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The first six lines of the poem written in Chữ Nôm

The Tale of Kiều is an epic poem in Vietnamese written by the 18^th century writer Nguyễn Du (1766-1820), widely regarded as the most significant work of Vietnamese literature. The original title in Vietnamese is Đoạn Trường Tân Thanh (斷腸新聲, lit. "A New Cry From a Broken Heart"), but it is better known as Truyện Kiều (傳翹, lit. "Kiều Story")pronunciation (help·info).

In 3,254 verses, written in lục bát (6/8) meter, the poem recounts the life, trials and tribulations of Thúy Kiều, a beautiful and talented young woman, who had to sacrifice herself to save her family. She unwittingly sold herself as a prostitute to save her father and younger brother from jail.

Nguyễn Du made use of the plot of Kim Vân Kiều (金雲翹), a story written in classical Chinese, to convey the situation at the end of the 18^th century. The ruling Lê Dynasty was controlled by the Trịnh Lords in the north and the Nguyen Lords in the south. While the Trịnh and the Nguyễn were fighting against each other, the Tây Sơn rebels overthrew both the Nguyen and then the Trinh over the span of a decade. Nguyễn Du was loyal to the Lê Dynasty and hoped for the return of the Lê king. In 1802 the Nguyễn lord, Nguyễn Ánh, conquered all of Vietnam forming the new Nguyễn Dynasty. Nguyễn Ánh (now Emperor Gia Long), wanted Nguyễn Du to join the new government and, with some reluctance, he did so. His situation is partially analogous to the situation of the main character in The Tale of Kiều.

The Tale of Kieu was written under a pseudonym as it strongly suggested the old Confucian moral order was wrong, or at least, deeply flawed. Some examples:

• the initial trouble encountered by Kieu is caused by the greed of a mandarin - but mandarins were all supposed to be morally upstanding individuals.
• The rebel Tu Hai is portrayed in a very favorable light - a margin note in a copy owned by the Nguyen King Tu Duc says the author would have deserved a good thrashing.
• Kieu falls in love with men not chosen for her by her parents. Romantic love was regarded with deep suspicion by Confucian scholars.
• Kieu falls in love with two different men, but a woman was supposed to be faithful to one man her entire life.

The work had been fully translated into English at least three times, one with extensive footnotes by Huỳnh Sanh Thông (ISBN 0-300-04051-2), one for the general reader by Vladislav Zhukov (ISBN 1-74076-127-8) and one in verse by an English writer.

The original text was written in Vietnamese using the vernacular Chữ Nôm script. Below are the first 6 lines of the prologue written in modern Vietnamese Quốc Ngữ and translated into English. Most Vietnamese speakers know these lines by heart.

Chữ Nôm:

𤾓𢆥𥪝𡎝𠊛嗟
𡦂才𡦂命窖羅恄饒
𣦆戈沒局𣷭橷
仍調𥉩𧡊罵忉疸𢚸
邏之彼嗇私豐
𡗶青慣退𦟐紅打慳

Quốc ngữ: (recitation)

Trăm năm, trong cõi người ta,

Chữ tài, chữ mệnh, khéo là ghét nhau.

Trải qua một cuộc bể dâu,

Những điều trông thấy mà đau đớn lòng;

Lạ gì bỉ sắc, tư phong,

Trời xanh quen thói má hồng đánh ghen.

English translation:

Within the span of hundred years of human existence,

what a bitter struggle is waged between genius and destiny!

How many harrowing events have occurred while mulberries cover the conquered sea!

Rich in beauty, unlucky in life!

Strange indeed, but little wonder,

since casting hatred upon rosy cheeks is a habit of the Blue Sky.

-Translation from Lê Xuân Thuy--Kim Vân Kiều (pg 19), Second Edition, 1968

Another English translation of the same opening lines:

As evidenced by centuries of human existence

Destiny and genius are apt to feud

Having endured an upheaval

The sights observed must wrench one’s heart

‘Tis no surprise to find the bad and good in pairs

So a maiden blessed by beauty is likewise cursed by envy.

Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals prior to the 20th Century (essay on Nguyen Du by the Vietnamese historian Nguyen Khac) published by The Gioi Publishers, 2004.

• Recitation of Truyen Kieu (with musical accompaniment)
• Text study on versions of Truyen Kieu
• Complete text in proper quoc ngu text
• The Tale of Kieu, Vietnam's Epic National Poem