we promise one another- poems from an asian war /: nguyen du: an ancient master

we promise one another-poems from an asia war
 introduced by don luce+ john c. schafer + jacquelyn chagnon
published by IndochinaMobile Education Project,
Washington D.C. 1971.

                    nguyên du: an ancien master
                                by don luce+ j.schafer+ j.chagnon


No single person has had more influence on Vietnamese culture than the 18th and 19th century poet, Nguyễn Du.  His and thought has inspired much of today's  art  and thought.  His masterpiece Kim vân Kiều is the most loved of all Vietnamese poems.  Girls have often used it to tell their future.  The epic poem is opened and the lines which first meet their eyes are believed to reveal their fate.

In Kim vân Kiều the destiny of man is proclamed:  we have no hold on the future, but are born to suffer for the family.   It tells of the beautiful Thúy Kiều who loves Kim Trọng, but becomes a concubine of the ruthless merchant 
Mã giám Sinh in return for money she needs to save her father from the clutches of an unscrupulous tax collector.  Accepting her fate, Kiều said:
 " It is better that I should sacrifice myself alone.  It matters little if a flower falls if the tree can keep itself green. "

In the young people of Việtnam, the meaning is clear: they must accept whatever hardships come, so that the honor of the family and the country is preserved.  Many Vietnamese girls who today become prostitutes of American GI's  see themselves as modern- day Thúy Kiều' s and sell their bodies, but not their souls to help their families.  

Following the wish of Thúy Kiều, Kim Trọng marries her sister, Thúy Vân, but never forgets his first love.  In this scene, Kim Trọng has finally found Thúy Kiều after searching for many years.  At the banquet celebrating Thúy Kiều's return, her sister proposes that Kim Trọng and Thúy Kiều should now marry as they planned before fate intervened fifteen years before. 

In this scene Thúy Kiều is a similar state as the country of Việtnam to day.  Her body has been 'shattered by many storms', been fought over and sold to strangers, but through it all 'filial piety' and love of family have persisted and thus her soul has remained pure.

Vietnamese are fond of images of beauty and moral purity in the midst of corrupt and ugly surroundings.  Beautiful vignettes from Nguyễn Du's story of Thúy Kiều are often recalled by Vietnamese to help them endure the corruption and the destruction which war was has brought to their country, and to assure them that it is still possible to lead pure and country, and to assure them that it is still possible to lead pure and beautiful lives, even in the midst of all the ugliness that war brings.

Trần văn Dĩnh, a Vietnamese scholar now in exile in this country, has written that "above all, Kim vân Kiều is the embodiment of the Vietnamese pysche . Had President Johnson, Mr Rusk, Mr. Rostow ... all of the U.S. civilian and military personnel in Việtnam read 'Kim vân Kiều', instead of basing their judgments on meaningless facts and statistic, they would have avoided many serious and even fatal mistakes ." * 
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*  "Why Every American Should Read 'Kim vân Kiều'. " 
     (The Washingtonians, Sept., 1968).

"Now the mirror which was broken is complete again for the Heaven which orders all has so disposed; never dying love with the lovers themselves both still alive to enjoy it; the same silver moon shines today as when they were betrothed; though the bride is no longer a girl, she is still lovely, desirable; now is time for her to be married in all state.  " Scarcely had she finished speaking, when Kiều swept her argument aside, saying  " How now can we speak or this affair of so long ago?  Surely I have pledged myself,  but my body since has been battered by many storms, and I in shame cannot speak of it all; now permit the tide to ebb back to the open sea." Then Kim  broke in saying,
 " strange words these, and a strange wish; still despite all, there remains our solemn betrothal; your word given with the deep earth and high heaven as witness, what does it matter to us if even the stars have moved from their accustomed places for have we not promised each other in life and in death to be true to one another?   This oath shall we hold to; our marriage is no betrayal, our destiny we shall face together, to which Kiều replied, " But now I see how happily you and Vân have lived together both giving so much in love to each other.  I feel that the best married love needs the fragrance of the flower to gather around its pollen; that the moon holds its proper shape:  virginity is worth much treasure; I do not wish to blush in any bridal chamber where the rites are carried out by my beloved Kim, for since I have fallen on evil days, so have many bees and butteflies polluted my body: too much filth has lodged with me; there have been lashing tempests, driving rains; any moon in such would have lost its fullness, any flower its loveliness, so what is left for me ?  Surely now in this mortal life little remains for me to hope for, full of shame when I look back wondering how may I,  mud of the ditch, dare ever to become your wife, knowing of your great love yet unable to look at the clear flame of that lamp that would light our bridal chamber:  now have I decided on absolute celibacy for though my religious vows are not yet completed, yet do I feel this the only way for me; if still you continue remembering our past love, let us make it a base for friendship to speak of marrying after all that has passed seems sad, even ridiculous!"  Kim answered, " As ever you have reasoned well: yet must you realize that every argument has two sides; for any woman there are many ways to carry through the duties of married life, how absurd of you to say in the face of your filial piety so grandly expressed, that your body could ever be defiled!  Today as our destiny has brought us here together let us enjoy the flowers as the mist lifts from the garden path, and the sky clears off again!  See!  The flower that had faded is fresh and lovely once more!  You know, a wanting moon is always much brighter than the full one that has passed!
Why do you still doubt me?   As careless of me as if I was just some more 
passer-by ".*
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*  Both this poem and the next one, "Calling the Wandering Souls", were taken from 'Nguyễn Du and Kiểu'. 
    (Vietnamese Studies No.4, Hanoi, 1985. Translated by Lê Hiếu). 
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