The image of a warrior, a hero of letters and swords, is always mentioned over and over again as an ideal image with many pleasures. The display of talent gives rise to the desire for a model of a person with the advantages of different types of people, which are usually considered opposites, such as both literary and martial, literary man and warrior. That is also the model of the era in "a young man of heroic lineage, putting down his pen and ink to pursue the sword and bow " - a gallant and elegant model ( When fighting in battle, he tries his best to fight with swords and bows; The path of letters and swords is to fight until the end of the land )" [74, p.38]. In addition to the factors of the socio-economic, political and ideological context that affect the choices of Confucian scholars, the factor that Nguyen Duc Mau emphasizes to explain the birth of the "letter and sword" male model is the display of talent. Talented people are especially talented and talented. The display of talent has made them dream of an elite model, with the advantages of all types of people. Therefore, the masculine model that is both literary and martial, both pen and sword was born. The most typical representative of this masculine type is Nguyen Cong Tru. That is the model of "a talented Confucian scholar, a multi-individual, who wants to be a hero, a talented person, to make a great career, to be a romantic person, to be a guest of literature, to play music, chess, poetry, wine and all must be a free and unrestrained person. That is the model of a new man with the color of the medieval urban area, developed in literature" [74, p.40].
Nguyen Cong Tru passed the exam to become the first ranker in 1819, entering the mandarin world at the age of 42, starting with a small civil mandarin position. Although he passed the exam late, Nguyen Cong Tru was an official for thirty years, holding many different positions: he entered the government as a civil mandarin but soon became a military general, leading large armies of the royal court in important wars and almost always won. In addition, Nguyen Cong Tru also held positions in several localities, organizing land reclamation and sea reclamation. Entering the mandarin world, Nguyen Cong Tru was also an important poet of the early 19th century. The fusion between the literary and martial paths of Nguyen Cong Tru was very clear from the choices he made in his life. And this contributed significantly to the identity of Hy Van's works, forming a type of masculinity that combined literature and martial arts with pride.
In Vietnamese medieval literature, Nguyen Cong Tru is perhaps the poet who most often mentions the aspiration to become a hero and the spirit of manhood. Throughout his works are the concepts of "talented man", "spiritual ambition", "spiritual manhood", "spiritual manhood", "heroic ambition"...: "There are times when clouds pour and waves beat / Determined to sail against the storm / The will to split mountains and fill rivers / To become a hero is clear" (Heroic Ambition), "Associating with dragons and clouds to satisfy the spirit of manhood", "Having a reputation in heaven and earth / Must have a name with mountains and rivers / In this mortal life, who can easily know / Then we will know the face of a hero " (Di thi tu vinh), "The circle of heaven and earth is vertical and horizontal, horizontal and vertical / Debt of mourning
"Borrow and pay, repay, borrow/ The ambition of a man is to go north, south, east, west/ To satisfy his strength to roam the four seas" (Aspiration of a man). However, Nguyen Cong Tru still gave literature a superior position compared to martial arts , especially in the ability to maintain order and social stability. He affirmed the position of literature in comparison with martial arts , praising the "literary guests" of poetry, wine, and gourds, not warriors and heroes: " When meeting a peaceful meeting, literature comes before martial arts / How dare I compare with literary guests" (Vĩnh văn v). In his works, we often see the images: " Leisurely carrying a bag of poetry , a gourd of wine" (A Man's Ambition) , " Five or three cups of tea, a cup of wine, wisdom / A few lines of holy poetry , a divine gift ", " Leisurely carrying a gourd of wine , a bag of poetry" (Debt of Romance) , " Poetry , wine, zither, chess, guests / Wind, clouds, snow, moon sky", " A bag of poetry rhyming Du, Ly / A gourd of wine poured into a cup of Liu Ling" (There are still many enjoyments).
A case that is not as typical as Nguyen Cong Tru, but also has many similarities is Nguyen Du. “Although he became a high-ranking mandarin, Nguyen Du originally started his political career with a small military position. He did not have the glory achieved through the familiar path of passing high exams, and his governing career and official career did not have any outstanding achievements. He did not seem to have much concern with the direction of “governing the country and saving the world” or “serving the people and the country”. As a “man in troubled times”, like the ambitious young men of his time, he also somewhat questioned and lamented his “manly ambition”, but what stood out most, most clearly, in him, was his awareness of literary talent and, along with it, the ability to live and die with that talent. His Chinese poetry reflected that quite clearly” [158, p.95]. Nguyen Van Xung commented: “Even a scholar of literary talent and literary weakness like Nguyen Du also came from a military career. When he was eighteen years old, he was given a precious sword by the Duke of Viep Quan Hoang Ngu Phuc. He then planned to follow King Chieu Thong to China to join his comrades in the Le uprising, or to find a way to cross the sea to the South to help Lord Nguyen Anh plot to expel Tay Son” [162, p.36]. Nguyen Du himself once lamented, “ Both literary and martial arts were unsuccessful, making a living in dire straits / Spring turned to autumn, and his hair grew grayer ” (Self-pity 2). These are two unified aspects of the masculine model of this period, however, the characteristic of “valuing literature” is still extremely prominent.
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Both are in the masculine literary trend, but if Nguyen Cong Tru was aware of literature as a pleasure, for enjoyment (among many pleasures: music, chess, poetry, wine that he was passionate about), Nguyen Du is completely different, considering literature as his life, a place to confide his feelings, even a "career", a debt that "rich guests" must carry. In the poem "Self-pity" (self-pity), written at the age of thirty, he said very clearly: " A six-foot body at the age of thirty / Sticking with intelligence to sin the world / Words are not jealous of fate / How can heaven and earth hate the wrong person" ( translated by Tran Thanh Mai). In the poem "Man hung" (Rambling inspiration), he said even more clearly: " A hundred years together die
"Literary philosophy / Luc xich phu sinh thien dia trung " (A life of a hundred years, dying poor in the midst of literature / A six-foot body drifting in the midst of heaven and earth). Nguyen Du was aware of the suffering that artists - literary guests must endure: "Secretly asking myself why literature (has afflicted me) / (Wanting to ask the sky) but how high is the sky to ask?" (Bat mi ).
However, Nguyen Du did not deny his literary qualities and the suffering that literature brought. In the poem Han Duong Van Dieu , he repeated Li Bai's verse praising the immortal power of literature: " Thi thanh thao thu giai thien co" (When a poem is finished, the grass and trees will be passed down for thousands of years) . Books and literature help save the sick body and the sad, hopeless soul: "Cham ban thuc thu phu benh co" (Next to the pillow is a bundle of books to support the sick bones) ( Miscellaneous poems 2 ). Literature and poetry for Nguyen Cong Tru is a place to show off talent, a thing to keep in the back to walk arrogantly in life, but for Nguyen Du, it is "an opening between the finiteness of a concrete human life and the infinite changes of life". This is most clearly shown in the famous poem "Doc Tieu Thanh Ky" : "The past and present grievances are difficult to ask the heavens / This unjust fate brought upon oneself / I wonder if after more than three hundred years / The world will cry for To Nhu. "
In Chinese poetry and the Tale of Kieu , Nguyen Du discreetly expressed his thoughts about the times and heroes, but his concepts and ways of expression were not as "violent" as Nguyen Cong Tru. The outstanding part of Nguyen Du's personality was still his "literary character", his profoundness, his melancholy, and his many literary qualities compared to martial arts. In the history of Vietnamese literature, it was only in the 18th century that there was a phenomenon of Confucian scholars considering literature (understood in the sense of literary creation) as the main career of their lives. Before that, literature was only a means for talented people to achieve other goals in life. "Nguyen Du, then Cao Ba Quat in the 19th century were the ones who were truly honored solely for their literature" [158, p.94]. According to Confucius's conception ("the will is the way, the virtue is the way, the humanity is the way"), the act of creating art in general, and literary creation in particular, is at the last level of the concerns of the "gentleman", and also plays a modest role ("entertainment, play"). In the theses "literature conveys the way", "poetry expresses the will", the concept of "literature" is far from identical with the concept of "literary creation" or the product of that action. The life path and stages of development of Confucian scholars prescribed by Confucianism do not lead them to become professional literary authors, and even less do they consider literary works as the purpose of life. But once a talented person considers talent, first of all literary talent, as an important measure, a "characteristic criterion", then, naturally, literature becomes more and more
has a strong appeal and at some point, it will become an independent field of activity in spiritual life, and will "select" its "sacrifices". Nguyen Du and Cao Ba Quat are perhaps the two most representative authors in that direction [158, p.94]. Nguyen Du's (and by extension Cao Ba Quat and a number of other Confucian scholars') intense attitude towards literature can be explained from the characteristics of Confucian ideology of this period.
This was the period when Confucian scholars first appeared who considered art as a way of life, an irreplaceable spiritual interest, a need that must be satisfied. Le Quy Don, Phan Huy Chu, Pham Dinh Ho… were all such people. They not only considered scholarship as a tool for their career advancement, but more than that, they used it to leave their names to posterity, considering scholarship as a career of a lifetime. That Confucian concept had an impact on the concept of literature. “Confucian scholars did not always create literature with the spirit of “carrying out the teachings” and “expressing their will” as before, especially in free-form writing. They directly or indirectly considered literature as a place to entrust their lives, considering it a career and not just a tool for another field. For them, literary creation began to be a place to express themselves, to affirm themselves in the spirit of an artist. Nguyen Du expressed that feeling many times in his heartfelt verses. He wrote
"Bach nien cung tu van chuong ly" (A life of one hundred years and dying poor in the midst of literature) , people have seen the idea that literature is something of a person's entire life. And when he said about Du Fu: "Nhat cung chi thu khoi cong thi" (Was he (Du Fu) so poor because of poetry?), that subtle idea was even more evident. As for the sentiment "Bat tri tam bach du nien hau/ Thien ha ha nhan khap To Nhu" (Not knowing three hundred and more years/ Thien ha ai nguoi khap To Nhu), besides the sympathy of "sharing the same illness and relating", there is also the worry about the end of human life without leaving anything behind in the human world. That is the feeling that literature is something that can make people immortal. That is also a common sentiment that can be read here and there in the poems of Ngo Thi Si, Cao Ba Quat, Nguyen Cong Tru, Ho Xuan Huong..." [101, pp.153-154].
Born later but almost living at the same time as Nguyen Du, Pham Thai is a special model of a talented Confucian scholar because the fusion of ideals and qualities in him is somewhat complex, and unlike the profound, contemplative, and literary nature of Nguyen Du, Pham Thai is a man of action. Pham Thai's ideals, lifestyle, and multifaceted personality are clearly expressed through his autobiographical works. On the one hand, he is a talented man who is extremely romantic, arrogant, and passionate in love; on the other hand, he is a hero in troubled times who is carefree and generous but failed, so he is always harsh and resentful towards the times and life. These two seemingly opposite people are very compatible.
tight, creating a type of masculinity that is half civil and half military, civil and military harmonize, transform and express each other.
Unlike Nguyen Du, Pham Thai did not consider literature as his life's career, but as a man of letters, he was proud of his talent and showed it very strongly in his writing. A typical example was the case when he created a "pen war" with Nguyen Huy Luong. At this time, Nguyen Huy Luong was listed among the great mandarins of the Tay Son dynasty. Not only did he frankly point out that Luong was a greedy person for salary and flattering the Tay Son court, he also exalted himself, especially in terms of literary talent, which would surpass other writers such as Ngo Thi Nham, Phan Huy Ich, Nguyen Huy Luong, Nguyen Thiep... with irony: "Literature is not reflected in the sages, some put it up, others revise it, what a naive poem that makes the door and yard crowded" or "Don't brag about that literature to your servants" (The Battle of Tay Ho Phu). As for himself, " A noble person has more or less direct writing". In the New Mirror , through the description of Pham Kim's talent, Pham Thai also implicitly affirmed his own talent: " The literature, the literature, the poetry/ The archery, the sword, and the horse are all well-versed/ The amateur profession is well-known/ The poet is famous for playing the zither, holding the immortals/ The divine flag, the sacred wine is famous/ The immortals fly, the phoenix dances, the phoenix crows/ The art of numerology is inherently well-versed/ Including the Immortals, the Buddhists, and all the ways of Ly and Y". That talent is the harmony between "the literature, the literature, the poetry" (literature) and "the archery, the sword, and the horse" (v). This is not just a conventional description because in real life, the qualities of a literati and a hero are clearly blended in Pham Thai. Nguyen Van Xung believes that: Although he did not enjoy as much favor from the Le kings as Nguyen Du - whose father was a duke and his brother was a prime minister - but in terms of enthusiasm in the resistance war against Tay Son and the restoration of the Le dynasty, Pham Thai was considered to be more enthusiastic. The person who enthusiastically realized the heroic dream of the Le dynasty at that time was not Nguyen Du but Pham Thai. He spent his youth pursuing the cause of restoring the Le dynasty. We only need to read the following proud and arrogant verses in the book "So Kinh Tan Trang" to see the indomitable spirit of the young man, along with Pham Thai's passion for the heroic career: " With anger, my hair stood on end / I drew my sword and slashed the case, thousands of songs said / To be a man , to satisfy my will / In this world, do not depend on anyone who is ordinary / The four directions of the lake resounded / Jumping on the waves, climbing the cloud ladder / My eyebrows showed my face as a man / Using loyalty and filial piety to avenge the country / That hero is the hero / A leisurely life does not bother studying with young people".
The fusion of the qualities of poet - hero, literature - martial arts can also be found in Cao Ba Quat's poems and prose. In " Talented man with many talents" , Cao Ba Quat expressed his arrogant and generous qualities: "Shaking the wine gourd, tilting the mountains and rivers, inviting the immortals with a cup of laughter and phlegm/ Waiting for the poetry bag to be filled with wind and moon, whispering in the old Do/ Fresh
The scholar's face is exposed, he covers his face and tries to kick open the door of the stupa/ He washes his liver and gall, raises his hand and tries to change his fate. The spirit of the person with the "liver and gall" wants to
"The plan to turn the tide of fate" is harmoniously interwoven with the poet carrying "a bag of poems filled with wind and moon". That essence of a poet of wind and moon also appears many times in Cao Ba Quat's poetry, for example these two typical verses in "Ninh Binh dao trung": "Tuong khan phong nguyet cau vo tan, Chi khung thi ong bat khan hoi" (The moon and the wind both seem to be an endless storehouse, I'm afraid the poet won't return).
Normally, when mentioning the type of talented person, there is a tendency to attribute elements related to artistic talent, poetry (belonging to literature ) rather than elements such as fighting, archery (belonging to martial arts ). But with the special era, with the special talent, it has produced selected Confucian scholar models, masculine configurations that combine literature and martial arts that are difficult to repeat in later periods. It deviates from many traditional patterns, showing that talent is the taste, the breath of the era, the ideal of the talented person. Talent is not just the kind of talent that is generally portrayed, empty to beautify, but the kind of outstanding talent, arrogant, liberal, closely associated with a person who is passionate about life, passionate about sex, loves pleasure, craves freedom, and shows boundless talent.
It can be said that the talented person is a special crystallization of masculinity according to the literary-martial model in the late medieval period: possessing all the excellent qualities of a specially trained literati, a profound cultural background and poetic talent, but having a very wide range of activities, being able to "participate in politics", having heroic spirit, even individually becoming a rebel against the feudal court (like the case of Cao Ba Quat). The characteristic of both literature and martial arts, valuing both martial characteristics alongside literary characteristics shows that there has been a shift in the structure of masculinity: integrating both literature and martial arts in the talented person. However, basically, the literary element still occupies a dominant position, being the core of the masculine structure in Vietnamese medieval culture and literature. However, the shift towards adding martial elements alongside traditional literary elements shows the dialectical and flexible nature of the masculine structure in the late feudal period.
b) The literary fusion in the masculine structure of the image of the talented man in the Nom story "The talented man - the beautiful woman"
Not only in the Confucian and masculine genres of scholars, there is a fusion of literature and martial arts, the image of talented characters in works with the theme of talented men and beautiful women of this period also recorded new characteristics compared to previous literary periods.
Regarding the qualities of a talented person, Chapter 7 of the book Chinese literary history has outlined the image of an ideal talented person who is complete in talent, beauty, love, and chivalry . These characteristics of the talented character type in Chinese talented and beautiful novels are also
are the typical qualities of the talented characters in Vietnamese Nom stories of talented men and beautiful women. We use the concept of "Nom stories of talented men and beautiful women" (including Nom poetic stories of talented men and beautiful women borrowed from China and Nom poetic stories of talented men and beautiful women composed by Vietnamese writers) according to Nguyen Van Hoai's classification criteria. The plots of these works develop according to the basic model of "1. Men and women fall in love at first sight; 2. Villains cause trouble and cause separation; 3. Talented men pass the exam and reunite" (or "1. Meeting; 2. Separation; 3. Reunion") [41]. The stories Hoa Tien, Song Tinh Bat Da, So Kinh Tan Trang... all adhere to this plot model relatively closely, according to which, the talented male character has literary talent, passes the imperial examination, but the great achievements he makes are not thanks to that literary talent but because he is sent to fight against the enemy at the border. And perhaps from the beginning of the work, the talented characters are not highlighted for their ability in both literature and martial arts, but are often mainly portrayed for their literary talent.
Song Tinh Bat Da describes the young man Song Tinh: " The literary ceremony gathers friends with books and lamps / Ink falls on jade, poetry should be shaken with gold ". The student of the Flower Fairy Story " Feng yi is different from the price, the story is excellent" is a Confucian scholar and passed the exam to become a mandarin, but at the end of the work, the talented male characters all go to war to make achievements, their victorious return has the value of a plot point, from there resolving the conflicts that are still unfinished, at the same time opening up a happy ending, reunion (meeting and marrying a beauty, and at the same time being granted a marriage by the king). In Song Tinh Bat Da , the fusion of literature and martial arts in Song Tinh is also shown through the detail that he went to battle as a military general but used his talent for response (of a scholar) to subdue the Phien invaders and achieve victory: " He came from the Man Dinh / The Man king was only arrogant and proud / Seeing him respond like a river / Praised that there was an angel in the country / Everyone respected the power of heaven / Called himself a minister and accepted the position of a vassal king."
The Tale of Kieu is perhaps a work that deviates from this plot pattern, when Kim Trong, although described as "literary, earthly, intelligent and natural", is a typical talented man of letters, but he did not go to war, did not make any achievements even though he became an official after passing the exam. And the purpose of passing the exam to become an official was not described by Nguyen Du as Kim Trong's ultimate goal because when he learned that Kieu had to sell herself to redeem her father, wandering around without knowing where, Kim Trong: " I wanted to hang up my seal and resign from office/ I waded through many rivers, crossed many thousands/ I threw myself into the storm/ I went through life and death and saw each other" because he himself felt tormented "how could I bear to stand and sit at the top for peace". Kim Trong is perhaps the image of a talented man with a structure of literary talent and typical, dense literary qualities.
Coming to Pham Thai's New Mirror , we encounter Pham Kim with typical characteristics of the fusion of literature and martial arts in a masculine structure, similar to the author Pham Thai himself. Pham Kim is introduced as a descendant of the " kinh luan " family.
"strategy", "writer's career". Right in the lines of poetry introducing "personality", Pham Kim was portrayed as a synthesis of outstanding qualities in men: " Lectures, literature, poetry/ Archery, sword, horse, all well-versed/ Amateur hobby/ Famous in playing the flute, famous in playing the flute/ Divine flag, holy wine, immortal poetry/ Good at flute dancing, phoenix singing, sacred flute/ Skillful in numerology/ Including the Immortals, the Buddhists, all aspects of medicine".
In this character, the heroic qualities and the will to be a man of the world are highlighted, even though he encounters many failures on the path to his career: " Being a man, let your will be fulfilled/ In this world, do not depend on anyone who is mediocre/ In all four directions, the sound of the wind and rain resounds/ Jumping on each peach blossom, climbing the cloud ladder/ Showing the face of a man with loyalty and filial piety to avenge the country". Before the chaos, despite failure and defeat to the point of being penniless, Pham Kim still maintains the character and ideals of a scholar, still nurturing the will to take revenge. However, although he was built to be a heroic model, Pham Kim also has a compromise with the model of a talented and romantic man burdened with talent. The transformation from a man who is indignant because of his failed career to a man who puts all his energy into love creates an extremely special masculine model. Pham Kim wrote poems to Quynh Thu, played the zither for Thuy Chau..., all are described with perfection. The elements of hero - wanderer - poet - lover are intertwined, no element negating the other but appearing together in perfect harmony. The fusion of literary and martial qualities in the masculine structure of Pham Kim, as Nguyen Van Xung commented: "Pham Kim alone is a synthesis of Kim Trong and Tu Hai, adding a lot of the air of detachment and Zen and the leisure of Lao Trang. That is an unfinished synthesis in the author's life as well as not yet complete, not yet completed in Pham Thai's literature" [162, p. 82].
c) The fusion of literature and art in the heroic image
Another special masculine model of this period is the hero of chaotic times. In the context of the feudal regime and society gradually losing stability, the political and ideological institutions were in danger of collapsing, the old ideals were gradually no longer suitable, leading to resistance; the hero of chaotic times model was born to re-establish a certain good social order in the imagination, to restore the remaining possible masculine models of the golden age. "The transformation of the hero of chaotic times model in a continuous chain under the pressure of a new political and social context is shown in the works of Nguyen Du and, regretfully stirred in the works of Nguyen Cong Tru and Cao Ba Quat..." [158, p.98] And from a gender perspective, the hero image of this era did not comply with Kam Louie's theory of masculinity in that they lacked restraint in front of women, had a hedonistic mindset, valued sex, and even