Kim Van Kieu

Kim Vân Kiều (金雲翹 in Chữ Nôm) or Truyện Kiều or Đoạn Trường Tân Thanh is an epic poem in Vietnamese written by the 18th century writer Nguyễn Du. Many Vietnamese have memorized verses of Kim Van Kieu.

Đoạn Trường Tân Thanh, otherwise known as Kim Vân Kiều, is a 3,254 line poem, written in 6/8 meter. It recounts the life, trials and tribulations of Thúy Kiều, a beautiful and talented girl, who had to sacrifice herself to save her family. She sold herself as a prostitute to save her father and younger brother from jail.

The poem is commonly referred to in English as: "The Story of Kieu".

Below is first 6 lines of the poem written in Quoc ngu and the original Chu nom.

Trăm năm trong cõi người ta,

Chữ tài chữ mệnh khéo là ghét nhau.

Trải qua một cuộc bể dâu,

Những điều trông thấy mà đau đớn lòng.

Lạ gì bỉ sắc tư phong,

Trời xanh quen thói má hồng đánh ghen

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Vietnamese poetry