The beauty in the epic "Khun Chuong"
"Khun Chuong" - a Thai epic, 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 epic, praising the feat of Chuong Han in defeating all the separatist forces, bringing unification to the entire Thai settlement. 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 and swim/ Bright eyes and plump necks/ Slender arms, erect breasts, full chest/ Breasts as sharp as May Tang thorns/ Ears with sparkling gold rings/ On both hands are also gold rings/ People swim in the shimmering midday sun".
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Here, the author describes very specifically: Am Pim "Pure white body, silk cloth wrapped, wrapped/ White and rosy face Am Pim is beautiful/ Like a beautiful Duong tree, two branches high/ Elbows tapered like smooth silver bars/ Arms tapered like newly forged silver bars/ She seems to have fallen from the sky/ Her beauty is comparable to Chuong's beauty/ Even though many beautiful girls surround her/ Khom girls are still more beautiful than all". Chuong Han is as beautiful as a painting. Am Pim is as beautiful as Chuong Han. She is Khom, meaning she is Mon-Khmer. She is radiantly beautiful. And U Keo is beautiful in a different way: "U Keo is a Phia girl, fragrant/ Her hair smells fragrant in a twenty-room house". She must be a person of both beauty and character. The author does not describe, but the reader can still imagine: she is a beautiful person, with long hair and a fragrant scent. Fragrant hair is her characteristic. Her fragrant hair speaks of her virtue and her soul. Another famous beauty is XiDa in Muong Pha Huon. XiDa, also known as Kham Dat, has sparkling eyes. She is beautiful because of her eyes and gold-capped teeth: "Shining with gold-capped teeth, XiDa 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.
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