A proposal for the celebration of Vietnamese poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu’s 200th birth anniversary is expected to be adopted at a session of the UNESCO General Assembly that will be held in November, said Prof. Dr. Nguyen Chi Ben.
Luc Van Tien (The Tale of Luc Van Tien) is a famous epic poem by Nguyen Dinh Chieu.
Nguyen Dinh Chieu (1822-1888) was not only a Vietnamese poet who was known for his nationalist and anti-colonial writings against the French colonization of Cochinchina, an exemplary teacher, but also a popular medical practitioner. He is a typical example for people with disabilities around the world. Despite the blindness, he studied Confucianism and Oriental medicine from relatives.
The main work of Luc Van Tien (The Tale of Luc Van Tien) is an epic poem by Nguyen Dinh Chieu written in nom (the old Chinese-based Vietnamese script) in the 1850s. It is regarded as one of the two most recognizable and influential epic poems in Vietnamese history, including Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) by great poet Nguyen Du and Luc Van Tien.
His poems tell about the people’s worries in the wartime, their war injuries and losses.
French linguist, G.Aubaret, a naval officer said that Luc Van Tien (The Tale of Luc Van Tien) contains love and inspiration that have not found in Chinese spirit.
So far, UNESCO has celebarted birth anniversaries of Vietnamese famous personalities, namely President Ho Chi Minh, educator Chu Van An, and great poets Nguyen Du, Nguyen Trai and Nguyen Dinh Chieu.
By Mai An – Translated by Kim Kha
