I. Biography of Nguyen Du
--Born 1766 into a very learned family
--Father had been a prime minister in the Le Dynasty
--His brothers were high ranking officials in the Le Dynasty
II. Historical Situation
By the end of the 18th century, the Le Dynasty, after almost 300 years on the throne, had been weakened. The king of Le was like a puppet. Power in the country was shared by two big families: The Trinh family to the North and the Nguyen family in the South. The country was at war; the two families fought each other for the power and the king did nothing. The national hero, Nguyen Hue from the Tay Son (Qui Nhon) defeated both the Nguyen family and the Trinh family. Afterward the last king of the Le Dynasty, Le Chieu Thong, went to
III. The Concept
The Vietnamese are a very learned people and were deeply influenced by the concepts of King-Master-Father of the great Chinese philosopher, Confucius. [He taught that] you must be loyal to your king-no matter what. Nguyen Du and his family had benefited a lot from the former Le Dynasty, which explains why Nguyen Du was unwilling to join the new government. He considered it an act of disloyalty to the former king. As a learned man, he was afraid of being disregarded by the people of his time and felt it would bring shame to his family name, because he was being faithful to the concepts of Confucius.
IV. Kieu's Story
(Also titled the equivalent of The New Scream that Cuts Your Guts)
In order to explain his situation, Nguyen Du was inspired by the story of KIM VAN KIEU by a Chinese author, Thanh Tam Tai Than (pen name). The story had three main characters: Kim Trong, Thuy Van, and Thuy Kieu. The culture of
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN KIEU AND THE AUTHOR NGUYEN DU
Kieu sold herself to settle the debt of her family
Nguyen Du considered the action of joining the new government as selling himself
Kieu had to endure suffering and hardship
Nguyen Du suffered greatly because of his loyalty to his former king
Deep in her heart, Kieu stays faithful to Kim Trong
Nguyen Du was truly loyal to the Le Dynasty
Finally Kieu was reunited with Kim Trong
Nguyen Du hoped for the return of his king
This is the story of a young lady named Vuong Thuy Kieu. Kieu was very beautiful and learned as well. She was born into a well-educated family, and she was in love with a young man, Kim Trong. Then disaster fell on her family. Her father and her brother were imprisoned. In order to solve the family's problem, she had no choice but to sell herself. From then on, catastrophe after catastrophe fell on her. She had to follow her fate: being cheated, two times being held in a pleasure house (whorehouse) as a singer, concubine, servant. We may say this is a sad story of a talented lady who had bad fate. In this story Nguyen Du wanted to tell us through the fate of Kieu to be widened into the fate of human beings in the wicked feudal society along with its cruelties and injustice. He wanted to scream out loud, a scream that breaks our heart. Thus the title of the story
DOAN THANH TAN THANH, or as it is more popularly known, KIEU's STORY .
Nguyen Du's inspiration:
Nguyen Du tried to explain to us that disaster that befell Kieu is the conflict between talent and fate [See opening lines of the story]. Kieu had to endure a lot of suffering and hardship because she is beautiful and talented. The more you are talented, the more bad luck may strike you. To Nguyen Du to settle this conflict, the matter of the heart must come into being. By the end he wrote that the heart is three times more important than the talent. The inspiration of Nguyen Du's was the inspiration ofconsidering men's fate. How could men live in a society full of injustice and cruelties? Kieu was built in the image of perfection, she was the essence of desirability by men. Kieu was not only beautiful, she was also talented. In one word she was the perfect combination of beauty and talent. Such a lady must have a good life with happiness but because she was living in an unjust, cruel,wicked society, all that she got was turning against her and she fell victim to a disaster that destroyed her. Kieu had become a victim of the society. But she never accepted her fate; she was always fighting against it. There was a rebel in Thuy Kieu. We may say that the more she fought the more she failed, and as she became aware of her fate, her failure became more bitter. Nguyen Du was writing Kieu's story with his blood and his tears .
V. The Kieu Story and the Vietnamese People
6/8 verses are popular and easy to understand
The Kieu story is a masterpiece that every Vietnamese knows
In conversation we refer to citations from KIEU
In life every event that happens may refer to a part of Kieu's story
1st of the New Year. KIEU may be used as a book to predict the future
VI. Conclusion
To solve everything the matter of the heart comes into being; righteous people will overcome everything toward a better life.
MANY THANKS TO A WONDERFUL TEACHER. Transcribed with permission of Mr. Tien - JKS
THE TALE OF KIEU
Lecture by John Swensson: October, 1998
Note:
All page references are to the English side of the Yale University Press bilingual
edition, translated by Huynh Sanh Thong, copyright 1983.
PART I -- Lecture -- pp. 3-67 -- Kim Trong & Scholar Ma Section
WHY STUDY KIEU? I think the logical place to start is with this passage from Alexander Woodside's
"The Historical Background," (xi-xviii) which serves as a preface to the referenced text: To the Vietnamese people themselves, THE TALE OF KIEU is much more that just a glorious heirloom from their literary past. It has become a kind of continuing emotional laboratory in which all the great and timeless issues of personal morality and political obligation are tested and resolved (or left unresolved) for each new generation. Western readers who are curious about
ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK
This is fairly straightforward and is illuminated in the introduction by Thong on page xxix. There is a general introduction from pages 3-9 where we meet the Vuong family and the deceased muse Dam Tien, who, although she is only a spirit will eventually speak to Kieu, and who has a real perfume fragrance. The intro. is critical and bears several readings (My recommendation for those of you who are reading this for the first time is that you do a quick read all the way through and then go back and do an analysis in each section, doing a more careful reading and using the wonderful endnotes). It is the detailed introduction to Van and Kieu and young Vuong, and it introduces a number of themes that resonate throughout the work. Notice also that there is a god in the work whom Kieu addresses on p.7. On page 9, after the break we meet the "youthful scholar," Kim Trong, who is an admirable first love for Kieu.
From pages 21-29 their love deepens and it results in a pledge of betrothal. But, alas, on page 29 the plot thickens and Kim must leave for some years because of his uncle's death, and even worse, Old Vuong is arrested on false charges on p.33, and Kieu sells herself into marriage to save the family--the concept of loyalty is an important one throughout. Aided by family friend, administrator Chung, Kieu is sold to Scholar Ma, and Old Vuong is released. Before she marries Ma, Kieu enlists Van to promise to fulfill her marriage vow to Kim (39) .
Scholar Ma and his wife, Dame Tu, are very evil characters (not without some comic relief somewhat reminiscent of the Thenardiers in LES MIS). Note the commingling of the flower, nature, and sexual imagery on pp. 43-45 et. passim.. The melancholy family leave-taking on pp. 47 inspired a playlet put on by my students in
Pages 49-67 are set in the brothel and involve skullduggery, captivity, mirth--particularly when Dame Tu hears from Kieu that her husband slept with Kieu. Keep in mind that Kieu did not at the time know he was already married. We have a wonderful subplot involving a rogue named So Khanh who promises to help Kieu escape, but is really in league with Dame Tu, and finally we meet a young woman, also held captive in the brothel, who befriends Kieu, Ma Kieu. Dame Tu then offers instruction to Kieu in how to be a good courtesan, and this leads us to a consideration of an alternate translation, and the start of Part II, the Thuc Ky Tham section, which begins on p.67.
(The alternate translation is a prose translation, KIM VAN KIEU, five copies of which are on reserve in the DeCillis Collection, along with several copies of TRUYEN KIEU, in Vietnamese. If you are really into KIEU, and I hope you will be, check out a copy of the prose translation and compare some of the footnotes. While the superiority of the Huynh Sanh Thong translation will readily become apparent, the alternate translation will shed additional meaning for serious students. :-) The prose translation is published in
KIEU II -- Lecture -- pp. 67-113
In the introduction, pp. xxx-xxxi , Huynh Sanh Thong starts off by saying that "The love between Kieu and the weak willed Thuc eventually matures into a deep attachment, but sexual attraction is its main ingredient. Thuc meets Kieu as a customer of the brothel. Once again the plot evolves based on the departure of a parent, Thuc's father journeying home by "a stroke of timely luck" (67). While the relationship is a sexual one it soon includes music, poetry, and chess.
Kieu then takes up the notion of her responsibility and Thuc's and urges that there is no future in their relationship given Thuc's attachment to his first wife and she proceeds to forecast all of the doom that will (and does) befall them if they continue. Thuc's argument on p. 71 is that these matter-and Miss Hoan--are all far away and she should pay them no heed, and as a measure of his serious intent he buys her out of the brothel, and they live together for 6 months until Thuc's father returns. And here the wrath of the father that Kieu had foretold comes home with a vengeance and a trip to the judge.
The father turns them into a judge and it here that Kieu must make a moral choice, choosing to accept punishment for her deeds, or return to the brothel. She replies with grace "I shall endure the thunder of the law" (75). Here she is beaten as Thuc is forced to watch. Thuc's pain is so intense that the Judge's heart is moved, and he shows mercy and orders a wedding. (I am reminded of Shakespeare's Portia in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE dispensing justice and mercy in a European society, that is younger than the Asian societies here. Where is this in American literature?)
Old Thuc's heart is softened also BUT they still have, as Kieu has also foretold, Miss Hoan to deal with-- and her mother!! Miss Hoan is one of the strongest characters in the novel, physically violent and with a malicious cunning that guarantees that Kieu will be punished sorely for her deeds. On Kieu's urging Thuc returns to his wife (79) and we see, especially on p. 83 his weak will that Thong started us off with. His refusal to reveal his relationship with Kieu which was the purpose of his journey shows how weak he is and we as reader experience the dramatic irony of knowing what Miss Hoan knows and what her intent is.
In a brief vignette on pp. 84-85 we meet Miss Hoan's mother and get some insight into why the daughter is so mean--the mother graciously accedes to a scheme that involves kidnap, bondage, and public torture (Hell hath no fury. . .as Shakespeare tells us). What follows next is the dramatic subplot of the kidnapping and burning of Thuc and Kieu's apartment complete with the planting of an unclaimed corpse which provides more torture for Old Thuc who has to oversee the funeral of what he believes to be Kieu.
Young Thuc returns and consults a psychic--the importance of fortune telling is one that we Westerners do not appreciate--indeed in
On p. 91 we meet another young girl (cf. Ma Kieu in Part I) who befriends and advises Kieu who is now in the service of Miss Hoan, and the Buddhist notion of karma/justice/responsibility is repeated "Perhaps you must atone for some past sin" (91). But she then continues "but malice [Miss Hoan] brought you here,and not pure chance" (91). This text is so rich you can almost stop anywhere and do a textual analysis-- which is also why the Vietnamese fortune tellers can randomly select any line and tell a fortune from it.
Eventually Miss Hoan softens--although this becomes a necessary plot point for what is to follow--but not before continuing her own plot to humiliate her husband and Kieu by having Kieu wait in them and play music for them together. Miss Hoan finally lets up a bit on p. 99 and grant Kieu's request to become a Nun. Conveniently there is a shrine in the garden that Kieu can be cloistered in, just close enough for Thuc tosneak over to, which he does, all of the time observed by his wife. But the reunion of Thuc and Kieu is quite beautiful and Kieu merely asks his help in her escape. She is willing to forego their own happiness and leave him with Miss Hoan. But alas, Miss Hoan has overheard it all, and Kieu is left no choice but to escape. Like Valjean leaving the Bishop of Digne's house, she takes the silver as she goes.
We next meet the character of Giac Duyen who would make for an interesting paper. I am still not sure what to make of her. A prioress, she instructs Kieu in what nuns are supposed to do and all is well until a pilgrim sees the silver and identifies it as Miss Hoan's . Kieu confesses and Giac asks a neighboring family to provide shelter for Kieu. Alas, "Dame Bac soon proved a colleague of Dame Tu" (109) and Kieu is backin a brothel again. I remain confused by the apparent marriage to Bac Hanh (whose first name means "false") but he is a parallel to Scholar Ma. Indeed the # of times that Kieu is married is a mystery to me. I hear various reports from 2-9 and a textual examination must be aided by more cultural expertise thanI possess. Perhaps some of our students have some answers.
The final line worth mentioning in this section "O Great Potter's Wheel, how you treat womanhood (112) certainly sums up one of the major themes of this work, and reminds me of Maxine Hong Kingston's vignette in CHINA MEN called "On Discovery." So much for
