Poet Che Lan Vien "met" Nguyen Du in Quang Binh

(QBĐT) - Poet Che Lan Vien's real name is Phan Ngoc Hoan (born 1920), in Cam Lo, Quang Tri; studied and became famous in Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh with the poetry collection "Dieu tan" when he was only 17 years old. He is one of the most admired contemporary poets. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Nguyen Du's birth (1765-1965), he had a field trip to Quang Binh and one of the famous poems he composed during this field trip was "Sending Kieu to You in the Year of the American War".

In 1965, the American invaders escalated the bombardment of the North Central region extremely fiercely. When the poet passed through Nghe-Tinh, “Flarers were lit on Nguyen’s house” and “Bombs cut off Vinh ferry at both ends”. The author said to “you” - the lyrical subject in the poem:

He went to Nguyen's house.

not long

Remember Nguyen, look up

Hong Linh like that

Why do we remember Nguyen Du, the author of “ looking up at Hong Linh” ? There are three reasons: First, because Hong Linh is the hometown of the Great Poet, second, because Hong Linh appears quite a lot in “ Thanh Hien Thi Tap ” and “ Nam Trung Tap Ngam ” (two collections of Chinese poems by Nguyen Du), third, because among the 99 peaks of Hong Mountain, the Great Poet Nguyen Du is the highest peak (poetry idea of Nguyen Hanh - Nguyen Du's nephew).

Having just set foot in Quang Binh, the thing that surprised poet Che Lan Vien the most was:

Who would have thought the white sand dunes

green tree

Meet Nguyen here on

Quang Binh land

Land of Fire

seventh grade boy

Reciting Kieu again after a while

the fight

Passing through Nghe-Tinh, the poet “remembered Nguyen”, but when he arrived in Quang Binh, he truly “met Nguyen”. Because, although Quang Binh was not the hometown of the Great Poet, the people of Quang Binh were very fond of the Tale of Kieu. At that time, Quang Binh was having a movement called “Singing over the sound of bombs”. The soldiers and people of Quang Binh not only sang but also read, recited poems, performed plays… The optimistic and life-loving atmosphere spread throughout the villages.

Poet Che Lan Vien. Photo: Document — Poet Che Lan Vien. *Photo:* **Document**

The “seventh grade boys” in Quang Binh at that time included “a generation from the sky”, including: Hoang Vu Thuat, Le Xuan Do, Hai Ky, Ngo Minh, Do Hoang, Ly Hoai Xuan, Le Dinh Ty, Hong The… and the next class, including: Hoang Hieu Nhan, Nguyen Huu Quy, Tran Quang Dao, Thai Sac, Mai Nam Thang… They recited hundreds of verses of Kieu. Outside of school hours, the teenagers also participated in supplying food, water, cakes, and ammunition to gunners at air defense positions. Therefore, the sentence: The land of fire, the seventh grade boys/Recited Kieu again after a battle , even if the author made it up, was based on reality.

Not only the young, but also the middle-aged like Suot's mother are very fond of Kieu:

The night of victory over Bao Ninh,

Suot's mother recited Kieu

Mother dare not forget the time

poverty

Someone's house quoted Kieu, the sentence

gain, loss

Mother hiding under the coconut tree, tears

follow

This proves that Quang Binh people have loved the Tale of Kieu from generation to generation. “The time of poverty” is the time when Suot’s mother “Grew up and went to four other people’s houses/Twelve and one years of spring passed ” (To Huu). Mother cried for Kieu’s fate and also cried for her own miserable fate. Because “Poetry is a soul melody that seeks out kindred souls” (To Huu). In ancient times, someone’s house in Bao Ninh already knew how to recite Kieu. Quang Binh people not only knew Kieu, recited Kieu, recited Kieu but also learned Kieu, sang Kieu, guessed Kieu, told Kieu fortunes… Teacher Hoang Hieu Nghia in Quang Hoa commune (Ba Don town) summarized that in a 200-page book titled “Happy with the Tale of Kieu” (Thuan Hoa Publishing House, 2018).

There is an old lady in Thanh Trach commune, Bo Trach (the aunt of writer Hoang Binh Trong) who reads the Tale of Kieu backwards without looking at the book. Writer Hoang Binh Trong wrote a short story using her as a prototype. Professor, PhD Nguyen Dinh Cong (from Quang Phong, Ba Don town) thanks to mastering the secret of reading the Tale of Kieu backwards from the short story by writer Hoang Binh Trong won the special prize in the "Reciting the Tale of Kieu" contest organized by the Vietnam Kieu Studies Association in Hanoi in 2020. There are also few localities in the country that have as many Kieu singing clubs as in Quang Binh, such as: Kieu Phap Ke Singing Club, Kieu Lam Lang Singing Club, Kieu Quang Phuong Singing Club...

The author of Sending Kieu to You in the Year of Fighting the Americans not only met Nguyen Du through the people of Quang Binh but also met Nguyen Du through the natural scenery of Quang Binh. That is the “ white sand dunes ”; that is “ Whose boat is looming ”; that is “ Nhat Le long river ”… that Nguyen Du had seen during his four years as a Quang Binh governor and recreated through the lines: “ Golden sand dunes ”, “ Whose boat is looming with its sails in the distance”, “The roar of the waves around the chair”, “The citadel is built with blue smoke, the mountains are exposed to golden light ”…

In his writing career, poet Che Lan Vien wrote about 40 poems about Nguyen Du and the Tale of Kieu with extremely profound thoughts. But it can be affirmed that the poem Sending Kieu to You in the Year of the American War is the most impressive one. It was not until he came to Quang Binh during the days of bombs and bullets that the poet could fully feel the intense vitality of the Tale of Kieu. The author realized that:

Four sides of rice fields and thatched roofs

bamboo bank

The battlefield lies far away

in the countryside...

National poetry mixed with brown color

rustic

So the Kieu verse echoes,

they still listen

New author discovered:

Nguyen's poem also contributed

anti-American part

An oar in the fire of bullets