A conference entitled “The Great Poet Nguyen Du and His Masterpiece -The Tale of Kieu’” was organized by the Vietnam Kieu Study Association collaborated with the Vietnam National Library in Hanoi on July 28.
About 30 reports revolving around Nguyen Du’s artistry and his masterpiece were presented at the conference.
The event is one of activities marking the 250th birthday of the great poet Nguyen Du.
Various cultural activities were held during the event in Ha Tinh province, Hanoi and Bac Ninh Province, including an international seminar on Nguyen Du’s life and career and his works especially “the Tale of Kieu”; talks and competitions on Nguyen Du and the masterpiece Truyen Kieu (tale of Kieu), shooting documentary film, making stage productions, contest on musical and painting art works about the Vietnam’s great poet.
Nguyen Du, also known as To Nhu and Thanh Hien, was born in 1765 to a noble family in Thang Long ( Hanoi ).
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) chose the great Vietnamese poet Nguyen Du among other world famous personalities at its 37th General Assembly in Paris in 2013.
Poet Nguyen Du has been recognized by UNESCO for his Truyen Kieu (Tale of Kieu), a masterpiece of Vietnamese classic epic poetry.
Truyen Kieu has the most number of translations in more than 30 languages. The classic literature is a unique work containing verses which are divided into hundreds of short poems.
The literary masterpiece tells a tragic tale of a woman of great beauty and talent whose fate turns tragic. The young lady named Vuong Thuy Kieu is forced to sell herself to save her family, even though she is very learned. She overcomes many hardships in a lifelong pursuit of her doomed lover Kim Trong.
Truyen Kieu is a unique work that has created a ‘Kieu culture’ such as telling of fortunes from a text of the Kieu story and writing of poetry inspired from the tragic life of Thuy Kieu.
Nguyen Du was recognized by the World Peace Council as one of the world’s cultural celebrities in 1965.
