Summary
The tale of Kieu describes the story of a young who is subjected to suffering throughout her life. Her tribulations begin when she is forced into a marriage to save her family from slavery. She becomes a prostitute, and she is moved from one brothel to another. She meets a man who promises to rescue her but betrays her by selling her into another brothel. Later she is sent to pagoda to become a nun. To her surprise, one of the nuns is evil, and she sends her to another brothel. She tries to commit suicide twice and fortunately she is rescued in those two instances. One of the best moments is when she gets married to Tu Hai who helps take revenge on her enemies. In the end, she is reunited with Kim Thong who, her true love. She is not interested in a romantic relationship with him, and they become good friends
Kieu Tale in Understanding Vietnam’s History
The tale explores the misfortunes that befell Vietnam in the past. Vietnamese history shows political and natural disaster experienced. Vietnamese people continue to identify with Kieus tales because of they have undergone struggles against corruption, political turmoil, and privation.
The 18th century is crucial to Vietnamese history. It is during this period that Chinese invasions, dynastic wars, and peasant uprising took place. The famous Tay Son rebellion was the first revolution, and it made way for many other peasants’ revolution. This rebellion helped to bring down the northern and southern Vietnam rulers. It later became a movement that was involved in the redistribution of land. This attracted the attention of Qing dynasty, which supported traditional rulers. Qing invaded Vietnam with the Nguyen who crowned himself as the emperor. However, the Tay Son Movement was very strong hence it managed to overcome the invasion. These historic moments are captured in the tale of Kieu. Nguyen uses proverbs, Confucian sayings, and folklore to describe the History of Vietnam.
Kieu moves from one brothel to another. In one of the brothels, she gets to meet Tu Hai who later marries her. Her joy is short lived when she returns to the brothel. Her experience can be compared to Vietnam’s political history. The country was under Chinese rule for more than three decades. The Vietnamese were suffering under the rule of the Chinese. There were many revolts against the Chinese rule. The most famous was the revolt led by Trung Sisters. They engaged the Chinese in battle for more than three years. Later, Vietnamese forces under Ngo Quyen defeated Chinese troops and country gained its independence. Vietnam was influenced heavily by Chinese culture even after independence. The noble families established dynasties and ruled Vietnam each seeking to take control of the country. This divided the country into two. There was an inequality distribution of wealth under the two rules. In addition, the leaders imposed taxes which were a burden to many.
The Tay Son rebellion overthrew the two dynasties and unified the country. This led to the abolishment of taxing system which had caused peasants so much stress. Women were given more rights, and some became top officials in the army and government. In addition, education was improved in an effort to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. The marriage of Kieu to Tu Hai represents this period in Vietnam. She is able to execute most of her enemies with the help of her husband who is a high ranking official in the army.
The death of Quang Tung weakened the Tay Son dynasty. He left the throne to his ten year old son who sought help from the French government. The leader became a puppet of the French government which had its own motive for Vietnam. French took advantage of the situation and colonized Vietnam. The death of Tu Hai describes the end of the Tay Son dynasty. The leader betrays Vietnam by seeking help from French. In the tale, Kieu betrays her husband causing him to be killed in a battle.
The people were forced to give collaborate with French in order to make a decent wage. Those who did collaborate were paid poorly. Prostitution in the tale represents collaboration. Women indulged in prostitution to get money, and favour from men. The same way some Vietnamese people collaborated with the French government to get well paying jobs.
Kieu is a beautiful girl from a middle class family. She is the first born in a family of three. Her family is falsely accused by the government and is arrested. She is forced to sacrifice herself in order to save her family. She gets married to Scholar Ma, and her family is released. Kieu is loyal, and she is ready to do anything to save her family hence she is used to represent Vietnam. Justice was rampant at that time in Vietnam. The country was divided into parts which were at war several times. The peasants and small merchants suffered under the leadership of the two rulers. Kieu represents the suffering of the people of Vietnam which had resulted from the division of the country and colonization of China and French.
The reunion of Kieu and Kim Trong is used to give Vietnamese people hope that dynasty will be restored. The country had been engaged with war with France. It was the hope of many that the war would come to an end enabling Vietnam to be unified. However, Kieu only wanted to become friends with Kim. This showed that the original nature of the country had been lost through colonization and civil wars that followed.
The relationship between China and Vietnam is clear in the story. China occupied Vietnam for more than thirty years hence it had a lot of influence on Vietnam. Vietnam adopted most of its major cultural political concepts from China. The Tale of Kieu was originally written in Chinese. When Kieu is in a brothel, she befriends So Khan who offers to help her escape. He sends her a note written in Chinese informing her of the date and hour they will escape. The Vietnam also adopted the Chinese religious traditions. Kieu is sent to a pagoda to become a Buddhists nun. Buddhism had become a dominant religion in Vietnam and most learning institutions were controlled by nuns and monks.
During Chinese reign Confucianism was established and it existed. Confucianism was a political doctrine that described relationships of family and society. According to this doctrine women were supposed to subject themselves to the authority of husbands, father and brothers. It emphasized that in old age women should subject themselves to the authority of their sons. Kieu is mistreated by men in different instances. Men had authority over women and this gave Kieu’s husband the right sells her to a brothel. The doctrine contributed to suffering women faced in Vietnam. They were sexually exploited and trafficked to other countries without their consent. Today, women are sexually exploited. A report on trafficking people placed Vietnam as a source of women trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation.
Confucianism also established the relationship between the leaders and citizens by emphasizing authority and respect. It established the bureaucratic system of governing where the leader has total control of citizens. For instance, the taxing system established by rulers was a burden to citizens. Kieu is forced into prostitution by her husband. She is left with no choice except to accept her fate and become a prostitute. She represents the suffering of Vietnam people under their leaders.
Kieu describes the history of Vietnam giving the people hope that the civil wars would come to an end. Today Vietnam is one of Asia’s fastest growing economies. It has a stable government which is elected by the National Assembly of Vietnam. The Chinese culture still has a major influence on Vietnam politics.
Reference
Castillo, Marlene F. and Andrew L. Odell. "Vietnam in a Nutshell: An Historical, Political and Commercial Overview." nternational Law Practicum (2008): 1-10.
Ho Tai, Hue-Tam. Radicalism and the Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution. United Kingdom: Harvard University Press, 1996.
Jamieson, Neil L. Understanding Vietnam. California: University of California Press, 1993.
Malarney, Shaun Kingsley. Culture, Ritual and Revolution in Vietnam. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 2002.
Pelley, Patricia M. Postcolonial Vietnam: New Histories of the National Past. Duke: Duke University Press, 2002.
Rutherford, Scott. Vietnam. london: Langenscheidt Publishing Group, 2002.
