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Reflecting on the Magnificence of the Binh Ngo Manifesto
I. Structure of Thoughts on the Binh Ngo Manifesto
1. Introduction
- Providing an overview of the Binh Ngo Manifesto
- Expressing general sentiments and reflections on the work
2. Body of the Text
a) Impressions on the opening section of the work: Nguyen Trai presents the main principles of righteousness and humanitarian thoughts
- The proposition of humanitarian thoughts:
+ 'The essence of humanitarianism lies in peace for the people': It is necessary to protect the lives of the people, ensuring that they live in peace, happiness, and stability in their livelihoods
+ 'Punishing the wicked before eliminating cruelty': Originating from ancient wisdom in literature, as a sovereign ruler, one must eliminate cruelty and harm to the people
=> A fresh and progressive perspective: Humanity is loving the country, loving the people, and promoting peace...(Continued)
>> View the detailed outline of the reflections on the Binh Ngo Manifesto here
II. Exemplary Text Reflections on the Binh Ngo Manifesto
The Binh Ngo Manifesto is hailed as an ancient literary masterpiece echoing through millennia, serving as a paradigm of eloquent discourse and above all, a proud declaration of national independence. Penned by Nguyen Trai under the orders of Le Loi in 1428, the work holds immense literary value, portraying the patriotism, national pride, and heroic spirit of our people in the resistance against the Ming invaders, while also reflecting the brutality of the enemy as they trample upon our homeland.
The manifesto is divided into 4 main sections, each sequentially numbered, encompassing various themes, yet overarching is the profound and fervent love for the country and the indomitable spirit of our people.
In the first section, Nguyen Trai elucidates the principle of righteousness, affirming the nation's independence that has existed for thousands of years, while also expounding on humanitarian thoughts. The arguments and viewpoints presented by Nguyen Trai are solid, backed by specific evidence. Starting with the proposition of humanitarian thoughts, Nguyen Trai asserts that 'The essence of humanitarianism lies in peace for the people', emphasizing the need to protect the lives of the people, ensuring peace, happiness, and stability in their livelihoods. 'Punishing the wicked before eliminating cruelty', originating from ancient wisdom in literature, as a sovereign ruler, one must eliminate cruelty and harm to the people. From this, we can see Nguyen Trai's fresh and progressive perspective, where humanitarianism means loving the country, loving the people, and promoting peace. For the first time, the people appear in an important literary work, a significant step forward in Nguyen Trai's humanitarian thought.
'As our Dai Viet nation since ancient times,
We have long proclaimed our cultural heritage,
Mountains, rivers, borders have long divided,
Northern and Southern customs differ;
From Trieu, Dinh, Ly, Tran, generations have built an independent foundation
With Han, Tang, Song, Yuan each proclaiming their emperorship;
Though strengths and weaknesses have varied,
Yet heroes have always arisen.'
Next, the author affirms the existence of the independent sovereignty of Dai Viet through 5 factors: Having a long-standing cultural heritage, having its own territorial boundaries, having unique customs and practices, having its own historical traditions, and separate sovereignty 'each side proclaiming emperorship.' Nguyen Trai has perfected the concept of a nation, a people, taking a significant step beyond the first declaration of independence, Nam Quoc Son Ha. He also uses many terms such as: 'From the past, long proclaimed, long divided, different', these are affirming terms emphasizing an unchangeable truth that our Dai Viet nation is a country with independent sovereignty.
Moving on to the second section, Nguyen Trai vividly depicts the atrocities of the Ming invaders, standing on the national and humanitarian standpoint to denounce the cruelty of the enemy. First, Nguyen Trai stands on the national standpoint to accuse the Ming invaders' conspiracy to seize our country, using terms like 'human' and 'taking advantage' to expose the deceitful rhetoric of the Ming dynasty 'the Tran puppets to exterminate the Ho' to deceive our people, aiming to invade. Then, Nguyen Trai stands on the humanitarian standpoint, standing for the innocent lives of the people to accuse the enemy's anti-humanitarian ruling ideology. They have destroyed people's lives with extremely cruel genocide 'Roasting black people over a fierce fire/Burying red children in the pit of horror'. They also destroyed the living environment 'heavy taxes empty the fields not filled with silt', 'destroying all insects and plants'. The innocent people have been completely wiped out, the atrocities of the Ming army make heaven angry and earth unforgiving. The phrase 'Who says gods can endure?' is like a question, a full accusation against the enemy.
The art of writing the manifesto by Nguyen Trai here includes the art of contrast between the people and the enemy, our people are poor, widowed, have to work hard as laborers, go to deep forests and poisonous waters, while the enemy is 'The brat's mouth, the child's tooth, the blood and fat are still full and not bored'. The author also uses vivid and evocative imagery 'Nam Son bamboo' and 'East Sea water' using the extreme of nature to describe the countless atrocities of the Ming army. The narrative tone is deeply painful when describing the plight of the people, sometimes harsh when condemning the enemy.
Continuing to delve into reality, the author speaks of the Lam Son uprising against the Ming invaders, recounting the arduous conquest process of the righteous army from the beginning to victory. The initial phase of the uprising was full of difficulties and challenges. The enemy was strong, 'barbaric', displaying arrogance, while we:
'As brilliant as morning stars,
Talents like autumn leaves,
Seeking companionship lacks capable ones,
In a place of virtue, few discuss.'
'Watching people, the more they fade away, as if looking into the sea.'
'When Linh Son's provisions ran out for weeks,
At Khôi Huyen, not a single squad remained.'
We are almost lacking everything, lacking talents, lacking soldiers, lacking provisions, what we have the most is a deep love for the country, a deep hatred for the enemy 'The heart to save the country, still eager to advance east/The cart of kindness, always carefully reserved for the left'. From there, we see the difference between us and the enemy is very large, difficulties piled on the Lam Son righteous army, yet with a resilient spirit, the indomitable righteous army can overcome everything and move towards victory. It is the spirit of unity 'people from all four directions one family', 'generals with one heart to serve the country', the intelligence and creativity, the courageous determination 'The formation emerges, using weakness to resist strength/Using a small force to defeat a larger enemy'.
In the second section, Nguyen Trai also mentions the role of the leader, the pivotal role in leading the uprising, that is Le Loi. The hero has gathered all the elements of a great leader: Deep hatred of the enemy 'pondering a great hatred does not unite with the sky, hating the enemy swears not to live together', having lofty ideals, having determination, valuing talents, valuing the role of the people knowing how to gather the strength of the nation. He also has the ability to win people's hearts, create strong unity and an indispensable factor is his strategic intelligence.
From the initial difficult phase of the uprising but with the role of the outstanding leader Le Loi, the uprising has had many positive changes, entering the counter-offensive phase and achieving victory. Initially, it was the righteous army advancing to various positions in the North to regain important strongholds including battles: Tay Kinh, Dong Do, Ninh Kieu, Tot Dong. With unceasing valor 'eagerly eager again', we continuously won battles, gaining momentum, the enemy continuously fled, corpses were seen everywhere, some were 'headless', some 'lost their lives', enemy generals were useless, enemy soldiers were defeated. Although we see the enemy still in disarray, we do not pursue to exterminate but still spare their lives. Yet they planned for a counter-attack, sought for aid, very stubborn. That led to subsequent battles of our righteous army at Chi Lang, Ma An. The enemy intended to win quickly, but their morale plummeted, encountering our righteous army's vigorous spirit so they soon failed, surrendered. The art of description is rich in heroic style, using comparisons of the grandeur, vastness of nature. Using many consecutive verbs, adjectives to the maximum degree to create the contrast between us and the enemy, flexible long and short sentences making the rhythm of the manifesto clear, like the sound of galloping horses, the sound of footsteps running gallantly. Reading seems to see through the entire changing battlefield.
