Re-reading the epic poem "Dragon vein" by Hoang Tran Cuong

In Hoang Tran Cuong's rather large literary career, he "released" both prose and poetry and epic poems, of which there are 4 epic poems alone: ​​Dinh Vua (2002), U Minh (2002), Tram Tich (1999) and Long Mach (2015). While the epic poemSedimentmade Hoang Tran Cuong ranked by critics as a "poet master" after winning many important awards such asFirst Prize in the poetry contest of the weekly Van Nghe newspaper 1989-1990, Ministry of National Defense Literature and Arts Award (1994-1999)),Ho Xuan Huong Award of Nghe An Literature and Arts Association (1997-2002), translated into English, published in 2007 and especially the State Prize for Literature and Arts (2022), the epic poemDragon veinwritten later had a different “fate” even though this epic poem was honored to receive the Vietnam Writers Association Award (2015). Perhaps, this coincides with the assessment (or prediction) of a critic at that time after the resounding success of the epic poemSediment“Then Hoang Tran Cuong also found it difficult to surpass himself." (Thai Doan Hieu)*.

So is it true that Hoang Tran Cuong, despite his creative strength, on the path of victory to continue his creative journey, being recognized and highly appreciated through the epic poem Long Mach, in reality still cannot surpass himself compared to the previous peak, as the epic poem Tram Tich has reached? In our opinion, answering this question is not easy if the reader has the necessary distance to read and ponder both of the above epic poems, to be able to see Hoang Tran Cuong's valuable contributions in terms of content and art, what is new and different compared to the previous brilliant successes as many people know?

There have been many critical-research articles, there have been seminars on the epic poem Sedimentation. When this epic poem was born, it was immediately widely received and highly appreciated. I would like to quote the profound thing that remains when talking about Hoang Tran Cuong: "Sedimentation of poetry, for Hoang Tran Cuong, is sedimentation of pain, sedimentation of hope, and above all, fossilization of the most beloved images of his hometown, a Nghe An countryside with many ups and downs, hardships, endurance and resilience like smoked bamboo..." (Thanh Thao)**.

If in the epic poem Sediment, Hoang Tran Cuong narrated "My mother gave birth to me beside a rice pounding mortar/ I landed dirty on the ground/ The Lao wind dressed me in a brown shirt" (Origin) and "The first year of my seventh year//Followed my father to Hanoi" (Go Fish), then in the epic poem Long Mach, he appeared with a different mindset "I carry within me/At once three rivers/Red Red River/Green Lam River/Blue Cau River..." (River and You). That means from a mischievous, hot-tempered Nghe An native who was devoted to his brothers, friends, and homeland, Hoang Tran Cuong absorbed the culture of the Red River and Cau River so that in him and in his poetry, there were many new qualities, more profound, more intense, and more resonant.

Reading carefully the two epic poems Tram Tich and Long Mach, it is easy to see that he both started from a poor and benevolent homeland to go far and wide to all regions of the country. In the epic poem Tram Tich, he portrayed extremely well the image of the Central region in general and the Nghe An countryside in particular: "The Central region is thin and sharp like bamboo ribs/Sculpting one's heart into a silk strip of the Lam River" (Central Region). Meanwhile, in the epic poem Long Mach, Hoang Tran Cuong with the "main vein" also from his hometown Nghe An, from his father, mother, familiar places such as Do Luong bara, Luong river wharf... but knew how to reach the height and generality of each issue and event he mentioned. The following poem is a specific example taken from the chapter Net dat:

“Oh! Lam River, don't have a day

No more downstream flow

And all the streams and rivers that once flowed through the green land of Vietnam

Don't have a day

Don't know where to flow"

Talking about hunger and fullness in everyday life, Hoang Tran Cuong describes it very well, impressively and surprisingly:

“The fire was gone.

Fingernail marks

Plow up

The bottom of the pot is swollen.

(Origin – Sediment)

has come to look straight into the harsh, ironic reality of life, without flowery words but focusing on delving deep into the mood of each person's life and life:

“I stand outside the river

Silently watching the rushing water"

(Water Demon – Dragon Vein).

It is easy to see that the epic poem Tran Tich with its intense emotional flow, with its sublime artistic talent, Hoang Tran Cuong's pen has left behind many excellent verses, good verses, even impressive chapters such as Mien Trung, for example. This is not shown in the epic poem Long Mach, although the later epic poem is longer, more specific and more general, the author's emotions and energy are equally intense. Is that why the epic poem Long Mach no longer creates the same impression as the epic poem Tran Tich did?

Many readers and writers know that after the great success of the epic poem Tram Tich, Hoang Tran Cuong felt that he still had enough strength to write 4 more epic poems, although in reality he only published the epic poem Long Mach that we are discussing. The success of Tram Tich is a cause for celebration, a great milestone, but at the same time it also created an… obstacle in the creative process of Long Mach as well as all other creations later, forcing the poet to act decisively with the motto of renewing/changing himself, to go higher and further than the poetic peaks he had set foot on.

It was not easy, full of pitfalls, but Hoang Tran Cuong had the courage and spirit to overcome it. Obviously, when writing the epic poem Long Mach, Hoang Tran Cuong dared to take risks when he posed "a topic that could not be verified by reality, a topic that was difficult to limit by history" and "satisfied to find a prime space to freely roam both the content of thoughts and the form of expression" (Vu Quan Phuong)***. When writing the epic poem Long Mach, Hoang Tran Cuong even promoted more of his inherent creative power, to realistically and vividly build up the atmosphere and position of mountains and rivers, of water, of land, of people's hearts, not only the people of Nghe An, the people of the difficult Central region but also of the entire Vietnamese nation. Obviously, Hoang Tran Cuong's awareness of space, time, and the scope of creative themes were broader than before, the destination was also farther, and his ambitions were greater, although reaching the destination, reaching the new peak, was completely independent of the poet's will.

Although “unable to be verified by reality”, the structure of the epic poem Long Mach with 11 chapters all adhere firmly to the dragon-vein-poetry with unique creations that are still not far from the original such as the chapters Net dat, Hon song, Mach chu, Quy nuoc, Via bien, The nui... plus the author's own dragon-vein such as Khan tham, Song va em, Huyet thong... With abundant realistic materials, especially the reality of Nghe An bearing strong traces of traditional and modern culture, the rhythm of the poem is rolling, bustling, the verses change and roam thanks to the abundant internal force, Hoang Tran Cuong continues to create a tone that is both heroic epic and fiery reality in each verse, each verse, each chapter and fits smoothly and flexibly in the overall work.

“my father

Eyes still smiling

Sad and happy hit and miss

Children and grandchildren together

small kitchen

Smoke of hesitation

(Bloodline)

is a stanza written in the author's abundant personal inspiration. This chapter contributes to the general poetic vein of the work, talking about the specific to contribute to the larger general, talking about a specific person, a specific familiar space but still creating a generalization, drawing the soul of that space thanks to the mystical verse "Confused Smoke". The poet not only describes but through description also reveals thoughts, worries, bringing events from fixed to non-stop movement...

On the contrary, the general poetic vein also leads to the very skillful individual vein, as when Hoang Tran Cuong narrated about the Soul of the River, describing the river flow in general:

“Flowing like a ghost

Flowing like the anxiety of a pregnant woman

The frogs gradually jumped in the footprints of the mad dogs in July.

Quietly walking along the dike

Growling in the sun

Cross mountain

"The shadow of the village is worn out...".

The free verse bursts forth, the bold comparison style filled with the vitality of reality suddenly shines, soaring with a poetic line full of romantic and contemplative spirit "The shadow of the village is worn out". Perhaps someone remembers the Nom poem of Nguyen Trai "Opening the door at night waiting for the scent of cinnamon to come in/Sweeping the porch on the day the tears of the flower's shadow melt" with a poetic idea full of poetic qualities, humanity and ultimate wisdom: the poet hesitates to sweep the porch because "afraid the shadow of the flower will melt"! (Vu Binh Luc).

Surely Hoang Tran Cuong with his excellent knowledge has read the masterpiece poem of his father and in the turbulent flow of creativity has both learned how to learn from his predecessors and avoided forced repetition. Obviously, the poem describing the flowing water "Sôn bóng quê Làng" by Hoang Tran Cuong creates its own mark, first of all it is consistent with the poetic atmosphere in the above stanza, and creates a difference, depth in the way of looking at a specific phenomenon. "Bông hoa tan" and "Sôn bóng quê Làng" share the same virtual concept of shadow, the same movement in the direction of regret, not wanting "tan" and "sôn" but clearly the level is different. That is the difference of a moment of emotional explosion and a persistent process, looking closely to see, to feel. Hoang Tran Cuong learns and learns very well to overcome, to continue is exactly that.

As poet Vu Quan Phuong commented, “This work is a realistic experience and also a crystallization of a lifetime of thoughts about the people and the country. The way of expression and content leave a clear impression of aesthetics and poetic labor. A step forward in the stature of thinking, the way of handling the topic and the writing technique is very noteworthy”***. Clearly, the epic poem Long Mach deserves a solid place in the hearts of readers and the way Hoang Tran Cuong achieved this result is like a new record of a champion, seemingly nothing, very little but in fact, when at the top, striving to the end to increase even a small achievement is a miracle that not everyone can achieve. /.

^{Burning incense on the 5th anniversary of the death of poet Hoang Tran Cuong (9/4/2020-2025)}

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*http://vanhoanghean.com.vn/chi-tiet-tin-tuc/1156-hoang-tran-cuong-nguoi-hoa-giai-nhung-noi-niem-khat-vong

**https://thanhnien.vn/hoang-tran-cuong-da-nhap-vao-tram-tich-185945248.htm

***Vu Quan Phuong: The shape of mountains and rivers reflects the soul of the country - In lieu of an introduction to the epic poem Long Mach, Writers Association Publishing House, 2015

****Vu Binh Luc: True poet, personal fb page August 12, 2024