Nguyễn Du (; 3 January 1766 – 16 September 1820),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Tố Như () and

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

Thanh Hiên (), is a celebrated Vietnamese poet and musician. He is most known for having written the epic poem '' The Tale of Kiều''.

Biography

Youth

Nguyễn Du was born in a great wealthy family in 1765 in Bích Câu, Đông Kinh. His father, Nguyễn Nghiễm, was born in Tiên Điền village, Nghi Xuân, Hà Tĩnh, Vietnam. He was the seventh child of Nguyễn Nghiễm, a former prime minister under the

Lê dynasty The Lê dynasty, also known in historiography as the Later Lê dynasty (, chữ Hán: 朝後黎, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), officially Đại Việt (; Chữ Hán: 大越), was the longest-ruling List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, h ...

. By the age of 10, Du lost his father, and he also lost his mother at age 13, so for most of his teen years he lived with his brother Nguyễn Khản or with his brother-in-law Đoàn Nguyễn Tuấn. At the age of 19 (some sources say 17), Du passed the provincial examination and received the title of "tú tài" (Bachelor's degree), which made him (very roughly) the equivalent of a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

graduate. However, in Nguyễn Du's time this was a far more difficult credential to obtain both because few people were affluent enough to devote themselves to study and because of exacting standards applied. Du's mother was his father's third wife, noted for her ability at singing and composing poetry. In fact, she made her living by singing, which at that time was considered a disreputable occupation. It is said that Du may have inherited a part of his talents from his mother. He loved listening to traditional songs; and there was a rumor that, when he was 18, he himself eloped with a singer.

Adulthood

After passing the provincial exam, he was appointed to the position of a military advisor in the Royal (Trịnh) army. After the

Trịnh lords Trịnh is a Vietnamese family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full na ...

were defeated in 1786 by Nguyễn Huệ (the second youngest, most able and popular of the three Tây Sơn brothers), Nguyễn Du refused to serve in the Tây Sơn administration. He was arrested and held for some time before moving back to his native village in the north of the country. When

Nguyễn Ánh Gia Long (Chữ Hán, Chữ hán: 嘉隆) ( (''Hanoi, North''), (''Ho Chi Minh City, South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh (阮暎), was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynas ...

defeated the Tây Sơn and took control over all of Vietnam in 1802, Nguyễn Du agreed to serve in his administration (many mandarins from the north refused to do this as it was widely felt that a mandarin should serve only one dynasty). At first, he was given his old post of military advisor; but after a decade, he was promoted to ambassador to China (1813). While in China, he discovered and translated the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

era tale that would become the basis for the ''Tale of Kiều''. He was later appointed to two more diplomatic missions to

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

, but before he could depart for the last one, he died of a long illness for which he refused treatment. Du's father had been a minister under the

, and his family had benefited greatly under their rule. For most of his life, Nguyễn Du was haunted by what he felt was his own betrayal of the rightful rulers of Vietnam, which occurred when he accepted a post under the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

''The Tale of Kiều''

'' The Tale of Kiều'' (Vietnamese ''Truyện Kiều'') was based on an earlier Chinese prose narrative, ''Kim Vân Kiều''. It was written under a pen name as the story was quite critical of the basic tenets of Confucian morality. It is a tragic tale of two lovers forced apart by the girl's loyalty to her family honor. In Vietnam, the poem is so popular and beloved that some people know the whole epic by heart and can recite it without a mistake. The work is famous for its humane meaning and was translated into 20 languages, such as English, French, Japanese, Korean...

Other works

*''Thanh Hiên thi tập'' (; Poems of Thanh Hiên) *''Nam Trung Tạp Ngâm'' (; Various Poems Made in the South) *''Bắc Hành Tạp Lục'' (; Various Records during the Travel to the North) *''Văn tế thập loại chúng sinh'' (; Literature of the Ten Kinds of Beings) also known as Văn chiêu hồn () *Văn tế sống Trường Lưu nhị nữ () *Thác lời trai phường nón ()

Honor

In the poet’s hometown, the Nguyễn Du Memorial Site (Vietnamese: ''Khu lưu niệm Đại thi hào Nguyễn Du'') was built to honor Nguyễn Du and his family. This cultural and historical site preserves his family’s ancestral house, worship hall, tomb, and a museum displaying valuable artifacts related to his life and works. The site has been officially recognized as a Special National Site.https://dsvh.gov.vn/di-tich-lich-su-khu-luu-niem-nguyen-du-huyen-nghi-xuan-tinh-ha-tinh-2963 His name has also been given to many streets and schools across Vietnam.

Modern depiction

* Portrayed by Quách Ngọc Ngoan in the 2010 movie '' The Musician at the Dragon Citadel''.