VIETNAMESE LITERATURE

Articles compiled by Henry Nguyen - Saigon Info

 

The Vietnamese literature patrimony is old and original. It was the vast body of the people’s literature orally transmitted from the remostest times up to now. It proves also the typically Vietnamese literature which constitutes of proverbs, maxims, stories legends, lettered songs and popular songs.

The proverbs and maxims have appropriate rules, different from that of China. The stories and legends compose of moral, satirical tables, and of historical and mythological legends.

As for the Vietnamese songs, we have 4 varieties:

• the lettered songs with verses,
• the semi lettered songs,
• the popular songs, and
• the songs of cantatrices.

The most important of these 4 varieties is the popular songs, which comprises:

• the love songs,
• the blinds’ songs (at dark),
• the rocking songs,
• the peddlers songs,
• the satirical songs,
• the riddle songs, and
• the cult songs.

These folk songs are composed in the popular meter known as six-eight (6-8 foot line poems). Before the impact of modernization these various styles of oral literature constitute the most important folk documents of Vietnamese people on the rural life, improvising songs at singing contest and on the other social or religious occasions.

The Vietnamese Literature has two main streams of foreign influences:

1- Influence of the Chinese Culture.

From the 2^nd century B.C. to the 10^th century of our era, Viet Nam was several times under the domination of China. For a thousand years, Chinese thought and literature were widespread among the Vietnamese population. A heavy overlay of Chinese influence predominated. In poetry the rules governing Chinese verse forms were applied; the ideas and sentiments were similar the Chinese poems. But the Vietnamese poets could not rid themselves entirely of Chinese influence.

One of the most ancient literary texts is The Proclamation on the transfer of the capital to Hanoi by Ly Thai To (Ly Cong Uan: 1010-1228) when Buddhist influence was stronger than Confucianism and Taoism. Some of these monks very famous were Vo Ngai, Phung Dinh, Duy Giam, Truong Ma Ni, Dang Huyen Quang, Ngo Chan Luu (under the Dinh dynasty 970-980) and Tram Thuyen Ky, Truong Tich, Su Thuan of Do Phap Su.... exchanged their verses with the great poets of China, in particular Ngo Chan Luu and Su Thuan composed poetic works which about a century later aroused the admiration of Que Duong Le Quy Don (see Kien Van Luc Book of L.Q.D.)

The Emperors Ly Thai Son (1028-1054) and Ly Anh Ton (1072-1127) were prominent authors.

General Ly Thuong Kiet, with his quatrain "Over the Southern mountains and rivers, the Emperor of the South reigns", and Prime Minister To-Hien-Thanh were also well known as great shcolars and writers. From Ly to Nguyen dynasties, Vietnamese literature was marked by distinguished writers. A large amount of verse and prose flourished during this time.

Among the famous writers, we remark Pham Ngu Lao under the Tran, with his patriotic poems, Nguyen Trai under the Le with his Proclamation of Peace, and many admirable poets as Trinh Hoai Duc, Mac Dinh Chi, Truong Han Sieu, Pham Su Manh, Nguyen Phi Khanh, Nguyen Binh Khiem, Le Quy Don, Ngo Thoi Si, etc...

Admirable popular songs, leading themes were drawn from the agricultural life or from the examplary lives of Women writers who lavished advice on their husbands and exhorted them to study.
Outside of these songs, we ought to mention: the Gia Huan Ca and Quoc Am Thi Tap, a collection of 250 poems of Nguyen Trai (1380-1442) who used chinese ideograms for his Proclamation of Victory over the Minh (1427) and his Trung Tu Manh Tap, collection of writings made while in army, the numerous poems of King Le Thanh Ton, of Nguyen Binh Khiem, of Pham Tran, Do Uong, Le Quy Don, and many other remarkable poets like Nguyen Ba Lan, author of Truong Luu Hau Phu, Dang Tran Con author of Chinh Phu Ngam, which the poetess Doan Thi Diem later translated into Chu Nom verse, special mention must be given equally to Nguyen dinh To, author of Bai Tan Ong Tien Si, Nguyen Huu Chinh author of Cung Oan Ngam Khuc and of Quach Tu Nghi Phu, Thanh Quan and her purely classical style, and especially Ho Xuan Huong who, using a bold language, vigorously attached the hypocrisy.

In spite of the abundance of poetical works under of the dynasty of Le, we find under the dynasty of Nguyen the true masterpieces. The most formidable of these, has been Kim Van Kieu, entirely written in Vietnamese according to the folk prosody of Nguyen Du (1765-1820). The contemporary critic has written "After the amending of Kinh Thi, the book of verse by Confucius, there have not been any other poems to equal Kim Van Kieu". Kieu will remain the apex of Vietnamese classical poetry.

2- Influences of Western thought.

The 19^th century was a turning point for Vietnamese letters. Under the influence of Western thought and culture, master pieces translated for the first time into Quoc Ngu by famous writers such as Truong Vinh Ky, Huynh Tinh Cua (South VN), Nguyen Van Vinh and Pham Quynh (North VN). In South Viet Nam, Petrus Ky (Truong Vinh Ky) published the first daily newspaper in Quoc Ngu, the Gia Dinh Nhat Bao or Gia Dinh Daily, and translated numerous occidental classics. His collaborator was Paulus Cua or Huynh Tinh Cua, who was author of a well known Dictionary in the Vietnamese Quoc Ngu language.