Nguyen Du and the legacy of Tale of Kieu on the occasion of 100 years of debate on Tale of Kieu

Debates affirm the enduring vitality of The Tale of Kieu over time
Highly appreciating the significance of the discussion, Prof. Dr. Lai Quoc Khanh - Vice President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi affirmed that Nguyen Du and The Tale of Kieu play a particularly important role in the history of Vietnamese literature. To evaluate those values, scientific research and discussion are needed.
The debate on The Tale of Kieu between Pham Quynh and Confucian scholar Ngo Duc Ke 100 years ago was short, but its value still has many echoes. The international scientific discussion with the theme: "Nguyen Du and the legacy of The Tale of Kieu on the occasion of 100 years of the debate on The Tale of Kieu" organized by the Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi aims to review this debate as well as look back at The Tale of Kieu itself as a literary and artistic heritage with new research and new perspectives.

In his opening remarks, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Xuan Thach - Head of the Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi emphasized that scientific issues surrounding the Tale of Kieu have been debated in many forums and have not ended, showing that although the Tale of Kieu is a classic work, it still raises many scientific issues that need to be answered.
Exactly 100 years ago, an important literary event took place in Vietnam, then a French colony: the debate on The Tale of Kieu between Pham Quynh and Confucian scholar Ngo Duc Ke at the end of 1924. The debate took place after the editor of Nam Phong magazine, Pham Quynh, gave a speech praising The Tale of Kieu with the words of praise that have become famous: "As long as The Tale of Kieu exists, our language exists, as long as our language exists, our country exists."
It can be said that the 1924 debate on The Tale of Kieu was a meaningful literary event, revealing to us the different ideological motivations at the beginning of the 20th century involved in evaluating and recognizing a past literary phenomenon of the Vietnamese people.

The seminar attracted the participation of domestic and international scientists, lecturers and students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Kansai University (Japan); Aix Marseille University (France); Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences...

Prof. Dr. Tran Nho Thin - Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, presented a comprehensive picture of the unification of culture and literature from the role of Truyen Kieu in the South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The speaker said that through the study of the reception of Truyen Kieu in the South in many aspects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it can be said that Truyen Kieu has many-sided significance on a national level, not only contributing to creating a common national cultural space but also encouraging the construction of a modern culture and literature of the whole country. This may be the context for discourses on national literature, on the role of Truyen Kieu in national literature and national culture in general.

Dr. Doan Anh Duong in his paper “National cultural heritage with modern nationalists” said that in the early 20th century, Nguyen Du’s Tale of Kieu was used by nationalist intellectuals in nationalist discourses. Among intellectuals who advocated peaceful reform, Tale of Kieu was considered a classic work of Annamese national literature, its value was used as a proof to affirm the cultural tradition with the invading French. Meanwhile, among intellectuals who advocated violent revolution for national liberation, Tale of Kieu was only considered a “pornography”, and therefore they strongly condemned acts of glorifying Tale of Kieu. This work, accordingly, became a sign for different nationalist tendencies in Vietnam at the time when French colonialists promoted the process of colonial exploitation and civilization. Paper by Dr. Doan Anh Duong has examined the debates surrounding The Tale of Kieu, thereby pointing out the indigenous intellectual mentality and the way they translated traditional culture into the process of giving birth to modern state models in Vietnam under the colonial context in the early 20th century.
The debate on Truyen Kieu was constrained by the colonial situation, so the subject of the debate was hidden, only highlighting the different choices of political, social and cultural directions. Despite the special attention and honor, Truyen Kieu had to wait until the following decades, when the literary field was established by the appearance of a generation of young Western-educated intellectuals and a new and more open reading community, to be recognized as a classic work in the treasure trove of Vietnamese literary culture.

MSc. Nguyen Dao Nguyen presented a paper on the praise of Pham Quynh's Tale of Kieu and the rise of discourses on culture and national spirit. MSc. Quach Thi Thu Hien discussed the topic "Prostitution in the early 20th century: A view projected from the attitude of Vietnamese Confucian scholars in the early 20th century towards "Miss Kieu"

The Tale of Kieu and its strong influence in many countries
Dr. Junko Nimura - Professor of Economics, Kansai University, Japan, with her presentation on the topic "Adaptation and illustration of the novel Kim Van Kieu in Japan" provided an overview of the adaptation of the original Chinese work Kim Van Kieu Story in Japan. The speaker emphasized that the Tale of Kieu of Vietnam and Japan are two countries that are heavily influenced by the original Chinese work, however, in each country, the works have been adapted in different literary forms and cultural colors.

Dr. Junko Nimura highly appreciates the subjective creativity of adapted works. Accordingly, in Vietnam, the novel was creatively adapted into poetry, then into painting. In Japan, the novel was adapted by the duo Bakin - Kuniyasu in another form, adapting to the new cultural environment. Thanks to these adaptations, the work is transmitted across time and space by changing its form. These works have transcended time and space with literary and cultural values ​​bearing the unique identity of each nation.

Dr. Truong Hong Quang - translator and researcher on Truyen Kieu in the Federal Republic of Germany brings new information about translations of Truyen Kieu through the ages in Germany, thereby showing that Truyen Kieu has conquered readers in many countries, especially Western countries with the timeless values ​​of this classic work.
The seminar ended with many lively discussions from scientists and lecturers attending, bringing new perspectives on the Tale of Kieu and its vitality and influence not only in Vietnam but also abroad; not only attracting the research passion of domestic scientists but also having a special appeal to international scholars.