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In Vietnam, Xuân Diệu is considered a highly celebrated poet, whose innovative writing style and collective body of work left an indelible mark on the country’s literary landscape. In particular, Xuân Diệu’s influence in Vietnam reigns over the realm of romantic poetry, to the extent that he is still dubbed there “the King of Love Poetry”. Though he spent decades composing countless works about intimacy, passion and longing, Xuân Diệu kept much of his writing gender-neutral and lived a highly secretive personal life, concealing his sexuality and relationships with men for the entirety of his career.

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Porcelain art by Nguyễn Duy Mạnh, 2021-23

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Illustrations of Vietnamese food. Credit to Le Rin.

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The Vertical Ray of the Sun, Tran Anh Hung (2000)

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“It’s true. We, women, are condemned to disgusting things. In the old days, we couldn’t touch a man’s head. That noble part of the body must not be soiled by our hands.” “But men have always liked and allowed us to touch another thing.” “Exactly. So is that thing considered noble?”

— The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)

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Nước (2030) dir. Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo, Vietnam, 2014.

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The Vertical Ray of The Sun (2000), dir. Tran Anh Hung

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colors of vietnam, as captured through the lens of khanh phan-thi

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Looking for the magic, W. Lain

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“Trường Tương Tư” from Song Lang (2018, Vietnam) – music and lyrics by Leon Le; performed by Isaac and Liên Bỉnh Phát

Song Lang is a drama with LGBTQ elements that takes place in 1990s Saigon amid the city’s cải lương scene. Cải lương (Cai LOONG) is Vietnamese folk opera incorporating influences from southern Vietnamese folk songs, Western classical music, and classical Vietnamese opera (itself influenced by Chinese opera). In this scene, we see the film’s two main characters –   cải lương actor Linh Phụng (Isaac) and loan shark enforcer Dũng (Liên Bỉnh Phát) – sharing a musical moment together. Linh, who initially despises Dũng for his hypermasculine behavior and threats towards his cải lương company, sings a song written by Dũng’s late father following the abandonment of Dũng’s mother.

Today, cải lương is considered a dying art form in Vietnam for reasons of thematic and artistic accessibility (similar to the status of Western opera). As is characteristic of cải lương, note how few breaths the singer takes – though this song does not contain such extremes, musical phrases in cải lương often require continuous singing without breathing, demanding the singer to modulate their tones mid-lyric. The film has won various awards at international film festivals, but has had limited financial success in Vietnam.

A rough translation follows:

Ngày cuối thu âm u cơn gió bấc (On the last day of autumn, the sky is gray and dark.) Nhận được tin người mà tấc dạ tái tê (My heart shattered when I received your letter.) Nghĩa trăm năm tôi luôn son sắt một lời thề (I’ve been faithful and true to the wedding vow we took) Sao nỡ để tôi phải ê chề trong ngao ngán (Only to be let down in the end.) Giữa đêm khuya tiếng đàn, nghe ai oán vẳng cung sầu cống sự hò sang (In the still of the night, only through this song I can express this pain.) Nhớ ai thức trắng cả trăng tàn bàng hoàng (I’m thinking of you throughout these sleepless nights, shocked,) Ngỡ ngàng nơi phương trời xa thẳm nỗi nhớ người có còn nặng mang (In disbelief, millions of miles away, are you still thinking of me?) Trăng dẫu sáng nhưng đâu soi thấu nỗi tâm can (The moon may be bright and glowing, but its light can’t penetrate my aching heart.) Như tiếng đàn tôi nghẹn ngào nức nở oán than (Only the sounds of my lute echoing in the night,) Cho một khối sầu ly tan (As if it’s crying for the end of a love story.) Nhịp song lang (Like the beat of the song lang,) Tôi vẫn giữ âm thầm giữa cuộc sống đa đoan (I keep moving on,) Chờ đợi buổi tương quan nối lại đá vàng hàn gắn tơ loan (Longing for the day we will be reunited, healing the pain, and to pick up where we left off –) Ngỡ đâu ai đã quay bước phũ phàng (–Not knowing you’ve decided to walk away for good,) Để bẽ bàng cung bậc dở dang (Leaving behind an unfinished love song.)

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The waterlily harvest in Vietnam photographed by Pham Huy Trung

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Hanoi on a cold day. Credit to Nguyen Thanh Vu.

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Song Lang, directed by Leon Le

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Đừng Buồn - Cá Hồi Hoang

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Phượng bào. Credit to Kelly Trang Dao.

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“Sương Chiều” from Song Lang (2018, Vietnam) – music and lyrics by Leon Le  performed by Isaac and Tú Quyên

Song Lang is a drama with LGBTQ elements that takes place in 1990s Saigon amid the city’s cải lương scene. Cải lương (Cai LOONG) is Vietnamese folk opera incorporating influences from southern Vietnamese folk songs, Western classical music, and classical Vietnamese opera (itself influenced by Chinese opera). This is one of the first performances seen in Song Lang, directed by Leon Le. The film has won various awards at international film festivals, but has had limited financial success in Vietnam. 

Today, cải lương is considered a dying art form in Vietnam for reasons of thematic and artistic accessibility (similar to the status of Western opera). The above number - one of the first in Song Lang - recounts the love of Trọng Thủy (played by V-Pop star Isaac) and Mỵ Châu (Tú Quyên), star-crossed lovers whose fathers represented warring kingdoms in Vietnam in the third century BCE. As is characteristic of cải lương, note how few breaths the performers are taking – though this song does not contain such extremes, musical phrases in  cải lương often require continuous singing without breathing, demanding the singer to modulate their tones mid-lyric.

A rough English translation from Vietnamese is provided below, taken from an English subtitled version:

[TRỌNG THỦY:] Tiết cuối xuân trời quang gió nhẹ (What a beautiful last day of spring) Khói hoàng hôn huyền ảo chốn non cao (The dreamlike mountain is bathing in the twilight.) Bâng khuâng muốn hỏi vì sao hỡi ánh dương tà (The afternoon clouds are hiding behind the treetops as a mood of melancholy descends on us. I want to ask the setting sun…) Có giận hờn ai không? (… if perhaps she’s in a sulk?)

Mà sao gương mặt ửng hồng (Is that why she’s blushing?) Làm Cổ Loa thành pha sắc đỏ (Causing Cổ Loa Citadel to glow red) Ta đã quên rồi Phiên Ngung (I’ve completely forgotten about my motherland.) Tiếng trống trận oai hùng thay bằng khúc tình ca. (The sound of the formidable drums has been replaced by a love song.)

[MỴ CHÂU:] Dập dìu thiết tha Vũ điệu chiêng cồng bổng trầm ngân nga? (Can you hear the melodious music in the air?)

[TRỌNG THỦY:] Bạt ngàn hương hoa (The flower’s fragrance fills the air.) Quyện hai tâm hồn giữa đất trời bao la (All things are in perfect harmony between heaven and earth.)

[MỴ CHÂU:] Không còn phong ba; (No more stormy weather;) Thôi lửa loạn can qua – (No more war –)

[TRỌNG THỦY:] – Cho lữ khách phương xa được cùng ai chung bóng (– Allowing this traveller from a faraway land to be with you in this joyful union.) Bên giếng ngọc đôi lòng, (By this jade well,) Say giấc mơ hồng mặn nồng uyên ương. (The younger lovers are lost in love.)

[MỴ CHÂU:] Khơi suối nguồn yêu thương, (Digging out a stream of love,) Chảy nhẹ giữa tim mình, (Let it gently flow from the hearts,) Ươm hạt giống thanh bình, (Planting a seed of peace,) Phủ xanh đường biên giới. (Letting it grow to cover the border between the two countries.)

[TRỌNG THỦY/MỴ CHÂU:] Chứng minh có đất trời Ta nguyện trọn đời không nghĩa cạn tình vơi. (With god as our witness, nothing can come between us until the end of time.)