Nguyễn Du

Nguyễn Du (1765–1820) was a Vietnamese poet and mandarin best known for The Tale of Kiều, a verse narrative central to Vietnamese literature.

The Tale of Kiều: A Vietnamese verse narrative about a woman who sacrifices herself to protect her family and endures years of hardship. This epic poem is Nguyễn Du’s defining work and the source of his lasting literary reputation.
Lê dynasty: A Vietnamese dynasty that ruled from 1428 to 1789, with periods of effective power and restoration. Nguyễn Du was born near the end of its later, politically weakened period.
Gia Long: The founding emperor of Vietnam’s Nguyễn dynasty, who reigned from 1802 to 1820. Nguyễn Du entered royal service under Gia Long after years of political uncertainty.
Kiềuism: The Vietnamese practice of consulting or interpreting passages of The Tale of Kiều to divine outcomes. The poem’s cultural authority extended beyond literature into everyday forms of divination.
Truyện Kiều: The Vietnamese title commonly used for Nguyễn Du’s verse narrative The Tale of Kiều. Its title is often used in Vietnam for the poem that defines Nguyễn Du’s legacy.
Tây Sơn dynasty: A Vietnamese regime established by the Tây Sơn uprising that ruled much of the country in the late eighteenth century. Its rise disrupted Nguyễn Du’s aristocratic world and shaped his early adult life.
Nguyễn Nghiễm: A Vietnamese scholar-official who served as grand chancellor under the Lê dynasty and was Nguyễn Du’s father. His father’s high office placed Nguyễn Du within an elite mandarin family.
Kiều recitation: The oral performance of passages from The Tale of Kiều, often in traditional musical styles. Recitation carried Nguyễn Du’s verses beyond the page and into communal performance.
Chữ Nôm: A Vietnamese writing system that used Chinese characters and adaptations to represent the Vietnamese language. Nguyễn Du composed The Tale of Kiều in this script, giving Vietnamese poetic expression a major work.
Nguyễn dynasty: The Vietnamese imperial dynasty that ruled from 1802 to 1945. Nguyễn Du served the dynasty’s court after the Nguyễn family unified the country.

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