Phạm Công – Cúc Hoa Explained

The Tale of Phạm Công and Cúc Hoa (范公菊花 Phạm Công – Cúc Hoa) is an anonymous 18th Century Vietnamese language poem written in luc bat verse and vernacular chu nom script. As with two similar poems, Phạm Tải – Ngọc Hoa and Tống Trân and Cúc Hoa, the title is made of the two names of a star-crossed couple, the boy Phạm Công and the girl Cúc Hoa.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Crossroads - Volumes 15 à 16 - Page 21 Northern Illinois University. Center for Southeast Asian Studies - 2001 "Many of my Vietnamese acquaintances are quite familiar with the names Pham Cong, Cuc Hoa, and Tao-thi (characters in Pham Cong Cuc Hoa) and can give a general account of their personal characteristics and adventures despite having." Page 24 "Pham Cong has many other distinctive features as well: After becoming Pham Cong's wife, Cuc Hoa bears him two children who play an important role in later episodes of the story, while she herself dies some years after their birth.