Nguyễn Du (; 3 January 1766 – 16 September 1820),

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s Tố Như () and Thanh Hiên (), is a celebrated Vietnamese poet. He is most known for writing the epic poem ''

The Tale of Kiều ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''.

Biography

Youth

Nguyễn Du was born in a great wealthy family in 1765 in Bích Câu,

Thăng Long Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

. His father's name is Nguyễn Nghiễm, who was born in Tiên Điền village, Nghi Xuân, Hà Tĩnh, Vietnam. He was the seventh child of Nguyễn Nghiễm, a former prime minister under the

Lê dynasty The Lê dynasty, also known as Later Lê dynasty ( vi, Hậu Lê triều, chữ Hán: 後黎朝 or vi, nhà Hậu Lê, link=no, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), was the longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, ruling Đại Việt from 1428 to 1789. The Lê ...

. By the age of 10, Nguyễn lost his father, he also lost his mother at age 13, so for most of his teen years he lived with his brother Nguyễn Khản or with his brother-in-law Đoàn Nguyễn Tuấn. At the age of 19 (some sources say 17), Nguyễn passed the provincial examination and received the title of "tú tài" (Bachelor's degree), which made him (very roughly) the equivalent of a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

graduate. However, in Nguyễn Du's time this was a far more difficult credential to obtain both because few people were affluent enough to devote themselves to study and because of exacting standards applied. Nguyễn's mother was his father's third wife, noted for her ability at singing and composing poetry. In fact, she made her living by singing, which at that time was considered a disreputable occupation. It is said that Nguyễn may have inherited a part of his talents from his mother. He loved listening to traditional songs; and there was a rumor that, when he was 18, he himself eloped with a songstress.

Adulthood

After passing the provincial exam, he was appointed to the position of a military advisor in the Royal (Trịnh) army. After the

Trịnh lords The Trịnh lords ( vi, Chúa Trịnh; Chữ Nôm: 主鄭; 1545–1787), formal title Trịnh Viceroy (; ), also known as Trịnh clan (鄭氏, ''Trịnh thị'') or the House of Trịnh, were a noble feudal clan who de facto ruled Northern Viet ...

were defeated in 1786 by

Nguyễn Huệ Emperor Quang Trung ( vi-hantu, 光中, 1753 – 16 September 1792) or Nguyễn Huệ ( vi-hantu, 阮惠), also known as Nguyễn Quang Bình ( vi-hantu, 阮光平), was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1788 until 17 ...

(the second youngest, most able and popular of the three Tây Sơn brothers), Nguyễn Du refused to serve in the Tây Sơn administration. He was arrested and held for some time before moving back to his native village in the north of the country. When

Nguyễn Ánh Gia Long ( (''North''), ('' South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unif ...

defeated the Tây Sơn and took control over all of Vietnam in 1802, Nguyễn Du agreed to serve in his administration (many mandarins from the north refused to do this as it was widely felt that a mandarin should only serve one dynasty). At first he was given his old post of military advisor but after a decade he was promoted to ambassador to China (1813). While in China, he discovered and translated the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

era tale that would become the basis for the ''Tale of Kieu''. He was later appointed to two more diplomatic missions to

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, but before he could depart for the last one, he died of a long illness for which he refused treatment. Nguyễn's father had been a minister under the

, and his family had benefited greatly under their rule. For most of his life, Nguyễn Du was haunted by what he felt was his own betrayal of the rightful rulers of Vietnam, which occurred when he accepted a post under the Nguyễns.

''The Tale of Kiều''

'' (Vietnamese ''Truyện Kiều'') was based on an earlier Chinese prose narrative, ''Kim Vân Kiều''. It was written under a pen-name as the story was quite critical of the basic tenets of Confucian morality. It is a tragic tale of two lovers forced apart by the girl's loyalty to her

family honor Family honor (or honour) is an abstract concept involving the perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects the social standing and the self-evaluation of a group of related people, both corporately and individually. The famil ...

. In Vietnam, the poem is so popular and beloved that some people know the whole epic by heart and can recite it without a mistake.

Other works

*''Thanh Hiên thi tập'' ( Poems of Thanh Hiên) *''Nam Trung Tạp Ngâm'' ( Various Poems Made in the South) *''Bắc Hành Tạp Lục'' ( Various Records during the Travel to the North) *''Văn tế thập loại chúng sinh''

Modern depiction

* Portrayed by Quách Ngọc Ngoan in the 2010 movie '' The Musician at the Dragon Citadel''.

Sources

*''Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals prior to the 20th Century'' (essay by the Vietnamese historian Nguyen Khac Vien) published by The Gioi Publishers, 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen Du 1766 births 1820 deaths People from Hà Tĩnh province 19th-century Vietnamese poets Vietnamese male poets 19th-century male writers Nguyễn dynasty writers Tây Sơn dynasty writers Epic poets