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| DESTINATION VIETNAM |
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THE CHU NOM
From an early period a special ideographic script known as classical Han Chinese was also devised for transcribing spoken Vietnamese. According to annals dating from the late 13th century, the poets Nguyen Thuyen and Nguyen Si Co were the first to write in classical Han Chinese. At the turn of the century King Ho Quy Ly (1400-1407) himself translated the Confucian classic Kinh Thi into nom. Thereafter an increasingly large number of other works were composed in the new script.
The era of the Le kings (14th and early 15th centuries) was a significant period of development for classical Han Chinese literature. Of particular note were the works of Nguyen Trai, scholar and strategist to Le Loi (later King Le Thai To, 1428-1433) during the resistance war against the invading Ming Chinese. Trai, whose "Proclamation of Victory over the Ngo" remains one of the finest works of Vietnamese national literature, left an important collection of 254 poems written in classical Han Chinese known as Quoc Am Thi Tap. Though classical Han Chinese was the official the language of the Vietnamese royal court, two Le monarchs - Le Thai Tong (1434-1442) and Le Thanh Tong (1460-1497) - are remembered for their poems written in nom; some 300 works of great historical and literary significance written by Le Thanh Tong may be found in the anthology "Collected Poems of the Hong Duc Period". However, nom poetry did not really begin to break free from Chinese influence until the 16th century, a process signaled by the appearance of 100 remarkable works in nom by Confucian scholar Nguyen Binh Khiem (1491-1585), brought together as the "Compilation of B?ch Van's Poems".
The slow demise of the Le dynasty and the corresponding rise of the powerful Trinh and Nguyen families during the 16th and 17th centuries seriously undermined respect for the concept of absolute monarchy, leading to the collapse of the Confucian system. This in turn had important consequences for the development of Vietnamese classical Han Chinese literature, which now entered a new and exciting phase of development - fresh themes appeared, and the language itself became richer, more concise and more flexible. A particular feature of the period was the appearance of stories and fables which contained thinly-veiled criticisms of official corruption and the shortcomings of feudal society.
However, the golden age for classical Han Chinese was the 18th century, which witnessed a truly remarkable literary flowering. Particularly popular at this time were long narrative poems known as story, which borrowed elements of popular oral tradition, fusing them with classical language to create new and vibrant works of literature. These works, with their complex plot, characterization and structure, were the first to express in writing the personal feelings and desires of the protagonists. Amongst the greatest narrative poems of this period are "Lament of a Warrior's Wife" by Dang Tran Con, translated into nom from the original classical Han Chinese by Doan Thi Diem (1705-1748), and "Lament of a Royal Concubine", written in nom by Nguyen Gia Thieu (1741-1798). During the brief reign of King Quang Trung (Nguyen Hue, 1788-1792) classical Han Chinese was adopted as the national script for official texts and in education, to replace the classical Chinese which had been used for centuries.
The 18th century is known too for its satirical poems and stories, many of which vehemently attacked the ruling Confucian elite. Perhaps best known are the feminist poems of Ho Xuan Huong (late 18th-early 19th century) and the anonymous popular stories "Doctor Pig" and "Doctor Quynh".
Also of significance during this period were historical works written by scholars such as Le Quy Don (1726-1783), whose "Complete History of Dai Viet" and "History of the Le Dynasty" marked a major advance in the development of historical studies.
Notwithstanding the revival of a strong monarchy after 1802 under the Nguyen dynasty, Vietnamese literature continued for some time thereafter to convey the humanistic aspirations and sentiments which had featured so strongly in the literature of the previous century. The best-known work of the early 19th century and today perhaps the most famous work in the history of Vietnamese literature is the narrative poem "The Story of Kieu", written by poet, scholar, mandarin and diplomat Nguyen Du (1765-1820). Highly regarded for its elegant language and style, this masterpiece relates the story of a beautiful and talented young woman condemned by the actions of a wicked mandarin to 15 years of tribulation and suffering.
During the second half of the 19th century some notable works of nom literature were created by leading figures in the various patriotic movements set up to fight against French colonialism. These included proclamations, appeals to struggle, funeral orations, stories of combat and patriotic poems by the likes of Phan Dinh Phung, Nguyen Quang Bich, Phan Van Tri, Nguyen Thong and Nguyen Xuan Du, together with lengthy but eloquent appeals to the monarch by Nguyen Truong To and Nguyen Bo Trach. Perhaps the best-known writer of this period was blind poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu, who composed several volumes of patriotic literature before his death in 1888.
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