A statue of Nguyen Du at a memorial site in the central city of Ha Tinh, his homeland. (Photo: dulichkhatvongviet.com)Activities to celebrate 250 years since the birth of great poet Nguyen Du (1766-1820) were reviewed at a session in Hanoi on October 2.
As heard during the meeting, the organising board has thus far held press conferences, an international seminar and run a promotion campaign covered by the media in central Ha Tinh province, the poet’s hometown.
Notably, a quiz on Nguyen Du and his most beloved work, Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu), has gathered more than 210,500 entries nationwide, while relevant biographical documentaries and films are being completed.
The major celebration event is scheduled to run in Ha Tinh from December 3-5.
Nguyen Du, also known as To Nhu and Thanh Hien, was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Celebrity among 108 others in 2003.
His most influential work, The Tale of Kieu, is a 3,254-line classic verse novel written in "luc bat" (six-eight meter), a traditional verse form of Vietnam's poetry.
Kieu's story is vastly popular in Vietnam; many people know the epic by heart and it has been translated into some 20 different languages including French, Chinese, English, Russian and Japanese.
The work was recognized by the World Peace Council as one of the world's most celebrated cultural works in 1965.-VNA
