status is most fully concentrated. Coming to Truyen Kieu, we can feel the peak of depicting the status of women at that time.
“The Tale of Kieu has brought the Vietnamese language to a new level. Nguyen Du's Tale of Kieu is the most complete synthesis of 18th century life, and at the same time puts Vietnamese literature on the track of world literature.
The saying "The Tale of Kieu remains, our language remains. Our language remains, our country remains" by Pham Quynh more than 100 years ago is a summary that both speaks to the value of The Tale of Kieu and reflects the position of The Tale of Kieu in Vietnamese culture" - Mr. Pham Xuan Nguyen said.
Entering into the lives of all walks of life
According to the general assessment of experts, Nguyen Du and The Tale of Kieu are unique cultural phenomena, with values that transcend all limits of time and space.
This work has lived in the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people. This is expressed through many folk forms such as fortune telling, reciting Kieu, and praising Kieu. The Tale of Kieu has also become an endless source of creative inspiration for many other art forms such as music, painting, cinema, etc.
Mr. Pham Xuan Nguyen commented: "A great value that helps The Tale of Kieu become a masterpiece is that it covers many classes, captures emotions and receives high appreciation from both common people and intellectuals."
This is reflected in the fact that many Vietnamese people know by heart some verses of Kieu's poem such as: " Why do people meet each other/ Who knows if we have fate or not after a hundred years? ", " A hundred years in this human world/ Talent and fate, it is possible that we hate each other "...
Even the US President, in his meetings with Vietnamese leaders, has included Kieu's poem in his speech. In 1996, former President Bill Clinton said: "The lotus fades, the chrysanthemums bloom again/ Sorrow is long, the days are short, winter has turned to spring."
In 2023, former President Joe Biden quoted Kieu: " The glory and honor of the past make up for the hardships/Love adds another day of spring ." The verses of Kieu included in the speech all subtly imply the relationship between Vietnam and the United States at a specific time.
Dr. Nguyen An - Vice President of the Vietnam Kieu Studies Association believes that if we only rely on the scientific achievements of the current technological revolution to integrate into the world, it is not enough, we also need indigenous cultural capital to tell humanity, of which the Tale of Kieu is a typical example.
The spirit of the Tale of Kieu is like the voice of millions of people, showing a nation suffering from war and poverty but still maintaining human love and the aspiration for a beautiful life.
CSO Gallery - the venue for the discussion, located at 229 Cua Dai Street, Hoi An City, has recently attracted public attention when displaying the "unique" Tale of Kieu collection. CSO Gallery currently displays more than 10 collections with 1,630 publications and more than 600 publications published in newspapers, magazines, pictures, etc.
Notable are the editions of the Tale of Kieu written in Nom script and manuscripts; the late 19th and 20th century editions of the Tale of Kieu; the foreign editions of the Tale of Kieu published in 16 countries (England, France, Germany, USA, Russia, Italy, Sweden, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Korea, Japan, Syria, etc.); the edition of the Tale of Kieu collection by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh; Kieu paintings; Tale of Kieu artifacts (artistic stones, porcelain vases, CDs, etc.), the Tale of Kieu calendar, etc.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/truyen-kieu-trong-dong-chay-van-hoc-va-doi-song-3149384.html
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