Crafting the essay 'The Tale of An Dương Vương and Mỵ Châu - Trọng Thủy'

Crafting the essay 'The Tale of An Dương Vương and Mỵ Châu - Trọng Thủy'

Essay Draft for The Tale of An Dương Vương and Mỵ Châu - Trọng Thủy, Sample 1:

Essay Draft for The Tale of An Dương Vương and Mỵ Châu - Trọng Thủy, Sample 2

1. Based on the storyline, find details related to the character An Dương Vương.
Details related to the character An Dương Vương:
- King An Dương Vương built the citadel, made the divine crossbow assisted by Rùa Vàng: “King An Dương Vương of Âu Lạc, surname Thục, name Phán ... then asked for peace.”
- The king married his daughter to Triệu Đà.
- When Đà's army invaded, the king remained calm, when he took out the divine crossbow to shoot, it was too late, the nation was lost.
- The king beheaded Mỵ Châu, then descended into the water.

a) What led An Dương Vương to receive divine assistance? Describe the miraculous assistance, and how does the populace want to portray their evaluation of the king?
- An Dương Vương establishes a male assembly to pray for divine assistance in building the citadel.
- Through this, the populace wants to praise the king, proud of the achievements in building the citadel, crafting the crossbow, and defeating foreign invaders of the nation.

b) How is the king's lack of vigilance manifested?
- Firstly, the king allows his daughter to marry the enemy's son.
- Secondly, when the enemy advances to attack, he sits leisurely playing chess, relying on the divine crossbow, resulting in the loss of the kingdom.

c) Creating details about Rùa Vàng, Mị Châu, the king beheading his daughter... the populace wants to express what attitude and sentiment towards the historical figure An Dương Vương and the loss of the kingdom Âu Lạc?
The populace wants to convey respect for the courageous attitude, the decisive differentiation between the nation's affairs and family matters, between enemies and family ties of An Dương Vương, criticizing Mị Châu's lack of vigilance.

2. Regarding Mị Châu secretly showing the divine crossbow to Trọng Thủy, there are two ways to evaluate. What is your personal opinion?
Mị Châu showing the divine crossbow to Trọng Thủy demonstrates her absolute trust in her husband. Considering the marital affection in the family, if spouses do not trust each other, it is difficult to live harmoniously and happily. If Mị Châu did not show Trọng Thủy the divine crossbow, it would imply her doubt in his loyalty, as well as his trust in maintaining peaceful relations between the two nations.

3. Mị Châu was accused by Rùa Vàng as an enemy, then beheaded by the king, but later her blood turned into pearls, and her body into gemstones. In such a fictional depiction, the ancients wanted to express what attitude and sentiment towards the character Mị Châu and what message they wanted to convey to future generations?
The populace's attitude and sentiment towards the character Mị Châu:

4. Trọng Thủy caused the downfall of Âu Lạc and the death of Mị Châu. So, how do you understand the symbolism of the “pearl – water well”?
The imagery of the “pearl – water well” symbolizes Mị Châu and Trọng Thủy, serving as evidence of their deep affection. The “water well” imagery serves as an acknowledgment of redemption, of Trọng Thủy's remorse.

5. From the analyses, please indicate what constitutes the “core history” of the story and how the core history has been mythologized by the populace?
- The “core history” of the story: the kingdom of Âu Lạc during An Dương Vương's reign was built up, with tall citadels, deep moats, and powerful weapons to fight Triệu Đà's invasion, but then lost to Triệu Đà, and Cao Lỗ invented the divine crossbow – the crossbow of Liên Châu.
- The “core history” mythologized by the populace: the character Rùa Vàng appears miraculously to contribute to building the citadel, crafting the nation's crossbow. The love between Mị Châu and Trọng Thủy is mythologized to explain the loss of the kingdom, alleviating the pain. The details of Mị Châu and Trọng Thủy turning into pearls and a water well aim to demonstrate Mị Châu's purity and Trọng Thủy's loyalty.

EXERCISE
1. There are two evaluation methods as follows:
a) Trọng Thủy is merely a spy, even his love for Mị Châu is deceitful.
b) Between Mị Châu and Trọng Thủy exists a genuine love, and the “pearl – water well” imagery has praised that love.
Please present your own opinion.
Trọng Thủy truly loves Mị Châu as he sacrificed himself for his wife, even though he could have enjoyed a new life of wealth and prosperity. It is through his love for Mị Châu that he turned into a “water well” and died. From this, that love is passed down to future generations.

2. An Dương Vương himself beheaded his only daughter, yet the populace erected a shrine and worshiped the father and daughter side by side. Such treatment reflects what in our nation's traditional morality?
This treatment aligns with our nation's traditional morality. It demonstrates forgiveness towards the offspring of the nation who have made grave mistakes causing harm to the people but later showed remorse and accepted appropriate punishment.

3. Explore the number of poems written about Mị Châu – Trọng Thủy and highlight the enduring vitality of The Tale of An Dương Vương and Mị Châu – Trọng Thủy.
Mị Châu – Trọng Thủy
(By Tản Đà)
A couple of Vietnamese from the Qin
Half of love, half of resentment
Stroking the turtle, he exchanged the machine
The goose feather led the way
Swore husband and wife
The hearts of men and women
The deeds of kings
This fate, that love in vain!
Embroidered silk bed
A hundred years of tears
Pearl well
A thousand layers of incense smoke
When he returned to behead the child, what did An Dương Vương think?
Or on the same road, everyone is an enemy
And listen to the advice of the Golden Tortoise.

Mỵ Châu
(By Vương Đình Trọng)
The enemy behind - even if the gods speak
One must rely on one's own eyes
Princess Mỵ Châu leans against her Father King, trembling
When half the sky is smoke and fire of war

The goose feathers fall, the goose feathers fall on the road
Tearing the robe as if tearing one's own flesh
In moments of chaos, he never came
Oh Trọng Thủy, the maiden has fled the city!

Tears fall in the whirlwind
Father's back and horse's back soaked in sweat
The feathers are all gone, the maiden will leave the horse's back
What use is the last feather waiting for you, oh beloved?

And unexpectedly, An Dương Vương returns
Thinking there would be comforting words from the father king
Mỵ Châu lifts her face, waiting
From the sky, a bright sword shines

It's not the goose feathers falling, but the head rolling down
Lying at the end of the road like a punctuation mark
Why beheaded? Mỵ Châu didn't know
Her blood turned into stone in Hoan Châu's soil.

Being a king, yet having divine advice
Thought twice as wise and just
But the person dies, not understanding why they died
The wronged soul still knocks on the door for generations.

Thousands of years of ebb and flow, sedimentation
In peace and in war
Do not blame Mỵ Châu anymore
For genuine love, what fault is there?
Many poems have been written about Mỵ Châu – Trọng Thủy. It can be said that the work has a strong lingering effect and deeply moves readers with its profound and tragic love between the two.

Compose The Tale of An Dương Vương and Mị Châu – Trọng Thủy, sample 3

Summary:

After aiding An Dương Vương in completing the construction of Loa Thành, before departing, the Golden Tortoise also bestowed upon him a claw to make the divine crossbow. With the divine crossbow, An Dương Vương defeated the invading army of Triệu Đà. After the defeat, Triệu Đà pretended to make peace and sent his son, Trọng Thủy, to propose to Princess Mị Châu, which the king agreed to. Trọng Thủy tempted Mị Châu to secretly see the divine crossbow and then covertly swapped the divine claw, taking it to the North. Subsequently, Triệu Đà became enraged and attacked Âu Lạc. Without the divine crossbow, An Dương Vương lost the battle and fled to the South with Mị Châu. Following the goose feathers, Triệu Đà's army pursued the father and son An Dương Vương. At the seashore, the Golden Tortoise appeared, accusing Mị Châu as the enemy, and the king beheaded Mị Châu before following the Golden Tortoise into the sea. Mị Châu died, her blood flowing into the sea turned into pearls. Trọng Thủy brought his wife's body back to bury at Loa Thành, and her body immediately transformed into a gemstone. Overwhelmed with grief, Trọng Thủy threw himself into a well and perished. Future generations discovered the pearl, washing it with the water from that well, making the gem even more radiant.
==> The Tale of An Dương Vương and Mị Châu - Trọng Thủy is a historical tragedy about the loss of the country by An Dương Vương and the tragic love of Mị Châu - Trọng Thủy.

Guide to Composing

Question 1 (page 42 of Vietnamese Literature Textbook 10 Volume 1): Details related to the character An Dương Vương:
An Dương Vương built the citadel but failed => The Golden Tortoise helped build the citadel and made the divine crossbow => the king defeated Triệu Đà => became complacent when Triệu Đà brought his army => failed, so had to flee. After hearing the Golden Tortoise's accusation, the king beheaded Mị Châu and followed the Golden Tortoise into the sea.
An Dương Vương was aided by divine beings because the king had the consciousness to value vigilance, early fortification of the citadel, and preparation of weapons to resist foreign invaders. Imagining this divine assistance, our people have expressed admiration for the king's achievements and pride in the construction of the citadel, the creation of the crossbow, and the victory against foreign invaders.
The king's lack of vigilance is expressed as follows:
1) First instance of negligence: the king without suspicion agreed to a marital alliance with Triệu Đà, allowing the enemy's son to infiltrate
2) Second instance of negligence: when Triệu Đà brought his army, An Dương Vương relied on the divine crossbow without precaution, leading to defeat.
The details of the Golden Tortoise, Mị Châu, and the king beheading his daughter according to the Golden Tortoise's judgment are created to convey our people's respect for the heroic king while condemning Mị Châu's lack of vigilance, explaining the reason for the loss of the country to ease the pain of losing the country.

Question 2 (page 43 of Vietnamese Literature Textbook 10 Volume 1): Evaluate Mị Châu secretly showing the divine crossbow to Trọng Thủy:
- Comment on the first opinion: If we accept this evaluation, then Mị Châu's fault is significant. She is a person who, for her own love, has no responsibility to the nation, not caring about the fate of the people. A citizen like this is unacceptable in any era
- Comment on the second opinion: This evaluation stems from the feudal system's principles, where women 'marry and follow their husbands' - when married, they must absolutely obey their husbands.
Both ways of thinking are inadequate. Mị Châu is a pitiful victim of a political plot. She is gentle, naive, and innocent. Because of her complete trust in her husband, she made a mistake. For the nation, she has a great sin, unforgivable. But the detail of her curse before death was fulfilled, stating: The Vietnamese people never sell their country; they are only exploited by enemies. Therefore, we should sympathize with Mị Châu, and she deserves more pity than blame.

Question 3 (page 43 of Vietnamese Literature Textbook 10 Volume 1):
The conclusion of the story regarding the death of Mị Châu reflects seemingly contradictory yet highly unified views of the folk author. Mị Châu's punishment is resolute, as our people have declared and executed the verdict of history. This ending stems from the tradition of patriotism and fervent desire for the independence and freedom of our Vietnamese people.
But Mị Châu is also just a pitiful victim. Being labeled as the 'enemy' is Mị Châu's injustice, so the folk let her curse become reality to express sympathy and tolerance for her. Mị Châu's story is indeed the folk author's message to future generations in resolving the relationship between familial love and national duty, between the personal and the collective.

Question 4 (page 43 of Vietnamese Literature Textbook 10 Volume 1):
The imagery of 'pearls - well' is a beautiful and meaningful depiction. It is a perfect ending for a love story and also a solution to the 'treason' of Mị Châu. The detail of Mị Châu's blood turning into pearls when she died being eaten by clams has confirmed her purity of heart. Trọng Thủy throwing himself into the well shows the character's remorse for betraying his wife. The fact that the other pearl is washed in this well further emphasizes that Trọng Thủy found redemption in Mị Châu's love in the afterlife. Viewing from this perspective, we feel even more compassion for the love of Mị Châu - Trọng Thủy.

Question 5 (page 43 of Vietnamese Literature Textbook 10 Volume 1):
The 'core of history' of the story is An Dương Vương building Cổ Loa Citadel and the reality of Âu Lạc's failure against the invasion of Triệu Đà. The folk have added miraculous elements to make the 'core of history' more vivid and appealing. Firstly, we see the image of the deity Golden Tortoise helping the king build the citadel, making the crossbow, Mị Châu's curse with the detail of 'pearls - well,' and finally, King An Dương Vương following the Golden Tortoise into the sea. Creating these miraculous elements has recreated a historical story from the folk's perspective: the hero An Dương Vương does not die but steps into another world, Mị Châu has been cleansed of 'treason,' and the beautiful love of Trọng Thủy - Mị Châu ultimately has the most perfect ending.

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