Nguyễn Du
poet · Vietnam · 1766–1820
A Vietnamese poet. In the upheaval of a change of dynasty he moved between office and retirement. He wrote the long verse tale Truyện Kiều, on the life of a woman sold away from her family; it spread so widely that people who could not read knew it by heart.
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early 19th century · The poem was written in chữ Nôm, the Vietnamese character script. This is the spelling of Trương Vĩnh Ký's edition in the Latin alphabet.
Within the hundred years of a human life, how talent and fate do hate each other! Having lived through a time when seas turned to mulberry fields, the things I have seen wring my heart!
Trăm năm, trong cõi người-ta, chữ tài chữ mạng khéo là ghét nhau! Trải qua một cuộc bể dâu, những điều trông thấy đã đau-đớn lòng!
The Tale of Kieu (Truyện Kiều), opening lines · Trương Vĩnh Ký's romanized edition (1911)
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