The Tale of Lục Vân Tiên is a 19th-century Vietnamese-language epic poem written in vernacular nôm script by the blind poet Nguyễn Đình Chiểu. The 2,076 line work is one of the two most recognizable and influential epic poems in Vietnamese. Its reaffirmation of Vietnam's traditional moral virtues, at a time when Vietnamese society was facing the French invasion, had great popular appeal.
Plot
The plot concerns Lục Vân Tiên, who travels to the capital to take part in mandarin civil service examinations. On the way, he saves a woman, Kiều Nguyệt Nga, from bandits. In gratitude, she offers him her hairpin; but when Luc Van Tien refuses it, she instead presents him with a poem, to which he responds by giving her one of his poems. He continues on his way and meets another man, Hớn Minh. He visits his parents and fiancee, then heads to the capital. Upon arriving, he makes friends with Vương Tử Trực, Trịnh Hâm, Bùi Kiệm. Before the test, Luc Van Tien receives news about his mother's death, and returns home instead. On his way, he is blinded and pushed into the river by Trịnh Hâm. The River Dragon helps he to shore and a fisherman cares for him. His fiancee's family traps him in a cave, but he is rescued and reunites with Hớn Minh, who couldn't take the examination due to some incidents. Tử Trực asks Vân Tiên's fiancee's family about him, the father wants Tử Trực to marry his daughter instead but is declined, the father later dies because of illness. When Kiều Nguyệt Nga hears about Vân Tiên's death, she attempts suicide when her devotion to Tien is threatened, but is saved by Quan Âm, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. She lives in the forest with an old lady. Lục Vân Tiên's eyes are healed, he takes the examination, and is sent to war. When he returns victoriously, he gets lost in the forest and reunites with Kiều Nguyệt Nga. The poem praises the power of true love, applauds bravery and fair justice, similarly to chivalric literature such as Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe.
