Nam quốc sơn hà (chữ Hán: 南國山河, lit. 'Mountains and Rivers of the Southern Country') is a famous 10th- to 11th-century Vietnamese patriotic poem. Dubbed "Vietnam's first Declaration of Independence",[1] it asserts the sovereignty of Vietnam's rulers over its lands. The poem was first dictated to be read aloud before and during battles to boost army morale and nationalism when Vietnam under Lý Thánh Tông and Lý Thường Kiệt fought against two invasions by Song dynasty in 981 and 1075–1076 and would become became an emblematic hymn in the early independence wars.[2] The poem is one of the best-known pieces of Vietnamese literature.[3]
| Nam quốc sơn hà | |
| Vietnamese alphabet | Nam quốc sơn hà |
|---|---|
| Chữ Hán | 南國山河 |
The poem's exact authorship, origin, and style of writing are still controversial. According to K.W. Taylor, the account of the poem comes from the 14th-century Buddhist scripture Thiền uyển tập anh and if the story of the poem is true, then the poem could not have been sung in the form it currently exists today. The poem is written in Classical Chinese in the form of an oracle following Tang-style rules that would have been hard to understand for Viet soldiers. It would also be the only literary work known to have been written by Lý Thường Kiệt, who was not a literary man. The story of singing in temples to boost military morale prior to battle is plausible, but whether or not it was this specific poem that was sung cannot be answered. It is possible that it was written after the event.[4][5]
981 version
editLĩnh Nam chích quái ("Selection of Strange Tales from Lingnan") dates this version to the Song–Đại Cồ Việt war:[6][non-primary source needed]
南
Nam
國
quốc
山
sơn
河
hà
南
Nam
帝
đế
居
cư,
The Southern Country's mountains and rivers, the Southern Emperor inhabits.
如
Như
何
hà
北
Bắc
虜
lỗ
來
lai
侵
xâm
掠
lược,
Why dare the Northern Barbarians (Lỗ) come to invade?
白
Bạch
刃
nhận
翻
phiên
成
thành
破
phá
竹
trúc
餘
dư.
White blade swinging will turn you into broken bamboo chips!
1076 version
editĐại Việt sử ký toàn thư ("Complete Historical Annals of Great Viet") dates this version to the Song–Đại Việt war:[7][non-primary source needed]
| Chữ Hán | Sino-Vietnamese[8] | Vietnamese translation[a][9] | Chữ Nôm | English Literal Translation[10] | English Poetic Translation[11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 南國山河南帝居 截然定分在天書 如何逆虜來侵犯 汝等行看取敗虛 |
Nam quốc sơn hà nam đế cư Tiệt nhiên định phận tại thiên thư Như hà nghịch lỗ lai xâm phạm Nhữ đẳng hành khan thủ bại hư. |
Sông núi nước Nam, vua Nam ở, Rành rành định phận ở sách trời. Cớ sao lũ giặc sang xâm phạm, Chúng bây sẽ bị đánh tơi bời. |
滝𡶀渃南𤤰南於 𤋶𤋶定分於冊𡗶 |
The Southern country's mountains and rivers; the Southern Emperor inhabits. The separation is natural and allotted in Heaven's Book. Why do the treacherous barbarians come to trespass, You shall, in doing that, see yourselves defeated into oblivion! |
O'er the hills and streams of southern clime [a] southern monarch reigns; His sov'reign state On bamboo slip engraved by Time [t]he writ of Heav'n ordains Dare you, 'gainst Fate [t]hrust in, his turbulence to quell? Beware! - For you will sound the knell. |
See also
edit- Song–Đại Cồ Việt war
- Song–Đại Việt War
- Vietnamese Declarations of Independence
- Hịch tướng sĩ, a 13th-century hymn by Trần Hưng Đạo while fighting against the Mongol invasions.
Notes
edit- ^ attributed to either Trần Trọng Kim or Hoàng Xuân Hãn
References
edit- ^ Lê Văn Quân Ph.D. (2006). "Bài thơ NAM QUỐC SƠN HÀ là bản tuyên ngôn độc lập đầu tiên của nước Việt Nam ta (The Poem 'Southern Country's Mountains and Rivers' is the first declaration of independence of Vietnam our country" Tạp chí Hán Nôm (Han-Nom Magazine), 1 (74); p. 3-8. Online version (in Vietnamese)
- ^ Patricia M. Pelley Postcolonial Vietnam: New Histories of the National Past 2002 Page 268 "The relevant works are Nam quốc sơn ha, Lý Thường Kiệt's famous affirmation of Vietnamese identity; Hịch tướng sĩ, the plea from Trần Hưng Ðạo to fight against the Mongols; Quốc ngữ thi tập, Chu Văn An's collection of poems in the national language..."
- ^ Nguyễn Đức Sự Some Features on Vietnamese Buddhism in the Lý Dynasty Religious Studies Review, No. 02-2010 Institute of Religious Studies, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences 2011 "Besides the well-known works of celebrities and of the Lý court as Chiếu dời đô (Royal edict on the transfer of the capital), Nam quốc sơn hà (Mountains and Rivers of the empire of the South), Văn lộ bố khi đánh trống, Di chiếu lúc lâm chung (King's last will at point of death), etc. There were many Zen poems in the literature of the Lý dynasty. Almost poets and writers in the Lý dynasty were Zen masters."
- ^ Taylor 2013, p. 85.
- ^ Essays on Literature and Society in Southeast Asia 1981 Page 305 "The "Nam-quốc sơn-hà" poem had the form of an oracle"
- ^ LNCQ, "The Story about the Two Gods Dragon's Eyes and Moonlike"
- ^ ĐVSKTT, "Basic Annals - Volume 3 - Emperor Renzong"
- ^ James Anderson The Rebel Den of Nùng Trí Cao: Loyalty and Identity 2007 Page 214 "The Vietnamese text reads: " , Tiệt nhiên định phận tại thiên thư..."
- ^ Trần Nguyên Thạch (2016-2017) "Attempts to re-translate the poem Nam quốc sơn hà" in Ho Chi Minh city's Literature and Art Weekly Magazine, Issue 522. online version (in Vietnamese)
- ^ Vuving, Alexander L. (June 2000). "The References of Vietnamese States and the Mechanisms of World Formation" (PDF). Asienkunde.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18.
- ^ Lyon, Peter. "Government and Revolution in Vietnam". Government and Opposition. vol. 3, no. 3. Summer 1968, p. 392.
- Taylor, K. W. (2013). A History of the Vietnamese. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-24435-1.
External links
edit- (in Vietnamese)Lý Thường Kiệt với bài thơ "Nam quốc sơn hà"