Quốc âm thi tập explained

Quốc âm thi tập
Alternative Title(S):國音詩集
Author(S):Nguyễn Trãi 阮廌
Language:Vietnamese (written in chữ Nôm)
Date:15th century

The Quốc âm thi tập (國音詩集 "National pronunciation poetry collection") is a collection of Vietnamese poetry written in the vernacular chữ Nôm script attributed to Nguyễn Trãi (chữ Hán: 阮廌). The collection of 254 poems was traditionally written after Nguyễn Trãi's retirement from court life.[1] It was complied around the reign of emperor Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497).

Background

Quốc âm thi tập helped lead the development of chữ Nôm as a script for Vietnamese, but also to progress it as a tool for representing the Vietnamese language and its poetic themes not found in Literary Chinese poems.[2] The text itself contains approximately 12,500 different Nôm characters that were used during the 15th century.[3] The text tended to use characters for their sound rather than use phono-semantic characters that were later created as the chữ Nôm was being developed.[4] An example would be the phrase, 濁濁, normally it would be read as trọc trọc, but will be read in Quốc âm thi tập as đục đục according to the Nôm reading.

Text

首尾吟 Thủ vĩ ngâm!Chữ Nôm!Vietnamese alphabet
谷城南蔑閒Góc thành nam lều một căn,
奴渃㕵少咹No nước uống thiếu cơm ăn.
昆隊遁樣埃眷Con đòi trốn dường ai quyến,
馭少几Bà ngựa gày thiếu kẻ chăn.
狹囘坤且Ao bởi hẹp hòi khôn thả cá,
茹涓趣礙挼Nhà quen thú thứa ngại nuôi vằn.
朝官拯沛隱庒沛Triều quan chẳng phải ẩn chẳng phải,
谷城南蔑閒Góc thành nam lều một căn.
言志詩 Ngôn chí thi 7 (Cơm trời áo cha)!Chữ Nôm!Vietnamese alphabet
㐌秋尼底例茹Đã mấy thu nay để lệ nhà,
緣刁等庫庒赦Duyên nào đeo đẳng khó chăng tha.
蔑身吝橘塘科目Một thân lẩn quất đường khoa mục,
麻恾役國家Hai chữ mơ màng việc quốc gia.
才劣辣饒劔伴Tài lẹt lạt nhiều, nên kém bạn,
痗歇福群些Người mòn mỏi hết, phúc còn ta
君親渚報更更Quân thân chưa báo lòng cánh cánh,
情負襖吒Tình phụ cơm trời áo cha.

Influence

The original Quốc âm thi tập influenced emperor-reformer Lê Thánh Tông, best known for his Hồng Đức legal code. Lê Thánh Tông was also a poet, and organized a literary group in 1495, the group was called Tao Đàn nhị thập bát tú (chữ Hán: 騷壇二十八秀), they then produced another vernacular chữ Nôm collection, the Hồng Đức Quốc Âm thi tập (Hồng Đức National pronunciation poetry collection"; 洪德國音詩集).[5]

Notes and References

  1. Mark W. McLeod, Thi Dieu Nguyen Culture and Customs of Vietnam 2001- Page 68 "... printing them — the earliest body of nom texts that we have dates from the early post-occupation era and is attributed to Nguyen Trai. In this collection of 254 nom poems, called Quoc Am Thi Tap (Collected Poems in the National Language), composed after his retirement from court life, Nguyen Trai gives vent to his disenchantment with politics and expresses his preference a rural life of rustic pleasures and quiet contemplation."
  2. Web site: Nhóm bài thơ: Quốc âm thi tập (Nguyễn Trãi - 阮廌) . 30 May 2023 . Thi Viện.
  3. Web site: Nguyễn Trãi Quốc Âm Từ Điển . 30 May 2023 . Nôm Foundation.
  4. Web site: QATT Orthography . 30 May 2023 . Nôm Foundation.
  5. Mona Baker, Gabriela Saldanha Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies 2009 - Page 532 "The staff of Nam Phong also translated early Vietnamese texts in Chinese and Nôm into chữ Quốc ngữ, for example Hồng Đức quốc-âm thi-tập (Collected Poems of the Hồng Đức Period) and Phan Huy Chú's Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí (Regulations Made by the Various Dynasties, Arranged in Categories)."