The Tale of Kieu: A bilingual edition of Nguyen Du s Truyen Kieu

Since its publication in the early nineteenth century, this long narrative poem has stood unchallenged as the supreme masterpiece of Vietnamese literature. Thông’s new and absorbingly readable translation (on pages facing the Vietnamese text) is illuminated by notes that give comparative passages from the Chinese novel on which the poem was based, details on Chinese allusions, and literal translations with background information explaining Vietnamese proverbs and folk sayings. Since its publication in the early nineteenth century, this long narrative poem has stood unchallenged as the supreme masterpiece of Vietnamese literature. The English translation is presented on pages facing the Vietnamese text and provides literal translations with background information explaining Vietnamese proverbs and folk sayings Tram nam trong coi nguoi ta, chu tai chu menh kheo la ghet nhau.