The beauty in the epic "Khun Chuong"
"Khun Chuong" - a Thai heroic poem, said to have been written by Bodhyranhsy in Chiang Mai (Thailand) in 1517, and has been passed down for many generations among the Thai people in the region - is a heroic poem praising the feat of Chuong Han in defeating all the separatist forces, bringing unification to the entire Thai residential area. It is a work about war, full of fire and death. But interspersed between the battles are moments of silence, subtle observations about people, about the eternal beauty of women.
This is the scene of girls from Muong Tum Vang going down to the river to bathe: "The girls from Muong Tum Vang go down to the river to bathe/ Everyone comes out, one after another, white as storks/ Many beautiful people crawl down to bathe/ Many pretty people take off their clothes to swim/ Eyes bright and with wrinkled necks/ Slender arms, erect breasts, full chests/ Breasts sharp as May Tang thorns/ Ears with sparkling gold rings/ On both hands also wear gold rings/ People swim in the shimmering midday sun".
 |
And here, the author describes very specifically: Am Pim "Pure white body, silk cloth wrapped, wrapped/ White face, beautiful Am Pim/ Like a beautiful Duong tree, two branches high/ Elbows tapered like smooth silver bars/ Arms tapered like newly forged silver bars/ She seemed to have fallen from the sky/ Her beauty was comparable to Chuong's beauty/ Even though many beautiful girls surrounded her/ Khom girls were still more beautiful than all". Chuong Han was as beautiful as a painting. Am Pim was as beautiful as Chuong Han. She was Khom, meaning she was Mon-Khmer. She was radiantly beautiful. And U Keo was beautiful in a different way: "U Keo, Phia's daughter, fragrant/ Her hair filled the twenty-room house with fragrance". She must have been both beautiful in appearance and character. The author did not describe, but the reader can still imagine: she was a beautiful person, with long hair and a fragrant scent. Fragrant hair was her characteristic. Her fragrant hair speaks of her virtue and her soul. Another famous beauty is Xi Da in Muong Pha Huon. Xi Da, also called Kham Dat, has sparkling eyes. She is beautiful because of her eyes and gold-capped teeth: "Shining with gold-capped teeth, Xi Da smiles / Her eyes look, gentle like the third moon / Looking bright, looking has eight beautiful features". "Eight beautiful features", may just be an old saying, to describe the beauty and brightness of a beautiful person's eyes.
The beauties in the epic "Khun Chuong" each have their own charm and appeal. They are bright spots in the picture of smoke and fire; they are the gentle melody after the turmoil of war.
Vi Mien Restaurant
