Nguyen Du

Nguyễn Du (阮攸, 1766–1820, penname Tố Như and Thanh Hiên) is a celebrated Vietnamese poet who wrote in Chữ Nôm, the ancient writing script of Việt Nam. He is most known for writing the epic poem The Tale of Kieu.

Related Topics:
1766 - 1820 - Penname - ''Chữ Nôm'' - Việt Nam - The Tale of Kieu

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Nguyễn Du was born in 1766 in Tiên Điền village, Nghi Xuân district, Nghệ Tĩnh province, Vietnam. He was the seventh child of Nguyễn Nghiễm, a former prime minister under the Lê Dynasty. He lost his father at the age of 10 and his mother at the age of 13. For most of his teen years, he lived with his brother Nguyễn Khản and later with his brother-in-law Đoàn Nguyễn Tuấn.

Related Topics:
Vietnam - Lê Dynasty

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At the age of 17, Nguyen Du passed an examination and received the tittle of "tú tài". Although analogous to a high school graduate today, in Nguyen Du's time this was more difficult to obtain because few people were affluent enough to devote themselves to study, and also because the examination dealt mostly with politics and literature.

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The poet's mother was the third wife of his father and was noted for her ability at singing and composing poetry. In fact, she made her living by singing. At that time, working as a songstress was considered a disreputable reputation. Nguyen may have inherited a part of his talents from his mother. He loved listening to traditional songs. There was a rumour that, when he was 18, he himself eloped with a songstress.

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At that time, Vietnam was going through a period of disunity. Two powerful political families, one in the north, one in the south, were fighting against each other while pledging allegiance to the Lê dynasty, which was recognized as the legitimate authority. This civil war was finally put an end to by the three Nguyen brothers, Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Lu, and Nguyen Hue. Nguyen Du's father was a minister under the Lê dynasty, and that meant Nguyễn Du was not in a position to help the three brothers, which can be considered a tragedy of his life. While he knew the three brothers were working for a good casue, he was not in a position to do anything. One of the three brothers (Hue) founded the Tây Sơn dynasty. The Tây Sơn soon fell to the Nguyễn dynasty.

Related Topics:
Nguyen Nhac - Nguyen Lu - Nguyen Hue - Tây Sơn

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In 1802, Nguyen Du was given a military post under the Nguyễn Dynasty, and was promoted to ambassador to China in 1813.

Related Topics:
1802 - Nguyễn Dynasty - China - 1813

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It is necessary to keep in mind this historical and social background in order to understand both Nguyen Du and his main work, The Tale of Kieu (Vietnamese Truyện Kiều), which was based on an earlier work known as Kim Vân Kiều and was originally titled Đoạn Trường Tân Thanh (lit. new accents of a heart-rending song). The matter of the story is tragic and sad.

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The Tale of Kieu was written under the pen-name of 'Thanh Tam Tai Nhan' in the 16th or early 17th century. It was a story about the love between three persons. Thuy Kieu was the older sister of Thuy Van. Thuy Kieu and Kim Trong were in love with each other. They proposed under the moon, but unfortunately they were unable to come together because of family problems. Then Kim Trong married Thuy Van, the little sister... That is the source of Đoạn Trường Tân Thanh, a story about love, but after Nguyen Du read it, he added details and transformed it into a masterpiece. In Vietnam, even illiterate farmers can be found wo know by heart all of this composition and can recite it without a mistake. It is recited in a singing voice.

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The Tale of Kieu is one among Nguyen's many works. Other literary works included: Thanh Hiên thi tập (Poems by Thanh Hiên), Nam Trung Tạp Ngâm (?), Bắc Hành Tạp Lục(?).

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