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Research on the National History Text - 13


Obviously through the above examples we see that the language in QSDB is much more lively and flexible than in ĐNTL , the work is not confined to a certain pattern, the author has recorded history with all his talent and emotion. Of course, due to the "translation" nature, the work has included details of high literary value that ĐNTL could not do. This further clarifies the literary and linguistic values ​​that QSDB brings.

The poetry section in QSDB not only has literary value but also has value for those who want to learn about poetry and poetic language in historical works - an issue that is rarely included by historians. Thanks to poetry, the stiffness in describing characters and events in the work becomes more attractive and appealing. For example, when recounting the story of Nguyen Dang So going to China to ask for help from the Qing Dynasty but was not received, on the way back he was sad and recited a poem:

萍 梗 此 身 曾 履 歷, 桑 愴 底 局 幾 推 栘.

(The stubbornness of this body is a matter of history, the vicissitudes of life are a matter of time).

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Meaning:

This body is like floating foam, The world is full of sorrow and change.

Research on the National History Text - 13

Or when telling the story of the district magistrate in Nghi Duong who was imprisoned for not paying taxes and had his legs tied by soldiers at the ministry, he wrote the following verses:

昔 日 坐 試 場, 今 日 坐 糧 場, 試 場 嫌 日 短,


The old man was very angry.


(Every day I sit on the field of practice, Today I sit on the field of food, Practice is afraid the day is short,

The salary is long and the hate is long. Meaning:

In the past, I sat at the examination hall, Now I sit at the tax office. In the examination hall, I worried about the short days, In the tax office, I hated the long days.

Or the event when the king sent Marquis Hoa Dinh Nguyen Cat to the Qing Dynasty as an envoy to report the victory and ask for a royal decree. When he arrived at Da Mien Street (馱âm

Đà佗,棉âm miền綿), met the Tay Son Wei envoy Nguyen Dang So who was released and returned from Jiangxi [China]. The two sides talked and recited poems. Nguyen Cat responded with poems. There is a verse that says:

Away from home, my soul is like a dream, The beauty of my homeland has not changed.

Mean:

The man is in a foreign land, his soul is like a dream, The old country and old scenery have not changed.

Poetry translation:

Far from home, the traveler's soul is like a dream. The old country and old scenery are still the same.


Because QSDB was not under the pressure of a historian working under the control of the court, the writing style was somewhat more liberal than that of ĐNTL . Poetry and parallel sentences were included when describing events, further increasing the appeal of the story. For example: Doan Trac went to Trac Chau land just in time to meet his father Doan Huu waiting for the embassy. Father and son were extremely happy to meet each other. There is a saying:

Each person has his own talent and ability. When he sees the sutra, who do you call out to?

Mean:

Just heard the news and kept saying people lied to me,

When we met again, I was surprised and asked, "Who are you?"

Or like the poems that can only be known by collecting from the masses: The students have a saying:

One pass and three passes, ten years of fire, half a year of deduction.

Mean:

One official in money, three officials in bribes, Ten years of studying, half a year of paying taxes.

Writing about Pham Quy Thich, Phan Thuc Truc recorded in his history the verses that Pham Quy Thich used to express his feelings such as: During his time working at the Imperial Academy, he only thought about asking to return home. He had a verse that said:

This body is enlightened by literature, Who wants to be enlightened by literature?

Mean:


This body has been corrupted by literature,

Who else wants to use literature to make mistakes?

There are two more verses:

The public has a firm stance, the saints are extremely shameless.

Mean:

The lucky ones get to carry peaches and plums, The saints' lives are vast and wasteful with rice and money.

There are two more verses as follows:

The tears of the Northern city are now ripe, the tears of the Southern city are now ripe, night after night the people are busy. (Nguyen Quoc Bao)

Mean:

The lychees in the Northern citadel are ripe now. In the quiet night in the Southern citadel, the Ba Lao bird is calling.

Or a series of poems by Doan Huu about himself, Doan Huu's funeral oration to King Le, the poem mourning Le Hau... all were fully recorded by Phan Thuc Truc. Although this can cause readers to lose track of historical events, it gives readers quite surprising and interesting experiences that are rare in history books.

4. Some limitations

Phan Thuc Truc died in his prime when his career and future were at their most brilliant. His sudden passing put an end to the work he was pursuing, wanting to compile a history book himself to supplement the


The National History could not be as complete as he wished. The QSDB , as assessed by scholar Tran Kinh Hoa, "occupies the most important position among the historical records under the Nguyen Dynasty", but it is still an unfinished history, even though it was later edited and revised by Phan's descendants.

Following the way QSDB is transcribed, we can see that in some places the events are reversed, the following month is copied to the previous month and vice versa, for example, on page 24b in the lower volume, April and May are reversed, or on page 26a, the months are copied in order such as July, leap month, September, June, October. Sometimes there are also comments or footnotes by the author or comments of the author himself expressed indirectly through the footnotes, in addition, the history book also has many errors in historical materials that cause doubts when used.

For example, on Canh Thin day, October 12, winter [1807], six Huong examination schools were opened, which were Thua Thien, Nghe An, Son Nam, Hoai Duc, Kinh Bac ( QSDB , T.Thuong, page 56a). However, comparing with DNTL , it is recorded: "The regulation for Huong examinations was: Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Kinh Bac, Son Tay, Son Nam Thuong, Hai Duong, a total of six schools". Thus, if according to the records in DNTL , then even in the regulations for establishing examination schools, there was no Thua Thien school. It is possible that when the examination schools were opened, there was Thua Thien school, but when the official decision was made on where to take the exams, Thua Thien was not there; or it is possible that Thua Thien combined the exams with Nghe An, like the case in QSDB where Hoai Duc examination school was recorded, but DNTL book recorded Son Tay school and clearly stated that Son Tay school included Son Tay, Hoai Duc, Tuyen Quang and Hung Hoa exams together ( DNTL , TI, page 702).

Whether or not there is a Thua Thien examination school is very important because it is related to when the Huong examination is unified nationwide (meaning that candidates from Nghe An to the South will also take the exam). After reviewing the numbers


The person who passed the provincial examination that time (recorded right in QSDB ), indeed, did not have Thua Thien school. This is the author's mistake, and it could also be the copyist's mistake. In any case, it makes us have to be careful, checking and comparing carefully with other historical documents when wanting to use the information provided by QSDB .

Or there are also some cases (not sure if it is a copy or the original) where the large text continues to the small text, causing misunderstandings about the original note. For example, on page 35a, T. Ha, after the line "Giai tau ngu tinh", there is a small text "lang Thien Duc giang lenh khuc xu boi truc chi". Wei Tuan wrote: "Thien Duc giang trinh bat tri ki thien truong, kim lenh truc ky khuc, hai dan vo cuc. Su nai chi". According to the context, we believe that the small text is a continuation of the main text talking about the content of Nguyen Dang Giai's petition, not a note. The original text of the whole paragraph is "Giai tau asks the king to let the five provinces open the Thien Duc river, straighten the winding sections of the river. Wei Tuan advised: "Thien Duc river is countless thousands of truong long, now requesting to straighten the winding sections of the river, will harm the people. Therefore, the work must be stopped".

Another limitation of QSDB is the uneven distribution of events. In the early years, the author recorded very carefully, but later on, the number of events decreased, and the events recorded in the last months were sketchy, for example, the event recorded in September 1836, page 145a, "On the 9th day of the 9th month (the hour of Mao), there were 3 bands of yellow gas rising from the southeast, after an hour it turned into black clouds and then rained", or April 1837, page 160b, it was written "April, summer, forbid foundries and embroiderers from working for bandits", even in some years the author omitted to record consecutive months, mainly intercalary months. This makes it difficult for readers to grasp the progression of events through the months.

5. Summary:


Besides the inevitable limitations of a private history book, written in a short time, we must admit that QSDB is a special history book. First of all, it is the only history book under the Nguyen Dynasty that records events that the National History Book, for some subjective or objective reasons, did not include, helping to clarify the economic, political, and social situation of the country in the early years of the Nguyen Dynasty. And what is more special is that the history book recorded characters and events in the form of a Record (a literary form that truthfully records the truth of events, without using allusions, historical references, literary techniques such as metaphors, comparisons, etc.), making readers feel that the past appears realistic and vivid. Going deeper into the value of QSDB, we appreciate more and more the talent and personality of Phan Thuc Truc.


CONCLUDE

Within the scope of the thesis, we have raised and resolved issues related to the QSDB text , first of all, the background and creative career of Phan Thuc Truc, through which we understand his thoughts and personality, that is, a man of integrity, always attached to and deeply sympathetic to the working people. Next, issues related to the reproduction of the work are also clarified. Through comparison, the thesis has shown that the QSDB version printed in Hong Kong still has many errors in the creation of the Chinese version from the original QSDB , A.1045/1-2 (VHN). The issue of the time of birth of the history book is also carefully considered and proves that the assessment of the time of completion of the history book around the Tu Duc era from 1851-1852 by previous authors is correct. By analyzing in depth the content of the sections Tham bo, Phu thu, Ngoai truyen... with the main text of the history and the content of Tran Le Ngoai truyen , the author of the thesis has convincingly clarified the opinion of a recent researcher that QSDB is not related to Tran Le Ngoai truyen . The thesis also clarifies the intention and viewpoint of compiling QSDB by author Phan Thuc Truc. As stated by previous researchers, QSDB is truly a "trusted history" worthy of respect. The basic values ​​of QSDB in terms of history and literature are also clarified by the author of the thesis. In terms of historical value, this is a history compiled in an objective spirit, respecting the truth, so the events it publishes are of high value, and at the same time it helps supplement the National History with events that for some reason were not published. Regarding literary value, based on the analysis of Phan Thuc Truc's skillful writing style in using the literary genre of Chronicle to build characters and record events, this helps us understand that Phan Thuc Truc is not only a true historian but also a talented writer in the use of language.

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