KIM-VAN-KIEU by Nguyen-Du (1765-1820)
Nguyen Du [1], Our National Poet
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"Nothing better reflects the soul of a nation than its heroes and poets. If the Vietnamese do not all agree in their choice of a national hero, they unanimously consider Nguyen-Du, the author of "Kim-Van-Kieu ", a 3,254 line poem composed in the early 19th century, as their national poet. With this masterpiece, Nguyen-Du consecrated his mother tongue as a poetical language of an extraordinary delicacy, power and richness. He also gave to the soul of his fatherland a sensitive and prestigious mirror in which its eternal image, evolving throughout the centuries and in changing settings, is reflected."[2]
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Nguyen-Du was born in 1765 at the village of Tien-Dien, in the province of Ha-Tinh (now in North Vietnamese territory), the seventh child of a former Prime Minister under the Le dynasty. Several members of his family, including one of his brothers, were noted scholars and mandarins at the Court. At the age of 17, Nguyen-Du himself passed the traditional Chinese-style triennal competitive examination and received the title of "tu-tai", which opened up for him prospects of a bright mandarinal career. At that time, Viet-Nam was going through one of the darkest periods of her history, torn apart, as she now is, by a protracted civil war. It was not, however, an ideological war imposed by one party upon the other- such as is the case in the present conflict - but a war between two rival feudal families.
Since the early 17th century, Viet-Nam had been. partitioned into two parts along the Gianh river (19th parallel), the North under the control of the Trinh, the South under the Nguyen. The two families fought against each other while pledging allegiance to the Le dynasty, which each of them claimed to recognize as the legitimate authority. After fifty years of civil war, marked by intermittent campaigns in both parts of the country, a 100-year truce followed and lasted until 1774. But two years before, in 1772 - Nguyen-Du was then 7 years old - a-local rebellion led by three brothers, Nguyen-Nhac, Nguyen-Lu and Nguyen-Hue from the village of Tay Son, in the present central coastal province of Binh-Dinh, had reached the proportion of a nationwide revolution directed against both rival houses and widely-supported by the poverty- stricken peasants and the newly-emerging small merchant class - Kieu's father belonged to that new class, "he was neither rich nor poor" - tired by war and the exactions of corrupt officials at all levels.
The Tay Son revolt very quickly became fatal to the Nguyen: in 1776, Saigon fell and Nguyen-Anh, the heir to the Nguyen "throne", fled the country and sought refuge in Siam. The Tay Son brothers then turned against the Trinh: Nguyen-Hue, the youngest brother, and one of the most outstanding Vietnamese generals, captured Thang-Long (Hanoi) in 1786 and deposed the Trinh. Nguyen-Hue formally restored the Le dynasty and married the daughter of Emperor Le-Hien-Tong, Princess Ngoc-Han, a famous poetess. Le-Hien-Tong's successor Le-Chieu-Thong, asked the Mandchu rulers for help and a 200,000-man Chinese army invaded VietNam but was routed by Nguyen-Hue in 1789. Le-Chieu-Thong fled to China and it was the end of the Le dynasty. For a few years, the Tay Son were going to be the masters of the whole of Viet-Nam but in 1802 they were in their turn defeated by Nguyen-Anh, supported by France. The rule of the Tay Son was brief but the unity of Viet-Nam which they had shaped survived and was to be strengthened by Nguyen-Anh, who became Emperor Gia Long.
It is necessary to keep in mind this historical and social background in order to understand both Nguyen-Du and his main work, "Kim-Van-Kieu".
One of the first lines of the poem -"Oceans turn to mulberry fields, a desolate scene", was an obvious reference to those upheavals and turmoil's.
Faithful to the Le dynasty, Nguyen-Du and members of his family joined the fight against the Tay Son - although according to certain historians apparently without much conviction - but as he realized that it was of no avail, he refused to co-operate with the new regime and returned to his native village. For several years led a secluded life, hunting, reading, writing and spending long hours walking in the Hong-Linh 99- peak mountain range area.
After the collapse of the Tay Son, Nguyen-Du halfheartedly rallied Emperor Gia-Long - some historians believe that he was "drafted"- and started a brilliant mandarinal career, first as a provincial administrator, then at the Court. 1n 1813 - he was then 48 - he was appointed Can-Chanh (Grand Chancellor of the Empire) and went as Special Envoy to China.
It was during that diplomatic mission that he noticed a Chinese novel entitled "The story of Kim-Van-Kieu ", written by an author under the pen-name of "Thanh-Tam Tai-Nhan" in the 16th or the early 17th century, which he later adapted into his own poem.
On his return to Viet-Nam, Nguyen-Du was promoted Le-Bo huu tam-tri (Vice-Minister of Rites) and in 1820, the first year of the reign of Emperor Minh Mang, on the point of leaving on another Embassy to China, he fell suddenly ill and died at the age of 56.
Doan Truong Tan Thanh
The initial title given by Nguyen-Du to "Kim-Van-Kieu" was "Doan-Truong Tan-Thanh" (New accents of a heart-rending song). It recounts the trials and tribulations of Kieu, a beautiful and talented girl, who had to sacrifice her love and sell herself - she was driven into prostitution - in order to save her father from jail, out of filial piety. According to most literary critics, Nguyen-Du saw in Kieu's life and destiny a sad replica of his own. For him and his family, Gia-Long was after all a "usurper" and serving him was, according to Confucian ethical concepts, an act of disloyalty (that tiet), if not of treason or "moral prostitution ".
During his years at the Court, Nguyen-Du proved an able and honest administrator. But he gave the impression of feeling more at ease among peasants and the common people than among his colleagues. For these, he was a silent and moody man. Some of them saw in his attitude sheer arrogance and aloofness but those who knew him more intimately realized that he bore some secret wound. One day, during a Court session, Emperor Gia-Long himself reproachingly asked him why he usually remained silent while state affairs were being debated: Nguyen sobbed and offered to resign but the Emperor refused.
In a famous two-line verse, Nguyen-Du, who wrote under the pen-name of To-Nhu, in one of his pessimistic moods, wondered whether within three hundred years, there would be "someone, somewhere, who would still remember him with tenderness ".
It was a mere lack of self-confidence on his part, for "Kim-Van-Kieu ", after 150 years, is still the most popular poem in Viet-Nam and the foreigners who know it through translations - although translations are unable to render all its poetical beauty and flavour - readily recognize it as one of the masterpieces of universal literature.
Few are the Vietnamese - whatever their social background - who do not know one or two lines of the poem and some of them even use it as a book of oracles, finding in it, in times of difficulty and stress if not the answer, at least an echo to their own problems.
In "Kim-Van-Kieu" we find the dominant themes of Buddhism.
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[1] Pronounced in the northern dialect: zoo; in the southern dialect : you.
[2] From the introduction to the translation into French of "Kim-Van- Kieu" by Xuan-Phuc and Xuan-Viet, in the "Connaissance de 1'Orient" series, sponsored by UNESCO, Gallimard, Paris, 1961.
Prologue
Four score and two tens, within that short span of human life,
Talent and Destiny are poised in bitter conflict.
Oceans turn to mulberry fields: a desolate scene!
More gifts, less chance, such is the law of Nature
And the blue sky is known to be jealous of rosy cheeks.
Kieu's Family
Pages of fragrant manuscripts turn under the lamplight
And the "Romances of yore "[1] recorded on green tablets,
Recount that, one year, under the reign of Gia Tinh [2] of the Ming dynasty
There lived a craftsman by the name of Vuong.
He was neither rich nor poor.
His youngest child, a son, Vuong Quan, was a scholar, a proud link in the family tradition.
He had two daughters: they were as beautiful as the goddess of the Moon:
Thuy Kieu was the older sister, Thuy Van the younger one.
Both were as graceful as the "mai" flower and as pure as snow.
Each had her own charm, a perfect charm in its way.
Van was endowed with an uncommon poise,
Her face was one of harmonious features adorned with brows of a noble design.
A smile as fresh as a flower gave her a touch of natural distinction, a word she uttered was a precious stone.
Clouds could not shape the graceful fall of her hair and snow was no match for her complexion.
But there was more refinement, more glamour in Kieu's charm
And in wit and culture she outshone her sister.
Her gaze had the deep intensity of an autumn lake,
The curve of her brows was like the dreamful line of mountains in the
spring.
Flowers envied her frail delicacy, willows her green youth.
A smile from her could rock empires and citadels.
Her beauty was exceptional, her talents unrivaled.
Nature had bestowed upon her bountiful gifts:
She was equally well versed in poetry, painting, singing and diction.
The five-scale tone had no secret for her.
She excelled in the playing of the lute
And her favorite piece was her composition, "The cruel fate", a poignant lament.
A fair maiden, she lived behind curtains and screens,
Approaching the age when she would adorn her hair with combs and pins,
[3] Indifferent to the bees and butterflies frolicking at the Eastern wall.
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[1] The Chinese novel on which is based Nguyen Du's Kim-Van-Kieu.
[2] 1522-1566.
[3] Age when girls could marry.
Dear lovers of Vietnamese music
I started out as an itinerant minstrel, at the beginning of a new Vietnamese music (known as âm nhạc cải cách - reformed music - or tân nhạc - modern music), writing songs that were rooted in traditional folk songs. After a career spanning more than half a century, it seems that people recognize me as a songwriter whose music reflects Vietnam, the Vietnamese people and the Vietnamese soul, as well as an artist who always tries to preserve and develop his nation's music.
I am now reaching the end of my life. Having extolled Vietnamese folk songs all my life, I want to end my career with a quintessential Vietnamese work about the Tale of Kiều. I must make clear immediately that I don't have the capability to put to music the more than 3000 lines of exquisite poetry by the great Nguyễn Du. I can only offer four Illustrations of the Tale of Kieu, "Minh Họa Truyện Kiều". To illustrate is to highlight the beauty of the poem, to add color and extent... As an example, whereas Nguyễn Du used only six or eight word lines to describe a scenery or a feeling : Cỏ non xanh ngát chân trời (Green grass extends to the horizon) or Buồn trông cửa bể chiều hôm (In melancholy she looks at the evening estuary), I and my son Duy Cường must use melody and harmony to describe that field of young green grass of spring, or the sadness of Kiều in Ngưng Bích lodge.
Our Illustration Of The Tale Of Kiều will consist of :
A Prologue, introducing the time, place and characters
Part One : Kiều meets Đạm Tiên, her Fate, the fate of all talented but unfortunate persons.
Part Two : Kiều meets Kim Trọng, her Love, but a love unfulfilled.
Part Three : Kiều's family comes to grief. She has to sell herself to save her father, and meets a succession of villains: Mã Giám Sinh (the pimp), Tú Bà (the madam), Sở Khanh (the false lover), Hoạn Thư (the jealous woman) etc.
Part Four : Kiều meets her saviour in Từ Hải, only to cause him to die...
Epilogue : Kiều jumps into the Tiền Đường river. In Đoạn Trường Tân Thanh (The Tale Of Kieu), the nun Giác Duyên will get fishermen to save her life, but in this Musical Illustration, I pose the question : Who would save her ?
From the technical point of view, our effort over the last ten years to introduce polyphony to Vietnamese music is now considered to have reached a satisfactory stage. This is due to the efforts of my son Duy Cường who, over the past two years, has been to Vietnam to sample the sound of almost every national instrument and to apply them to this work. He has also recorded some very ancient poetry intonation techniques to incorporate into this work, together with the sound of traditional national instruments such as the đàn tranh (zither), the đàn nguyệt (moon lute), đàn bầu (monochord) and trống, phách (drums, clappers), as well as western intruments. With this symphonization of ancient intonation and modern singing technique, of traditional and modern instruments, using the extraordinary power of the computer, we invite the listener to travel back 200 years and forward another 200.
Today, because of our limited means, I will present only the Prologue and Part One of the Illustration Of Kiều. The later parts will be presented sooner or later depending on our financial resources. The work will be sung by Ái Vân, Thái Hiền, Thái Thảo, Duy Quang and Tuấn Ngọc.The intonation of the poetry will be by Thanh Ngoan (Hà Nội) and Ái Vân (San Jose).
As we all know, the genius of Nguyễn Du in Kim Vân Kiều was in his story telling, his description of people, sceneries and feelings by means of short, condensed lines of verse. Our Minh Họa Truyện Kiều (Illustrations of the Tale of Kieu) uses music for these story telling and descriptive purposes.
Part One
(Poem by Nguyễn Du)
Adaptation by Phạm Duy and Duy Cường
Prologue
Under The Reign of Gia Tĩnh
Kieu Meets Dam Tien
Like A Shuttling Swallow The Days Of Spring Pass
Thanh Minh Festival Time in the Third Moon
Up On The Mounds They Go
A Small Mound Lies Alongside The Path
How Painful A Woman's Fate
An Area Of Faded Grass In The Setting Sun
How Often Do Kindred Spirits Meet
On The Tree She Traced Another Poem In The Ancient Style
Unwilling To Stay Or To GoHome
Young Vuong Greets An Acquaintance
Love Is Born But Remains Shy
* * *
* The first movement starts with the gently rhythms of the trip to the Spring Festival, then rolling up like a brittle laugh, expressing the springtime of Kieu's life.
* The second movement is the quandary of Kieu about her fate, expressing her first premonition for her life after meeting with the ghost Dam Tien.
* The third movement comes back to the first theme, joyfull, eloquent when Kim Trong appears at the end of the spring trip.
In The Tale Of Kieu by Nguyen Du, this Part One can be the only part one can find the total happiness of Kieu.
We have tried to translate it into music.
We hope you enjoy it. Thank you.
Minh Họa Truyện Kiều (Illustrations of the Tale of Kieu) consists of four parts.
Part One : Kieu meets the ghost of the songstress Đạm Tiên, symbol of her destiny and that of all talented but ill-fated people.
Part Two : Kieu meets Kim Trọng, a love that is to remain unfulfilled.
From the moment they met and started to long for each other, then look for each other and declare their mutual love, these lovers were not allowed by the author to hold each other's hands, sit shoulder to shoulder or embrace each other. It was really difficult for me to express this love in music. All I could do is to concentrate on describing Kieu's talent as she played for Kim Trọng. The four pieces which she played were known only by their titles : Hán Sở Chiến Trường (Battle between the Han and So armies), Tư Mã Phượng Cầu, Kê Khang Và Khúc Quảng Lăng, Chiêu Quân, so I had to re-create this music with the able assistance of Duy Cường.
Therefore Part Two is not descriptive of scenery or feelings but merely evocative of these.
Part Two
(Poem by Nguyễn Du)
Adaptation by Phạm Duy and Duy Cường
The musical structure of Part Two consists of three sections or movements :
* The first movement expresses the longing and second meeting of Kim Trọng and Kieu.
* The second movement is their declaration of love and especially the revelation of her talent through the four pieces of music.
* The third movement comes back to the first theme, still passionate but with a bitter taste, as they must part.
The opening song is Người Đâu Gặp Gỡ Làm Chi (What Chance Brought You to Me), which is a duet, since not only Kim but Kieu also were remembering the other person and the scenery at their meeting.
What Chance Brought You to Me
Like a Veil the Willow Leaves
A Peaceful Day
On hearing Kim Trọng declare his love, Kieu at first hid her feelings behind a well-worn phrase: a girl's fate is decided by her parents. But she finally succumbs to her words and they exchanged gifts: a silk turban, a golden hairpin, and pledges to give their lives to each other.
Suddenly there was the noise of people coming. They parted as petals and leaves start to fall in the garden. Petals floating, leaves falling...
The Pearl Has Found Its Owner
Only the Stone Knows the Age of the Gold
Song No.6 : Hán Sở Tranh Hùng (Battle between the Han and So Armies) is the first of four pieces whose titles were mentioned by Nguyễn Du.
In this song, in addition to the description of battle scenes, beautifully realized by Duy Cường, I incorporated Nguyễn Du's philosophical thoughts in response to the dangers of war :
As war comes and goes
The victims' bones pile up as high as the sky
I also mentions the saying "A general's triumph is made of ten thousand dried up skeletons" and use the story of Trương Lương's flute to enhance the piece of music.
Battle between the Han and So Armies
Tu Ma Phuong Cau
Ke Khang
Chieu Quan
Increasing Passion
Still There The Moon That Witnessed Our Pledge
As we all know, Nguyễn Du's poetry is extremely concise yet rich in meaning. In a six-eight syllable couplet, many different moods may appear. In an ordinary modern song, the songwriter only has to express one or two moods depending on the feeling of the song. When putting Nguyễn Du's verses to music, we had to make use of many elements to create different moods : ancient recitative style, the sound of traditional instruments such as đàn tranh (zither), đàn nguyệt (moon lute), đàn bầu (Vietnamese monochord) in addition to western instruments, harmonization and orchestration by Duy Cường in addition to the melody and structure of Phạm Duy. All these elements combine to re-create the moods required by the Tale of Kieu. We are very happy to have contributed to the continued enrichment of Vietnamese music. We will be happier still if you know more about the technical aspects to gain a fuller enjoyment of the piece. Thank you for listening.
Chương Trình Lưu Diễn