The Soul of Poetry Inside Kim-Van-Kieu
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Kim-Van-Kieu, edited in the early 1813’s, was a masterpiece of 3250 verses structured in a particular form of prosody that has become since then a cherished anthem of Vietnamese poetry. Its 1963 edition, translation, footnotes, and commentaries by Professor Le-Xuan-Thuy had given the Western readers a chance to taste the delights of a new style of poem-in-prose version of Vietnamese poetry into English.
Forty-six years later came into light a fresher gem with a more inspired form,The Soul of Poetry inside Kim-Van-Kieu, a vibrant versification of Kim-Van-Kieu by Professor Le-Xuan-Thuy himself, now well known online as International Poet Hall-of-Fame Thuy Lexuan, ASO.
The story concerns a maiden endowed with mental and bodily graces; an elite who, placed between love and filial devotion, deliberately chose the harder way: she sold herself to save her father, a victim of an unjust calamity. And from that day on, she passed from one misfortune to another until she sank into the most abject depravity. But, like the lotus, after a long chain of stormy winds, she succeeded in elevating herself and preserving the pure perfume of her original soul.
Herein below are a few excerpts from The Soul of Poetry inside Kim-Van-Kieu, highlighting a new style of prosodic version by a poet whose poetry has been popularized as the most comprehensive on Website.
She harmonized both major and minor
Of the four strings, high, then lower,
According to the Cung-Thuong scale.
To begin with was one of her most preferred,
‘The Battle Field of the Han and the Tchou.’
What a piece! Inside it one could discern
Sounds of iron and gold mingling high and low!
Next was Se-Ma’s ‘Phœnix after His Jenny.’
Wasn’t this a song of hatred and sorrow?
Then came Ki-Kang’s ‘The Glory of Royal Tombs,’
Like running water with traveling clouds above.
Formats $15.38 Book Details Kim-Van-Kieu, for centuries, has been regarded by the Vietnamese as the most beautiful jewel in painting the sentimental tenderness of the human soul. Edited in the early 1813’s, this masterpiece of 3250 verses was structured in a particular form of prosody that has become since then a cherished anthem of Vietnamese poetry. The story concerns a maiden endowed with mental and bodily graces; an elite who, placed between love and filial devotion, deliberately chose the harder way: she sold herself to save her father, a victim of an unjust calamity. And from that day on, she passed from one misfortune to another until she sank into the most abject depravity. But, like the lotus, after a long chain of stormy winds, she succeeded in elevating herself and preserving the pure perfume of her original soul. Homesickness seemed to carry away Her soul toward the forlorn clouds of Tsin. “My poor old parents! Both now must be quite old! “Since my departure, has their grievance “Subsided any as time went by? “So fast, more than ten years out of sight! “If they still live, maybe their skin “Has been wrinkled, and their hair has turned gray “Like frost-covered as it had never been! “And the old love! Regretful, I may say!” Like the lotus torn off from its stem, Though their former binding had been broken, The feelings Kieu had conceived for Kim Seemed to still have a slight venation. Kim-Van-Kieu 1963 Edition, English translation by Professor Le-Xuan-Thuy, had given the Western readers a chance to taste the delights of a new style of poem-in-prose version of Vietnamese poetry into English. Forty six years later came into light a fresher gem with a more inspired form, “The Soul of Poetry inside Kim-Van-Kieu”, a vibrant versification of Kim-Van-Kieu by Professor Le Xuan Thuy himself, well known online as international poet Hall-of-Fame Thuy Lexuan, ASO. Professor Le-Xuan-Thuy’s careers in Vietnam fluctuated from a portraitist and poet-singer-songwriter to a translator of Kim-Van-Kieu, the most famous masterpiece of Vietnamese poetry; from a specialist in national education and writer of textbooks to a Financial Control Systems University professor-consultant; in USA, from a Financial Control Systems developer to a writer of a series of highly spiritual materials; and then, after retirement, to an international poet Hall-of-Fame well-known on Website as Thuy Lexuan, ASO. His poetry, regarded as the most comprehensive, primarily illustrated as individual poems in anthologies published by For more information about author-poet Thuy Lexuan, just go to Google site and type “OmniRealm”.
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