Phạm Tải – Ngọc Hoa Explained

The Story of Phạm Tải and Ngọc Hoa (Phạm Tải – Ngọc Hoa) is an anonymous 18th Century Vietnamese language epic poem of 934 verses.

The poem belongs to the genre of vernacular nôm script verse poems which includes Phạm Công – Cúc Hoa, Nhị độ mai ("The Plum Tree Blossoms Twice"), Lục súc tranh công ("The Struggle of the Six Animals"), the tale of Thạch Sanh, the tale of Chử Đồng Tử, the tales of Trạng Quỳnh, the tale of Tống Trân and Cúc Hoa, the Truyện Trinh thử ("Tale of the Virgin Mouse"), and the Hạnh Thục ca ("Lament while fleeing to Thục"). Interest in these vernacular Vietnamese-language poems was reawakened early in the nationalist cultural movement.^[1] As with another Vietnamese epic poem, the Tale of Tống Trân and Cúc Hoa, the Tale of Phạm Tải and Ngọc Hoa has also entered Thai tradition in a narrative translation.^[2]

Plot

Phạm Tải is an orphan, and Ngọc Hoa is the daughter of a wealthy mandarin family.^[3] Their romance ends violently with Ngọc Hoa killing herself to protect Phạm Tải from the king.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Patricia M. Pelley Postcolonial Vietnam: New Histories of the National Past 2002 - Page 268 "Among the novels most frequently discussed were Phạm Công Cúc Hoa, Nhị độ mai, Lục súc tranh công, Truyện Thạch Sanh, Chử Đồng Tử, Trạng Quỳnh, Tống Trân Cúc Hoa, Phạm Tải—Ngọc Hoa, Truyện Trinh thử, and Hạnh Thục Ca. The more prominent participants in these discussions were Hằng Phương, Văn Tân, Trương Chính, Hoa Bằng, Võ Xuân Phố, Nguyễn Đổng Chi, Mai Hanh, Ninh Viết Giao, and Đặng Việt Thanh."
2. Laos and ethnic minority cultures: promoting heritage - Page 73 Yves Goudineau, Unesco - 2003 "These include Chang Nghien, a narrative Thai poem based on the Vietnamese poem Tong Tran Cuc Hoa; and Chang Tu, a narrative Thai poem based on the Vietnamese poem Pham Tai Ngoc Hoa.
3. Anthology of Vietnamese popular literature - Page 205 1984 "PHAM TAI AND NGOC HOA (Pham Tai — Ngoc Hoa) Ngoc Hoa, beautiful and virtuous, is the daughter of a mandarin of the wealthy Tran family. Taking pity on the orphan Pham Tai, who lives by begging she regularly gives him rice and ..."
4. Anthologie de la littérature vietnamienne: XVIIIe Première moitié ... - Page 309 Kh́ăc Vịên Nguỹên, Nguyẽn Khăc Viên, H̃ưu Ngọc - 1973 "PHAM TAI ET NGOC HOA (Pham Tài — Ngọc Hoa) De tous les romans populaires en vers nom, « Pham Tai et Ngoc Hoa » constitue le réquisitoire le plus violent contre le régime féodal symbolisé par la toute puissance du roi. "