This year marks the 260th anniversary of the birth of the great poet Nguyen Du.
He once had a famous poem, "The third party of the end of the world/ The world is at the foot of To Nhu" (I don't know if there are hundreds of years left/ The world has someone crying for To Nhu no)".
For 260 years, Nguyen Du has been a monument to poems, in which Truyen Kieu has been likened to a heritage of Vietnamese literature.
The great poet Nguyen Du's name is To Nhu, Thanh Hien.
According to information from the National Museum of History, Nguyen Du was born in the year of At Dau (1765), the year of the reign of King Le Hien Tong. His birthplace was Bich Cau ward, Thang Long citadel (Hanoi).
In the work Truyen Kieu and Realism, Professor Le Dinh Ky wrote: "Nguyen Du was born on January 3, 1766 in Tien Dien village, Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh province, in a noble family with a long tradition of parliamentary practice".
In 1783, Nguyen Du participated in the incense performance at Son Nam School, paid for the Tam Mau. After that, he married the daughter of Dr. Doan Nguyen Thuc, named Doan Thi Hue, from An Hai village, Quynh Coi district, Son Nam town. In 1787, Tay Son army advanced to the North to take Bac Ha, Nguyen Du returned to his wife's hometown in Thai Binh to serve.
In August 1802, the great poet Nguyen Du was appointed as a district judge of Phu Dung under King Gia Long. In November of the same year, he became the court of Thuong Tin.
In the fall of the year of the Dragon, 1804, Nguyen Du used the excuse of illness to resign and returned to his hometown. But in 1805, King Gia Long invited him back to Kinh Do, promoted him to the title of university student, and deposed Du Duc Marquis.
In the year of the Snake, 1813, he was called to Kinh and then sent to China as ambassador. After arriving in Beijing, in addition to the state's assigned duties, Nguyen Du also visited temples, famous places and wrote poems. He wrote the poem "Phan Chiu Duong, Khoc Tieu Thanh": "Bat ba ba gian gian nam su/ Thien ha nhan nhap To Nhu" (I don't know if there are hundreds of years left/ Thien ha ai mo to Nhu khong)".
After King Gia Long passed away and King Minh Mang ascended the throne, poet Nguyen Du was ordered to go to China, but before he could go, he died at Hue Citadel in 1820, at the age of 55.
During his lifetime, the great poet Nguyen Du left behind a treasure trove of Han-language poems such as: Thanh Hien thiet tap, Nam Trung Nhap Nam, Bac Hanh rang nhap, Le Quy nien.
By 1965, Literature Publishing House published Han Nguyen Du Handwritten Poems collected by Le Thuoc and Truong Chinh, including 249 articles.
In which, Thanh Hien collected 78 poems in the period of 1786 - 1804 (10 years in his wife's hometown of Thai Binh, 6 years returning to his home at the foot of Hong Mountain, 2 years as a district judge in Bac Ha district). The poetry collection is the articles from the years before he became an official under the Nguyen Dynasty.
The average male trader has 40 published books in the 1805 - 1812 period. The Bac Hanh cycle includes 131 poems from 1813 to 1814, written during his trip to China.
Notable poems in Quoc Ngu (Nom) include Thang Toan Sinh Literature (Van Chieu Duong), Van Te Truong Luu Nhi Nu Nu. Most notably is the collection Tan Thanh Street, now known as Truyen Kieu.
The Tan Thanh school section is written in the word Nom, including 3,254 verses in the six-line format. The entire content is based on the work of Kim Van Kieu by Thanh Tam Tai Nhan in China.
In the Literary index, it is stated: "There are theories that Nguyen Du wrote it after he went to China as a missionary (1814-1820), and there are theories that he wrote it before he went as a missionary, possibly around the time he was a Cai Luong in Quang Binh (1804-1809). The second opinion is more widely accepted'.
Truyen Kieu has contributed to bringing Vietnamese literature beyond the country, making its mark on the international violin competition. Currently, the work has been translated into more than 30 languages, including French, English, Korean, Japanese, etc.
With a huge treasure trove of works, he was honored by generations of Vietnamese people as a great national treasure.
According to information from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in December 1964, in Germany, the World Peace Council issued a resolution to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Nguyen Du's birth (1765 - 1965).
After that, the Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Workers' Party (now the Communist Party of Vietnam) issued Directive No. 112-CT/TW dated October 26, 1965 "On the celebration of Nguyen Du". This is a major milestone in researching, affirming and honoring Nguyen Du and Truyen Kieu.
On October 25, 2013, at the 37th session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UN UNESCO) in Paris (France), the great poet Nguyen Du was honored as a world cultural figure.
