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East Asian
Studies lecture on Vietnamese tradition
By Krystin Fischer '05
On Feb. 17 the Concentration in East Asian Studies
and the department of history welcomed Dr. Ngo Thanh Nhan, renowned linguist
and mathematician to present on selections of Vietnamese poetry and music.
He opened the lecture by playing the dan tranh, a traditional Vietnamese
instrument. This 16-stringed instrument arranged in three octaves was
explained to accompany poetry readings in Vietnam.
In traditional Vietnamese culture, folk poems are
sung rather than read in Chu Nom, a monosyllabic language. Many of the
poems, as in many other cultures, tell a short story with an underlying
message or theme intended. One of the specific poets Ngo spoke of was Ho
Xuan Huong. She is well known in Vietnam for her poetry and is titled the
“Queen of Nom” due to all of the beautiful and influential works she has
written. Through Huong’s poetry, Ngo expressed that people have been able to
uncover historic, geographic, cultural, and literary information about
society in Vietnam. Her poetry is a map into the heart and soul of their
country.
Ngo concluded his lecture by playing a song on the
dan tranh he wrote for a friend. The audience was intrigued by the
presentation and asked many follow up questions about Chu Nom and the style
of Vietnamese literary and musical customs as well as how to inquire more
knowledge about these traditions. |
