Trinh Hoai Duc - Elegant and Generous

At the same time, this practical learning helped them approach many art forms, other talents such as music, chess, calligraphy, painting... That also explains why Gia Dinh Tam Gia's poetry paid little attention to artistic forms, such as writing poetry mainly using the Tang Dynasty style, without expanding to other styles.

Furthermore, medieval poetry, with its inherent patterns, from content to genre, as well as artistic techniques, Gia Dinh Tam Gia poetry is still in the general stream of national poetry. Finding a poetic style is a difficult problem. However, through the content and art we have presented above, we can give some features of the artistic style of their poetry.

From the system of genre themes expressed through Gia Dinh Tam Gia's works, it can be seen that his style is stable, serious, and elegant even though he is writing about very ordinary topics in life. The elegant view of phenomena in life demonstrates a refined soul, a heart that cherishes life, and expectations for the future.

Besides the style of singing and reciting poems originating from the folk performing arts that are very popular in the life of the Southern region, the poems of Gia Dinh Tam Gia are also full of singing and playing instruments. Besides, they also began to pay attention to recording vivid reality in poetry. Narrative elements interwoven with lyrical elements are an artistic feature in Tam Gia's poetry. From the poems of Trinh Hoai Duc about the landscape and daily life of the Southern people in Thoai Thuc Truy Bien and in Kha Di Tap , to the poems recording the feelings on the diplomatic journey of Trinh Hoai Duc, Le Quang Dinh and Ngo Nhan Tinh in Quan Quang Tap, Hoa Nguyen Thi Thao and Thap Anh Thi Tap, we can imagine the life of the two countries, although not comprehensive, but at least on a good, peaceful level through the subjective perspective of the authors, and at the same time show us their lives during their diplomatic mission to China. But in Gia Dinh Tam Gia's poetry, compared to his two friends, Trinh Hoai Duc stands out more with his narrative quality.

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With the use of many historical allusions, historical references, and Chinese poetic materials, along with many artistic images depicting everyday folk images in poetry more than Le Quang Dinh and Ngo Nhan Tinh, Trinh Hoai Duc's poetic language is therefore both scholarly and popular, while Le Quang Dinh's poetry is gentle and leisurely, while Ngo Nhan Tinh's poetry is deep and thoughtful.

In the period slightly after them, we will witness a fairly comprehensive change in both content and artistic form with long-lasting Nom works such as Bui Huu Nghia, Nguyen Dinh Chieu; Huynh Man Dat, Phan Van Tri with sharp Nom Tang poetry, or Nguyen Thong, Tran Thien Chanh with diverse and soaring Han poetry lines...

3.2.1. Trinh Hoai Duc - elegant and generous

Commenting on Trinh Hoai Duc's poetry, Nguyen Dich Cat said:

夫言者心之聲也，而詩又其言之英華而有節奏者也。爲詩不過數則，曰格曰氣曰字句曰典故。凡人格勝者爲詩多莊雅，氣勝者爲詩多雄渾，字句勝者其詩多秀麗，典故勝者其詩多質贍“ The magic words, the heart is pure and wild, the children are wonderful, the language is beautiful, the flowers are detailed

Poetry is nothing more than a few rules, writing styles, writing atmosphere, writing sentences, and allusions. Generally, those with outstanding personalities make poetry more elegant, those with outstanding atmosphere make poetry more eloquent, those with outstanding verses make poetry more beautiful, and those with outstanding allusions make poetry more rich.

Of the four things that Nguyen Dich Cat mentioned, Trinh Hoai Duc's poetry has three: personality, spirit, and allusions. Therefore, Trinh Hoai Duc's poetry is elegant, eloquent, and rich.

Reading Trinh Hoai Duc's poems, the main resonance in the poems is the heroic and elegant tone . On the journey to China, only when the mission was delayed did he sigh and confide, but throughout the journey, his poems were always full of heroic and heroic spirit, whether when confiding in his wife, or expressing his longing for home... We tried to examine his poems and found that more than 2/3 of his compositions had this tone. The tone in the poems is not only expressed through words and verses but also hidden in the meaning of the poems.

Trinh Hoai Duc was not like Nguyen Du who later often recorded many heartbreaking paradoxical situations of the people on the way to China as an envoy, but he only recorded the scenery on the way to China as an envoy to convey some thoughts and reflections about the times. Trinh Hoai Duc and Nguyen Du were poets who lived in the same era.

But each person's circumstances were different. Nguyen Du owed the Le Dynasty, Trinh Hoai Duc owed the Nguyen Lord; both lost their fathers at the age of ten, and both tried to study hard in the midst of chaos. Nguyen Du spent ten years fleeing the chaos to return to his homeland, Trinh Hoai Duc also wandered in a strange land for nearly ten years. The only thing was that Trinh Hoai Duc had initially received Gia Long's grace and understanding, having wandered since the hard days of war; while Nguyen Du only worked for the Gia Long Dynasty in later years. Although Nguyen Du returned to Gia Long, he still had feelings of nostalgia for the Le Dynasty; Trinh Hoai Duc was devoted to the Lord... Trinh Hoai Duc was a national founding hero, so he received many favors, while Nguyen Du was someone who "tied himself to the court" like Tu Hai... Because Hoai Duc's state of mind was different from Nguyen Du's, their poems also had many differences. Trinh Hoai Duc's poetry always opens up with a generous, bold, strong, and heroic quality... while Nguyen Du's poetry seems to close, more profound, thoughtful, and contemplative. The voice in Ngo Nhan Tinh's poetry has many similarities to Nguyen Du's. Ngo Nhan Tinh's poetry has a deep, somewhat melancholy tone full of the thoughts of a Confucian scholar who wants to practice his religion. Meanwhile, Le Quang Dinh's poetry is leisurely, gentle, and natural.

Trinh Hoai Duc was the first official ambassador to China under the Gia Long dynasty, so his mood was enthusiastic. Trinh Hoai Duc's Quan Quang Tap has almost the same heroic lyrical tone. At the beginning of the poem collection, we can see the heroic quality, even when the ambassador's boat was blown by a storm onto the sandbank of Thuong Xuyen:

The company has a good reputation.

Only loyalty and righteousness continue, even if there is a crazy and dangerous fear.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, the Great Qing Dynasty's envoy, the capital of Guangdong, the Tam Chau Duong, met the old man )

(Only keep the steering wheel with loyalty, Don't be afraid of danger and sharks!)

This generous tone is achieved because the author has a fairly strong belief in life, as well as how to behave in daily life and in the officialdom. Trinh Hoai Duc was a student of Vo Truong Toan and Dang Cuu Tu (Duc Thuat), so he was influenced by these two famous teachers. But he knew how to reconcile the attitudes of the two teachers to establish his own attitude towards being an official. He did not avoid life like his teacher Vo Truong Toan, nor did he give strong dissuasion like Dang Duc.

In the early days of the establishment of the Nguyen dynasty, the king accepted and showed great respect for his opinions.

When talking with Qing officials in the court or when meeting a girl selling pears on the street, when fanning, composing poems, or drawing pictures for the mandarins in Guilin, or when reciting poems on the river, when visiting temples, or even when he was sick... his poetic voice always revealed a revelatory and heroic quality:

The company has a reputation for excellence.

夜而繼日北而東士夫刮目看旁道草木傾心拜下風

The palanquin flies like clouds, the passenger like red, At night, the sun flies from north to east.

The scholars and the common people all looked at each other and bowed down to the wind.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, The Royal Secretariat )

(The palanquin floats like clouds, the guests are like pink birds, Night turns to day, going from north to east. The scholars stand with wide eyes, standing on both sides of the road watching, The trees and grass bow in worship under the wind.)

Describing the hardships on the diplomatic journey, he still mixed in satirical ideas to see the poet's open-minded soul. When missing his homeland, he also mixed in a bit of a heroic tone:

Business Partner

到處便成家孤影天陪月寒愁雪送花

I came from a good country, and settled down in a peaceful place. A lonely shadow follows the moon, and the cold snow sends off the flowers.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, The Practice of the Practice )

(Repay the country's debt of gratitude with your body, Anywhere can be home.

Alone, the sky sends the moon to be my friend, Cold sadness, the snow gives flowers.

That strong voice and fresh poetic breath were even more clearly revealed when the mission was finished and the country's affairs were complete. On the way back, he recited a poem:

南關無事樂情多The male official is so happy and indifferent,

1 Nguyen uncle:南關北昭德臺南仰德臺關北二十里有幕府關南十里同登大庯爲南北互巿所又南行十里至諒山鎮城前梅坡驛(The side To the north of Nam Quan pass is Chieu Duc tower, to the south is Nguong Duc tower, far away

Twenty miles north of the pass there is a shogunate, ten miles south of the pass there is Dong Dang market, where the market is held.

The company is in a good position.

昭德風清閒幕府同登塵怗靜梅坡儂人夜發通行輦粵客朝乘互巿騾寄語瘴嵐今似昔飛鳶跕跕墜洪波1

The Chinese and foreign people migrate to the land of the rising sun. The Chieu Duc wind is calm and peaceful, the Dong Dang palace is dusty and quiet.

The Nung people at night issued a palanquin, and the Vietnamese guests rode in the morning to support each other.

The blue and gold letters are engraved on the scrolls, and the red waves fall on the petals.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, The mission left Nam Quan and returned to the country's border to occupy ) (Nam Quan Pass was peaceful and safe, extremely happy,

The people of the two countries sing to celebrate peace. Chieu Duc has cool breezes, officials are at ease, Dong Dang has quiet dust, the apricot blossom hills are quiet. Nung people's vehicles travel at night,

Quang people ride donkeys to the market early.

Sending this message to the land is still the same as before,

Soaring hawks often fall into large waves.)

Trinh Hoai Duc's national pride and heroic tone are clearly revealed in the last two lines of the improvised poem. It is not exaggerated at all but gentle and flexible like his honest nature.

Both writing about the topic of a courtesan, but Nguyen Du's Long Thanh Cam Gia Ca gives us a feeling of regret, sorrow, and contemplation about the human life of a person with many pains and many events; Trinh Hoai Duc, on the other hand, looks at the blind courtesan from the perspective of sympathy for a blind beauty, that is, the normal pity of a talented person for an unfortunate girl, without raising it to the general level of human life and life. The tone in the poem is only mixed with a bit of sympathy and emotion. However, the poem is good because the author has expressed the beauty of the innocent soul of the courtesan:

The company has a good reputation.

春去春來不管春白璧面前傷有玷

The song of the wandering soul stops and the spring goes and comes, regardless of spring.

There is a merchant in front of the white-faced shop.

The people of the south and the north, going south ten miles, reached the Mai Pha post station (mai hill).

before Lang Son citadel.)

the other side

…閒散欄庭嬌立月一枝花睡露香新

Beautiful eyes see no one...

… Leisurely orchid pavilion bridge stands on the moon, A single flower gives off a fresh scent of dew.

(Trinh Hoai Duc, Manh Ky )

(The song lingering on the rafters just ended, the girl calmed down, She let spring come, then spring passed.

Before the face as white as jade, pity has blemishes,

Her cheeks were rosy, but there was no one in her eyes.

… Walking on the porch, standing under the moon, A flower branch sleeps, the scent of dew wafts.)

Nguyen Du describes the singer of Thang Long with an extraordinary emotion: from meeting, remembering old memories, to when the singer plays the lute, Nguyen Du describes the sound of the lute, the image of the singer, and finally the author's feelings. Trinh Hoai Duc, with his regulated poem, certainly could not say as many things as Nguyen Du, so he only describes the song of the blind singer in one sentence "nhieu luong ca bai, man ngung than". The rest of the poem discusses her image and soul. In this poem, there are some places with a sympathetic tone when talking about the image of the singer, but the last two sentences are still the tone of a tolerant and generous heart. The author looks at the singer with the pure beauty of her soul, as elegant as Basho's poetry:

Roadside Inn The female tourists sleep

Moon and Cloves

(Nhat Chieu translation)

3.2.2. Ngo Nhan Tinh – profound and contemplative

If Trinh Hoai Duc's main tone is heroic and eloquent, then Ngo Nhan Tinh's poetic tone is emotional, both deep and contemplative.

Ngo Nhan Tinh went on at least five diplomatic missions: twice to Chenla, three times to China, but the official diplomatic mission to China was in 1802 with Trinh Hoai Duc and Huynh Ngoc Uan. His first diplomatic mission in 1789 was considered incomplete, so he confided in the lines of poetry composed around this time.

vaguely feeling inferior and looking for sympathy. With such feelings, the tone in Ngo's poetry becomes profound:

The company has a strong reputation.

滾滾長江盡夜流未卜他年如願否幾囘惆悵獨登樓

The ancient wooden mountains and rivers flow gently, The ancient rivers flow gently until the end of the night. I have not been able to fly for many years, as I wished, I have returned to the tent and the tower where I stand alone.

(Ngo Nhan Tinh, Ao Mon traveler in Xuan Hoa road, letter of nostalgia ) (The trees are withered and fallen in the mountains and rivers,

The long river flows turbulently all night long. I don't know when my wish will come true. Many times I sadly go upstairs alone.

The poetic journey when Ngo went to China as an ambassador in 1802 with his friends made his poems more cheerful, with satirical laughter on the way, but after the laughter was contemplation about human hearts:

The company has a good reputation.

身軟如綿坐臥時輪轉英雄成就處轔轔不息是心機

The will is strong and firm, the body is soft as cotton, sitting and lying down.

The wheel of heroes turns to success, and the unicorn is not the same as the heart.

(Ngo Nhan Tinh, Poem on the Carriage in Zhili Road )

(A will as hard as iron, on the road of wandering, A body as soft as cotton, when lying down or sitting.

Turning is the place of achievement of the hero,

The machine hums non-stop is the mind.)

Interspersed with seemingly cheerful verses are confidences about life, lamenting past dreams:

The company has a long history.

Other countries

…今古夢殘還獨嘆芙蓉江上釣漁翁

A piece of high cloud in the distance,

The third watch of the night is bright and the moon is in the middle.

… The ancient and modern dreams are over, and I still lament,

Fisherman fishing on Phu Dung River.

(Ngo Nhan Tinh, Nham Tuat year, the strong eastern envoy traveled by boat from Guangdong to Guangxi..., 1 )

(A noble heart like the clouds in the distance,

Three watches of the heart are bright like the moon in the sky.

… The old dream has now ended, I lament alone, On the Phù Dung River, there is an old fisherman sitting fishing.)

Ngo's many thoughts will be expressed with the rivers and lakes:

五湖知我心同淡鉄笛無聲水自流

The five lakes know my heart is the same, The iron flute is silent and the water flows by itself.

(Ngo Nhan Tinh, Dang Nhac Duong tower overlooking Dong Dinh lake ) (The five lakes must know my heart is simple,

The iron flute has no sound, the water still flows.

Having completed his mission as an envoy, sharing the joy with Trinh Hoai Duc, Ngo Nhan Tinh still had his own thoughts while traveling on the Tuong River, where Khuat Nguyen drowned himself out of sorrow for the country:

The company has a long history.

石岸船頭樹影移二載一聞新國號五湖兩度故鄉思孤蓬短棹滄江臥細雨殘風畫角吹過客莫從漁父問汨羅自古楚人悲

The clouds turn back to the sunset pond, The boat at the head of the stone bank trees reflect. I read the new national name, I crossed the five lakes twice to think of my old hometown.

A lonely woman lies on a short boat on the river, The late rain and wind blow the painting.

Passing guests should not ask fishermen, since ancient times Mi La has been sad for Chu people.

(Ngo Nhan Tinh, Ho Quang's return to the world, thirty verses, 4 ) (Clouds spread across, geese fly back, the sunset slowly sets, The rocky shore, the boat's bow, and the tree shadows all move.

Two years later I heard the name of the new country. Twice I walked the Five Lakes with nostalgia for my homeland.

The boat has an odd roof and short oars, lying on the green river,

Drizzle, wind, trumpet sound.

Passersby should not ask the old fisherman,

The Mi La River has always been filled with the sadness of the people of Chu.

1 This sentence reminds us of our country, after Gia Long ascended the throne, he took the country's name as Nam Viet, sent Le Quang Dinh as the chief envoy to the Qing Dynasty to request investiture, but the Qing Dynasty was afraid, had to write letters back and forth many times, then changed the country's name back to Vietnam.