Literature

Traditional Literature: including folklore literature, classical Chinese (Han) and Nom (Vietnamese scripts modified from classical Chinese scripts) literature.

- Folklore literature was born as early as the primitive time during work and struggle for a living. It was passed down from one generation to another by the words of mouth and existed in various forms, including folk-tales, mythologies, epics, legends, fairy-tales, funny stories, poetic tales, folklore verses and quizzes, etc.

- Classical Chinese Literature: The classical Chinese scripts were first used in Vietnam during the first period of Northern rule. After gaining national independence in 938, Vietnamese feudal regimes, with high spirit of independence, developed their own literature and used classical Chinese as a means of transmission. There are a number of masterpieces in classical Chinese preserved till today. Among them are Deity’s poem by Ly Thuong Kiet, Proclamation to Generals and Soldiers by Tran Hung Dao, and Dai Viet History (Dai Viet su ky) by Le Van Huu.

- Nom Literature: Nom scripts were modified from classical Chinese. Nom Literature first appeared in the 8th century, reached its peak in the 18th century and lived on to the 20th century. Famous works now still remain, including Proclamation of Victory over the Wu by Nguyen Trai, A Nationwide Collection of Poems with 254 poems by Nguyen Trai, a World Man of Culture, Hong Duc Nationwide Collection of Poems by King Le Thanh Tong, Bach Van Poem Collection by Nguyen Binh Khiem, Laments of a Warrior’s Wife by Dang Tran Con or verses reflecting the aspiration for gender equality by the “Queen of Nom poetry” Ho Xuan Huong, etc. The most famous works of this period was The Story of Kieu by great poet Nguyen Du. In addition, there were historic books written in Nom such as Complete Works of Dai Viet History (Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu) by Phan Phu Tien, Ngo Sy Lien and Vu Quynh or History of the Le Dynasty by Le Quy Don.

Contemporary Literature: The introduction of the National Language (Quoc Ngu) was the foundation for Contemporary Literature or Modern Literature. The first works using the National Language were the fictions “Who can do that?”, “The grass teased by wind” by Ho Bieu Chanh, “To Tam” by Hoang Ngoc Phach, “Watermelon” by Nguyen Trong Thuat, and “The collection of folktales” by Truong Vinh Ky. The Vietnamese Modern Literature has been strongly developed with the introduction of a series of works in the national language by famous writers, including Tan Da, The Lu, Ngo Tat To, Nguyen Cong Hoan, Nguyen Hong, Xuan Dieu, Huy Can, Luu Trong Lu, and Nam Cao, etc. During the 1945-1975 period, the literature works reflected the nation’s aspiration for peace and independence, calling on the people to rise up for national liberation and reunification.

Since the reunification, in pursuit of the policy to build a “modern culture with strong national identity”, Vietnamese artists and writers have been seeking to reflect various aspects of the social life in their works. Their writings help fight wrong-doings and call upon the whole nation to build a Vietnam that is a “strong country, wealthy people, a just, democratic and advanced society”. The Vietnamese Literature has been rapidly developed with various forms: prose, poetry and literature review, etc., thus contributing to the development of Vietnamese culture.

Copyright: Ministry of Foreign Affairs