On the afternoon of November 22, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Tinh coordinated with the Fund for Preservation and Promotion of the Heritage Values of Nguyen Du and The Tale of Kieu to organize a scientific seminar on "Translating The Tale of Kieu".
Attending the seminar were Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Nguyet; scholars, scientists, professors, doctors, researchers, poets, writers at home and abroad, and members of the Vietnam Kieu Studies Association in Ha Tinh .
Professor, Doctor Tran Nho Thin ( Hanoi National University), Mr. Ha Van Thach - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Preservation and Promotion of the Heritage Values of Nguyen Du and Truyen Kieu; Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Cong Thanh co-chaired the discussion.
Introducing the discussion, Mr. Ha Van Thach - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Preservation and Promotion of the Heritage Values of Nguyen Du and the Tale of Kieu emphasized: Translating the Tale of Kieu is an arduous but meaningful journey. Each translation, whether complete or incomplete, is a gateway to spread the Tale of Kieu to international readers, connecting Vietnamese literature and culture and integrating with world culture, contributing to brightening the humanistic values and great thoughts of the Great Poet Nguyen Du.
To date, The Tale of Kieu has been translated into about 20 languages with nearly 80 different translations, of which languages such as English, French, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean have the most versions.
At the seminar, domestic and international scholars and translators exchanged and shared experiences and methods of conveying the subtle beauty of lục bát poetry, and discussed new research directions to further spread the value of Truyện Kiều in the context of globalization.
In particular, Professor John Stauffer (former Acting Dean of the English Department at Harvard University - USA), Professor Paul Hoover (former Acting Dean of the Creative Writing Department at San Francisco University - USA) and poet and translator Nguyen Do - members of the project to translate the Tale of Kieu into a new English version, shared their journey of "translating to revive" in English. The goal is to preserve the multi-layered beauty, musicality and Vietnamese spirit of the masterpiece by the great poet Nguyen Du in the contemporary English space.
Translator Nguyen Do believes that Truyen Kieu is “the pinnacle of difficult-to-translate language”. To reach the soul of Kieu’s poetry, the translator must be imbued with Nom script – ancient Vietnamese, have a poetic sense and refined English – American skills. AI can translate meaning, but cannot translate poetry. Without life experience, without emotion, the tool will not be able to recreate the spirit of the work.
The scientific seminar “Translating the Tale of Kieu” is considered a meaningful activity in the series of events commemorating the 260th birthday of the world cultural celebrity – Great poet Nguyen Du (1765–2025) and the 205th anniversary of his death. The event not only pays tribute to the Great Poet, but also affirms the enduring vitality and global value of the Tale of Kieu, a bright pearl in the treasure trove of Vietnamese literature, contributing to promoting the image of the country and people of Vietnam to international friends.
Previously, at the special national relic Nguyen Du Memorial Site, delegates came to offer flowers and incense at the tomb and shrine of the Great Poet, commemorating his great contributions to the nation as well as Vietnamese and world literature.
Source: https://baohatinh.vn/dich-truyen-kieu-lan-toa-gia-tri-kiet-tac-van-hoc-viet-nam-ra-the-gioi-post299831.html
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