Society

Mathematician...obsessed with The Tale of Kieu

Tien Dong • March 1, 2025 12:45

Although a mathematician, Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet harbors an insatiable passion for The Tale of Kieu. For him, mathematics represents the precision of reason, while The Tale of Kieu embodies the emotional resonance of the soul – two seemingly different worlds that miraculously complement each other.

Studying Math but fascinated by the Tale of Kieu.

One day in early 2025, deep within a café nestled in the heart of Vinh City, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet, a mathematician, who had returned home to celebrate the traditional Lunar New Year with his family. Although he has lived in the Czech Republic for many years, his passion for Vietnamese culture remains a constant source of inspiration. Notably, he is not only a renowned mathematician but also possesses a profound love for the Tale of Kieu.

Over a warm cup of coffee, in an atmosphere steeped in the scent of home, I sat and listened as he spoke passionately about mathematics and literature. It seemed as though these were two separate worlds, yet they miraculously intertwined within the soul of one man. And behind the dry numbers lay a heart deeply devoted to national culture, to every line of the Tale of Kieu.

Born in 1948 in Hung Tan commune (now Thong Tan commune) - a land rich in scholarly traditions in Hung Nguyen district - Nguyen Huy Viet was read verses from the Tale of Kieu by his father from a young age, thus instilling in him a deep love for this literary masterpiece.

Although he was passionate about the Tale of Kieu from a young age, Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet's academic path during his youth had no connection to that work. During his years at the village school, he was selected for the specialized mathematics class in Nghe An province (from 1965-1966). After winning second prize in the Northern Vietnam regional mathematics competition, he was admitted to the special mathematics class at Hanoi University to complete his remaining two years of high school (1966-1968). In 1968, he also won third prize in the Northern Vietnam regional mathematics competition.

After graduating from high school, from 1968 to 1974, he studied at Minsk State University (formerly the Soviet Union) and graduated with honors. Notably, he was one of the rare students who, throughout his five years of study there, achieved the maximum score (5 out of 25) in all national exams. In 1975, he returned to Vietnam and worked at the Vietnam Institute of Mathematics.

In 1982, Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet was sent to the Soviet Union for a three-month internship and was subsequently retained as a postgraduate student at Lomonosov Moscow State University, one of the leading universities in the Soviet Union (now Moscow State University - Russian Federation). In 1985, he successfully defended his doctoral thesis and returned to Vietnam to work at the Vietnam Institute of Mathematics.

From 1988 to 1990, Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet participated in a delegation of education experts working in Algeria. During his time away from home, the verses from the Tale of Kieu that his father had read to him as a child became his closest companions, helping him alleviate his homesickness. When night fell, amidst the silences of a foreign land, he would search through his memories, reciting each verse as if to cling to a piece of his homeland. And so, each line of poetry seeped into his mind, until he knew the Tale of Kieu by heart without even realizing it…

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As I grew older, more mature, and experienced life, I understood the verses of the Tale of Kieu even more deeply. While in youth we only perceived the Tale of Kieu through its rhyme and plot, after experiencing the ups and downs of life, we feel each word touch our very soul...

Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet

Using Mathematics to Study the Tale of Kieu

For Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet, his initial passion for The Tale of Kieu was simply a shared empathy with the characters' pain, the realities of life, their yearning for freedom, and their helplessness in the face of fate. Gradually, however, he became increasingly engrossed in studying The Tale of Kieu, viewing it not only as a literary masterpiece but also as a mirror reflecting the human soul through different stages of life, a treasure trove of language and culture.

Notably, in 2019, during a visit to Vietnam, he coincidentally participated in the "Readers' Knowledge of the Tale of Kieu" competition organized by the Vietnam Association for the Study of the Tale of Kieu to commemorate the 255th anniversary of the birth (1765-2020) and the 200th anniversary of the death (1820-2020) of the great poet Nguyen Du. Although the competition attracted over 60 participants nationwide over an 18-month period, with four rounds held in four provinces and cities across the country, Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet won the "Exceptionally Outstanding" award.

At this competition, he not only memorized the Tale of Kieu to the point of being able to recite it fluently both forwards and backwards, but also answered many challenging questions from the judges accurately. He also knew in detail the different versions of the poem in various editions. He was also the one who discovered that the Tale of Kieu contains a line of poetry, "Giác Duyên heard it and was utterly terrified," which is repeated twice.

Most remarkably, he compiled a list of over 500 unique phrases in the Tale of Kieu (words that Nguyen Du used only once) and memorized them completely. So much so that if someone read a single word, he could immediately recite the corresponding pair of six-eight syllable lines containing that word in the Tale of Kieu.

Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet's passion for The Tale of Kieu also motivated him to dedicate time to researching and discovering the unique aspects of this masterpiece. Also in 2020, his book, over 300 pages long, "70 Newly Discovered Records in The Tale of Kieu and Some Statistics," was published by Thanh Nien Publishing House. The book is a compilation of interesting findings, contributing to enriching the body of research on the work of the great poet Nguyen Du. This book subsequently won the Special Prize at the Nguyen Du and The Tale of Kieu Book Contest 2011-2022.

In "70 Newly Discovered Records in The Tale of Kieu and Some Statistics," Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet not only immerses himself in The Tale of Kieu as a lover of literature, but also approaches this masterpiece with the mindset of a mathematician. He uses matrix theory from modern mathematics to study and explore the content and artistic value of The Tale of Kieu.

The book's uniqueness lies in its application of matrix theory to research, analyze, and statistically discover new records in The Tale of Kieu. He established the "Kieu six-eight syllable matrix" to identify linguistically exceptional verses, such as the three six-eight syllable lines 1151, 2005, and 2109 containing the fewest consonants (only 5 consonants per line), or the three six-eight syllable lines 27, 1401, and 2809 possessing a record number of 19 consonants per line...

Besides "70 newly discovered records," his book also contains fascinating content such as "Six-Eight Verse Poems of the Tale of Kieu," "The Number 2s Associated with the Life of Kieu," "Prime Numbers and the Tale of Kieu," "Six-Eight Verse Poems of the Tale of Kieu of the Same Size," along with hundreds of questions and riddles about the work. In addition, he dedicates many pages to expressing his opinions on the characters in the Tale of Kieu and sharing memories with those who share the same passion.

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Euclid formulated his theorem on prime numbers around 300 BC, so it's impossible to assert that Nguyen Du, a learned man living in the 18th-19th centuries, knew nothing about prime numbers. Perhaps Nguyen Du chose to write exactly 1,627 pairs of six-eight verses, a prime number, to make The Tale of Kieu "indivisible"...

Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet

Through a unique combination of mathematics and literature, Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet not only sheds light on many special aspects of The Tale of Kieu, but also offers a fresh perspective, proving that numbers and poetry can coexist, complement, and enrich each other's value.

Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet is not merely a researcher of the Tale of Kieu; he has also made significant contributions to the dissemination and preservation of the cultural value of this work. Although currently residing abroad, he remains a key member of the Nghe An Association for the Study of the Tale of Kieu. Whenever possible, he participates in seminars and workshops on the Tale of Kieu, sharing his findings and knowledge with the literary community. His writings and research are not only highly regarded by the academic community, contributing many fresh perspectives on the Tale of Kieu, but also inspire many generations who love this work.

In my conversation with Dr. Nguyen Huy Viet, I suddenly realized that mathematics and the Tale of Kieu, seemingly from two different worlds, are naturally intertwined within him. Whether traveling abroad or returning to his homeland, he remains deeply passionate about the Tale of Kieu. And perhaps, for him, each verse of the Tale of Kieu is not just poetry, but also the breath, the memory, the heartbeat of a heart always yearning for its roots...