"The elite Tien Dien men of Hong Linh/ The beautiful Kinh Bac women of Tieu Tuong" - the elite blood of Tien Dien and the elegant, refined soul of Kinh Bac crystallized the poetic genius of Nguyen Du with the immortal masterpiece "Truyen Kieu" famous worldwide .
Nguyen Du's relatives in Kinh Bac
According to genealogy and historical documents, the Great Poet - World Cultural Celebrity Nguyen Du (1765 - 1820) was the 7th son of the Prime Minister - Grand Tutor of Xuan District, Duke Nguyen Nghiem, from Tien Dien, Nghi Xuan, Ha Tinh . Mr. Nguyen Nghiem had 8 wives and 21 children.
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Mr. Tran Van Bot, 97 years old, in Kim Thieu village, Phu Khe ward, introduces the genealogy book of the Tran family. |
Mrs. Tran Thi Tan - Nguyen Du's mother was the third wife of Nguyen Nghiem, daughter of Mr. Tran On, an official in charge of accounting under Nguyen Nghiem. Through field research, analysis and comparison of family genealogies, folklore researcher Nguyen Khac Bao, who has spent more than 30 years collecting and researching about Nguyen Du and Truyen Kieu, said: "In his maternal hometown Kinh Bac - Bac Ninh , in addition to his mother Tran Thi Tan, Nguyen Du also had two stepmothers, a sister-in-law, a sister-in-law, a brother-in-law and a brother-in-law, all of whom were from Kinh Bac."
As explained by researcher Nguyen Khac Bao, after marrying Tran Thi Tan as his third wife, Prime Minister Nguyen Nghiem felt the beauty of the Kinh Bac beauty so he married a fourth wife, Nguyen Thi Xuyen from Hoang Mai commune, Yen Dung (old) and a fifth wife, Nguyen Thi Xuan from Tieu Son (now Hung Phuc residential group, Tam Son ward).
The second brother, who had a different mother from Nguyen Du, Nguyen Dieu married his second wife, Nguyen Thi Nguyen, from Lieu Ngan, Sieu Loai district, Kinh Bac. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Nguyen was the younger sister of the famous Nguyen Gia Thieu - author of "Palace Lament". This couple later gave birth to Nguyen Hanh, also a famous poet of the time, ranked in the "An Nam Ngu Tuyet" along with his uncle Nguyen Du.
Nguyen Du's full brother, Nguyen Uc, married a woman from Phu Dong village, Dong Ngan, Kinh Bac (now Gia Lam, Hanoi). Another half-sister of Nguyen Du also married a man named Vu Trach, from Xuan Lan commune, Luong Tai, Kinh Bac. Notably, Nguyen Du's full sister, Nguyen Thi Dien, was married to Vu Trinh (1759-1828), a descendant of a noble family in Xuan Lan, Luong Tai, Kinh Bac, who was also a famous poet. His brother-in-law, Vu Trinh, had a close relationship with Nguyen Du.
According to the research of writer Pham Thuan Thanh (Provincial Literature and Arts Association): Vu Trinh is the brother-in-law and also one of Nguyen Du's close friends in poetry. Vu Trinh was the first person Nguyen Du asked to read the manuscript and later he left a very clear mark when he commented on the poem "Truyen Kieu" very accurately and deeply. Commenting on "Truyen Kieu", Vu Trinh wrote: "Tears for the past to leave for future generations, that is the lament of Thanh Than. As these few sentences of To Nhu (from sentence 1 to sentence 6) have covered it all."
Thus, the great poet Nguyen Du has a deep connection with the Kinh Bac cultural region. The love and wisdom of his Kinh Bac mother and the living environment of his youth in the North have penetrated deeply into his poetic soul, creating a unique nuance in "Truyen Kieu" which is both passionate, kind, talented and sophisticated. When discussing the influence of Kinh Bac culture in Nguyen Du's poetic soul, researchers all agree that: The character and transcendent literature of the great poet Nguyen Du is the convergence and crystallization of many values. In which, the most prominent are the values of the Kinh Bac cultural region of his mother's homeland and the Lam River - Ha Tinh cultural region of his father's homeland with the elegance and grace of the Thang Long capital where he was born and spent his entire childhood.
Motherland heritage
From the above deep and rich relationship, the Great Poet Nguyen Du and his family left many cultural marks on his homeland Bac Ninh with typical heritages that are still being preserved and maintained. On the occasion of the 260th anniversary of the birth of the Great Poet Nguyen Du (1765-2025), visiting Kim Thieu village in Phu Khe ward, we were able to touch the prestigious Tran family heritage. The Tran family in Kim Thieu was originally a prestigious family with many Confucian scholars, typically the father and son Doctor Tran Ngan Huc (1504-1581) and Doctor Tran Phi Nhon (1549-1623), both of whom were typical names of the ancient Dong Ngan cultural region.
Currently, the Tran family in Kim Thieu village still preserves the temple of the mandarins and many valuable cultural heritages such as ancient documents, worship objects and especially the Tran family genealogy written in Chinese characters, copied in 1894. The genealogy records the family's history from the ancestor to the 14th generation, clearly stating the background of the mandarins, and at the same time providing important information about Mr. Tran On, an official of "Cau Ke", the father of Mrs. Tran Thi Tan, the maternal grandfather of the great poet Nguyen Du. Mr. Tran Van Bot, 97 years old, the 16th generation, who is keeping the genealogy like a treasure, proudly said: "A few years ago, a film crew about Nguyen Du came here, I brought the genealogy out to show them, they really appreciated it".
The temple of the Tran family's Doctors covers an area of about 300 square meters, overlooking the lake in front of the village. On the temple gate are four Chinese characters "Van su giai thanh" meaning everything is successful. Through the gate is a large yard shaded by trees, leading to the three-room front hall restored in 1997. The entire structure has an ancient and solemn appearance, and is the pride of the family's descendants. Mr. Tran Van Tien, Head of Kim Thieu residential group, also a descendant of the Tran family, said: The temple has been ranked as a provincial-level historical and cultural relic since 1998. Currently, the family has about 540 members, not to mention a branch in Kiep Bac (Hai Phong). On every occasion of Tet, the death anniversary of the ancestors, the descendants gather here to burn incense and remember the merits of their ancestors.
Over time, Nguyen Du's poem "Truyen Kieu" still touches people's hearts with its profound love and the absolute beauty of the Vietnamese language. In that cultural flow, Kinh Bac motherland is still a deep source, where the talented soul and outstanding intelligence of the poetic genius arose. Today, dozens of ancient Nom versions of Kieu have been collected, researched and disseminated in the community by Bac Ninh researchers. Other relics and artifacts related to Nguyen Du have also received investment in restoration and embellishment. In particular, in Vo Cuong ward and Kinh Bac ward, there is currently a high school and a street named Nguyen Du as a way to pay tribute and affirm the strong cultural bond between the Great Poet and his motherland Bac Ninh-Kinh Bac.
Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/que-me-kinh-bac-mach-nguon-nuoi-duong-hon-tho-nguyen-du-postid431506.bbg
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