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Topic: Commenting on the Enchanting Song by Nguyễn Công Trứ
Sample essay commenting on the Enchanting Song by Nguyễn Công Trứ
Essay: Commentary on the Sublime Song by Nguyễn Công Trứ
Traditionally, poets of self-praise and self-eulogy often embellish their verses with grandiloquence, using eloquent language to showcase their intellect. Nguyễn Công Trứ, in this 'Sublime Song,' takes a different path. He concretizes his poetry with real-life events and experiences unique to him, asserting his individuality. The phrase 'sublime' is reiterated four times in the poem, transforming it from a mere descriptive word to an emblem of his character. Among over a hundred poems, including sixty-one songs, this one stands out as 'The Sublime Song.' Contemporary and posterity alike acknowledge Nguyễn Công Trứ: a young man, a mandarin, a general, an elder in awe. The sense of sublimity becomes indelibly associated with an era, embodied by him.
Nguyễn Công Trứ, like most scholars of old, achieved greatness through the gates of Confucius, the fields of Trinh. Throughout, he remained an unwavering devotee of Confucianism:
Or eight thousand four disregarding
The celestial forces, a man not meant for servitude.
And surely, he knew one of the core tenets of Confucianism is the balanced and moderate approach to life, avoiding extremes. However, Nguyễn Công Trứ transcended the conventional boundaries, surpassing the limits of ordinary individuals. Perhaps no Confucian scholar was quite like Nguyễn Công Trứ: elevating every aspect of a gentleman's daily life, of a scholar, into a philosophy, a doctrine. In his poetry, he addresses various debts: debts of promissory notes, funeral rites, worldly indulgence, transient completeness, debts of heroism, debts of fame... One must surely handle such debts, borrowing and repaying, repaying and borrowing... Mr. Hi Văn, the talented scholar, likened himself to a bamboo bridge:
Heaven's classics raise a hand to support
Undisturbed by the swaying wind.
Or with the grand outlook:
Presenting a staff, the wind carries away dangling tufts,
The mountains roar with the sound of drums.
Without the affirmation of that talent, how could he conceive of so many debts, and how could he muster the strength to navigate the debts of life? The truth is, with any debt. Mr. Hi Văn, too, ventured into the realm of economics, exerted effort for show, and achieved a resounding reputation somewhere or other.
The sublimity, the audacity of Nguyễn Công Trứ lies in this: He lived authentically with himself, with others, and with life. Ancient poets often wrote about universal themes, focusing on the duties of a scholar; as for their personal selves, they either didn't mention or concealed it within the flow of 'Literature carries the Dao.' Nguyễn Công Trứ's literary works differ: he doesn't hide, doesn't evade; he depicts his ordinary life just as it is. For instance, when beyond the constraints of age, beyond seventy, he remained debonair, accustomed to the ways of love.
Since then, Nguyễn Công Trứ is perhaps the most prolific ancient and contemporary poet in our national literary history writing about love. With works like 'Love for Flowers,' 'Fateful Encounters,' 'Odes to Love Letters,' 'Odes to Melancholic Love,' 'Yearning,' and 'Mocking the Old Peach Blossom,' poetry and the allure of peach blossoms stand out as dual facets of talent and emotion in Nguyễn Công Trứ. He considered himself a connoisseur... Once saying, 'In this world, the playground is vast... Knowing the scent of play isn't easy for many. Even in old age, he persistently urged: Play in spring lest spring departs, Without play, who compensates the loss...
Nguyễn Công Trứ, throughout, maintained audacity. The essence of Nguyễn Công Trứ is consistency. The self-assured audacity during the turbulent sea of apricot blossoms has become a resolute audacity beyond confinement.
In retirement in his hometown, he adorned himself everywhere with a golden-horned horse and a resolute audacity. But more audacious was the tail of a golden cow with a mo cau leaf tucked in, when asked, he said it's to shield the world's mouth. Many legends detail the delicate 'Gót tiên following each step' incident.' He often visited temples, whether nearby like Cấm Sơn Temple on Dan Nai Mountain or faraway like Hương Tích Temple, Thiên Hương Temple on Hong Linh Mountain, always accompanied by a few maids - it's quite amusing how audacious he was...
The audacity, the audaciousness, the pride and extravagance in Nguyễn Công Trứ represent the attitude of a confident individual, asserting one's own talent, a clear awareness of one's self amid a transitional era:
