Statue of great poet Nguyen Du in Ha Tinh province (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’sPermanent Mission to the UNESCO in collaboration with the central province ofHa Tinh will organise a ceremony to commemorate the 200th death anniversary ofgreat poet Nguyen Du at the UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris in March.
The event will be an opportunity for Vietnam to popularise the country’scultural values to international friends.
A multitude of activities will be held within the framework of the event,including a commemorative ceremony, a book exhibition, and a conference on thepoet’s life and career.
Nguyen Du (1766-1820), also known as To Nhu and Thanh Hien, was recognised bythe UNESCO as World Cultural Celebrity in 2003.
He was born to one of the most aristocratic families in Thang Long ImperialCity (Hanoi). His family members were noted scholars and mandarins at the Courtduring the Le dynasty. His pleasant childhood life was interrupted by the deathof his father when he was 9. Three years later, his mother died, as well.
Born and raised in a time of chaos, Nguyen Du witnessed many changes in thetransition from the Le to Nguyen dynasties between the 18th and 19th centuries.
A rebellion led by Nguyen brothers from the village of Tay Son in today’s BinhDinh province, among many revolts by poverty-stricken peasants across thecountry at that time, put an end to the weakening Le-Trinh dynasty.
The historical upheavals split his family apart and left him in poverty. Theyalso opened his eyes so that he was able to see the naked realities ofVietnam’s feudal society, where the majority of people suffered in misery,inequality and cruelty.
“Upheavals” and “the sights observed”, which are mentioned in one of the first linesof his most beloved work “the Tale of Kieu”, were obvious references to theseevents in his life.
Though faithful to the Le dynasty, Nguyen Du realised that it was of no availto follow his dream of restoring the regime and finally accepted the politicalchanges.
After the Tay Son collapsed, Emperor Gia Long, the new Nguyen ruler, called himto the Court. Nguyen Du reluctantly obeyed but felt unimpassioned towards hismandarin career.
The vicissitudes of history and his own life turned him from a nobleman into ahumanist and a realist poet whose heart was deeply moved by the lives of theunfortunate.
In his 55 years of life, the great poet left a monumental legacy that includesthree collections in Han (Chinese) script, totalling 250 poems in Thanh HienThi Tap (Poems of Thanh Hien), Nam Trung Tap Ngam (Various Poems) and Bac HanhTap Luc (Miscellaneous Writings in a Trip to the North), as well as the mostwell-known, the Tale of Kieu.
The 3,254-line classic verse novel written in “luc bat”, the form that consistsof alternating lines of six and eight syllables, a traditional Vietnamese verseform, is the most popular Vietnamese poem of all time and has inspired manygenerations.
It recounts the life, trials and tribulation of Thuy Kieu, a beautiful andtalented young woman, who had to sacrifice herself to save her father andyounger brother from prison. She sold herself into marriage with a middle-agedman, unaware of his profession as a pimp. He later forced her intoprostitution, marking the start of a series of tragic events in her life.
Throughout the poem, Nguyen Du depicted the beauty of true love and loyalty,and the unyielding hope for justice.
The poetic masterpiece has spread its spirit and influences overseas, as it waspublished in 20 different languages worldwide.
Nguyen Du passed away 200 years ago, but his literary legacy and brilliantcareer are remembered today by people not only in Vietnam but all over theworld.
In 1965, he was honoured as a world cultural celebrity by the World PeaceCouncil with eight others for his devotion to Vietnamese literature and theworld’s culture.
On August 15, 2014, the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam CentralCommittee officially approved a plan to celebrate the 250th birth anniversaryof Nguyen Du in 2015 – a big opportunity for the country to honour its culturalvalues and instill national pride in its citizens when integrating extensivelyinto the world./.
VNA
