Tran Than Tu's School of Poetry, According to Phuong Dinh's Rhyme, Part 1 (Tran Than Tu's School of Poetry, According to Phuong Dinh's Rhyme, Part 1)

"If one can grasp and has the ability, then when it is expressed in worrying about current events and in arranging peace, there is nothing that is more than what is full inside overflowing to the outside." [224, p.77]

Tran Danh Lam, a Confucian scholar of the same period as Le Quy Don, when writing the preface to the book Van Dai Loai Ngu , also praised the ability to perceive, reflect and generalize the moral principles of writers:

“In the space between heaven and earth, there is inherently a principle. That principle is boundless. Its essence is very subtle. Its function is very obvious. Only the sages and gentlemen can fully understand it and then further develop it through words in books: the spirit is retained there, the rules are retained there, it is not a careless matter” [224, p.79].

Talent includes many aspects, including academic talent "governing the country and saving the world" and artistic talent. Literature in the 18th and 19th centuries emphasized a new meaning in the word talent . "Talent" was often praised in literature in the early and mid-periods as academic talent, "governing the country and saving the world", "knowing the king and serving the people". That talent is associated with the citizen and the desire to serve. However, in the late period, a new type of Confucian scholar appeared. Tran Dinh Huou proposed using the concept of talented Confucian scholar to refer to Confucian scholars with "talented" and "amorous" behavior. Indeed, in the contemporary literary world, talented literature raised concerns about literature being pushed away from its moral roots. Ngo Thi Chi once lamented:

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“I often regret the learning of our ancestors, drifting among talented people so it cannot be a model for Confucian scholars. [...]. Generally speaking, literature is the lineage of reason, reason is the origin of literature, so when the origin is blocked, the lineage is separated, that is the disease of writers.” ( Commentary on the poem Dream of Heaven ) [224, p.151]

Confucian scholars classified as talented such as Nguyen Du, Pham Quy Thich, Cao Ba Quat... emphasized the word "talent" which implies talent in the field of art.

“Hoa” (華) means “beauty”, so talent must be a talent related to activities.

creative activity is inclined towards beauty. Poetry, music, dance, all form a performance of beauty on the great human stage. Artistic talent must be

asserted as a separate category, separate from learning and morality. That is the new requirement of literature in the late period. Pham Nguyen Du bravely refuted the mistake of equating talent with morality of the saint:

“Poetry is a talent, but the sage puts talent in the category of the path of virtue and benevolence. So can talent be lacking? The ancient sages were full of morality and benevolence, but there were still some who were not full of talent . ” ( Afterword to the Collection of Poetry of the Dark Chapter ) [224, p.162]

He emphasized natural talent, which creates the ability to create art: “Talent mostly arises from innate talent”, it is “the brilliance of natural talent” [224, p.162]. Ngo Thi Si opposed the idea that education determines poetic talent. On the contrary, he proved that personal qualities create the quality of poetry:

“Once upon a time, there was a craftsman who used an axe to scrape off the mud on his nose. The mud was gone but his nose was not scratched. The craftsman said: I can teach others that but I cannot teach my own children. So my brother who is good at poetry is because he understands things beyond what his father taught him on a daily basis, and he also gathers a deep and loyal sentiment that a superficial scholar cannot know the limits of.” ( Preface to My Dinh Poetry Collection ) [224, p.133]

Talent is innate, that concept is very meaningful to the process of literature because it marks the shift from " rule aesthetics " to " genius aesthetics ". Pham Nguyen Du's opinion makes us think of I. Kant's theory. The German philosopher said that "fine art is the art of innate talent " ( Critique of Judgment ). He defined: "Genie is the talent (Talent) (endowed by Nature) [to] bring rules to art" [93, p.264]. Innate talent "creates something that no certain rule can bring to it and is not a quality of ingenuity for something that can be learned based on a certain rule; therefore, originality or originality must be its first characteristic" [93, p.265]. Thus, the journey of liberating personality and respecting the creativity of poetry begins with the recognition of the artistic innateness in creation.

According to that tendency to emphasize the individual ego, "love" becomes the most important quality of the creator:

“Only the sage can forget love, the fool does not understand love. So where does love focus? It focuses on us. Therefore, all people who have little love are talentless, half-blind and half-enlightened, living and dying in the circle of clothes and hats, in a life of fullness and drunkenness. Even if they encounter elegant scenes like fragrant flowers in the morning, bright moon at night, they are still as indifferent as trees and grass, like fish and birds!” ( Preface to The New Tale of Broken Hearts – Owner of Mong Lien Duong) [224, p.224]

Ngo Thi Si praised Bach Cu Di for having three typical qualities of a master of poetry: the ability to capture the spirit of all things, having broad knowledge and being passionate:

The things are difficult to describe, but the Hao Duan is the whole development. I have already planned it,

Love is difficult.

(The state of all things is difficult to describe,

But all shine under his pen. The expansion of knowledge is unmatched,

The habit of being flirtatious is also easy to match!)

( Fifty-four rhymes of the Bach family's poetry collection ) [184, pp.228 and 231]

Among all genres, “nothing has the ability to excite and move people the most than poetry” ( Preface to the collection of poems Tinh Sa Ky Hanh – Ngo Thi Nham) [224, p.141]. Poetry, according to the orthodox concept, originates from “will”:

“All poetry is to express one's will. In the heart is the will, and when it comes out, it is poetry.” ( Preface to “The Clear Mind and the Collection of Poetry” – Trinh Sam) [224, p.158]

In Van tam dieu long , discussing poetry, Luu Hiep once said: "Therefore, in the heart it is called ambition, when expressed in words it is called poetry" [74, p.149]. Emphasizing "ambition" is a characteristic throughout ten centuries of medieval literature. However, besides "ambition", authors of the 18th and 19th centuries also paid attention to "feelings". Le Quy Don affirmed: "I often think that poetry has three main things: one is emotion , two is scene, three is matter" ( Van Dai Loai Ngu ).

[46, p.252]. Some Confucian scholars raised similar views. Bui Duong Lich in the Preface placed after the poetry collection Thu Duong Luc wrote: “If we say that love gives birth to ideas, ideas give birth to words, and this gives birth to that, it is the same, there is no need to discuss this further” [224, p.178], or Le Dinh Dien, discussing poetry and music, also said: “ Love vibrates and produces sound, people have sound and then have poetry” [224, p.252].

Literature that focuses on “ambition” is directed towards the inner self of a gentleman, of a saint, concerned with sublime morality, ethics, and politics, and lacking attention to everyday, common things. Through their works, Confucian scholars express their “ambition” as a human being who has been clothed in the guise of a citizen. Medieval authors created literature in two capacities. First, as politicians, they advocated using “reason” to control feelings and emotions. Second, as writers and poets, they were true artists, advocating expressing the feelings and emotions of ordinary people. They exalted “talent” and “emotion” as a way to express personality. According to researcher Tran Nho Thin, “the poets of the 18th and 19th centuries respected human emotions based on the fundamental philosophy of considering humans as a species with emotions, a “feeling race” (affectionate race), a “feeling race” rather than grass, trees, wood or stone” [213, p.543]. Thus, the important difference between Confucian scholars who wrote in the guise of politicians and Confucian scholars who wrote in the guise of artists is in their awareness of their individual ego. That proves that artistic consciousness in general is in motion. That awareness entering literature will liberate literature from the constraints of conventional rules. Their poetry is sharp, spirited (“ philosophical literature ”) but refuses to be constrained by rituals (“ uoc le ”). According to Ngo Thi Nham’s description, that is literature like the “untamed horse” of the “crazy simple”:

“The literature of Thach Dong 19 is like a rudderless boat, like an unruly horse, with a sharp spirit and eloquent words, but without a solid backbone. His nature and temperament are the same. Therefore, it is okay to call him a scholar who is good at writing, but it is not okay to call him a scholar who is “ well-versed in literature and etiquette .” This is the origin of Tran Tu’s teacher and friend, just like

19 Thach Dong, also known as Pham Nguyen Du (1741 - 1786), also known as Thach Dong, passed the Royal Examination under the Le Canh Hung Dynasty.

If one continues like this, one will become a " crazy simpleton " as Confucius said; in the end one will be the one who puts Laozi's art in the place of Confucius and Mencius's time and Cheng and Zhou's reputation and principles. The world will suffer no small amount of trouble" ( On Talent and Poetry ) [224, p.147].

Crazy, or arrogant, is a deliberate choice. Cao Ba Quat, who calls himself a “talented man” in Tai Tu Da Cung Phu , repeatedly mentions the crazy nature of himself and his fellow poets:

The dentist's soul is filled with poetry, I still know the old traveler's crazy voice.

(With all friends who traveled at night, Shen Si studied and observed, and after returning, he gave them a reward.)

(Speaking of good poetry, naturally filled with interest, Who knew that old friends were originally "crazy" people.)

(At night, I went to Than Tu's school with my friends. When I returned, I was given a poem. I responded with rhymes) [116, pp.292 - 293]

The Han Shu used the term “thanh cuong” to talk about Vuong Xuong Ap, with an additional note from To Lam: “In all crazy people, the yin and yang veins are all “turbid”, but this person is not crazy like a normal crazy person, so he is called “thanh” cuong” [116, p.293]. Later, these two words were used to refer to a person who is unrestrained, carefree, and unconstrained. In the above poem, the friend Cao Ba Quat mentioned was Tran Van Vi, alias Than Tu, from Hanoi, who passed the Bachelor's exam during the Minh Mang period (1825). Cao Ba Quat often went to Tran Than Tu's school to meet friends and write poems together. He had a collection of poems De Tran Than Tu Hoc Quan Thu Phuong Dinh Van ( De Hoc Quan by Tran Than Tu in the rhyme of Phuong Dinh ) consisting of eleven poems. This school can be seen as a space for Cao Ba Quat, Tran Van Vi, and Nguyen Van Sieu to “ forget all worries ” to freely compose, freely express their great ambitions, and “ sing out loud”.

When the guest returned " 20. During the time of imprisonment (1841 - 1843), Cao Ba Quat did not forget his carefree youth:

The young man's mind was in turmoil.

( Forbidden feelings, random writing ) [115, p. 90] (Since young, his character has been liberal.)

( In prison, when feeling emotional, I immediately wrote this )

Literature under the pen of “Thanh Cuong” goes beyond the model of “gentleness and kindness”, the model of “calmness, peace of mind, and peace of mind” of Confucian scholars. Literature and art have a sacred nature, affecting heaven, this is not new, but in the later period, that power becomes a source of liberating energy that can turn the entire universe. Because humans possess great power, they want to escape from the narrow cage, confident in their ego, in their ability to stir heaven and earth:

The law of the cold eagle turns, The sword falls on the wind city, The night has light.

( Forbidden feelings, random writing ) [115, p. 90] (The flute melody in the cold air of Thu Coc must change,

The sword buried in the ground, Phong Thanh still has light at night. ( In prison, when feeling emotional, I wrote this immediately )

And in such confidence and freedom, the authors of the later period were aware of literary creation as play . In the 4th century BC, Zhuangzi, a Chinese philosopher of the Warring States period, named the first chapter of his Nanhua Jing of more than a hundred thousand words Xiaoyaoyou . Xiaoyaoyou takes readers on the wings of a roc bird that flies freely on the clouds and the wind. Vietnamese authors very early accepted Zhuangzi's doctrine. Nguyen Phi Khanh, a poet of the earlier period, praised the leisurely life in the midst of this ephemeral world:

A hundred years of worldly dreams

20 Tran Than Tu's Study Questions in Phuong Dinh's Rhyme , Part 1 ( Tran Than Tu's Study Questions in Phuong Dinh's Rhyme , Part 1)

Half a day of leisure, I am also a fairy. When I feel like going, I want to increase my strength.

Kissing together, the moon hangs in the wind.

( Du Con Son )

(The life of a hundred years is like a dream for everyone. If I have half a day of leisure, I am also a fairy.

The mood is gone, I want to go to the temple to rest. The evening bell urges the moon to hang in front of the mountain.

( Playing Con Son ) [262, p.423]

As Johan Huizinga (1872 - 1945), a Dutch historian, one of the founders of modern cultural history, commented in his work Homo Ludens ( The Player ), play is a fundamental element in human life: “human civilization was formed in play, as play, and has never left it” [297, p.173]. Medieval poetry began as the art of ritual and rules , which turned into the art of play , the adventure of play . Play , understood as “a free activity, deliberately standing outside of “everyday” life as if (it were) something “unserious” but at the same time capable of “attracting the player strongly and absolutely” [297, p.13]. The characteristic of play is that it is “not tied to any material concerns or any profit” [297, p.13].

When Confucian scholars considered literature as a noble leisure activity to cultivate moral qualities, the creation and enjoyment of literature was also a game . However, that game had a noble beauty with the ultimate purpose of learning "morality" and practicing "virtue". In the 18th and 19th centuries, the literary game aimed at liberating the personality and talent of the player. Phan Huy Ich in the poem "Random feelings at the court" described the elegant literary game of the young people of the capital:

“In the year of Tan Suu (1781) of the Canh Hung era, my colleagues and I in the palace loved luxury, so we kept maids and built a singing house to enjoy together. Then

Imitate the Nom song about the painting Red Cliff, composed by my late father-in-law, to set to music for female singers to perform.” [256, p.537]

The poetry of Nguyen Cong Tru, Duong Khue, Duong Lam... is a testament to the attitude of viewing life as a big game in the final period of Vietnamese medieval literature. The core of Song Confucianism is to abandon "selfish desires" and obey "heavenly principles". This principle causes a conflict between personal aspirations and the ideal model imposed by society. Heaven and earth become a "big cage". The nature of birds is to fly, but the cage prohibits that free nature. As a long-standing symbol in many cultures, "bird" and "cage" imply the loss of freedom:

A small body is hidden in the sky and earth, a thousand miles of wind and clouds raise the eyes of the common people.

Ask why why is the body dependent?

Busy flying around, pity the wandering body.

( Bird in a cage – Nguyen Huu Cau) [141, p.27]

How many heroes can one have in one life? Why play with fish in a bowl or birds in a cage ?

( The Tale of Kieu ) [40, p.141]

This body is like a slingshot , Where can I find this place to wander?

( New Autumn Improvisation – Nguyen Du) (This body has become an object in a cage or a pot,

Where else to find the debauchery?

( Early autumn, by chance, inspired a pen ) [39, p.198]

The universe is not in charge; Mr. Hi Van has entered the cage.

Once a valedictorian, once a counselor, once a governor of the East, he was a master of strategy .