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| The cover of the English translation of Truyện Kiều (The Tale of Kiều). Photo courtesy of Major Books |
HÀ NỘI — The English translation of the Vietnamese literary masterpiece Truyện Kiều (The Tale of Kiều) has been published in the UK.
The translator of this version, entitled The Tale of Kiều: A New Cry of Heart – Rending Pain, is Nguyễn Bình, who received the Young Author Award from the Vietnam Writers’ Association in 2021, also for this translation.
Truyện Kiều is one of the most translated works of Vietnamese literature, with numerous versions both domestically and internationally. Among these, Nguyễn Bình’s version has received special attention for preserving the most ‘Vietnamese’ aspects of the language.
Publishers Major Books said of the publication: “With a new translation that is attentive to the folksy rhythms of the original form, and complete with detailed notes that position the original in its cultural context – The Tale of Kiều will appeal to lovers of a rich story, its couplets lingering and speaking to the most intimate of our human emotions.”
The translator said the 2025 edition includes many adjustments compared to his translated version four years ago, resulting in a new text that is more polished, natural and closely aligned with the original text.
This publication also includes many explanatory notes and commentaries, which are quite rare in international publishing.
According to the translator, he and Major Books, which aims to promote Vietnamese literature internationally, have made efforts to retain this aspect, highlighting the significance of Truyện Kiều in the flow of Nôm (Vietnamese ideographic script) literature and bringing foreign readers closer to Vietnamese culture.
In the introduction, Nguyễn Bình expressed his hope that the translation would immerse readers in Kiều’s world and understand why, for Vietnamese people, Truyện Kiều is not just a work but a part of their very essence.
Truyện Kiều, an epic poem written by Nguyễn Du in the early 19th century, is a timeless poetic masterpiece, revered as one of the greatest classics in Vietnamese literature. Through Thuý Kiều’s years of wandering as a woman in 16th-century China, the epic delves into the complexities of human nature, gender, and sexuality.
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| Translatetor Nguyễn Bình was renowned as a literaty genius in Việt Nam. |
Nguyễn Bình was born in Hà Nội, Việt Nam. He had an early foray into the literary world, publishing a series of Vietnamese children’s sci-fi novels in 2011, when he was just ten years old. Ever since, Bình has taken a more formal approach, writing essays and poems in both Vietnamese and English that have been featured across the globe.
An early draft of their translation of The Tale of Kiều received the Young Writers Award for Translation from the Vietnamese Writers’ Association in 2022. He is currently writing a novel titled Historian on the Sand, and is completing the first Vietnamese translation of Vergil’s Aeneid.
Bình graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2023 with a double degree in Astronomy and Linguistics, and are currently a PhD student in Astronomy at the University of Washington, where he studies exhausted galaxies in the early days of the universe.
Reader Cassandra Warner said: “I am left in awe of how lively and how modern this book is. I love the way it ends. Kiều’s bond with Kim Trọng stands the test of time, and they become platonic friends.
“Really appreciate the high quality of the translation too, very skilful rhymes,” commented . VNS
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