Top 10 Best Poems by Poet Tú Xương (Trần Tế Xương)

Love for Wife

Trading year-round at the riverbank,
Raising children for years with one husband.
Enduring lonely moments when he's away,
Curves and ripples in the boat during winter.
One fate, two debts, such is life,
Ten suns, ten rains, dare to manage the farm.
Parents' lifelong practice in silver living:
Having a husband, indifferent or not!

Editor's Note:

Love for Wife presents two portraits: the literal portrayal of Mrs. Tú and the spiritual portrait of Tú Xương. In poems about his wife, two intertwined images often appear: Mrs. Tú in the foreground and Mr. Tú subtly lingering in the background.

In this poem, Mr. Tú doesn't directly appear but is present in every line. Behind the humorous and satirical tone, there lies a heartfelt appreciation for his wife. What's peculiar is that despite his Confucian upbringing, Tú Xương doesn't adhere to the traditional views that favor men. He demonstrates fairness, both towards himself and life, acknowledging his own shortcomings. Such a person embodies a beautiful character.

New Year Wishes

Silently listening to their New Year wishes:
Wishing each other a hundred years with silvered hair.
Now grandpa resolves to trade the mortar,
The world, so many who quit the betel nuts.

Silently listening to their wishes for wealth:
Hundreds, thousands, heaps, where to put them all?
This time, surely the silver-eating roosters,
Coins falling, money cascading, the jar must pray.

Silently listening to their wishes for success:
Some buy seals, some buy official robes.
This time, grandpa resolves to trade the baubles,
Selling and boasting, both in demand.

Silently listening to their wishes for children:
Born in the year of seven, perfection squared.
The streets narrow, people crowded,
Carrying each other up to the mountain top.

Imitating others, wishing a few words:
Wishing for everything in life.
Kings, officials, scholars, commoners,
How can they all produce the same kind?

The last stanza is said to be by Trần Tế Xương, while others believe it was added by someone imitating Tế Xương's style.

Editor's Note:
When talking about Trần Tế Xương, one cannot ignore his fiercely satirical pen, like whips striking fiercely against his enemies. Born, raised, and witnessing firsthand the chaotic era, flooded with foolish, shameless individuals openly committing wrongdoings right in broad daylight. Yet, no one could do anything about it. It seems that the deep-seated resentment and disgust could not be contained. Tú Xương throws a sharp, sarcastic laughter directly into the faces of those enemies during the Tet holiday with the poem New Year Wishes.

Homage to the Living Wife

Daughter of the market, marrying a tradesman
Words may be meager, but is there really fault?
Smooth complexion, limbs fair and tender, who dare say chubby or short?
Graceful and gentle, character harmonious, only one flaw, a quirk or two!
At the riverbank, in the bustling marketplace, trading and bargaining
Beyond the village, awkward in greetings, speaking like a craftsman
Near and far, lively with girls and numerous beaus
Morning and night, advice and admonitions, mentors and servants
The lord builds a tall, spacious house, preparing for the daughter-in-law
The brother carves a stone tablet in gold, to glorify the wife's visage

However:
One abandons oneself, refusing to stay
No words spoken, no complaints aired
Or is it jealousy that Hàng Thao today, and tomorrow Giấy Street, stirs one's gut?
Or is it fear that Tràng Lạc in the morning, and Viễn Lai in the evening, troubles the heart?
Enough, enough
Die peacefully in the grave
Living, the burden grows
First the king's favor, later may come disgrace, but another day shall be good
A hundred-year fate, the Moon shreds silk, this life is already lost
One practices Buddhism to become an ancestor, a Buddha, to roam the ethereal Lang Uyen and Bồng Hồ
The brother raises children for a lineage, for sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, to fulfill the complete path of husband and the duties of a wife

(The poet, engaging in extravagant behaviors and spending money, made his wife angry and she threatened suicide. In response, he wrote this eulogy playfully, sweetly making amends with his wife.)
Source: Poems by Trần Tế Xương, Publishing House of Culture - Information, 1998

The Floral Jacket Shielding a Friend

Oh, who, who shows compassion?
Night rain, a piece of floral jacket shielding the head
For whom, who really knows?
Whose jacket dampens, whose towel dries?
People go to Tam Dao, Ngũ Hồ
Some return weeping, alone near Thương Ngô
Mountains and rivers, love and affection
For whom does one daydream, lost in thoughts!

This poem was once used in the additional reading section of Literature Textbook for Grade 11 during the 1990-2006 period, but it was omitted from the Literature Textbook for Grade 11 starting from 2007.

Lấp River

That river now has turned into a field,
Places for houses, areas for planting corn and potatoes.
Hearing the sound of frogs by the ear,
I startle, thinking someone is calling the ferry.

Editor's Note:
The poem describes the section of the Vị Hoàng River being filled. The Vị Hoàng River flows through the city of Nam Định, the author's hometown. The river is filled with alluvium, and people build houses and cultivate there. This event makes Tú Xương think of the changing times and human nature.
The poem's language is not only simple and memorable but also demonstrates that behind the satirical and mocking verses criticizing society is a person who loves the countryside, loves the village, loves the natural scenery. Moreover, it is a sentiment of regret for the past that has passed and a sense of helplessness in the face of changing times.

Ngâu Couple

July rains, tradition says 'Ngâu'
Even a buffalo blanket, heavens sigh.
One fate, two times, debts to thrive,
Untangle the threads, whose task to derive?
Awkward or skilled, dance on the field,
A hundred foolish, a thousand wise, challenges yield.
Fearful of a late husband, perhaps so,
How tricky to choose, like picking a fish from the flow!
Take anyone, anyone will do,
Heaven's son, where is the sail-flying groom.

Source: Vietnamese Literature Selection, Dương Quảng Hàm, National Education Publishing House, Hanoi, 1951

Three Fancies

One tea, one wine, one woman's sway,
Three fancies disturb our tranquil day.
What to spare, what to discard,
Except for tea and wine, nothing marred!

Source: Poems by Trần Tế Xương, Culture - Information Publishing House, 1998

Kinship with Sarcasm

Thirty-something years have passed,
Sitting, contemplating my wayward brother.
Various incenses have no allure,
Three plots of wild gardens, all sold.
Rice, the tearful staple on the plate,
Wife accustomed to birthing, a few years apart.
Climbing the northern stairs, questioning fate:
Is it fair to scramble up others' paths?

Source: Selected Vietnamese Literature, Dương Quảng Hàm, National Education Publishing House, Hanoi, 1951

Shrimp Nest Battle

Anger, not heroic when realization comes,
Like playing a round of shrimp nest game.
Station's cards flutter at the last moment,
Sitting still, no sweeping of spare troops.
Sometimes no move, then a book is lifted,
Sometimes a clear plan draws a blushing love;
Putting cards up, the old man still circles,
Nowhere to meet a seven or five to sweep.
There's also a round where shrimps climb up waiting,
Caught the white rookie sweeping with the upper hand.
Dreadful to think black is really black!
Color like Mạc's always loses to the red luck.
Luckily, fate brings a chance to meet again,
From desperation to the point of supreme fusion;
Why leave the three sounds for anyone to take,
From white to red, forever flowing.
Those who had the upper hand just now,
Now thoroughly subdued under our hands;
The high sound resounding far and wide,
Who dares to compare with the eight thousand.
Then we know the shrimp nest has both black and red.
As the heroes realize, what's there to worry about?
Before and after, after and before, what to do?

The shrimp nest, by the phrase 'tụ tam' (three quan forming one husband), has 120 cards divided into book rows, myriad rows, and literature rows.

Source: Vietnamese Literary Selections, Dương Quảng Hàm, National Education Publishing House, Hanoi, 1951

Jest at Xuân Trường Magistrate

Magistrate Xuân Trường for how many years,
Thanks to the heavens, the region is in peace.
Words like 'stop' and 'rescue' he won't grasp,
He's only familiar with the word 'money'!