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Trinh Hoai Duc, A Man With Deep Love For His Homeland And The People Of The South


If I don't go to Vu Son, my heart will be broken in vain ...

(Ngo Nhan Tinh, Drama )

(The night is dark, where do the clouds and rain come from?

Talking nonsense about Vu Son, it hurts like my intestines are being torn apart.)

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The non-Confucian elements in Tam Gia's thinking made them not act rigidly, but more softly, freely and flexibly. Ngo Nhan Tinh also said:

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Trinh Hoai Duc, A Man With Deep Love For His Homeland And The People Of The South

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Thinking back to the previous version of the world, it seems like a new era has come.

(Ngo Nhan Tinh, Nham Tuat year, the strong eastern envoy traveled by boat from Guangdong to Guangxi..., 11 )

(Thinking about how rigid life is,

Nothing compares to the sky and earth which are new every day.

And that is why their poetry is not purely that of a Confucian scholar but mixed with that of a non-Confucian. Besides the views colored by the Confucian ideology, there are also the views and feelings of a person who "lives in Confucianism and admires Buddhism", which will lead them to a sense of life where everything is not completely orderly and still, but on the contrary, changes unpredictably. Looking at the world in its impermanent change, they have never been pessimistic people who run away from life, but on the contrary, to understand more clearly the true values ​​of life.


2.3. TRINH HOAI DUC, A MAN WITH HEAVY LOVE FOR HIS HOMETOWN AND THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTHERN REGION

The Gia Dinh land in the time when Trinh Hoai Duc and his two friends grew up was no longer a wild, swampy, reed-filled land, but an area of ​​"fertile land, favorable terrain with enough fields, lagoons, rivers and seas; salt, rice, and beans in abundance" [29, 108]. To achieve this, it is impossible not to mention the participation in the activities of improving nature and the living environment of the indigenous people as well as the migrants who came here to live together. Therefore, poetry will also mark the situation of the hard-working people with the natural landscape that they contributed to creating.


Continuing the literary movement describing the natural landscape in the southernmost region of the Fatherland by the Tao Dan Chieu Anh Cac group led by Mac Thien Tich, the authors in Gia Dinh Tam Gia, especially Trinh Hoai Duc, made a collection about the landscape of Gia Dinh land. However, in Trinh Hoai Duc's poetry, nature is not completely isolated from human activities but it is simultaneously recreated.

In Gia Dinh Tam Gia, Trinh Hoai Duc is the one who wrote a lot about his homeland in the South. From the two poetry collections Can Trai Thoai Thuc Truy Bien and Can Trai Kha Di Tap, the image of his homeland in the South appears with all the freshness and vitality of a land that has just undergone a land reclamation.

The natural scenery in the poems he wrote in early 1782 (when Tay Son attacked Gia Dinh for the fourth time) although having pure, peaceful, rustic images, still carries a bit of the author's melancholy mood of the times:

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牧童橫笛草原中牛將解軏歸高壟鴉已辭郊入茂叢惆悵瞑雲天渺渺蹰踟無語倚梧桐

The village is quiet outside the stream,

Shepherds roam the grasslands.

The ox suddenly returned to the high valley, and the tooth suddenly entered the pine forest.

The kitchen tent is bright and the clouds are floating in the sky, The kitchen is silent and leans on a wooden chair.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Mai Khau's late night bird )

(The countryside leans on the stream, the trees are covered with smoke, The buffalo herder plays the flute, the sound echoes in the grassland. The buffalo is about to unyoked and return to the high mound,

The crows have left the field and returned to the thicket.

Gloomy afternoon clouds spread far away in the sky, Quietly saying nothing, standing leaning against the parasol tree.

In 1789, after they had taken the exam and were accepted by Nguyen Phuc Anh to be the Imperial Academy's Imperial Academy for nearly a year, Trinh Hoai Duc and more than ten others were appointed as Dien Tuan to promote agriculture to provide food for the army. During this time, he had the opportunity to enter the lives of the people, but with a rather optimistic spirit from the perspective of an official working for the benefit of the court and partly for the benefit of the people who had been under the rule of the Nguyen family for nearly two hundred years, his perspective on the lives of the people was somewhat partial.


aspect: only seeing the light but not seeing and not talking about the dark side of people's lives. However, the lines of poetry about nature and living scenes in the South in Trinh Hoai Duc's poetry still carry humanistic nuances, praising the new life emerging in a new land full of potential.

In the early morning market in the riverside village, the author shows us the bustling daily life of the Southern people:

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The village elders slapped the snowflakes in front of them, The disciples butchered the ancient frost knife. The fish in the lake were fascinated by the new boat, The woodcutter came in the mist and covered his robe.

Guests naturally enter the palace, and do not need to drink and work in the cold.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Giang village )

(The old man in the countryside waved his money and covered himself with a snowy cloak. The butcher chopped meat and brandished his frost knife.

The fisherman walks in the clouds, not knowing the new ferry, The woodcutter carries the dew back, wetting his coat. Some people calmly walk up the winding hill,

Brave the cold without drinking alcohol.

The life and work of farmers, although hard, are still full of confidence and joy of a good harvest:

The company has a good reputation.

The company is in good standing.

…携壼擬慶豐年澤簑笠農夫訪酒舟

In the autumn, the grass and trees are far away,

The Three and Five Curves of the River Flow.

… Thinking of the peaceful year, the farmer sipped his wine.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Autumn Rain in the Fields )

(Green rice, autumn grass,

A few farmers live around the winding river.

…Wearing a gourd of wine, celebrating this year's bountiful harvest, the old farmer puts on his raincoat, asking about the boat carrying wine.)


The scene of cultural, educational and working life of the Southern people at that time, under the pen of Trinh Hoai Duc when he returned to live in seclusion in Long Tich village, appeared peaceful and bustling:

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釣叟煙凌水滸歌邨落生涯勤少婦簷前邀月揀棉花

Learn from the frost and red bridge,

Song of the Water Margin in the Village. The village needs a young woman to make a living,

The moon is a beautiful flower in the money.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Miscellaneous poems on Long Tich village,1 )

(The little student walked on the curved bridge in the mist,

The old man fishing sang loudly by the smoky water.

In the village, the woman worked hard to earn a living,

In front of the roof, invite the moon to come up to pick cotton flowers.

In particular, the collection of 30 poems praising the landscapes of the South (Gia Dinh citadel) by Trinh Hoai Duc brings readers to the landscapes that are both majestic and magnificent, and also wild and fresh thanks to the joint efforts of the people of the South in a life that cannot be without active labor. The nature of the South has previously been partly recreated through the poems of the Tao Dan Chieu Anh Cac group initiated by Mac Thien Tich in Ha Tien, and now Trinh Hoai Duc has continued to supplement it on a larger and richer scale.

The opening of the series of 30 poems praising the natural landscapes of the South is Gia Dinh citadel. This is one of the natural landscapes where people have left their mark in the work of reclaiming and protecting the Southern land of Lord Nguyen. According to Trinh Hoai Duc, on February 4, Canh Tuat (1790) at the high mound of Tan Khai village in Binh Duong land, he ordered the construction of an octagonal citadel in the shape of a lotus flower, opening eight gates, with eight horizontal and vertical roads, from east to west is 131 truong 2 thuoc ta, from south to north is the same, 13 thuoc ta high, the base is 7 truong 5 thuoc ta thick, built in three levels, located in Can, facing Ton. In the front of the citadel, on the left side, built Thai Mieu, in the middle as the administrative office, on the left side is the warehouse, on the right side is the manufacturing office, surrounded by rows of houses for the guards. In front of the yard, a three-story flagpole was erected, 12 truong 5 thuoc high, with an octagonal watchtower on top, and a rope ladder hung on the side for regular access. Soldiers sat on it to guard it, and during the day, if there was a warning, a signal flag was hung, and at night, a signal light was hung, and the soldiers looked at that signal and followed the command. Hao


10 truong 5 thuoc wide, 14 thuoc deep, with a suspension bridge across, and an earthen rampart outside, with a perimeter of 794 truong, both dangerous and magnificently solid [29, pp.216-217].

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門開八卦麗天文險驚西賊回江塹勢壯南邊峙砦垠

Gia Dinh citadel is under siege, the gate opens to the sky.

The Western bandits returned to the river in danger, while the Southern border bandits camped at the bank.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Gia Dinh Golden Citadel )

(The golden citadel of Gia Dinh suppresses the enemy's spirit. The gate opens in the shape of a bagua, illuminating the sky.

The rugged terrain scared off the Western invaders, the moat and river surrounded the citadel, the majestic atmosphere covered the entire South, the wooden barrier was surrounded by mountains.

Praising Gia Dinh citadel is praising the achievements of Lord Nguyen, but there is still a part of the contribution of soldiers and people. With the same mindset, the scene of Hoa Phong ancient rampart built by Commander Nguyen Le to prevent the enemy after the Cambodian rebellion was also praised by him with joy looking at the peaceful scene of the country, sleeping at night without having to close the door ( Hoa Phong ancient rampart ).

Besides those majestic landscapes, the poetic scenes of rivers, ponds, and pagodas in the South were also recorded by Trinh Hoai Duc in poems such as Mai Khau Tuc Hac , My Tho Da Vu, Chieu Thai Tinh Yen... The working life in the South at that time appeared in all professions. From farming, weaving, to animal husbandry, fishing... including fishermen, woodcutters, farmers, and shepherds.

The scene of breaking ground, plowing, reclaiming wasteland, cultivating, herding buffalo, draining water... working from morning to night to turn the wasteland into a prosperous place for working people moved him to write vivid and sincere poems:

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The red-haired plum blossoms are waiting for the end of the festival, The black-haired incense burner is in the filthy silence.

The mountains and rivers are like the spring and the evening sky, The grass is like the spring and the late spring oxen are released. The thousands of rivers and streams gather together, Returning at the beginning of the month, I have a strong head.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Chu Tho Su Van )

(The land was dry and dusty, almost all plowed,


The bad mound is full of wild grass, the reclamation is almost finished.

Rain flooded the ravine, in the morning opened the dam,

The grass is green all over the spring dike, in the afternoon the buffaloes are released. Ten thousand fields in the clouds and smoke, the harvest is complete, Returning, carrying the crescent moon on the shoulder.

That is the scene of plowing and reclaiming land in the red soil of Tran Bien, and this is the scene of labor plowing, growing mulberry trees, raising silkworms and weaving in Tran Dinh, a manifestation of the peaceful life in the homeland of the South:

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The restaurant is full of people,

Pear breaks peach blossom after rain.

The enemy's back is horizontal and the ox is upright, the woodcutter's voice and the bird's painting are all in harmony.

The old man in charge of the palace guard, the little girl who enjoyed the funeral.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Tran Dinh Spring Soup )

(A bucket of water is used to bail out the ditches in the fields, In spring, all the grass sprouts that have grown after the rain are plowed. The shepherd plays the flute, the fat buffaloes are busy,

The woodcutter's singing mingled with the melodious chirping of birds. The elderly took care of the farming and weaving.

Children carry rice to the field, under the shade of green mulberry trees.

The scene of growing mulberry and raising silkworms in Quyt village is also reflected in his poems. The girls who work in farming mulberry, raising silkworms, and weaving silk appear vividly and realistically:

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The Kumquat village is a place of family affairs, the Sao Ty women are a place of family affairs.

The three realms come from the fragrant fields, and the two help each other to shake the flood waters.

The river is filled with smoke and fire, the wind and rain turn the sound of the distant sky.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Quat Xa Sao Ty )

(Everyone in Quyt village is a silk weaver. The women who grow silk try their best.


Three silk reeling tubs produce silkworms, turning fragrant cocoons, A pair of chopsticks is always dipped, pulling each golden silk thread. The color of the fire rises, like billowing smoke, The sound of the silk reel, like the rustling of wind and rain…)

The scene of a woodcutter chopping wood in Ho Nai shows a life of hard work but a peaceful state of mind:

The company has a good reputation.

The company is in good standing.

The wind blows and the white-haired old woman flies, and a song is sung in the Deer Cave Mountain.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Loc Dong woodcutter )

(The wind blew the old woodcutter's white hair,

The innocent song echoes in Ho Nai mountain.) Fishing scene on Nha Be:

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The company has a strong reputation.

The water flows and forms a floating nest, Idlely, I use cold needles and the moon to sway.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Phu Gia Diep Nguyet )

(All over the river, people build rafts to live on, Leisurely fishing with cold hooks under the moon.)

Or the life of people in the river area who specialize in fishing.

Night is also recreated by Trinh Hoai Duc in his poetry through the light of a fishing lamp:

截流罾網結邨墟江巿寒燈夜業漁

The net of the village is broken and the village is deserted.

The river is cold at night and the fishermen are fishermen.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Net market fishing lantern )

(That net blocked the river, forming villages,

The market wharf is lit by a cold lamp, every night I follow the fishing profession....)

The bustling and crowded market scene with dishes from the countryside and mountains was also included in his poem:

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榕陰蔽芾巿廛涼田禽獵獸充松肆蓖蜆罟魚滿竹坊

The green mountains and the water are fragrant,

The sound of the flute is like a stream of water. The sound of zithers and harps fills the air, and the sound of ancient fish fills the bamboo cage.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Ngu Tan Son Thi )

(The green mountain acts as a screen across the water,


Shaded by banyan trees, cool market,

All the animals hunted in the fields are brought to this inn.

The clams caught in the pond are full of them.

The scene of herding buffaloes on the New Canal with lush green fields, vast mulberry trees, leisurely storks... Especially the image of a person sleeping soundly next to a flower tree without taking off his raincoat shows a peaceful life in the Southern land:

The company is in good standing.

牛踏雲根入水隈草裕平田狐可獵桑陰綠野鷺堪莓豐年笑傲羲皇世醉臥花叢不脫簑

The enemy rushed into the cave and invaded the temple, The ox stepped on the clouds and entered the water. The grass was like a flat field that could be grazed, The green mulberry trees and wild dew were like lips.

The wind of the year laughs proudly at the world of the Emperor, drunkenly lying on the pine flowers, unable to escape the wick.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, New Kinh Than Muc )

(Blowing the reed flute, the sound soars up to the clouds, The buffalo steps on the rocky bank at the river's elbow.

The grass is green, the fields are flat, foxes can be hunted, The mulberry trees are shady, the fields are green, the storks can rest.

In a year of good harvest, laughing happily like the life of Hy Hoang, drunk lying under the flower bushes without taking off his raincoat.

In addition to the living and working scene of the Southern people in this land of quite favorable nature, we also see in them an optimistic spirit towards life, recreated in Trinh Hoai Duc's poetry. The working and trading scenes of the people are filled with poetic and innocent singing. Sometimes the sound of a fisherman's flute echoes on the Ben Nghe River in the autumn sky:

The company has a good reputation.

The company has a good reputation.

The woodcutters and jade dew group,

The melodious fish flute plays over the clouds.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Nguu Tan fishing flute )

(The dew falls like pearl drops on the watchtower, The melodious sound of the fishing flute soars up into the clouds.)

The image of an old woodcutter with silver hair singing while working shows the leisurely demeanor and living in harmony with nature of people in Tran land.

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