Vivid, Colorful, Mood-Rich Scene

The "clip" is a "unique" and "hot" type in the literary trend of writing about "visible things" of the entire literary period of the 18th century - first half of the 19th century.

Because of aiming at the “real person” of life, Cao Ba Quat’s way of associating in a “real” way is still poetic and novel. This is the image of a girl under the moon on the night of the 17th:

Noah is a rare and wonderful person.

Can't wait to chat with the mind. Talented to compose happy letters,

Maybe you are interested!

Confession

( On a Seventeenth Night, I Cover the Moon with My Hands, a Note from a Friend ) (Pulling my sleeve to cover the moon,

Can't afford to waste it.

Cut it out and write it into a letter of joy, Send him your confidences.)

It is hard to imagine that at the beginning of the 19th century, there was a poet whose imagination of a girl's actions was similar to the lyrics of the current 21st century song: "cutting half of the moon to make a small boat (...) to take me back to the time when I loved". Both have "irrational" actions towards the moon, the moonlight. With the girl in Cao Ba Quat's poem, she watched the moon on the 17th night of autumn. The full moon had passed for two days. On the 17th night, the moonlight had gradually waned, taking the first steps towards the other half of life - the side of old age, weariness. Before that aged moon, her heart was filled with a flood of emotions. First of all, there was the reminiscence of the golden past: Thiep nien nhi bat thoi/ Doanh doanh chinh tuong tuong (When I was twenty-eight/ Also as plump as the moon.). Then she returned to the present and was disappointed by her “imaginations”: Truong dai ai du nghien/ Thuong tuong dung nhan mi (Growing up, still loving the old beauty/ Thinking it could stay like that forever). So, she tried to act to keep her youth: pulling her shirt to wrap the moonlight, to cut it into a letter… The moonlight was shapeless, yet she imagined that she could “wrap” it in a scarf. Moreover, the moonlight in the scarf could even freeze into a solid object for her to “cut”. One idea followed another. She wanted the moonlight to condense or melt… depending on her will. It must be said that, to surpass a dreamy, romantic soul is too great an aspiration! The aspiration to have the extraordinary magic of fairies? Not to aim for…

“will” and “morality” but for love and happiness! These are “surreal” verses, proving a very sensitive soul, a very poetic and artistic writing style of Cao Ba Quat.

The most interesting is the poet Cao's imagination about Hang Nga:

The mirror of the Russian Frost is closed, the eyes are dark and lonely, the eyes are lonely and lonely.

I started to sing to myself in the North, and looked up at the West window .

( 23 nights of watching the moon, painting by Phan Hanh Phu ) (The widowed Hang holds a mirror and looks at the moon,

Self-pity secretly gives birth to shyness.

Who knows that night in the northern city (someone) was humming alone,

It was then that (someone else) at the west window was looking up at her.)

“Ancient poetry favored beautiful natural scenery/ Clouds, wind, moon, flowers, snow, mountains and rivers” (Ho Chi Minh). Poets especially loved the moon - an image symbolizing purity, clarity, gentleness, and poetry. The moon is often imagined as a soul mate. With Cao Ba Quat, the perception of the moon has changed. He imagined the moon with the aspect of ordinary couple happiness. In this aspect, Cao Ba Quat almost followed the direction of poetess Xuan Huong:

Five watches in the air waiting for someone, Or is there a personal love for the country?

( Ask the moon )

but not as pure and vulgar as the queen of Nom poetry. To him, Ms. Hang became a pitiful woman: widowed but still passionate about life. She still held a mirror to look at herself! She loved herself. And feminine like a young girl: shy even though she was a “widow”! Furthermore, she was unintentional, completely unaware that there was someone looking up at her passionately! Reading it out loud, one can clearly see the poetic meaning of the “excerpted fairy” Tan Da - a man of two centuries later:

The autumn night is so sad, sister Hang. I am bored with this world. Is anyone sitting in the cinnamon palace? Please lift up the banyan branch and play.

( Want to be Cuoi )

Tan Da flirted with Hang. Cao Ba Quat seemed more “serious”. However, the playful teasing of a mortal towards the fairy Hang Nga was still revealed, although the author tried to be discreet and tactful!

Obviously, by changing the traditional writing style to let the characters act “naturally”, Cao Ba Quat made his female characters more approachable. They seemed to have come from real life into the pages of the book.

Furthermore, Cao Ba Quat's female characters also initially had "spiritual dialectics". In medieval poetry, married women followed the moral standards of chastity. They were loyal and devoted to their husbands. In Cao Ba Quat's poetry, a soldier's wife appeared, alluding to her fear of changes in marital feelings. In her poetry, she mentioned the poem Bach Dau Ngam - a poem written by Trac Van Quan when her husband wanted to take another concubine. After reading this poem, Tu Ma Tuong Nhu did not take another woman. That allusion refers to the change in her husband's feelings. But the soldier's wife's thoughts did not seem to stop there. Before imitating the ancients in writing the song Thai Tieu (a day without seeing each other feels like three autumns have passed), her eyes turned to the neighbor's house and she noticed:

The unicorn flower and the earth are as bright as fire, and the wall is as clear as a mountain.

The wind moves far and wide, Entering the dark world, people are overwhelmed .

( The grudge, part 2)

(The flowers next door bloom with beautiful colors, Protruding into the shady corner of our wall. The gentle breeze carries the scent far away,

Blow on the hem of someone's shirt in a deserted place.)

These verses were probably borrowed by Cao Ba Quat from the poem Du vien bat tri (Going to the garden to play but not meeting the owner - Diep Thieu Ong):

The eagle and the unicorn dance on the stage, The little bandits fly and never open. Spring is in full bloom, The official cannot stay,

A pink apricot blossom comes out of the wall.

(Perhaps the garden owner was afraid that the guests' shoes would step on the green moss, so after knocking for a long time, no one opened the door.

The whole garden was filled with the colors of spring, and could not be stopped. So a branch of red apricot blossoms grew out of the wall.

However, Cao Ba Quat's poetic images still have their own characteristics. Cao Ba Quat's flowers also cross the boundary of the wall - the real wall and also the boundary wall of etiquette and emotions. But its fragrance goes further: blowing on the hem of a person's shirt in a deserted place. Surely there is a sentiment between the flower and the person? It is difficult to deny the hidden meaning of the poem.

Through monologue, the soldier's wife expressed quite "naturally" her worries about changing her heart. This was a voice that made a strong impression because it was very bold in the context of strict feudal etiquette (In another article, Cao Ba Quat also used this method quite successfully, making readers "shudder" at the confession of a girl who admitted "I deserve to die a thousand times" because "I have given my body to him" and waited for the man of her life to appear ( Doc Da Khuc )) . However, Cao Ba Quat's writing power proved to be even more attractive in some articles where he let the female characters have dialogues. They confided their feelings to their lovers and other men besides their husbands. Those shared words clearly revealed the concept and lifestyle that went against tradition of some women, at the same time expressing the extremely complex inner world of women's hearts. When it was the sadness of separation ( Da Mon Truc Chi Tu, Ky Nhat). Sometimes, Kieu "proactively" went to her lover's place, but he was in one place, looking for another, disappointed and sad ( Da Mon Truc Chi Tu, Ky Nhi). Sometimes, she expressed her respect and regret for the person of her dreams in the situation of "My body has married you" ( Huy Thu Tu )... Especially the confession of a young woman whose husband was a merchant:

I used to have a wish with my husband, but the merchant did not lightly part. Today I return to my father's house, and I will sing to him, a man's or a nightingale.

( The Bamboo Temple of Da Mon, Part 3)

(In the past, I wished that we would know (understand) each other. I (said) I wouldn't marry a merchant because they take separation lightly.

Then the merchant's wife (was) ashamed (of her previous thoughts),

In the morning, I carefully put on makeup while my husband draws my eyebrows.

Merchants often travel far away, leaving their wives alone at home. Therefore, at first, the woman must have been haunted by the “mirror of the bamboo screen” in Bai Juyi’s Pipa Xing :

The guests who value profit despise separation, busy selling tea early in the morning in the open sea.

The boat does not dock, let anyone,

Around the boat the moon and water flow coldly. Late at night I suddenly remember the circle of youth,

Tears in dreams stained the makeup.

(Translated by Phan Huy Vinh)

The contrast between her thoughts “before” and “now” shows that her perception has completely changed. Before, she thought according to the majority of public opinion. Now, as the wife of a real merchant, she is “brainwashed”, understanding people correctly through the very real manifestations of life:

Wake up in the morning to put on makeup, husband draws eyebrows for me

“Getting up in the morning to put on makeup” means being at ease and leisurely; having the time and conditions to beautify one’s appearance, starting a new day with a lovely face - that is already very precious. Even more fortunate is that she also has her “husband draw her eyebrows”. That action proves the husband’s love, his attentive care for his wife, the closeness and affection of the happy couple. Through the story of Truong Suong painting her eyelashes , the woman clearly demonstrated: her husband does not only care about money and profit. The merchant also knows how to love beauty and is very affectionate. He takes care of and “makes up” for his wife when they have time together. Enjoying that love, the young woman is “ashamed” of her previous inherent misunderstanding. That attitude both reveals her passionate love for her husband and shows a change in the way of looking at and evaluating the merchant class in general. This is truly a very new voice in the feudal period when agriculture was the main focus and commerce was the main focus.

In Vietnamese literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, Nom stories had a dialogue form, with a narrative function. By letting women dialogue, Cao Ba Quat's Chinese poetry, along with the trend of Nom stories - bringing the narrative form of Chinese poetry to a modern color - let the "independent" character speak about the circumstances, situations, events, people, actions, and moods of themselves and other characters. With dialogue, the female character did not

only "Private sorrow, a little bit alone" ( The Tale of Kieu ). They dared to honestly confide. That is also an affirmation of their bravery and being shared with society. This method of Cao Ba Quat is clearly also a new method in medieval Chinese poetry.

In general, with his concern for women, Cao Ba Quat’s writing both inherited the general inspiration of the era and found his own path. His female characters were close to real life. They became flesh-and-blood people and “courageously” expressed the development of their souls.

3.5. New points in the nature theme

Turning to nature is a common thought of Confucian scholars. But in each period, each author has his own approach to this topic.

Before the 18th century, nature was often portrayed in a poetic and beautiful way. Nguyen Trai also gave "bad habits" to the image of nature when nature became a metaphor to talk about people: Co que thay trong conch. Khuc cuc lam chi trai hoe ( Tran tinh, poem 8), Tri co moi nhung long nhien ( Cut xuan )... But basically, nature in Nguyen Trai's poetry is always green, fresh, full of life: When spring comes, every flower is fresh ( Mai ), A peach blossom is well-groomed (Hoa dao), Mistakes do not stick to good harmony (Hoa sen), Vines of flowers bloom well and harmoniously (Cay duong), Heaven gives ten times better things (Hoa Tuong An), The spring breeze is naturally good and adds more (Cay banana) ... Furthermore, Uc Trai also saw nature as extremely rich and generous:

The warehouse of autumn wind and moon is full to the roof, The boat carrying the river of peace is heavy with bolts.

( Improvisation )

After Nguyen Trai, Nguyen Binh Khiem, although he rarely had complete poems dedicated to nature, the poet's emotions still flowed among natural creations:

The moon comes in the summer, the gold is scattered,

Bamboo and jade come together at the edge of the wind. (Zhong Tan's inspiration)

(The moon comes under the pine shade, like gold crumbling into pieces. The wind comes to the bamboo clump, the sound of jade clanging.)

Feeling the beauty of nature, poets often sing about nature for great purposes. They praise the sacred land of the nation:

The hundred and two rivers are made of iron, and heroes and great achievements are born in this land.

( Bach Dang seaport ) The dangerous pass was set by heaven, The heroes and great men of that land have achieved fame.)

Or to entrust the noble beauty in the Confucian soul through pine, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and apricot; or to express the ideal of a leisurely, pure life - coming to nature to escape the state of isolation of the individual in the long-term dialogue with society, coming to nature to restore the original, innocent state of emotions:

The fragrance fills the banquet of fallen flowers, The spring garden is filled with the chirping of birds.

( Untitled - Nguyen Binh Khiem)

Ancient poets also realized the endless power of nature, saw nature as vast and boundless in space and time. In nature, humans are limited and small. Therefore, poets often harbor a painful pain before their own insurmountable limits: Nature is eternal - humans are momentary, nature is indifferent - humans are sensitive:

The mountains and rivers are carved with the oath of heroes, Heaven and earth are merciless and change a lot.

( The mountains and rivers remain the same but the heroes are gone,

Heaven and earth are so unpredictable that they create many changes.

With Nguyen Du, nature in poetry has completely changed to a different shade. It is heavy with sadness and haunts the artist's world of thought: sadness for the tragedy and suffering of the mortal world: Dark night, proud wolves and tigers ( Farewell to Nguyen Dai Lang II ); The moon sets outside, there are gibbons calling/ People walking in tiger footprints (Phoenix on the road to the old man ); The mountains are piled up/ Vines crawl all over the narrow ground, making it difficult to open a path ( Son Trung Tuc Su ); The rain god cries, the water god is angry/ Before Ngu Chi Mountain

The water poured down like a waterfall/ Silver waves raced all day like dragons and snakes/ On both banks, the green mountains were like wolves and tigers ( Never Progressing )…

Cao Ba Quat continued to develop the path Nguyen Du had opened, turning to the nature of objective reality, no longer looking at nature one-sidedly according to the Confucian mindset.

3.5.1. Vivid, colorful, rich in mood

Nature in Cao Ba Quat's poetry is closely linked to objective reality with all its states.

When beautiful, charming:

The spring mind is crazy and cannot be held, the fish feet of West Lake are from Xi Shi.

The business and business of the great sea is peaceful, the song of the demons and the green grass is melodious.

( The Eight Wonders of the West Lake, Part 2)

(Spring heart is swaying and cannot be restrained, West Lake is truly like Xi Shi.

A full brow is when the waves are calm, A undulating waist is when the grass is green.

When it is quiet and still:

The three still cold fish do not attract shadows,

The moon is bright and the bird is on the palace.

(Composed on Qingming Day, painted by Tran Ngo Hien)