A VIETNAMESE READER by Laurence C. Thompson id an Nguyen duc Hiep UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS SEATTLE + 1961| Copyright © 1961 by the University of Washington Press Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 61-14429 | Printed in the United States of America | Tw research rp Here wad petted psn to a conrct withthe Untd lato Oia af Eucation, Deparment of Heath, Education and Waa, PREFACE, Research ained at the creation of an intermediate Vietnamese reading text began at Yale University in the autumn of 1953 under the sponsorship of the American Council of Learned Societies. Suitable materials were collected and graded with the invaluable assistance of Miss L8 thj Bal. During the next two acadesic years Little time was available to continue the projects at ‘the sane time there arose unforeseen problems concerning permission to reprint copyrighted toxts (a large pro~ portion of the selections), and it became clear that it would be far more satisfactory to replace them with original materials if a suitable writer could be found. While at the Army Language School in Monterey, Califor- nia, I discovered there was among the teachers engaged for the Vietnanese program there a person of appropriate abilities: Mr. Nguyén duc Higp. Experienced as a teacher and journalist in his own country, Mr. Higp had shown his capacity as a writer in the preparation of reading texts for the army Vietnamese course. In his off-duty time he undertook with enthusiasm the prepa ration of texts for the Reader. This arrangement made pessible more effective control of the vocabulary and structural items introduced and permitted integration of the materials into a more interesting and digestible whole through use of an over- all story framework. I outlined such a framework, fitting in topics which ve had agreed were important to treat, and worked out a reasonable basic vocabulary on which to build. Mr. Higp composed or adapted materials to fit this pattern, He suggested a good many additions to the topics I had assembled and did careful research to assure accuracy of detail. The Vietnamese text is thus his creation, except where, as noted, he has adapted newspaper articles. For the notes and glossary I take full responsibility, although Mr. Higp was endlessly helpful, both in dis cussing the intricate meanings of passages and their cultural background and in checking my formulations.vi Preface Iam also deeply indebted to Kun Chang, not only for extensive information on the Chinese background of many Vietnamese phenomena, but also for his careful reading of the texts and the numerous helpful suggestions wh-ch resulted. Mr. Higp and I have both attempted to approach the work with imparciality, although this is always very difficult, and ve have each surely failed in some degree. Except for historical personages, people depicted im the book are not intended to represent any particular Persons, living or dead; any resemblance to real persons is accidental. The situation implicit in the story frame and the conditions described obviously antedate the partition of Viet Nam. This may suggest staleness— but a deep understanding of a people results less. frem the scrutiny of their present political organization and activities (important though this is for certain other purposes) than from the unhurried consideration of their daily life, intimately linked as it is with the past, which forms the profound basis underlying more recent history. In any case this device has permitted us to present the part of the country with which Mr. Higp is so intimately familiar—the part which may certainly be regarded as the cradle of Vietnamese civilization. The text vas completed late in 1958 at the University of Washington, where the University Press expressed an immediate interest in it. However, the expense of Publication occasioned considerable delay until a con tract in mid-1960 with the U.S. Office of Education assured the sale of a critical number of copies. New printing conventions in Viet Nam have necessitated a revision before preparation of the final manuscript. Grateful acknowledgment is made to the American Council of Learned Societies for its generous support during the years 1953-4 and 1957-8, for interest. and encouragenent (personally conveyed by John Kepke and Shirley Hudson Stout) over the entire period, and for the loan of the typewriter with Vietnamese diacritics to prepare the photo-master. Gratitude is likewise due the University of Washington for its contribution fron the Graduate School Research Fund for administrative assistance, For the support which made the final re- Vision and printing possible we are most grateful to the U.S. Office of Education. Preface mu Ses, Sheridan detnderson prepared the photo-copy with ESonectfon with the project. The sketches Fepreseating Feapect the wish of the areise to remain wonaned. The hore Loterr TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface v Table of Contents ax Introduction xii To the Teacher xii To the Student xiv chuong I Sang Vigt-nam du-1jch 3 Cuge stia-soan 4 Ngay xudng tu 5 Notes 6 Tr cau truygn trén thu 9 Truygn ban nha ww cai hoa vo nL Notes 18 THY Mgt bubs sing ar Hai cdi phd 1s Thi vé nhanh qr Notes 1s IV chwong IV 20 Duy@n-kigp v9 ching 2 Truong-Tri 2 Thua bac ban vy 24 Notes 26 ixchuong, v VE vit vir 1x Contents ‘Tham hi than 29 May tii ba gang, ta cho aly ving... 29 Ly cha ban ngay 31 ‘Thing Ban 32 Notes 33 Ngudi nbd qué nght ei? 35 Kn khoai chim mit,/Sy thgt 1a mgon... 36 Duge chum vang a Nores 40 Thien-tai as Ba con trau dye thanh chin con 43 Ngudt din bi gba 46 Truygn Tre, Coe a Notes 50 ohé bén Hoamh-tan 53 Tee Neuyen-dan sa cdo tye v8 ngdy tét: Tye xOng nha 56 cay neu 56 camh dao 31 Hoa thiy=tien 58 xotes 59 Nhiing nedy cudi erém mie be a Hhicoling HAi-phong 63 Notes or Budi chitiu die eign tren dit Vide 0 ‘Teen duing di Ha-nQi 6 Notes 80 xt xUIE xIv wv XVI XVII Thiedd Hing Truyén gifu-cau BuBi e6i du & ub’ cy Pin Hon-nban & nha 66 Huynh Notes Pi dy 18 cudi: LB To-hing Tang-ch€ Bam tang Tang-phye ‘Bi xem phim-trvdng Vigt-nam Notes HB Hoan-kigm Tay-ns Van-mi gu Notes Nhiing cu truygn bubi t8i Khb—tam Lam vige nghia An-dive dao day ve Notes Ban v8 quan-dich Notes Tee 8 Hangs Notes a7 89 92 93 94 96 oo 102 103 104 105 105 ao as 18 120 aaa as. a9 a9 a 132 234 13s un 143 149xii chuong, xvi xIK xx. xT Glossary Giac-Thie t: Ngay ming mot tet Bia tige-suan Gn Nege-son Notes ban éng ché K& Phan Telin,/Din bi eh6 We Thiy-Van, Thay-Ki8u Notes Di thim min que Neh’ Lin chitu Nehé a sinh Neh canb-ndng va vige euSi hi Y-khoa Notes Miia hoa phugng nd hing cuge #i8n-hanh Notes References contents ast 158 159 162 165 a0 a6 ut 178 a9 180 182 185, ast 190 193 367 INTRODUCTION 10 THE TEACHER This volume is intended to lead a student who has acquired a basic knowledge of spoken Vietnamese to the study of newspaper material and more technical or 1it~ erary writings. For planning purposes, the vocabulary contained in Lessons I through XIX of Jones and Thong, Introduction to Spoken Vietnamese (Washington: American Souncil of Learned Societies, 1957) was assumed as basic. However, the material is hardly less adaptable for students who have begun with entirely different elementary material. All words appearing in the text fare included in the glossary. The glosses and notes are complete enough to permit a beginmer to set out inme- @iately with this text, although this procedure is not specifically recommended. At the same time, it has been our specific aim to provide a rather extensive picture of Viet Nam—the Organization and operation of Vietnamese society custons, traditions and religious practices, attitudes of the people toward various natural and social phe~ nomena, and 30 on. We hope that at the end of his perusal of the book the student will have a good feeling for what Viet Nam is like and a considerable notion of ‘the psychological and philosophical orientation of the people. As an important background for this cultural picture, some significant features of the physical environment and some important historical facts are dealt with. However, the student will at no point find himself faced with treatises on these subjects. We believe that the best foundation for a profound understanding of @ people and culture is an experiential one. This book seeks to provide such a foundation on which more detailed research may be built—a sort of guided tour Into the culture for those who cannot travel half way round the world, or to serve as suggestive and inter= pretive guide for those who are fortunate enough toxiv Intreduction visit the area in person. ‘The book is divided into chapters. Chapter I is introductory: it sets the scene for the book as a wholes the language used is mainly colloquial and very few new words appear. After this the material becomes succes~ sively more difficult, but in order not te discourage the student we have purposely spaced easier passages throughout the book. Chapters are usually divided into several selections which are introduced and occasionally followed by conversational or relatively easy narrative passages. Assignments may divide up the material in any fashion vhich seems convenient, although it is assumed the student will read the materials in order—later notes often depend on an understanding of earlier ones. As far as possible the meanings of forms are covered in the glossary3 special difficulties of meaning, especially those where the student might be misled by what he has learned previously, are covered in notes, as are difficulties of construction. Tn addition, notes have deen utilized to signal significant linguistic patterns which are useful for the student te recognize. Finally, the notes furnish fuller background on cultural elements alluded to in the text. Although all of the original material was composed or adapted by one author, special effort has been made to introduce various styles to provide a more varied experience. As is the case with any advanced reading materials, there are inevitably words which are of Limited value to the student, In this material such forms are at a minimum; their complete elimination would destroy the naturalness or reality of the prose. In general the vocabulary introduced is important and highly significant within the framework of Vietnamese lite. To THE STUDENT Learning to read Vietnamese presents very special problens in that the vocabulary of printed material is exceedingly large and includes a high proportion of forms hich do not occur in the spoken language. The materials in this book are designed to bridge over the first large gap between the spoken and written languages. Intreduction ~ ‘the words of the first nineteen lessons of Jones and ‘Thong, Introduction to Spoken Vietnamese (Washington: American Council of Learned Societies, 1957) are taken fas basie: whether you began with this or some other Course, it is assumed that you will recognize most of them if you have studied spoken Vietnamese for six months to a year. However, all forms occurring in the text are listed in the glossary. ‘The text progresses from simple colloquial Vietnamese at the beginning to a more complex written style toward the end. The change is gradual and colloquial passages are introduced throughout the book to help maintain your interest and provide some relief from the more aiffioult material. The notes are intended not only to help you with aifficult passages at hand but also to point out certain important principles of written Vietnamese which will assist you in future in reading more advanced texts. Before you begin to use the glossary you will need to look over the introductory matter at the beginning of it in order to understand the arbitrary devices sed te render it more efficient and useful. You will find that it consists primarily of one-syllable forms with their basic meanings. Polysyllabic forms occurring first before the end of Chapter X are listed under each of their constituent parts. This is not simply for your Convenience in finding the meanings of complex forms rapidly3 it is also intended to provide you with a means for checking and learning the basic meanings of the constituents in order to help you build the kind of vocabulary necessary for efficient reading. For this reason it is advisable to analyze each complex form into its constituents and try to see how the meanings of these constituents contribute to the meaning of the whole form. In many instances it is virtually impossible to describe adequately the meaning of a basic elenent, but you can acquire an understanding of it by observing it in its various uses. Te is also often difficult to specify the different shades of meaning conveyed by Several forms containing a common element. Such forms are often assigned the same gloss in the glossary, but each form actually has a slightly different connotation: Pecognizing the meanings of its constituents will help you gain some insight into its particular muancessxvi Introduction beyond this you must observe carefully its uses. Some polysyllabic forms, however, are not analyzable, or their analysis is so specialized as to be of little practical value. In doing your daily reading assignments we suggest the following procedure as most efficient and valuabll Before beginning on new material reread your last assignment rapidly, noting any forms which you have forgotten. This serves three important purposes: first, it re-establishes for you the continuity of the materials secend, it helps you increase your reading fluency third, it provides a continuing review and helps secure your knowledge of individual forms and their uses. Read each new assignment through first without Looking up any vords and see how mich of it you can understand; try to get the general drift of the material. Then go back and read it again, this time locking up whatever you need to know. You may be surprised to find ‘that the meanings of words which you have met before and did not recall the first time through will now return te yous you will understand the passage better on the secend reading, even without looking words up. There may be sentences which give you trouble on the second reading; if you do not understand them after a reasonable amount of puzzling leave them and go on to the end of the assignment. Then read the whole assignment a third ‘time: you should find at this time that the entire selection makes more sense and that many (if not all) of the puzzles are straightened out. Any remaining problems should be marked so that you can question your teacher about them at the next opportunity. Finally, remember that several brief study sessions with the same material are better than one long period. A VIETNAMESE READERcuvone 1 Sang ¥if Sng Lewis vi Ong Johnson 14 hai sink-vitn MY. Hai ong hge théng Vigt-nam duge mgt nin § mt dai-hge MY. Cting nhw cde sinh-vitn khde, hai Ong duge gido-su cho ton Vige 1 Le Vy va Trin Dong.” Hai Ong 1a ban thn va cing 6 chung mgt f-tuing 1a 4 sang Vige-nam du-ljch. Cae Ong nghT sang Vige-nam thi co nhigu djp dB né: ngay cde Ong 88 duge Lutn-ludn nghe ngudi Vige~nam nbd va vide tidng Vige-nam, Hing thi vui thfeh 1 Bay gid cde Ong chi can dye chuong-trinh cuge hinh- tinh nén &i bing ech gi, elu bay hay thu ehiys ede ‘ong s€ ai bao lau va sé di vio dQ nio. Sau khi bin tinh vi hi cde diy en bide 8 sib-quan Vige-nam gi Hoa thimh-d@n, hai Ong quyét-dinh di du-ljeh séu thing. 34 chuong 1 cuge hanh-trinh s& khdi-hanh sau ng’y cée Ong dd sn ming xong 18 Chia Giéng-Sinh nim nay.’ Di vio dip nay cde Ong s& gp neay tét Newy@n-dén Vigtenam. Ngdy tét nay long-trong nat cia ngudi Viet, moi naudi du neni vige an t&t vui-vé hon dip 18 chia Giing-Sinh. Tée nim nay whim ngdy ming hai thing hai dvong-Lich. Nhu vay cde Ong dm noi thi gap mhing neiy cu8i nim anelich 1a djp dan-chiing rgn-r}p dua shaw sf sia an tty Won nay 1a 26 (hai moi séu) thang 12 (mudi hai) nim 19,.(mgt nghin chin trim...). Hai Ong VF va Dong 4a xin al cde gidy-td db ai, cde Ong da cS thd théng- inh My va e6 ali c& chiGu-khing cia dgi-st Vige-nan. Vi tu sé 48 $ Nhge-ban va Hong-kéng nén hai 6ng cing xin ccd chi chigu-khing cha sii-quin Nhat va Anh na, hl odn not tulin-18 nia 1a elu di. Hai éng hay cdn mhitu chi gid a8 doc cde sich néi v8 Vige-nam, nhit 1a dm mbita tni gi8 d¥ sha-sogn quin-ao va cde 48 cin ding, Ning thé nay cde Ong chi ding hai c4i va-li dB dymg 1a at.? Digu ma cde Ong chi-trong dn nhat 12 dem theo may nh va ndy quay phim di. Ong Dong 1ai th{ch mang theo ch mgt miy ghi-an d8 ghi cde digu hit va amnhge Vigt- nam. Newoi Vigt c8 rife nbigw digu amnhge cb, khong sing cée digu am-nhge cd-ditn vA cling khéc cde aigu ‘Trung-hoa hay An-d9. Moi sy déu sin-sing, hai éng chi cén chd ngay xusng tu d8 vupt BB sang Vigt-nam, mgt nude ben trdi dong xa Lay mhung hai Ong dH néi dupe ting Vigt-nan khé xudi hay. Nady xudng thu 5 Nady 2udng tu Wai ong VF va Dong vui-vé xuGng eu, THu nhd neo vao hBi 12 gid trua. Hom nay 14 ming 3 théng ging nim 19.. trdi dop va ning am, Trong Khi Ong Dong dang bg xép dat mot vai tha® trong phing ngh cita hai Ong vi hai tong & chung m@t phong thi Ong WY choi 8 ngodi boong elu. Sng VY ofing nhu nbifw ngudd hanh-khéch khc dime hin think ph Cyuckiseson xa din duéi nh nding ving mia ding. Con thu cing ra xa b9 cing chay nhanh hon. Nhiing Lin séng én bj tu eft 404, gp vac hai ben man tu, tung 1én nhiing bet tréng-x6a. Ong VF dang hit hue 1é, nit niin miy con hAi-au bay theo thu thi 6 mgt cy gia dQ ngoai 60 tudi tay clin mot cusn sdch dén xin Ong mt que diem dé hie ehude 14. oy nSi ting Anh iit Lieh-sy va ré-ring. dng VF vui-vé ly hop dig ra va dank mgt que, cham thuBe 14 biiu cy. Ong WF rit ming khi trong thily quytn sdch Ong cy clim tay 1a mt quytn titu-thuyét Vigt-nam, han-dé 1a: "Séng h8 Ba-B8." Khong dah @jp tt, Ong V¥ lin ljch-sy noi voi Ong cy: —Thua Cy, Cy 1a ngudd Vige, phat khong?” Sng cy hét sive done, nhin Ong VY chinm-chi va thong— tnd ork 154: “Tha vang, t0i 14 ngudi Vige vd een toi 1A Nwyén cao Dim, Gin Ong 1a ngudi Phap va dt 8 ben nude toi, phai khéng? Ong Vy tuoieudt exh 154: Thea cy, tai sao Cy lei dgy thé,® tOi 1a sinh-vitn My hoc tidng Vigt-nam, Chic cy thy COi ndi titng Viet, cy cho €0i 14 meudi Php, phi khOng?6 chuong I —chinh thé, cy Dam rd 154, ti sang du-lich ben My chua duge gip ai noi tidng Vige, t8i nghi Ong 1a ngudi Phap cling sang day duLjch nhu ti. —Thwa Cy, tén Vigt ti la Le VF cing bgc tiéng Vigt- nan véi Ong ban t0i 1a Trin Dong. Nay hai ching i cling sang Vigt-nam du-lich, Xin phép Cy d& ti tim Ong ban t0i ra day hit chuygn Cy cho vui. tnge qu{-héa qué, £04 rift han-henh duge gp Ong ban Gag.” NoTes 1, The roman nunerals in chapter headings are read as ordinal numerals: Chuong this nhat (1), chuong thi nhi (11), Chuong thé ba (ITT), ete. 2, Le Vy va Trlin Dong : In assigning Vietnamese names to the students, the teacher has made some effort to retain a suggestion of their original sound but has also made them conform to the pattern of Vietnamese nanes. Both L@ and Trin are conmon family names in Viet Nam and YF and Dong are ordinary given names, Note that, contrary to the custom of vestern culture, the family name comes first. You will notice that family names are used only in introductions and certain other formal situations vhere full names are required for purposes of identification; othervise the given names are used, generally preceded by a word like Ong, cO or ba for courteous address or reference. 4. sau ngay cde Ong df an ming xong 16 Chia Gidng-Sinh Notes 1 nlm nay ; 'after the day they finish celebrating Christmas this year." Note that everything following ngay ‘day! modifies or describes that word; this is the standard construction for showing modification -- the modifier may be a single word or a whole clause or sen~ tence, as here. 4. Chi con mgt tuin 18 nda 1a tu di: '1t!s just one more week until the boat leaves.! 5, Nhing thi nay cde Ong chi ding hai cdl va-li d& dung 1a di : ‘These things they found two suitcases were sufficient to held.t 6. ban xép de mgt vai thé : Tousy putting things in order. 1, Tn Vietnamese a simple dash (—) at the beginning of ‘a paragraph marks the beginning of a quotation. There is no device for marking the end: the reader must recognize from the context what belongs in the quotation and vhat is author's comuentary. In recording direct address authors frequently (although not always) capitalize the word which refers to the person spoken to in order to convey an impression ef courtesy. Such capitalization is the rule with words denoting persons commanding special respect (Zor example, a president, king or cabinet minister), but 5 less connon with words like cy, Ong, ete., and ge is not consistent in most Vietnamese printed 8. tei sao Cy Lai day thé : ‘what makes you say that?!8 Chwong I cy Dim is startled by a westerner speaking his lan- guage and thinks first of the children of French coloni- al families who grow up in Viet Nam and learn Viet~ namese when they are small. Other than these there are comparatively few French (and only a handful of other westerners such as American missionaries) who have Learned the language. 9. The use of hyphens is complicated and not very con- sistent. We may outline here the general principles followed in this book. The following types of poly- syllabic forms are regularly hyphenated (a) forms borrowed from Chinese (sinh-vien, du-l}ch) and other languages (va-1i, from French valise)3 (8) forms in which at least one syllable has no identi fiable connected meaning in isolation (yui-vé, ré-ring); (©) compound forms which denote a general category of things (qulin-do ‘elothes!) 5 (@ forms involving an exact repetition of the basic form where this basic form is not a noun or verb (Ludo ude ‘alvays, thudng-thudng tusually' in Chapter TH) 5 (©) place names (Vige-nam, Hoa-thjnh-a6) ; (2) in personal nanes elements which are thenselves units (examples will be signalled Later). There is a strong general tendency to drop hyphens: in extremely common forms they are often omitted—in particular, in Chinese borrowings which have become such an integral part of the everyday language that the average Vietnamese thinks of them as native words (ban than). Except in names sequences of more than tyo syllables are only rarely connected by hyphens. cHvoNe Tr cau ruven tres Ti ngay hai Ong VY va Dong ep cy Din, ba ngudt thudng—thodng néi chuy@n voi nhau Iuén. Lite thi cung, nhau hong gid trén boong, cho xem mit trod Lin. o ngoai bE khoi ma xem mit troi 1jn thi that dep. Khi mit troi dang bit diiu khude thi ed mt ving chin troi va be ch8 do d3-8i nh mot dam chay Khbng-18. The ri: sing 48 vang cir nhgt din, sau cig chi con 1gi mt anh anh sang yéu-St chét din trén mgt b&, nhudng ch8 cho man dom bao phi. khi thi ba nguoi dam-lugn trong phng ngBi choi ca tau. Ting tmenhge du-duong & géc phong do moe may phéng-thanh tung ra cing Lim cho ctu truygn ba ngudi them vui-vé. Cy Bim thi vai t{nb, thfch KB chuygn, con hai Ong VF va Dong thi Lic nao cting chim-chit nghe. Con 910 chuong TE gi bing 14 hai Ong dang di sang Vige-nam du-lich mi duge nghe mgt cy gia Tich-duygt KB chuygn v8 Vigt-nan. cu Dim thily hai éng nay can tré-trung, Lith KB mge truygn vui cla mgt ching thanh-nitn ngiy 2a vi mgt ching thanh-nién neay nay di Lim 8. Day ehL 1a hai ctu truydn vul trong niu truygn dan-ching djt ra trong vind ly v9 Tay chdng. Truyén ban nha “—Neiy xua 8 Vigt-nam vige hOn-nhan 1a do & b8 np leén chon cho con cdi, khOng phii ngudi con giai hay naudi con géi ty kén chon vg hay ching cho minh. VE thé mi c6 tye Lam rB, Trong thdi-gian Lin r8, ngudi_ con giai phi dén mba ngudi con gai mdi khi 6 vige gid- chap hoke yén-tige. G cde gia-dinh git thi chi dén dy, cén cde mha trung-binh thudng-dan thi ngudi con gia cling phi lam {t chit 48 gitip vige. Da Lam vige hay khong thi trong céc dip nay cling 14 djp gia-dink nguod con gai xét tinh-nte, cach giao-thiep clia ngwoi ré tuong-lai. Ti ni gia-dinh va khOng ndi ngudi con gi 1A trong thdi-gian nay phong tye Vigt-nan chua cho phép con giai con géi duge gin-gyi nhaus Gng VF nghe dén day néng rut mufn bist ngay truygn ban nha, 1i8n néiz —Thua cy, thé cau truygn ban nha cy dinh kK cho ching t0i nghe o6 1ign-quan dén vige Lim r® khong? =cé Lim chi, thua Ong. Cling vi ngwdi con gial bide 1a moi ngwdi ab trf xem xét minh ndn mpi etch khi in cfing nh khi néi d8u clin-thgn. Pay 1A truygn ban nha: cau Thanh dén nha vg chua cui &@ gitip vige vi ngay nai 1A ngay an ming nha mi. Sau khi chi bho, xtp dye cai hoa vo u cho gia-nhin trang-hoang nhi-cia, ke baneghé, edu Thanh 44 am com. Cau ngSi an cling ban vSi bs mp ngudi con gai. Khi an dén mia bia thi hét com, cfu Thanh chwa no, hung khéng bit cS én goi ngudi mhd ay them com hay khong. CQu Thanh suy-tinh mt lie r8indi vi Ong chi nha 1a: —Thia thiy, & Ling bén 06 ngwdi mudn bin mgt ngs nha, thiy 08 mua kh6ng?? Ahi to hay mh, 06 t8¢ khdng cfu? —AThua thy t8t Lm g, nbd ngéi nim gian, oft bing Lim, ola bing gy va eGt cfing khd to. ThE c9t bing nao?” Thea thy, gt to bing nly, cgu Thanh via néi via cho dita va quay trong edi 1i8n dyng com. Gng chi ahi thiy 148m hée com, vOs god ngudi ahi Ldy chon. Com dua 1én cu Thanh lai ti8p-tyo ain va adi chuygn vaio’ hw ehudng. BBng Ong chi nh’ nhS gi eruygn bin wha ie trade, ‘Lig bois A cdi nha cfu néi Lie ny ho dit bao nhieu ei8a? —Thua thity, bay gid hg no ri nén khéng ban nia. is, hoa v3? Phong-tye thay dbi, trade kia nam niv khOng dugc tro chuygn voi nhau, Nhiing cuge gip-g6 gitta trai gai déu coi 1a trai phép. Nay thi cdc b§e phychuynh di cho phép con gi dupe tip ban giai $ ahi, Tuy 2 Anbehudng sa vin cén tn stu trong di de ede bgn thanh-nitn nan nth én tuy duge ty-nhitn, ho viin edn hay e-then. cau Tan cling he mgt trudng voi cgu Ba.* Thudng- thudng cfu Tan vin dén ahi ban chot. cau Ba eS ngudi12 Chyong IT ch} g&i mim nay da madi tim tubs, trOng rit cS duyén. co fe néi, nung lie nio ting tuoi-cuoi nén ai cting qui. Ten o8 1a Hudng. age hom e@u Tan 1gi choi ehim ban thi gp 0 Huong dang cn hoa vio 1p. cu dimg ngoai cia sb chic 09 va td mun noi chuyQn voi c8. Y8n ngudi nba-nhjn, Leh sy, c8 vui-vé ndi chuygn voi cfu Tan. ad ngudi néi chuygn vui-vd khOng edn ahd gi dfn chi- gid. Troi hom nay nfing am, dep qua. Neodi vin ting din ‘bwom-buém lpn quanh hét ikhém hing ndy Lal déa cym ove kia, Tren c@y wily con chim vinh-khuyén via mhdy-nhst elm san via rluorfe hoe. Dang Dic hai ngudi mé-man voi m@i tinh chém nb thi ong Han Sinh, thy cé Huong di qua. CQu Tan luéng- cuéng chio Ong va neay-tho' h8i éng Han Sinh 14 cym hoa hbng trude mit c}u 1A thir hoa gl. Ong Han vui-vé via di via tr& 151 cgu Tan 1a: —"oai hoa vo," egu ae Ti diy mi khi noi d¥n hoa vS 14 cde ban thanh-nign nan-ni du mim cudi voi tt o& F-nghia cha moi cinh du, Sng Dong o6 ve suy-nehi KkhOng itu cai hoa vo 1a hoa gi eni Ong VF pha ra oudi va ede aghfa cho Ong Dong nghe: Hoa vo 1a thi hoa Ong d& bide ri mA edn vo mhy iehong bist. That 1a ctu truygn ahgo 404 rt 1)-chi. Notes 1s NOTES 1. thiiy 6 mua khOng? : "WiLL you buy it?* or 'Do you want to buy it?7? In this sentence cé is the emphatic auxiliary and the question refers to the future. 2, Thé cOt bing nao? : 'How large are the pillars (supporting the house)?! In former times the importance and value of a house vere determined on this basis. 3. Cdi hoa vo: The meaning of this title will be apparent to you after you have finished the story. 4. Ba : In many families names are given to seme or all of the children which are actually numerals, beginning with Hai "two! for the second child; in the same tradition the first born is named Cd 'elder, eldest.’Sau khi cy Pam un sing xong di ra boong tu thi sip hai Ong VF va Dong. cHuONG ITT Mee budi sing —Lty cy 9) Sng VF chio cy Pam. =T6i khdng dim, chio hai Ong. Hai éng dif in dite eam chua? —Thva cy, ching t0i an qua sing r8i g. Con cy da ding chua? —Thua 48, bay gid hai Ong djnh Lam gi? —thua ey, edn dit Lam gi hon 1a ra boong tia! agin gi4 va xem BB, Ong VF nhanb-nhin tr’ 154. Hay’ Lin, cy Dim tra 134, sing nay ning tin, Ching ‘ta ngbi choi dy n64 chuygn vui cho qua thi-gid. —Thwa cy, hai truygn cy ke hém qua vui qua, Ong Bong khen cy Dim. 4 | | Hai cai phbi 4s —cam on Ong, bay gid thi toi k® hiu hai Ong nghe truyg@n Hai cai phhi. Vang, Ong Dong noi, xin cy k® di. Xwa nay ai cling néi chi cé phAi hay sai, nay lai co truygn hai cai cung pit thi che 18 hay én. Cy Pam 1i8n ke: Hai, Sach xua chép mgt truygn that 1j-tha v8 hai cdi ph Nge nim nude sbng 1én to. Me nha giiu khong may eS ngudi chée duBi. ge ngudt oe duge xde ay. NewSi hi gitiu xin chuge, nguoi kia d3i mhidu cin. Ngubi nha gitta khong bing Ling chuge, dem truygn h3i gt ngudi quen bige luge-phip, 1f-sy nhilhu, Neudd ndy tr 154 1a cir yon-tam, NS cn bin edi xe chée ty cho ai dupe ma bac so?” Anh ching vot dupe xie, khOng thy ngudi nha giltu hi dén nia, 1Ay Lim Lo, cling vos chay dn h3i ngudi ehong-thgo lugeephap, cing Li ngudt d& erd 181 cho newéi nba giltu. Anh ta bio ring: cis yon-tam. NS edn mua & dau ra duge cdi xée ty mi a Si1 has ct cling phii cd, & 45 thé mdi bide ca phai 14 khd. Neu ai cing nght minh 12 phAé thi chi sinh ra ghen-ghée, kign-tyng va thi-hin nhau. cy Bam via ndi xong, thi ong VF hSi nga —Thwa cy, mgwoi thong-thgo phap-luge cy via mdi od pb&i 1A ergng-sw lehong?16 chwong TIE Khong phi dau, Ong qs Bay chi 1a mgt ngud4 thuons, xem sich lugt va quen cde vige § tda-dn hon dan-chiing, ene eos. —Thé trang-su dau ma ho khOng hdi,* thua cy? Ong Dong boi. cy Pim erd 155 —Nedy mwa, ching t0i khOng of trang-su. Neay bay gid cling of rat fe 8 cée do-thj 1ém thoi. Hon nila cic trang-su khOng duge ci & cde toa-dn dudi. —Cim on cy, hai Ong trd 164, bay gid ching tOi nibu ré hon, Cau truygn tht 1y-thi. Hai Ong Dong va VF via cin on cy Dam v8 cau truygn Hai efi phi xong thi ed mgt doin mdi chide phi-co phin-lye bay qua tu. Nhing chige phi-co niy bay nhanh avd. Bay qua thu xong 14 cd dodn bay thing 1én trdi cao. Not chée 1A ehOng trong thay x6 phi-co’ nda, chi edn nhiing vee tring quin-quao trén nn trdi xanb-bige cba gt bubi sing dep gidt.4 Ba ngudi ciing naling mbt 1tn xem doin phi-co bay cao, cao mii. Bing cy Dam nb nhé ra mgt vige gi quén dk 14u, oy Bn nd —niy hai ng q, t0i trong thay nhing vot tring tree trdi kia sye nh dn truygn Thi vé nhanh? cha trang Vige-nam di si Thu ngiy aoa, Kin oy KB cho ehiing ti nghe, dupe ichdng? —buge Mdm, cy Dim vai-vé tri 164 va Ke truygn Thi v8 shank hw sau: Thi v6 nhanh uv Thy yS hank Nedy 2ua 0 Ong Trang dis sang Thu. Ong 1a ngudi 6 tii Gng-d6i rift nhanh. cing vio chu vua Thu, 06 tite c& trang cila bén nude. Vua Thu muén eh ei xem trang nude nie gidi, Lin sai quan itu 1fy bit, myc va gidy ra dé bén trang thi vé Yaa phan rin —Sau mit tidng tréng trang® ndo VE xong trade mht con vat dua Itn dang Trim xem thi duge thubag va dupe Lam din anh cde trang.” Tigng trdng via dinh xong, Ong Trang Vigt-nam 1i8n ding c& mdi dtu ngén tay vdo nghign myc ri vach vio idly tréng mdi née quin-quée. ng vé xong vgi dua len dang vua Thu, trong Lie dy thi ba trang kia eGng vé xong. Newt thi con chim bay, ngudi thi con neva chey, thi con phugng miia.® new ‘Trang Vigt-nam dva 1én trude nén duge vua hi trude 1a trang vé cai gi ma nhanh thé? Tau Dac Vua, t0i v8 mudi con ring. ua 1ién phan: Rong gi mi quin-qudo ene? Trang Sap Lai Lis Con réng dt ngudi Thu quen gei 1 long-thd (con giun) 2 Yua ch end, phan 1: Via nhanh tay 1g hank trf, Trlin cho trang ding dtu cée trang.as ‘chuong TIT NOTES 1. edn bigt Lim gi hon 1 ra boong tau : ‘what do you know that's better than going out on deck...7? 2. NS con ban cdi xde cht Ay cho ai duge ma béc sg? + tho in the world else do you suppose he can sell that dead body to? (So what are you vorried about’)! 3. Thé trang-su dau mi hg khOng h8i : ‘Then how come they didn't consult a lawyer...7" 4. cha mgt bubi sing dep gibi: tof a gorgeous morning.' Dep gidi here is an attributive phrase, where gidi modifies or specifies dgp: ‘beautiful from ‘the point of view of the sky (weather).' The difference detween dep gidi and gidi dep seems to be a matter of the basic concern of the speaker: dep gidi answers a question like tHow is it beautiful?’ whereas gidi dep answers rather a question Like 'What is the weather Like?! ‘Thi vé nhanh : a contest to see vho can draw the quickest.! Note that adjective-like words such as nhanh have an inherent comparative sort of meaning (more... or tmost. +4"). 6. Note that the word trang here (referring to no particular person) is not capitalized, while a few Lines above (where it does refer to a specific person) Lt ist this reflects the general pattern for capitali- zation in such cases, but there is a great deal of Notes as inconsistency in ordinary Vietnamese print. 7, Lim dan anh cde trang : "be the elder of the scholars.* Dan anh means Literally ‘the ranks of elder brother.! 8, 'One person Chad drawn] a bird flying, another a horse running, the other a phoenix dancing.! The sequence nguoi thi has the force t he. s for Lone] person, 9, According to Vietnamese tradition the Chinese call the common earthworm (giun) ‘earth-dragon' (Long-thd). It is interesting that this is not the standard term found in Chinese Literature and that the form does not have the order ye would expect in a Chinese compound (modifier preceding) — it is rather the usual Vietnanese order (modifier following): it may represent 4 borrowing from some spoken dialect or simply reflect a spurious explanation. In any case, the joke lies in ‘the Vietnamese amusement at the notion that the chinese call the tiny earthvorm a dragon, and in the cleverness of the Vietnamese scholar in taking advantage of this. There is also the element of poking fun at the Language of the Chinese overlords who dominated Viet Nam so Long.cHUONG TY One, ‘thya’ cy, hom trude cy dgy 14 phong-tye Vigt- han khOng cho phép con trai, con gai ndi chuygn voi hau. Vay khi ching t8i sang Vigt-nam oS duge han-hanh sip ede 08, cde BA khOng? Ldm ché, dy 1A Anb-hudmg phong-héa Trung- oy Dam + hoa tir nghin nim sua. Nay tuy dan-chiing con theo gift ge phi thay di mhi8u. Gng Dong : Thua cy, thé vige hOn-nhan hign nay cac cS nio,) nhung sy giao-thigp gida nam vi nt da gi cS duge tysy kém chen ngudi mink yeu khong? oy Dam : Vige hOn-nhan thi rit phite-tap. Toi od tht tam chia ra Lim ba giai-edp trong xi-hgi Vige-nam. Phin dong dan-chiing hign nay vin chi-truong 14 bé mp 18 ngudi timg-trdi hon s€ gidp con cdi trong vige hén- nhan. Phin thi bai thi de con edi ty chon 1dy, nhumg vin trong 151 chi-dlin cha phy-huynh. Phin thi ba thi 20 DuyOn-kigp ve ching a {t hon, cée 06 cde cfu mun ty minh kén chon va hoan- toan nbgn ldy tréch-nhigm, Dit xva hay nay, ngudi Vige thudng tin 1a vige hOn-nhan 1A 6 duyen-kigp. Sng VY + Cém on cy aX cho bide vige hOn-nhan cha ngudi vigt, cy c6 truygn gi vai v8 vind’ nay khong? cy Dim ; TOL c6 nbi8u truygn 1ém, Nay t0i KB cho hai feng nghe mot truygn cla mt 06 gai kén ching ngiy xa nnbu saus Duyén-kide vy ching” Yun 68 ngwSi hge tro di dam vo. Anh ta dn mgt gia dink c5 6 con gid o6 titng 1 hay ch va hay vi-von, 4&8 dip. co thich ring: Toi khtng thich vin-chuong, tho, phi gl cd. TOs chi 48 ching mgt eau, néu ching ging duge thi c0i sé Lim ngudt vy rie erung-thanh cba ching. Nguoi hge tro ddng-y. Nguoi con gai lin ra cau dv a: ‘Dui ddi gi 1én hon voi? GE cao hon adi, gi ddi hon sng? Vén sin théng-minh, ngudi hge trd img-khlu dip ngay rings Anh day da* nbén hon voi, Tigne* cao hon nid, tinh dai hon sng. co ga chju 14 cau tra 1oi thgt 1a tai-tinh va hai ngudi ndy thinh doi lia, Moi ngudi tin 1a vg chéng 14y hau 14 duy@n-kigp tir trude.22 chuong TY Tewong-Tri Truong-Tri 1 t@n clia mgt thanh-t i@n Lim ngh8 thuy! chai. Anh nay 05 mgt gigng hit rit hay, nhung mgt thi, rit xu. Ngiy nedy sau khi dinh c& xong, anh thudng dju thuyén 8 mgt nek ba sOng dudi hing c@y duong-1i8u xanh— xanh. Voa thi nu bila an chi’u, anh voa hit. Anh that 1a, ngudi sung-suong, vui-ve vi ai nghe tigng hat trong- trbo va du-duong efia anh cling cdm thy anh 14 ngudd vo- va hSn-nbien. ‘Trén bo gan ngay ch8 anh Truong-Tri dgu thuyén 1a tba ldu-dii cla cOng-chia do vua cha xay cho ning d neh mit. Chung quan ta nha the rOng-rii. Nao c@y to dong mat, ndo hoa thom bn mia.> Pay 1a vwin boa, kia 1A nid gid. ‘Trong yun cé nhi8u tugng clim-thgch tréng rat dep. ing quiing tren cde 18i 4i 6 dat uhling chide ghé da hoa kb xinh. cOng-chia hay di dgo mat & khu vudn ny Bi khi mgt trdi ta. Trong mhi trang-hodng 19i cang Lich-sy va thanh-nhi. M&i phing mgt miu som khic nhau hyp wi dah sing din pha-e. Ngudt ta cling cBn-thtn bay & ede phng &y cde a5-dgo dng miu hoe son son thép ving. COng-chia chon ange phing & tlng eae thi hai Lim phing nh. Phong niy yén-tinh, trong ra song vé huong déng. Cong-chiia dx dém day nghl aie dupe hai euia-18 r8i. Chiu chi8u edng-chiia thudng ra dgo mat & yudn hoa. COng-chiia thay vui thich lém, hém nao ban vige khOng ra vyudn duge thi thily nhéenhung. COng-chia nbénhung khong phi vi vain dep, hoa thom hay clink einb-mjch ela khu ‘Truong-Tri 23 yun, mhung cOng-chia ahd mgt digu hit vir xa dua lai. Gigng hat du-duong khi 1én Bing, Lic xusng trlin khign ngwoi nghe thily phii B8i-h8i, ehBn-thie. Bem dén khi cOng~chia v8 phing agi thi lai nghe thiy tigng djch réo-rit, Ting hit d4 Lim cho cng-chiia ehdre tie, ting djch 19i cing Lam cho ning say m@. Din-dn cOng-chia thinh mo-ming, Lie nie cling chi nghi dén gigng hit, eine dich ciia ngudi ndo diy mi ning chua bb quen bite. inh-trang kéo did khéng bao lau, cOng-chia bi Sa, Ot thi bénh khOng thiy thude nio chia duge. Teng con no-hoding ngudi ta chi nghe thiy ning néi din gigng hit, ting djch vi bubs chigu ed. Ning ludn migng ca-cung nhiing bubi chitu yeurduong ay. C6 Lin ning qud-quyée 1a clnh tién eiing khong hon duge. N8i Lin anh Truong-Tri offt eine hit 1A ning cOng- chia tinh hin gide mo. Hai mie sing 1én va ning chin Yoa cha thiy eh€ Lin cho tim anh thuyn chit vio vA bio ning cOng-chia néu mudin két-hon, vua 98 chit ngh cho phép. Nhung mgt sy dét=ngd da xly ra. Lic trong thy mit anh Truong-Tri, ning cOng-chila da thit-veng vi anh xu qué. Nang mé tigng hit anh bao nhigu thi nay ning chin ghét ngudt anh bay nhieu. Cin anh Truong-Tri thi tiv agdy trong thy cOng-chia vi duge bide truyfn ning yeu titng nat ofa anh, anh thinh tuong-tu. Kh8 cho anh, khéng lay duge nang céng- chia nén thank benh njng ri chét. Anh Truong-Tri chét di, tiéng hat tigng djch khong cOn, lau diin cOng-chiia cling phai quén di.2 Chuong 1V Noung sau ba nim ngudi ta céimténg® mg anh Truong Tri thi KhOng thily hai-cée dau ch mi chi chily mgt vitn ages Newb ta 1dy vien ngge fy Lam age cdi chén dep Lim yi dua ding vue. Mgt hon cOng-chiia ding efi chén ngge nay dB wong nude. La thay, mabe via rét vio thi cOng-chia trong thay 8 day chén hinh anh Truong-Tri. Nang vi cim-d$ng, khong git dupe nBi thBn-thie, o& 1én khdc. Nude mit ning rot xuBng chén nude va 1gp-tire di chén tan thinh nude, bin mit. Vi thé ma ngudd ta tin 1a d& eS duyen-kigp 1dy haw ei thé no cling phi kée-hgp mge Lin khOng sao tranh duge.” Thos bee bin Ys Sng Neuydn cOng-Tri 1 mgt thanh-nign Lng-man, tuy sau niy Lim nén sy-nehigp én, Lie thigu-thdi ong 06 gt d34 tinh-ai rae ide ngudi uge trong nhtng truygn tinh olla Ong t0i KE sau dBy cdng dh Lim tigu-bita cho tdt ch truygm khéc trong &d4 ong. Sau khi thi hing, Sng Tri 6% ngao-du sudt Nam dn Béc. Mgt hom Ong dang Lang-thang trén con d® Vj-hoang® 44 ve pha thin Nam-dink, Ong trOng thy mgr chie ‘ehuyBa bong nhd rift xinh dang 16 séng ei¢n v8 thank. 2480 khong cn, chin thi mdi, Ong Tri 1ikn vy tay eof LAL tuySn xin ai ahd, Ngwdi 14k quit: bios Bic 1a ai mi aii vO-phép xin dp thuyta eitu-the con quan tbng-d6e? dng tro tri 154 Tar Thua dgc bin vy 25 —Hay gud! hay quit Bic trinh vSi titu-thw cho t0L 1a hge ero nghéo min di v8 think, xin Lim on cho aép a3. Tiku-thu con quan tSng-déc vOn tinh higu-hgc, hay thuomg ngudi nda vgi bho Lai dd: Neu ph&i 1A hin-si thi cho ngudi ta di nhd ko eicnghign. Sau khi xudng 43, Ong Tri nin thily chide thuy&a ob hai khoang. Phfa trong 148m voi 14i 14 khoang cla tibue thw 8 cén khoang mii thi ¢6 mgt bac Linh ai hu. Ben canh bac Linh o6 mgt thanh kigm trong rat sic. Ong Tre cling ng8i voi bée Linh. Hai ngwdi ndi chuygn mot Lic v8 quan-sy va v8 cée kitu mia kite, t8 ra ong Tr 1a ngadi rit thao neh’ v6. RSL bét-thinh-linh, Ong Teh cudp dy thanh kin. Ngudi Linh ae vE-Kehf nhor hb Lda ring chi cém bist Lam a. TiBu-thw thay vay, 1i8n noi ngay: ching ty-xwng 14 hee tré nghéo, nay ty-nhién vo- © hanb-hung nbw thé thi sao gpi 1A bg yan-nhtn, Sng tre —T0i qua 14 hgc tro, nhung vi nghéo va lai yeu qui tai-sée tiBu-thu. Néu tiBu-thy thugn-tink thi ching ta s k@t lam vo ching, bing khéng thi voi lust kidm nay hai ta cing chét, Titucthu cwdi va néi) —Néu that chang 1a ngwoi vin hay chi tét, thigp xin vui 1éng 1am vg. Néu chang chi cd khoa néi mép, thuge hang tifu-nhan thi t6i sin-sang chiu chét chit khOng chju nhye.26 chyong 1¥ Ong tre 16: Toi thé 1d thgt tinh you tibucthw va 1A gwd hye~ hijo vi k6 cling phat Lim 1484 nhy eh nay, xin tibucthw eg 16i. Néu £01 noi sai 154 xin gidi daft hpi voi. NOL xong Ong Tr trac gif thanh kiém 19i cho ngudi Linh. Tibu-thw diva NeuyBn COng-Tre ve eiah trinh vSi cha 1A quan tong-d8e. Sau khi ye-kign, quan thng-dde bing Ling cho ti8o-th dy NeuySa COng-tre vii thiy Neuy8n Cong-Tré 1A negwdi ge rong. au khi caGi, quan t8ng-dée cho hai vy chéng mot cia hing buon bin. Neiy ngiy ve trOng nom vige budn va nhi-cla d& ching 10 vige hge-hinh cho khoa thi. Nguy8n Gng-Trd vin thich choi-bdi nn khong dB eri al dén séch~dén. Trude cdn hge-hinh {e chit, sau me cd bac thi b8 nin yige hee. Ong ham-mé qué dnb thua hée ch tin, Ong Tr 1i8n bin c& cia hing. Mot hom Ong khong cdn gi ban nila, Ong Lim vin-ty bin ve eho ngwod Thu chi song-bec. Vo Ong chi bist khde ma thuomg cho duytn-kigp mink khong ra gi, khng h8 odmtrdch ching. Day 1a mgt traygn thge, mi Ong Neuybn COng-Tre 1A nha kinh-té ge dgi-tAi dX sing-l4p ra hai huyQn Kim- son va T8n-hAi.” Neudi Vige~nam ai ai cling bide truygn nay. NOTES 1, m@t phiin ndo : "some part or other! 2. duyén-kidp vg ching : "predestined lovers’ Notes n 3. dg + ‘abdomen, heart, mind, affection, intelligence. ‘The Vietnamese formerly believed the heart or abdomen to be the seat of both the emotions and the analytical, functions; the word dg encompasses this entire concept. Note the construction of this couplet: anh day is set up at the beginning and is then described by the three parallel similes. 4. tigmg + tvoices fame' The Vietnamese feel that a person with a good clear, Loud (cao) voice i a good person; in addition there is a play on the other mean- ing of tigng, 'fame,* 5. "Not only were there great trees with cool shade, but also fragrant flowers all year long. 6. According to Vietnamese custom, a person who has died is buried provisionally for a minimum of three years. Sone tine after that the body is customarily ex- hhumed and buried again in a smaller coffin and usually in a more elaborate setting. You will read more about this custom in chapter XII. 7. ‘and so it is that people believe that if two people are destined to be lovers they must in any case unite at least once — there's no way to avoid it.! 8. Vi-hoang : formerly a river-like body of water in ‘the city of Nan-djnhs it has since been filled in and the region is now a flourishing business area. However, it is remenbered as an important feature in the tradi- tion of the city. 9. Kim-son (province of Ninh-bink), Ti8n-hii (province28 Chuong IV of This-bint) + these two small communities founded by Nguyén COng-Trit have grown into important cities today. cHUONG Tham thi tham —Thua cy, Ong VF ni, hdm qua cy ke my truygn v8 duy@a-kidp vp chdng hay qua. —cém on ong, cy Dim trh 154, nay t0i ndi truygn v8 sy than-lan, Pay chi 13 nbing truygn mi cdc ba gid hay niche céc chiu bé nghe, mhung cing cS mhitu F- nghfa hay hay.? Mudn rin d3i ding nén tham am, c8-nhan | dy: Tham thi tham. "Tham" day 6 nghia la stu, va cu niy 6 nghla 14 tham-lam thi mic va stu, D8 ching 03 cau tyccngit "than thi than ding, £61 kB truygn nly hai ong nghe: | May gui ba gang, ta cho diy yang... Ngiy xa c6 hai ank om nha kia, bs mp déu mit som. Nguoi anh thi than-lam khng biét thong em. Bao nhiéu 230 Chuong ¥ wia-tai cila-cdi cha me ¢8 lai nguoi anh chit c&. Vi thé mi hai vy ching ngudl anh thi gidiu cé: nha mgd cay mit, trau cliy rugne ely, thiy-t6 diy aha, Nguoi em thi chi duge mgt ea Liu va mgt cy hs. Nhung anh ta khong hé phin-nin, odm-hgn gi cf, vin mgt niém trong k{nh anh. Hai vy ching ngiy ngiy phi ai Lam thue va mBi ki cay khé 06 qué ch{n thi hii dua di che bin Lay itn dB may quin-do. it 1au nay anh ta khong duge ban khé nila vi h8 eS aud ndo chfn thi chim dén an het, hai vo chbng anh that Li budn phitn mi khéng bige Lim thé ndo duge. Dink dubs chim di khong cho an thi anh ta khong min vi binceinh vin 14 ngudi t8t chi? sp chim khOng oS gi an 19i doi. Mgt hom anh di lam v8 ehy din chim dang an, anh phan nin rings —Nhing noi ring ram, mhiu ety, im qué Bhd dn mai 1» elt 1g day an he ch ofa toi. Ri day tai dy tin dau mi may mje mia dong sép tdi nay Noi xong, chim 1i8n tra 16i rings Nha 6ng ding 10, may tii ba gang, ta cho diy ving. NSi xong 1i8n bay di. Ngudi ching nghe theo va bo vo may mgt ci tili ba gang nhw 134 chim din. Ngdy hom sau dan chim 1,4 én in, ngudi ching dua cai titi ra thi dan chim bdo nhim mit 1gi r8i hdaephép cng anh ta bay 44 nhanh Lim. Bén mot qud mdi gita bE, chim hg cdo xugng va anh ta md mit ra thi thily todn 1a ving bec, chau-bau, Anh ta lay diy tdi r8i lai cuSi len minh chim NguSi anh thy hai vy chdng em ty-nhién gillu eé hon minh 1ién sang h8i tham, em cting ci that-tinh kB hée i. «a Lay cla ban ngay 31 au due cau truygn. Neudi anh ben hi ABi Lay cay Khe, bing 1éng ngay. Dén mia khé chin, chim lpi d@n an, ngudi anh cling lam nhw em thi chim cfing bao may wid ba gang, ta cho diy ving. Nhung ngudi anh Let may tii to gdp doi va con lady thém kim-cuong, nggc-thgch eike vio khkp ngubi. Toi-nghigp cho anh ta, Lic tr v8, trong khi bay qua vB, chim bj ning qua khéng céng ndi, lién d¥ anh theo voi thi ving roi tm xudng BB. cy Dim via adi xong, Ong Dong 148m tuoiccwdi khen hay vi cém on. Cy Din lai n6i tip, €0i cn truygn aly noi® thge mla-mai, traygn Lay cla ban ngiy. ‘Ly cla ban neay, Nedy xwa co nguoi higu-loi, mot hom ra cho, gip neay chp phitn via dong ngudi dén buon bin vite Lim && hing. Anh ta ni rings Cit nly e04 in duge, cdi ny £04 mje dupe, edi niy 204 diing duge, ci niy ei ehich Lim, Liiy Bi of tyonbign dom 4i, khdng nds gi dn tr’ t88n ch. Mpi ngudi theo di tin, anh ta ndi 1a: Lita tham bée lta md ch hai con aft t8i. Bao nhitu hing-héa & trong chy ndy t6i ot tuing cha t8i cd, That vi c8 trong thily ai dau. Cie Ong cde bi 1a al? Neu © phi 1a chili cla cée hing-héa nay thi oG d¥ cho toi img, sau ndy Oi gilt oS, e0i 6 dem tin 19s gid. Nguoi col chy thay anh ching cind® qué, dign chd ra dien ma dai chd ra daif méi dénh cho mgt noi va bie dem cde a3 hing anh ta 44 18y cho chi hing. ch chy32 chuong ¥ cudi 8, anh ta tie Lém, ming ring: —Thé gian cdn nhiBu kb higu-lgi hon ta, thudng ding ‘thignephuong bich-k# xoay gif db ngtim-ngim Lay cia nguSi khéc. Ta day tuy the 14y gia chy vi 1éy gia ban agiy, so voi nhting k& dy, thi lei ching hon u?5 cée ngudi cudi ta 1d cde ngudd mblin. cde ngudi thi nght lai ky xemt —Ly-thi qué, Lsehd qua, ong VF via ni vita cudt me Jo cau truygn thge 1¥-tha. ching 0 thich 1ém, ck chy cwSi anh niy Aién-dgi tham-lan mi tht anh ta chua xia bing cde Ong e6 quy8n-thé an efp ofa dan. Cac Ong da un cép cla dan mi edn dan-ip va khinher& dan, Nhing hngng ngudi nay moi the 1A dang khinh va ding doh adn. Cy Bim binh-tinh tri 134 ong VY 0 454 vin thé diy, d3i 1a c& mgt chu8s mau-thudn. Nhung t0i lai cS ctu eruygn Thing Bin sau day, hai ong nghe thi thay mgt nguéi nghdo ting nhw Bin ma khong tham-lam gi, thi bige & 454 cling con c6 hang ngwdi Khinh ti8n-cia. Bin chi 1a m§t anh nghéo xdc, ngay ngay lang—thang khép xém nay qua xém khac xin An. Quiin do réch-medp Bin cfing ch coi sao, chan khéng cé giliy va diiu cling ching e6 mi, Gidi ndng hay gidi mua Bin khéng bao gid quan- tam. MQt nguod nhy Bin thi ai cling tuong 1a khong con e6 gi la qui-vge nifa. Thé nbung ta nblim vi Bin co cai qugt mo, Bin qui 14m, Blin qué va gif luén khong roi bd bao gid. Gioi ning thi Bin che diu, gidi mua Bin cing Notes 3 ahd né ma €8 ube. Mun ngbi Blin ding Lim chiéu va dem Gin cée chit mui vo-ve ehi Bin ding d¥ dinh dubi cic ond ays Not ngdy kia phi-Ong g¥p Ban, 118m hi Bin ae di Lay cai quat dy. Plu tien phi-dng ai ba con bo va chin con trau Bin khong bing 13ng. Phi-dng 1gi dBi cho Bin mgt a0 6 rt mhi8u c4 mé, cf mé BYn ofing khong thich, Phi-eng nght chic 1a Ban ehfch g8 Lim, phi-dng Litn blo cho Bin ba bi gS lim, Nhung Bin cing khong thich gS Lim. Phicong chi edn con chim dSi-mbi 14 qu{ cling dva Bi cho Blin. Cling nhw moi Lin khde, Bin ti chi. Nhung cui cling phi-6ng d8i cho Bin mim xOi. Lin nay Bin khong te chdi, Blin cud. Ong Vy c6 v8 suy-nghi, nd Thea cy, xa-h9i Vige=nam cd shi8u nguol aby anh Bin nay khéng? Cy Dam tuoi cudi trd 1éi: —T6i nghi xa-hgi nao ciing cd, Nhung ring Vigt-nam thi cé 18 nhigu hon. TOi néi chée Ong khé tin, nhung 06 44 stu vo xd-hoi vigt-nam thi mdi thay r6. RSL day, Sng sng glin ching toi Ong sé thay. NOTES 1. hay-hay + ‘rather good, rather interesting. When words like hay are repeated, the meaning of the resul- ting form is usually "somewhat, trather....1 Forms of this kind will not be noted in the glossary unless they have an unpredictable meaning.34 chuong V 2. el : only, just.! The sentence might be translated: tas for chasing the birds avay and not allowing then to eat, he did not want to do this, because by nature he was a good person whose only worry was that the birds might have nothing to eat and come to hunger.! 4. mi refers to truygn niy, which he says is thee mla~ mai ‘really ironict—that is, more so than the preced- ing story. The sentence might be translated: ‘Cy Dim vent right on, "(If you think that's something, Listen to this:) I have another story that really ironic, called ‘Making Off with Things in Broad Daylight.** 4. dien chi ra ditn mi dai chi ra dpi: twas acting in fa rather insane fas ion,' The expression [x] chi ra [X] describes something approximating the state denoted by X but somewhat less strong, positive, or specific. i lai ching hon w? : ‘then am I not better?! cuore. vr Neudi nbd qué nehi giz Sng Dong hi Cy Dam 14 ngui nhd qué Vigt-nam nghi Oy Dim khoan-thai cham thuée 14, thong-thé tri 151 ong Dong 1a: —Neudi Vigt ching cOi rut cht-phéc, thudng-thudng hhg khong nghi-nggi ahi8u, Tb abd dn Lim fe khi di ra kh8i Ling. Sng theo 1uan-1¥ cla KhBng, Menh, mpi 4i8u da chi-djnh sin trong séch Kinb-Thi nén din-gian chi 6 vige hgc theo mi khOng phe-binh, bin-lugn el. Séng nhw thé d& hang nghin nim. Nay hai Ong mu8n bide hg nghi gi, tei kB traygn sau day, hai Ong sé réz 3536 chuong VI Kwa kia c6 hai ngubi, ngudi con giai etn 1d Vin-wal, nguoi con gai ten 1A Thi-Ngt. Hai bén cfing chua c6 ve 8 ching. gt nedy kia Mii Gi chol gp Mit 1i8n Lem gigng hit dita mgt ctu ri 6 duyen ta gp nhau day, Song Nein xin bée ngay nay eu 0.7 Mat nghe hat Khong them d® tr, ei vige Lim think nohw khong nghe bit gi. Nhung Mii ei LAL-nbAi mai, Mgt Ly Lam gin, hit dip 19d ar Thigu chi ké dn neudi dva, Trong nhy de 1gc, vin cdn chd nude trong.” MAL nghe hit bige 1A khd-Khan, 138m v8 tha ngudi Dingenhan di ROL, MAL ni voi bangenhan 1: Bi e8 khéo ndi thé nio cho duge vige, toi xin hau- | ta. Moi sy trong cfy & ba ca. Ba mi 148n di dBm ha Thi-Mge, Lay ti an adi, usa ba tide 1wdi ma ngudi xua da ndi: 4 ndi, rn trong 18 cling phAi dS ra." Nghe ching din da Om tai, cf dt cin mi, ba mi 118 v8 bao Van-Mai dinh ngay rue dau d¥ ewSi Thi-wge ve. Dem "dgng-phong hos chic Van-Mai gid Lim gign-d8%, tuy cling mgt giving, nhumg Van-Mai of nim quay mit vido ‘eaing, khong néi-ning ei eb, ef Lim cho Mgt bide sy truée.? Thi-Mpt 18m yourks8u cit gigne nggt-ngio hie mgt eta ring: Duge chum ving ” Xin anh ngodnh wjt ra ngoai, Din mai em sé 4i chy mua mgt voi khoai mii anh an Teuée con nin-njng Lam think, sau nghe Me ni dl- din djurding qué, Van-Mii cling din vui dgo ve ching vay. Te dy MAL vA Me of quiim-qu{e vSi nhau nhw d0i sam, gt day mit buge ai ding cho ra. Kh8ng Lie ndo thily Mit mi ving Nt cGing nhw khOng ki ndo eS Mat md Khong cS Mai. Sau Mai cht héa-thinh khoat mii vi Mae chée thin cay mia nguSi ta diing ko mft. Va dancgian hd An khoai thi phdi chin ngt 14 bi eich nay. oy Bim noi xong hai Ong VF vA Dong cn dang suy-nghi v8 cfu truygn a thi cy lai ndi tiép mgt truygn nia. Cy Dam bio voi hai Ong 14 truygn Buge chum vang ti sép KB Gay ching t8 dan qué tei rit gian-dj. chum yang Xua e6 anh the cliy nha nghéo, mgt hOm dang cliy thi duge mgt chun ving. Anh ta vQi-vang dio én d¥ tren bd rugng. ‘T@i vB khoe voi vy truygn duge chum vang va néi 1a con dB & ngoad rugng.” Vo bios Tai sao mink khéng dua v8, dB diy dia nio trong thy s6 Idy ai mite ohdng 1i8n tré 151 —phai cia trdi cho thi dita nao lay dupe. Néu khong phi j tri mun cho nha ta thi ai Idy di tao cfing chi tige, Gidi mi cho thi nd bd v8 nh’. 438 chuong VI Pang Lic hai vg ehBng n6i truyga thi of hai thing an erga ngSii rink & sau nhi, nghe thay hét cd. Hai thing trgm vgii ra BO rugng va khitng chum ving V8 nha djoh mS ra chia shaw. Nhung vang chi thay dau chi thay ton 1a rin de. Hai dia gign Lém voi-ving day nép gi @inh Lai dua ra dB bs rugng hw off. Ching khong dua di duge vi trdi d& rang dong. Sing hom sau, anh ching ra rugng cliy khOng thy chum ving dau, cing ching bun, v8 nha vg his Sao? chum ving dau? ohdng nd —Réering hom qua tao a8 § b6 rugng, hOm nay khOng thily na. chée d@ c6 dita nao lay mit rbi. Ve bio: RO that 1a khdudgi, ca e164 cho khéng lay thi dia khde né Lay chit cfia dau lei o6 cha dB gitta trdi nhw vayt® Mai thing trQm rinh sau mba, nghe thiy vay 1fy Lim tie gign bao nbau ring: Rin mi nd trong ra ving! Ta dem ra bd rugng gid, cho nd khdi tide. That 1a thing nese. Noi ri hai thing v8 nha kehieng chum ving ra bd rugng d® nguyen ché of. Ngay hom sau, ngudi ching ai clly v8 1gi bho ve 1a: Nay minh oi! Hem nay tao gi thé’y chum ving & dS rugng rbi, tao md xem hy con nguyén, thge 14 gidi da cho, & ai mi 1ay dupe. Vp bye mink ming ching: —Thit Ding ndi Ling-mhang nda, ai ma tin duge! chbng voi cfd lads Buge chum vang 39 Atgt ma, tao dt mb ra xem, ding 14 chun ving hon truée. Tao chi thém dua v8 vi gidi 44 cho thi nd bd v8 ahi, miy ding 10. Pen dy hai thing trQm cting rink nha nly, mghe thiy ngudi ching noi thé, Lay Lim bye minh, 148 bdo nhau: i, may bdo n6 b5 v8 nha thi chiing Ong cho nd bd v8 mhi d® nd edn chit c& hai vy ching thing ngée.” NOi xong, hai thing mo ra ngodi rugng ching nghi gi dn dem t6i. Ra dn nol ching lai md nip ra xem 1a fing vin 1A iie~nhic nhiing rim. Hai thing vgi-ving khieng bd yao nha ngudi ely rugng. Sang hOm sau, ching ra vudn trong thiy ding 14 cdi chum ngoai rugng hom truéc, litn gei v9? Minh off Chum ving day r8i. T8i d& bho mi, gidi eho thi nd bi v8 aha. Hai vy ching Lay ving dia v8 am gifu Lam ¢é) an tieu sungesuing. Sau niy chien-hg mi dye ra caus S8 gillu dem dén ohing-nhung, Ig 1A con mt trdo-trung mbi gittu.? cy Dim ndi xong Lién hit mgt ho thufe 1& aii, ehd kai bay 1€n cao, hai mit cy hin cheo nw nhé 1gi cdah ‘thonague Vige=N tring & cde xm Ling bay én trdi xanh, Ddy 12 lie dan Bi bubL chiBu cd ede Lin khéi im qué ehbi niu an Mia chidu sau mge ngdy Lam vige mot ahge. Day efing 1a Lie ede Ong ba gia hay KB truygn cb- tfch cho con chau nghe. Hai ong Dong vi VY 6 cin twing mhin cy Dam nhw mgt ong cy gia dang ni chuygn voi con chéu trong mgt gia~ inh en-dn noi thdn-que.40 chuong VI NOTES 1. This couplet refers to a well knowm legend. Chiie-Ni 'Weaver-Cirl,' the most beautiful of the daughters of the King of Heaven, fell in love with Nguu Lang 'Buffalo- Boy," and her father consented to their marriage. How- ever, when she began neglecting her weaving, and he his buffaloes, the King of Heaven was angry, and to punish them cast them in constellations in the sky, separated from each other by the Milky Way (called SOng Ngan ‘silver Rivert), Only once a year in the seventh month were they allowed to get together. On this occasion they weep their gladness at meeting again and their sorrow at parting: this accounts for the month of the heavy rains, The bridge of clouds spanning the ‘silver rivert and making way for the lovers to meet is supported by blackbirds (6) and crows (thuéc); the full expression is clu 6 thude. 2, Pure water is needed for the refining of flours this Line is a metaphorical description of the girl's para doxical attitude: like the finest of flour, which is already well refined yet awaits the water, she is ready for marriage yet avaits an extraordinary partner to bring out her exceptional purity. 3. sy trude : twhat It was like before,' i.e. thow she had made him feel earlier. 4. The personal names in this story are really the words meaning ‘honey, sugar syrup! and tyam.* Most Viet- nnamese personal names consist of three syllables, of which the first is always the family name. However, Notes 41 this family name is Little used except in highly formal situations; individuals are called by their given names, Whether preceded by @ title Like Ong, bi, cB, ov, ete. or not. Sonetines the middle and last names are used, especially without the more formal titl in this story the use of the typical (and extremely common) middle names (Vin, masculine, and Thj, feminine) shows us immediately which is the boy and which the girl, and establishes at the same time an informal atmosphere. 5. néi 1A bay cdn db 8 ngoai rugne ; 'said [he had] Left it still out in the field.! 6, This sentence is highly idiomatic and colloquial; it might be freely translated: 'It's clearly real stupid~ ity—something Heaven gives you and you don't take, then someone else takes it! Why, what sort of valuable thing is it that you leave right out in the open like thatt! chi...1gi has the meaning "Why in the vorld...7* or "How could it possibly be that...2" or ‘what sort of strange ... is that?'; cila 'possossion, thing of value'; dau ‘any at all.! 7, In this sentence the robber shows his disrespect for the farmer by using the forms may 'you' and ching éng twe (ives, my buddy and I]! Ie might be freely trans~ lated: 'Oh, yes, you say that it will cravl home on its own ~ well, we'll help it cravl hone so it can bite you to death - both you and your vife, you idiot! 8, lim giiu lam cé : '{it] made them rich,’ Frequently when an expression consisting of a single werd is used with another consisting of two words, the single form42 chuong VI is repeated between the two elements of the double form, The resulting form is literary or, if spoken, has Literary pretensions. 9. 'If it's onets fate to be rich, it will come with- out effort—no need to keep one!s eyes peeled constantly to be rich.! HUONG VIE ‘To thugng-cB dan Vigt-Nam bao gid cling tin od Gidi. Cau "Khong od Gidi ai & voi aim! ngudi Vigt ndo cing ndi hing ngdy. Mpi vige xy ra 1A hg tin do & gid of. Tin vua 14 con Gidi, cde quan 1a ngudi cha gidi sai xuSng tran dé gidp dan. vi thé mi nbng ngudi tii gi8 th mpi ngudi cho 14 thign-edi. DB ching td F-kign tren day 14 ding ey Pin KB truygn: Ba con tray dye think chfn con Ngdy wa c6 truygn TO Vi chin de dyc, ph&i Lin sao cho d@ d8, nay 1gi cd truygn trau dyc 48, C5 mot ong ‘thin phi @i khép dan-zian a5 xét thm ngudi nin a8 ra gidp muse. 8 yua, mgt hom, sai mgt dai44 chuomg VIE Gng quan di di nhifu noi, ma chwa tim duge ai tai gidi vio bgc thyc 18i-lgc. ge bubi chi8u, sau khi 4i mai mi chua dupe vige, Ong dang lang-thang vo ngya gép-ghénh trén quing ding qué, thiy hai cha con nguoi mh qué dang dénh trau ai cly ma trén dtu c6 dim may che rat dgp. Ong cho 14 mgt ngwoi kj-la, che oS thign-tid, bin dimg lei nd —Niy, Ong kial Teau Gag cy ngiy duge my dudna? Neubi cha chva kip thua thi dda con di h3i vin ai Ong quan lat —Thua Ong, tha 181 e61 xin RSL neya Ong ngdy di duge ily bude? dng quan Liing-tiing khéng sao tri 134 duge cling uy ngudi cha cfu bé Lie trude khOng dip dupe cau hdi cha ng. Gng khen va nghi ehlim: "Thing dé niy moi ehge ‘thOng-minh. Sng quan v9i-ving v8 tau voi vua ay ene elm duge ngwSi tat e131 hw n6t tren, Yua lady lam mimg ldm, nhung con muén thi lai tai. edu bg, den sai fy ba thing geo nép va ba con era nph&i Lim sao ye ban chigu xu8ng cho Lang cau dé 1at cho ba con trau dye dy phai thanh ra chin con, va nim sau dua ngp cho ai s8, khOng thi? c& lang phAi toi." Khi dan ang han duge chigu-chl cha vua va cf 6 trau, gao thi moi ngudi Lay Lim Inj-di qué se. ching ai hit ra sao thinh ra ag hii, hét ngiy niy qua ngiy khée bop-hQi miki mi chua auyée. im dupe cach gi dt gidi- Trude thi cén rigng cfc ey bO-1do vA quan-vitn kj~ cyu hop bin mu tim ké> sau ph&i hi toan dan cfing Ba con tran dye thank chin con 45 khong ai cd f-kidn gi. Trong khi ay thi cfu bé bist truyQm, cfu 1i8n xin Ling dB c@u nhgn trach-nhigm v8 enh vua ra. cqu trinh Ling 1a xin dem hai trau gigt ai dn ming cling vi hai thing ggo lam x0i goi 12 1g¢ vua ban cdn mgt con va m@t thing nila, tOi xin nhgn dén kjy-hgn xin dua ngp vua theo nw ehugng-1gnh.* Khong ai e6 cdch gi khic, ch lang ddng—thanh bit equ dé Lim t6 kj-nhan vd bit c& cha Qu cling ky ri Lang mb trau an ung vui-ve. cach my hom sau, hai cha con cfu nhd ava nhau dn dén vua. Neudi cha dimg ngodi, mgt minh cfu bé di thing én eqn trude mit vua, mgnb-bgo qui ttu chic yua vgn tn ri ei khée lim 1én. Yua phin bio khOng duge khée nia va hbi od truytn gl oanie mi khGe hw vay? ctu mh 1i8n tty minb-bgch ring: Thu Lay Bie Vue trim tubs, 01 mb-cOi mp, tir ahd, chi 6 mge min 8 voi cha, Dom ngay t01 thudng clu nguy@n d& xin Thugng-dé cho cha t6i sinh may dia em nia 4B ching nd choi voi t8i cho vai. Nhung ily nin nay ching thay cha t8i sinh duge diia nde, vi thé nén Oi bubn Lém t0i khde. Dim vein Die Vna 1a dn Tro sei xét° cho t0i vige nay t6i duge nhd on cao cA.® Yua nghe xong bgt cudi, phin rings May mun e3 om thi cha miy phdi Lily vy nila chi mgt minh cha miy thi dé Lim sao duget cau nbd tng-d8i ngay ring: Tau lay De Yua, ngdi phan that 1a ch{-1. Song ngdy np, vua ban chigu xuSng dan x4 e0i phat mudd ba46 chyong. IT con trau dye, dé thinh chin con, dua ngp. Dan ching t0i thgt dang lo so hét hin, chua bigt Lim sao duge. Yua cudi phan ring: Ta thi cde nguot, lai 06 ch ggo a0 khOng dua ra mi Lim thie mi in voi nhau, vige gi mi 10? chu nbs eau rang: ~The 1A Die Yua 1A dge dgi-thémh, c6 Ling thuong aan, Thye thi ching toi di mB tray an ming voi nhau rBi. Yua chju cfu nh qua thgt 1A ngudi edd giSS ehOng- minh, sau niy 96 trd nén ngudi hiin-tdi gitip made dupe, bin phong cho Lim Trang-nguyén. Néi xong truygn trén cy Dim 1pi néi itp 2A di ein 1a ua 1A con G84, ede quan 13 ngudi olla G1di, ngw0i din Vige hin Linh cling bige Lim edch-mang ching Lei cde Ong vua de hay quan xu. Nhung chi khi ndo bj di ip iad nin kha 1b qua hg mdi dgondng, con thi ho cing kin NSi v8 chinh-guy8n, dan-ching hay truy8n-tung” ctu truygn sau day: NgwOt, din bi gba Mgt ngdy kia Die KhBng—T di du-ngogn d&n me khu ring ving. Rimg thi ram, duing 18i di 19i thi khé-khan, Phong-cinh tht 14 tInhemjch. chim ring, thi da chi nhify edn bong ngudi thi the 14 hig. Pang 1c dy thi Neii gip mgt neudi din bi via di via khée rt thim-thige, Dic Khbug-Ti 148m’ BA 1a ai? C6 vige gf bun phin mi phAl khéc nbw ene? Traygn Tre, ode a 0am on Ong khéeh, t0i 13 mgt ngudi din ba gSa ching & khu ring nly. Ti chi cdn mgt ngudi con giai 4% muong-tya thi hom qua thi dé da bée mie r8i. Hom nay t6i di tin xéc, khdng ngd tigng khde cha toi dt Lim phiin dén ong. —Khu ring ndy that 14 véng-vé, hoang-va, tei sao ba vi con bi lai § day d® nay bj BB v8 mit con? —Thya éng, t0i® S day at ba adi. Ong toi di hB cin chét, dé t8i va ching €6i cling bj HB vB va thige- mang. Nay 1gi én con ti. Nhu vay thi bi con chd gi mi khOng dgn vé nhiing 1? —Thua Ong, thi d@ thi cdn d¥phing, ching Lai dupe, chit nbu mgt chinh-phi dge-eii eh ngubi dan khong cn 06 phuong-ké gi dB ching 1gi. Ching t0i sing voi noi d@ng ngudi ma 8 d8 tranh nan thi rang lim hi cop, beo cdn thy yOn-tam, sung-sudng hon dudi ché-d9 aQerdoin, Die KhOng-th chi con bige thd ddi dB tr& 164 ngwdi dan ba géa, rbi di. Truygn Tre, ode Gyp ngdy mea xuan dim-dm Céc moi xudng ao Tre db.° cui mia xuan sp sang ha, tring Cée nb con think age in ndng-nge. Tuy khong 06 mg Cée & diy, din con van quay-qutin vi nhau, vuievé boi 1g trdng khong khée mgt din cé Tre con méi nd. Mgt hom of Tre g§p dim nong~ rnge dang nd diia boi 1gi, con nao cling khbe-mgnh, inh tuoi. c& Tre 1i8n nghi thlin, tuy khéng phi con ta && Fa, hung ta trong nom coi-sée r8i efing think con ta. Con a8 hay con mudi ndo o6 khée git Qui tre thi tré48 chyong, VIT én nba’? nghi nw vay xong, c4 Tré din dan ndng=nge i musi, chim sde. Ngt hom coe ra ao thin con thi thiy cd Tre dang din in néngenge, Gde vOi-ving chio Tré va cém on Tre. Nhung Tr@ 118n ming ce chi ce nly sao khéo 18 mi 434 nhgn-vo. Hai ben efi nhau mt Iie thi cée chiu thua vi chi thdi, con nao cia chi & eren b3, edn of Tre dudi mde boi 19h voi din ndng- nnge nhdn-nho ra xa gia ao, Cée v8 gitm 1m, dfo ching Ldn don 18m quan kign cd Tre in cudp din con. Quan nbgn duge don 148m sai Minh 112 gi née ngay ci Tre vi cde ttn Lim chimg do Gc khai ra nh c& M3, cd chip. Tre gian-ngoan lo diit-1ée ttn Linh 1¢ va khodn-dait cée ngudi lim ching. Trude nft quan, Tré he sie ch8d, khong nhgn 14 dk bée con cha Cie. Cae ching atu cing chéi 1a khéng bigt gi.1? Quan khong bige xb cach nio, 148n erayn foh giam Tre Ig dB exa xée vi cgi Be ergm con ngudi phew luge rie ning. Trong Khi bj giam, Tre bj khb-s3, an ung thigu-thén, sing bj don, t8i bj tra.2? vy Tre 1o- Ling 1i8n d@n hSi ke c& Nggmh. C& Nggnh bio Tre thu x@p ti’n-bgc, roi hai nguoi cing 1én dinh quan lo dut~ Lit cho nha-lei vA Lim don xin quan v8 khém-nghign, Quan sai nba-Leii v8 kham-nghigm. Ben ndy gp bign- bin 14 4% d@n tn nod xem xét thi ndng-nge qua 1A aiding Tré khOng gidng Coc. Nbgn duge tS trinh quan nbi gign ming Céc 1d kign gian, Lin sai gia Céc Lei d® Truyen Tre, Coe 49 tra xét va tha Tre ra, Vg CSc mit c& ching, voi tin din Fich-Hloa dé xin gitip a6. Hch-Hoa thuong GSe én, nhung vi khong quen vige 2uge-phép mi vio oe di tim Nnii-Bén giiip 46 cong vige. Sau ki nghe Céc kB dia en8i cau truygn, Nhéi-Bén mim cwdi bho céet Bic ding Lo, bay gid khong Lam gi duge, chay 248m cho quan-nha chi phf ai eh0s. cha vio quan abe than vio 13, 01 4X c5 ke r8i. Bac chi clin cho ti8n may anh canh gac bac giail g& ching né khOng danh dgp, rb s€ 1d con bac ai mi eranh duge. bic dy c& quan va nha ta chd dén luc ndng-nge dit dusi, con bic chi givong mit ra mi nhin sy tht chi cdn h8ng-hach gi duge na. Ding nhw 191 Nhai-Bén ndi, khi nong-nge dt duoi nhay 1én bo, vg Céc din dan con 1én quan kign lai Tre. Quan nBi gign goi nha-lgi ra ming, nha-lai khong con bide néi gi, itn tr’ 131 quan 1a: That La dng Gidi qué odi-odm, chit ching toi bist dau duge 14 nong-nge dit dudi lai hba céet KB xong truyga Tr’, Cée, cy Dim via cudi wia néi vot hai Ong Dong vi V 1a: Diy hai Ong xem quan-nha chving tOi nb ene diy. Dén nay bon ngudi mdi ty-mung 1A Dan-ch’ voi Cich-Meng, nhung dan-gian con h8-nghi b$ de cla ho! 1ém, Ong VF BL ngays Tai sao dan 1gi hSonghi eh€ ey? cy Dim ek 131: obi vi hp chi 18 hing ngusi cia thé-ne Tre ose| 50 chuong VIT ngo-nhgn minh 18 Céch-Mang va Danechi.® Nores Ls Khong 06 G1di ai 8 vi ai? 'If there were no God, how could anyone get along with anyone else?! 2s sesdehOng thi... : 'e.if not, thens..t 3. ban mu tim ké ; 'to discuss strategy.’ This is an extension of the device discussed in Chapter VI, note 8; here the compound mmu-k# ‘schemes and ruses, strat egy! is the object of two different verbs, bin 'dis- cuss, talk overt and tim "look for, seek"; thus the form has a meaning something like 'to discuss in quest of the appropriate strategy.' The compound mu-ké is a good example of a common type of compound in Vietnam ese: here two rather specific vords are put together, and the overall meaning is something more general, or vague, or abstract. We may call this a generalizing compound similar to bin-ghé ‘furniture’, with which you are probably familiar, and you will find many more examples as you read. These examples involve nouns as members of the compound, but other forms alse occur: verbs, for example, are common, 4. s,t0i odin nbgn...thugng Igmh : 12.61 beg to receive [and keep them] until the term expires, [and] beg to take [them] in tribute to the king according to his command.' The boy uses xin out of respect for his elders. The object of the verbs nhgn and dua np is cOn mt con va m@t thing nGa, introduced earlier Notes 31 for contrastive emphasis. 5. soi xét : texamine carefully.! Note the reference of soi tshine, illuminate! to din Trdi, epithet which the boy has just applied to the king. cao ch : tthe highest* (referring to the king). 1. truy8n-tyng : ‘pass on reverently by oral tradition something which is valued.! This is a good example of 4 common phenomenon in Vietnamese written tradition. At first glance this form seems to be composed of truyiin ‘to transmit’ and tung 'te read aloud’; but tung also means ‘to praiset and this meaning also comes to the mind of the Vietnamese reader, Literary masters have made much of this device, using compounds which invoke two, three, and sometimes even more meanings of the constituent words. It is one of the many techniques which have been borrowed from Chinese literary tradition 8. tei: 'we, our family! 9. The subject of dé is Céc; Tre modifies ao, ‘the Catfish pond.' In this story, just as in many western fables, animals are personified and this personifi- cation is indicated by the capitalization of their 10. Quf tré thi tr8 dén ahd : 'If you love children, they'll cone to your house.! This is the first part of an old saying, which is more or less equivalent to the biblical 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap! (Gal. 621). The second part is Ghét gia thi gid Lanh thin : 'If you despise old people, they'll stay82 Chuong VIE avay.! 11, 1fnh-19 ; tmandarin's orderlies.' Although the mandarin needed such assistance in performing his Functions, there was no provision in governmental organ- deation for their hire, As a result, the mandarin's orderlies were usually unpaid and nade their living by accepting bribes, This story undoubtedly originated as 4 protest against the system. 12, cée chimg...ei : "The witnesses likewise all denied that they knew anything." Used in this type of construc- tion, 1i indicates that vhat follows is a sort of quo tation of what was actually said. 13. bj tra: ‘was interrogated.! It was customary to beat the prisoner in order to obtain a confession; this practice is implied here in the vord tra. LU. bie giad : 'your husband.’ Note that bic may refer to oither @ man or a womans since Tres-frog is using bic in talking to Mrs. Toad, he specifies her husband by adding giai ‘mal 15. bB-nghi bg dc cia hg : ‘are suspicious of their intentions." hg refers to bon ngudi as opposed to dan gian, the general populace. 16. mgomnhan,..Dan-Chi : ‘claim falsely that they are (members of the) Revolutionary and Dexocratic (nove nonts}.! The implication here is that although people would Like to feel they have arrived at modern ways of ooking at things, they are more affected than they realize by their background. HUONG. VIII bin Hodnh- Bg ba Y-Vige, cy Dim vA hai Ong Dong, VY, nedy nedy vai traygn cb-efch Vigt-nam quén ch thi gid. Tiu qua ho Hg-uy-di ba Ong cing chd db er dn, nay thi thu dx a8 bén Hoanh-tan, Ba Ong Ltn xem ph va mua din wt fe qui ggi 1a de tang. Nhiing 48 choi mhifu mtu se, nhoenhd xinh-xinh 1a djc- ditm cha nén tibu k¥-nghg Nhat. Vio thin thanh ph cy Bim b&-ngd khOng thay quing- thudng-thite edi dgp, cdi khéo cha ngudi Phi cdo vi trumg-biy hing tét thi ra dan Nhat da lau b8 tye an t6t theo fm-1jch r8i. cy Dim vi hai Gng ben chi xem qua phS duge mge bubi chia vi clu kehOmg dgu 8 day au, Ba ngudi dank b8 nh djp khong di cham mii Phu-gi dupe. V8 dén tau thi via bia com chi8u, ba ngudi khOng di 334 chuong VII an com vi di thudmg-thie mgt biia com Nhgt do cic 08 gai Nnge bu bin va thbi niu ngay & bin Gn. Lin du hai Ong Dong, ¥9, phat ngSi xen ding trén bye AB tn com. Hal ‘ng Ling-ting khi phdi clim dia va do-dy uéng chén rugu néng dang béc kh6i.* Cy Dam thi thOng-thgo Lim. cy via an via noi chuygn 1 bén Vigtonam cfing ng8i bye hw. the va cling an bing dia. Ong YF nin ong Dong cS v8 nghi-nggi. Cy Dim hi’u f 138m ni ngay 1a ngdy nay ching t04 cling dling Bin ghé vA khi tigp khich ngoai- quée thi nhie-djuh bac ei5 cling ngbi ghé, hai Ong Khong nggi. Nhiing gia-dinh sang-trgng bao gid cing du cd cde a8 ding & va fu. Sng Dong vg nit —Thwa cy, ching eOt khOng nght gi dau q. cy dt day Ndi mube Lio, in mim ngée."” ching toi ae thich di Vigtenam thi theo chi tye Vige-nam, khéng ngai gi of. Trude Khi di ching tOi ad tgp clin da & higu cao-lau phé Thu, cyu-kim-son nhidu Lin r8i diy 9. Ba ngudi cing cwoi vuinve. cudi xong cy Dam ni ngay 8m cdc vét Vigt-nam: Bay gid af gin tée Lim Bi, ching ta toi HAi-phong thi di vui v8 1ém, Ti nay t01 98 KB truygn t@e va cde phong tyc, 18-nghi ngay tét d& hai Ong nghe. TSt nim nay chic hai Ong s6 6 nhitu clm-gide mOl 19. Tee Nguyen din Trong tt ef cde ngdy gi, ngiy t8e & vigeenam chi 6 neay t8e Nguy@n-dan 1a sim-usle, vui-ve va ndo~ nhigt hon cd. ‘Th mba thing chap dan-gian d& tung-bing, mhQn-nhjp, ‘Tét Nguyen-din 55 sia-sogn in tét. Th gidiu én nghéo, ei thinh-thj din thOneque, khOng mgt ngudi ndo, khOng mgt noi ndo 1A khong cé v8 tét. cde dwing-si, nhi-ciia dupe sha-sang quét dyn, Mei ngudi d¥u lo toan lim sao cho xong cng vige Lim an cla minh truée ngiy cus nim. Vige cOng- nah, bun bin cling nhu cy ety hay cOng mp, mpi ngubi su muse tfnh sB cho xong Ot nim. Oi t8i Mba muoi E8e" dn, cng vige di xong hay khong Bu phi x8p lai. Moi ngudi vut-vd ty-hop & dudi mii nbd ola eB-eién & ch’ phit quan-trong cla mgt nim gua va nim moi dn: "Giao-Thia.™ Tigng phéo ab, tine erGng rung vang dgng khip not va cit thé kéo dai, #8 mimg nim mdi da dn. Trong cae inh chia, dn nén sing choang ngudi ta ci-hinh 18 "Giao-Thia" d8 xin Troi Phgt mgt nam méi binh-an, phat~ tii. Trong cde gia-dinh thi c6 18 "gia-titn” vi ngudi Vigtenam tin 1a cée tb-tien, Ong ba d¥ qui-c8 abu ciing vé hgishop véi gia-dinh d& ming 2uan. Binh-minh dn, ting phéo Lai ran a8 khép d6 day nw Lic giac-thia va ei Lien-tigp khi nhibu khi ft sust ba o bay gid Khong phhi 14 a® e€ Trdi, Phat hay 18 td-tien ma 1a tigng phdo ming tubi cac ngiy tée. Ting ngudi con sing. Con ming tuBi cha me, chau ming tu8i Ong ba, b& ban ming tubi nhau, ngudi lam cOng ming tui chi hay hoc rd ming tubi thily. Tye-1g da chi djnh ai 1a bac phi di ming tubi true hay sau bing cau tyc-ngit: "Mng mgt te cha, Sng hai tét chi, wong ba e8e thily.56 chuong VIIT cae te v8 nga $8 ‘Tye x8ng nha Sng som ming mgt t8t 1 le mpi mgudi phdi than trong v8 vige di chic tet mgt nguoi nde, gie-dinh nio. Newot Vigt-nam tin-twing 14 ngudi khéch di tien dé nha sing ming mgt te 14 ngudi dua hanhephiie hay tai hoa d€n cho ch gia-dinh trong suse nim. Vi tin-tudng thé nén cde gia-dinh thudng thi ga dy- 4jah trade vige mi khéch din xOng nha. Nhtng ngudi duge chon Iya 1A nhting ngudi c6 dja-vi trong xi-h¢i, ihn e6, Lim con, hie 1a eS hge-thie va Lim an may- nin. Cting vi tyc-1¢ niy, nhiing ngudi eda ching, gSa ve, higm con, Sn yeu, kinked gia-dinh bj khiing-hoang thi ngiy miing mgt t8t khong nén di dau som, Trai Lai, ai Qa dupe moi di xtng ahd thi nen thtn-treng di som, ding db gia-dinh ban hay ngudi di mii minh mong agi. cay neu Mgt tyo-19 cB mbt 1a tye tring cay nu. Newoi ta chit mgt cay tre cao d) mudi thuse, b8 he cdmh, 14 tir ge len dn nggn cao dQ tam hay chin thude.* 8 tren nggn cay tre, ngudi ta tres mgt to gidy ves hinh mate quai" mge cai hop con dyng giku-cau va mot edi oO hb dan bing tre. Bia bit-quéi va cd dan bing ere 14 hai vat nein ma, qul khong duge vio nh’, odn giftuecau 1a qua bigu cde vj thin. Ngoai ba vat may ra, cy néu con ec} nhitu the trang-hoing cho dep mit nhw cdc aii Iya, 6 nhitu miu se va eting 6 nhfing cdi nbge, edi khanh canh do 31 nhd gigag nu cay Sinb-Nhge cha ngudi Au-My. Nhing of nhge va khdnh niy ks think mt digu amenhge mBi kh od eid enbs. Dan-ching tin 14 ngiy 30 thing chap, cae thb-thin PhAL 18m chiu Ngge-Hoang, khéng c6 ai che ché cic gia- din nda ety néu 1A bia dB tra cée manqul. Trone kht cde thb-thin en chitu Ngge-Hoing thi cde ma-qul cing duge ty-do khéng phi giam clin. Ngiy mbng 7 vée thd ede thd-thiin dau Igi v8 diy® thi-hinh nhigm-vy abu of nén khéng clin dén cay néu nia. Ngay dy goi 14 ngay hg néu. Tyo tring ety néu ign nay & Bic va Trung Vige cm mhity neudi gi. Canh dao Tee dén cde gia-dinh gillu cing nhy nghéo, COng-gido cling nhw Ph§t-gido hay Kh8ng-gido nha nao ciing c8 mua hay kigm cho c6 mt canhhoa dao. Neay nay nhifu ngudi quén c& sy-tfch eamh dio, chi ding niu mgt thi trang-hoang khéng 06 khong duge.° Tyc-truy8n 1 ngdy 24a 8 phia tay mii Séc-son,” c6 mgt cy dio mec dd 1du nim, thin cty to khéc thidng, cinh 14 t8e-twoi. Hai Ong thin tén 14 Tri va Use Loy chen cay ay 1am nha. Hai Ong diy va che ch dan-gian khép ving chung quanh. Nsdy t8¢ déim cde thin phii v8 Taidn-dinh chin Nege-Hodng, nén dan-chiing 1fy cinh dio ci 8 erong nha d® ma-qui Dige day 14 mbi dupe hai thiin Tra va Ut Loy che chd. Nguoi ta eting treo vio cinh dio nge t8 gidy bia. Sau niy nhigu nbd khong ed cinh dio thi hg v8 eink dio vio t9 gidy bia vi ve ck rngt hai thin Tra va Uae Loy. Ning bie v6 ndy thudng58 chuong VIII dan 3 cla ra vac. va hinh hai thiin Diin-dlin c&e nha budn dBi tye vé bit Tra va Uxt Loy ra cae hinh gia-sic nhw tranh con ga, con lpn, con chd, con méo. V8 sau nhi8u ngudi 1gi neht ra cich vé hii-huée nhw ee dgy hoc hay éch xi kign. 03 ngudi tinh-nghjch hon v8 c& cimh mt cO gai ven vay dng dia do cfu con trai tren nggn cay dia ném xudng. Neay nay, cde aha 1anh-ty mun dan ching thd minh nw thlin-thanh, ngdy tée dém cho in hang trigu hin doh ofa mink r8i phit-dQng phong-trae cho dan-gian treo anh fy trong aha. Dan-gian dt sin Se m-tin, nay Lei duge cde nhi Lanh-dgo hi-héa hg, he y@n vui voi cénh Mim-than thigu~ ‘thon vi di yen-tri e6 bite Anh trv ma digt quy, dao-ve gia-dinh sut nim. Hoa thi, Tye choi hoa thiy-titn cling phb-thong nhy canh dao, sien mung vi hoa niy aie qué, hing nim phdi ahgp-cing tir bén Tiu sang” nén chi nhting gia-dinh gittu mdi dim choi. Nha nio 6 hoa nb ding sing ming mge e6t 1a nge ditm nay-min ch nim, TrayQa xua Kb Lgl 1h 06 ba mgudi anh sau khi bs chée iy hét phlin om dit, chi cho mgt thia dit hoang. Newt em bubn qué, khOng bigt lim cach gi mi sinh séng duge. Dang Lic kéu khée thi mt nang tidn hign ra bao 1 tim ding khée nila, em s€ duge giltu 6. Hing nim d@n mia xuan tl trén khu dit en sé nd mgt thir hoa thom, qui-gia v@ chimg. Nhj hoa gigng nhw edi chén ving, cénh hoa gigng nhw cai dia bac. Hoa thiy-tién 59 NSi xong bin mit, ngudi con trai khong kip te on. Mia xuan dén, hoa nb diiy vain, ngudi con trai Lin dye ten hoa 1a thiy-titn’ dB ghi mh Léng bie on ning titn. NOTES 1, néng dang béc khdi : ‘steaming hot.' Note that Vietnamese uses khdi "smoke! to express this idea. 2. G8 nude Lio, sn mim ngse : ‘When you go to Laos, you eat ngde sauce.' This is the Vietnamese equivalent of ‘ithen in Rone, do as the Romans do.' Although the Little froglike animals called ngée are common in Viet Nam, they are not used for food, and the Vietnamese are astonished to find that the Laotians use then to make a sauce similar to the Vietnamese nude mim, vhich is made from various kinds of sea fish. This seems to be also @ symbol of the poverty of Laos. That is, a few branches are loft at the top. 4. v8: "Lon which] is drawn." A large proportion of Vietnamese verbs correspond to English verbs which distinguish an active meaning from a passive om Vietnamese makes no such formal distinctio only the context will make clear which translation is appropriate. In the glossary such verbs are listed with active Eng- lish meanings. Another example a few lines below is dan bing tre ‘woven from bamboo.! 5. dau 1gi vé dily ; ‘return where they have cone from.? dau 1gi is an example of the sequential construction, in which the first element denotes a state or action60 chuong VIIE preceding in time the state or action identified by the second element. Thus the expression means ‘wherever [atu] they were located before, they came [Iai]: to that place [day] they return [vé]"; diy refers back to aan. 6. khong 6 KkhOng dupe ible not to have!) . indispensable’ (lit. 'imposs~ 1. Sbe-son + According to Chinese legend, far away in the middle of the sea there was an island consisting of a mountain. The Sino-Vietnanese nane of this island is Dg-sSe, popularly shortened to sc; son is the Sino- Vietnamese vord for mountain. 8. vi hoa nay dit qué, hing nim ph&i nhgp cdng ti ben Thu sang ; "because this flower is extremely expensive, having to be imported each year from China..." Note the use of the comma in Vietnamese sentences: it frequently signals a parallel construction to follows the end of this second construction, however, is generally not closed by another comma as ve would expect in English. In this sentence the word nén 'therefore' introduces the conclusion or result of the promise introduced by 9. thly-tien (Lit. 'water-fairy']. The name of this flower is obscures it is suggested that it may rea~ sonably be connected with the fact that the narcissus regularly grows in or near water (ef. the Greek myth) . NM e/ 1h f cHvoss 1x NhGng nedy cus, tran mi gu Lai Huong-cing nia ngiy, thu Ipi kéo neo chaye Hinh-kh&ch khOng ai duge 1én b& vi dang e6 cuge dinh- cong cha cae phu khugn vac Lam bén tu. Ba Ong ban ding-hinh M-Vigt lai cing shaw dim-dgo nbw thudng-19. cy Dim : Te day 48m HA-phing khéng cn bao Lau nila. truge kia elu phi chay me tulinc18, nay thi chi bon nim ngdy ehOi. Nhu thé ching ca t5i Haengi crude tée ani. Gng Dong : Tée & thi-dd vui Lém cy nhl? cy Dim : che thé r8i, hai Ong a@ duge mie thiy, tal nghe cde diéu hai éng mun bist v8 e€e, Sng VF ¢ Thua ey, che thi-do s# c6 nhi¥u cay ntu trong nh cde eG fing-ten vé-tuyén truytn-hinh & cde ling MY, hai khong? a62 chuong IX cy Dim : Tye trBng cay ntu nay chi cdn & cde Lang, dan- ching thi-d® khong €iG tye dy nla. A, hai Ong cd thé cho t6i bidt chuong-trink ela hai Ong khi > Ha-nQi duge khong? dng Dong : Thea cy, ching ¢8i chua ed chyong-erinh nhit-djnh 14 sé 8 dau bao Lau va sé 44 thim vigng hing dau, Trube Khi di, gido-su ching €0i 6 vist tho gidi-thigu ching tei vii my Ong ban ela giéo-av & wi-thinh. oy Dim : Hai Ong 06 th¥ cho 6i bist ten cde vi dy duge khong? Sng Dong : Thua ey dupe, Sng Lai quée Thai, than-td nha Hge-chinh, Ong Pham tae Cung, kj-sw sb COng-chinh va Ong Nguyn duy Chy 14 mgt thuomg-gia. Ba Ong nay du 8 Ha-ngi, Sng VF : Thua cy, gido-sw ching £04 6 djn 1d cde ben hdc 8 xa Hi-ngi thi ba Ong Thai, Cung hay Chy s6 dua ching 01 G1 thin. cy Dim : Tae thi hay gud, cde Ong a8 oS nhiéu ban abit 1 Ong Thai. ‘Trude kia chi8u thir bly ndo ching €0i cling sip nhau § cau-lge-b9 Khai-trf Tign-pic.! ching ta sé thank” hing neudi ban MF-Vige, vay hai Ong cho C0 duge bane hgnh moi bai Ong voi gia-dinh toi trong dip tée nay. gilip 6, Ba ong ay ti quen e! Ong Dong nhin Ong VF db h8i f-kign. Ong VF nhu® hitu § ban 1i8n trd 131 ey Dim: Ong V9 t Vang, ching t0i cin on cy Tém. Cy Dim : ThE thi quf-nda Lém, t0i s€ dink dign-tin ve nha dua xe ra dén & Séukho, bn tu cla HAi-phong. Hai-clng Wii-phing 6 HaiL-cAng Sang h0m nay troi con diy dyc swong mi thi thuyén- ‘trubng di Loan-béo thu sip t5i bén. Cy Dim ding & mit tu mdi vOL hai Ong dan Mt —cubi mia dong & Béc-Vige c& nhitu suong mi, vi thé bay gi ching ta khOng trOng xa duye va tu oling hii chay cham Lai. Ong vy ndiz Theo trong ban d8 true khi vio gin bd ehi elu ai qua Hon-dgu, & tren nid dy of oft hii-ding, phii khong eu? Cy Dim : PRAL r8i, Hon-dgu 14 qui mit moc gia dB ngay trude mt ling DS-son. Kia, cde Ong xe kia, qui ni md nd trade mft kia 1a Hon-dgu. ‘Thu chay met Lic na thi aX xem thily 28 Hin-dgu va nh’ eS mie e104 mye df kha cao, suong mi dé tan di nhitu, ba nguoi trOng thily phong-cinh Ling 98-son, cy Bim néiz Cae Ong tréng kia 1A bai BB DB-son. Phong-cinh gigng nbw 6 My va Au-chau, 06 ming thong anh, 6 nii-déi, cic ahi du xty gach, lop ngéi theo Kign-trie Phip ch. chi & trong lang moi cd hi gianh cha din chii-ludi. B-son 1a mgt bin-dio, & day hing nim ci ngiy ming 10 thang & thi ed cuge chi trau to Linu. gust khép noi tun 4m xem ding la. Khdp Bie~ Vige dau dau ctng bie cau: Di ai budn dau bin dau,* Mong 10 thing 8 chet traw thi vé.5 Bay gid tl di vio cba s6ng 15n d® dn bén Séu-kho. Hai 6ng Dong va ¥¥ nhin hai bén bd sOng dy 1am 1g Lin, bide bao nbigu 1A thuyn g& to, chige mio cting 6 hai64 chuong IX ba oft bud, Mii vA Ai thuyn hoi cong tréng tyatya nnhiing chide chitn-thuyn tht Trung-cb & du-chau. oy Pim cit neta 14 cde thi ehuytn Sy 8 Méng-cdy, not tinh Vigt-nan gidp-gidi Trung-hoa, chd che bat-dTa vio Hai-phing d® r8i bin di khp nude. Dang adi thi oy Dim lai chi cho hai Sng xem me doin thuyn khéc, mili va lai khéng cong nhw cae thuy8n trén, mi thi dan bing tere chi khéng phai g8, 8 nhiing cf buim 1én trong ging nhw cdnh con gioi-giol. Cy Pim néi 14 ce thuyén nay to trong Trung-b9 ch} cde thd min ra day ban. Khi 4i BB thi hp hay di tiimg dodn mgt hai chyc chige mgt. Nay bin xong hang dean thuy8n xu6i bub v8 nha an Tee. Tiu cing vio gin Siu-kho thi cing 1ém thuyén, ehi to thir nhd, edi di vao cdi di ra.° cdc thuyén niy déu chay buba hoge cho, khong cdi ndo 08 dgng-coe Ba ngudi dang ni chuygn thi cé mgt chige ca-nd son trdng tit phia trude mie chay Lei uhw mun xing thing vio wii tu. Cy Dim reo 1én vui-vé bio hai 6ng 1a: —Ca-n0 clia quan-thué dify, cae Ong 0S tréng thy 14 cd Vigt-nam miu ving ba gach 8 & cusi ca-né khong? Gy Bim 19i ndi eip khOng chd cau trd 191 cba hal ang: cite ong thué quan di tulin hang 1gu day, nhung ching ta ei coi nhw 1a cde mhtnevien ay di dén ching ea cting thé. Kia, hai Ong tréng ch8 cé nhigu tiu, thuy8n dé va 6 sdu cdi kho hing to kia 1a bén Siuckho diy. Quang-cinh nh§n-mhjp trén bén lic tiu & My sang! Lim hai Ong Dong va VF béng®. Trong si nbting ngudi ra don ‘iu, hai Ong trong ehily ee bi, che 8 mle quin ening, Hii-cing Hii-phing 6s fo ching di cde miu. Neudt thi di di, ngudi chi agi nbn. che ong thi fe ngudi agi khlin, mic 40 ching, phiin dong nije Auephye. Gy Dim thy hai ng chim chi nhin dim dng dy, nhw hi’u y lign oft nghia: =Nhiing ba nije do miu dam, du quing khin tua den nhu cae ba & kinh-thinh Tay-ban-nha® kia 14 cdc ba ding tubi. Cdn cae bi va cée 08 quing khin miu, adng trdng suse thay vinh khin cugn 8 trong thi ere hon. May La ni-sinh aity. Tay cde 08 vin cén mjc do dai, nhung hai Sng trong che ing Au-My Lim.® N6i dén day thi cy Dim reo 1én vui-vé, tay vie viy, 8 cht toc ngdn hay bim toc & gay ki duéng cong, lugn thi g migng via noi voi hai On Nha ti va chau di ra dén kia, hai Ong tréng nha 281 mic do hoa bac!” va chiu do miu hing. Hai Ong Dong va VY cting vay tay theo cy Bim d¥ chio. Tau thd neo xong thi ngoai cac nha chie-trach ra, cé cic ngudi pha khutn vée 1¢n tu dua vali xudng bén. Gng Dong chi-y xem cac bac phu be nh nay, ao ngin, quin r§ng ng, nhanh-nhen va 18-phép. Ho vac khde lim, thgt la hai Ong khOng ngo. Cy Dam noi 1a mgt bac go niing mt trim ki-16 hg vin vée hing ngay. Trinh gidy-td xong,cy Dim va hai ong mung ben. Khi gap ba cy Dim va c8 WSng, con gai cy, Ong Dong va ong V nhanh-nhiu chic ngay khdng d® cy Dim kip giSi~ ehigu: —Liy ey a chlo 6 4, Ong Dong va Ong VF cling mdi BA cy Dim: Ching t0i KhOng dm, hai Ong va nha t0i ai vu bing-yén, Khong say s6ng chi? Ong aio 14 Trin Dong va ong ndo 1a Le vy?66 Chuomg 1X ~Thva cy, t6i 1A Trin Dong 9, con ben t65 day 14 Le We BA cy Dim: Hai Ong ndi ting Vige gidne newi Vige qui. Gng WF noi vSi c8 Hing: Thua 66, c6 c6 manh-khbe KchOng? C8 Hing : Cam on Sng, tOi mgnh-khde. Me £6i dupe tho ba Oi vit 12 c6 hai 6ng™ cing di tau nen ba ti vui Tim. cy Dim : Bay gid ching ta hy ra xe v8 khéch-sgn 138i néi chuygn sau. Gng VF noi i Vang, xin mdi hai cy, 08 vi 6ng Dong co 4i db t0i quay phim Lim kj-nign. cy Dam néi : Te sang dén gic?” ong quay duge my cugn r8i, the 1A thdacthich nhé khOng phAi xem Anh va ahd e6i oft nghfa nia mné7!? Gng Vy t Cimon cy, hung ching t0i viin cin clin phii Inge nbiisu ae Ra dén xe hoi, 00 HBng mb cla xe mdi ba me c0 vi hha Ong khich 1én xe vA ndit Hom nay anh cii-xé nghi, #04 phi 144 x0, hai Ong. c sy Mdan ba 144 xe" khOng? Sng dong va Ong Vy chua kip tr& 131 thi cy Dim ming you 08 ng: iting chi hay néi dita thei 1 Sng Dong va Ong VF bay gid moi hiku oO Hong mn ni 48m "women drivers." Tren duong hai Ong trong théy toin xe hoi Phap chy tninh-tholing 6 chige xe f. Nhung xe c8 Hing 143 13 xe Buick. Ong Dong néi 00 1éi xe gid4 Lim, & Vigeenam cfc bi, che 08 6d hay ai xe kheng? 08 HBng : Thua hai Ong ft 1m, vi dd 06 tli-xd. Rigng Notes 61 201 thi thfch 141 xe, xem chigu bing phim MY vi dye sich MY nfm cde ban hge viin ché t8i 14 mf-hba. Ong VF dang mai ngém xem phong-canh hai bén dvong, chyt trong thily xa-xa 0 mgt vuin ety mye cao Lim, cao hon ef mid nhd vi céc cay khic, 1g nhie 14 than cay thi nnd, khong cS canh, 8 tren nggn mdi o8 mgt tim 14 xanh, ng Lin his —Tha 08, ety gi kia che? 66 Weng : cay cau dy ong g, qud cau dB an gift. Traygn gidu can vui dm, C6 cau tye-nat 1: yeu nhau cau bly, b8 bay Ghet nhau cau bay, bS ra lam mudi, VE Ha-ngi r8i t0i KB truygn cho hai ong nghe. Hai Ong thch nghe truygn cB-tfch 1ém phi khOng? cin on c8 Lim, Ong VY tra 133. Gia dinh cy Dam dva hai Ong ban MY vé khich-sgn db hai 6ng dy 8 lpi HAi-phing mgt ngay va hom sau sé di xe Lia Len Hi-ngi. Notes 1. Cau-Lge-b9 Khai-Trf Tign-pije :Association for the Advancement of Learning,! an important intellectual club in Hanoi, Cau-Lge-b9 is a Sino-Vietnamese term meaning Literally ‘group for social pleasure!; khai-tri ‘develop the mind's tign-diic "to advance virtue.! 2, think : "become, get to be.! This is an exanple of typical Vietnamese courtesy: in order not to appear pre- sumptuous, Cy Bim indicates that he expects they will become friends, rather than taking it for granted that they already are.6s Chuong 1X 3. nhy : ‘as if! seoms necessary to the Vietnamese in this sort of context, while in English we would not expect it. The verb hitu ‘understand! usually presumes that something has been said or written vhich can be understood; nhu hitu ¥ here suggests extra-sensory perception; it might be translated ‘getting the idea, catching on.! 4, bubn dau ban dau : 'wherever they are doing busi- ness.! This is the device discussed in Chapter VI, Note 8 here the repeated word dau follows the compound buon...bin "buy and sell, do business.! 5, We might translate this couplet as follows: ‘Wherever people are, they always come back for the buffalo fight on August 10th.! This tournament is a very important feature of village life in North Vict Nam. Each village owns and supports a buffalo, much as a town supports a ball team in America; the winner at ‘B-som brings luck and prosperity to his village. 6, cdi di vao, cdi di ra : ‘some going in, others going out." Literally, the meaning is something like "the one going in, the one going out!; the juxtaposition suggests several boats. 1. 8 My sang + tarrived from America.! This is a good example of the extremely common sequential construction explained in Chapter 8, Note 5. 8. kimh-thinh Tay-ban-nha : ‘the capital of Spain,’ i.e, Madrid. Many foreign place names are Sino-Vietnamese form: Im the original Chinese these are frequently 69 Notes phonetic approximations of native names, but the Viet nanese pronunciations are often so different that the resemblance is mich disguised. For example, the vord for Spain is certainly an approximation of Espaiia, but the first syllable, Hsi in Chinese, is written with the character meaning "west," which is pronounced tay in Vietnames: 9. ‘Although girls still wear the long tunics, you can see the curved lines [of the body], that is, very much Like European and American [dress].' Formerly tunics were tailored lange so as to hang straight and conceal body Lines} now they are cut to fit tightly. 10. do hoa bac + 'silver-flovered tunic,' i.e., woven with silver thread. LL, hai Ong : "you two, the two of you." 12, ti sing dén gid : ‘ever since early this morning's gid here means the same as bay gid. 13. khGng phA xem Anh va nhd t6i ce nghfa nite nbd? : tyou don't have to look at pictures and depend on me to explain any more, isn't that wonderful?!cuvons x Gia-dink cy Dim v8 Hi-ngi, con hai Sng Dong va VF thi & lai wi -phing ho sau mdi Len. Mgt buBi chi8u mia dong & Béc-Vigt trot hoi Leah, han-thiy itu mdi xung 12° ma dan-ching xem ching && Keng chu Lém. Hai ong Dong vi VY éi dgo xem phé. Voa ra khéi khich-sgn thi mge anh phu xe x{ch-16 dap voi xe Igi dn hai Ong tan cba, Anh phu xe : MSL hai Ong di xe, Hai 6ng di hai xe, t6t goi then?” NOi xong, anh phu xe trong v8 phfa net tw, sei to: Xfeh-10, xfch-161 ge cid xe xfch-10 th ned tw chay Lai Anh phu xe 1° ; Hai ng mudn di dau? Gng Dong : Anh dva chiing t0i dén phé ch{nh. Anh phu xe I: Tha hai Ong é@n phd Tay’ hay phé dong 70 BuBi chigu diu tien trén dit Vigt na ngudi buon bin? Anh phu xe IT: Hai 6ng mun mua gi hay chi mn xem ‘thinh-phé thoi? Ong WY + Phai dy, ode anh dua ching €0i di xem thanh- ph, r8i dua den ph6 dong ngudi budn bin & hai ching £01 di b9 xem phé. Wai xe di song-song vii anh phu xe TE néi vSi Ong VF; Hai ong 1a ngudi My mi ndi eine Vige gi8i qua. Cée Ong ge & dau? Ong Dong : Sao anh bigt ching toi 1a My?° Anh phu xe II 1 C6 khé gi mi keh6ng bige® qui ‘ong mje ging trong min inh Lim, c& miu in kidu khSe hin ngudd Au-chau, Dém ng tw xe phAL ding 19i theo 1gnb cha ngudi cinh-edt chi dudng dimg trén cdi bye g@ son tring & sie bongs vi cé nhigu xe gita ngi tu. Ong VF dep qua. Lite ngudi cnh-st bét du ra higu cho di thi moi nguid v@i-vang dap nhw $ mgt cuge dua xe. Xe di din gin chy Sit, hai Ong trong thily bao nhieu 1a ngudi dang ginh hang ra v8. Cing 6 ngudi d9i, cfing 6 ngudi mang, nguoi xich. Ong Vy 1i8n hi —Neudii ta di dau mi dong thé? Anh phu xe II : Tan chy hg vé nha diy Ong a. Gng VY : Cac cO kia ganh gi ma ngng thé? Anh phu xe I: Thwa Ong cae c@ ban vai, Iya & chy tét diy, Chk thé md cO nio cling yém Iya tring, do tw-than Lya miu bée-d8, thée ehét lung miu hoa 1f va them bg xactich bing bac did deo ben hong. Hai Ong xem cic 8 quang khin md que cé xinh khong? Bng Dong : Anh ta khéo qua, chiing t8i mugn vio xem chy2 chuog x duge khong? anh phu xe I; Chg chi8u, khOng duge sch” va ngudi mua, ngudi bin v8 gin hét Bi, khéng nen vio, & khi khéc. Di qua mot ditu ph6, hai Ong thiy dong ngudi dang an ge thi keh6i 1én nghi-ngit, 118 b&o anh xe ding Lai Anh phu xe I ra vé thong-thgo eft neh Day 14 génh phd,° chit xin ban phd ngon Lim, dan ching thfch am phd chit hon 13 di sn 8 cao-Lan. Tait b3 chi x0i bao gid citing dyc-bige. chi Xin sung-suéng Lém né —MOi hai Ong xoi thé. Ong Tay dan! cusi pho vin cho B81 ra ma phd e0i diy. Sng Dong : Ching t0i cém on chi, bay gid ching t04 chua ai Hai Ong 1gi 1én xe, Xe chay qua my phé tay, nha che nong-rii, xty 2 ting. Nh no cling 6 hien vd chung quan e8 von rng cay to. Xe di qua nha hat 1ént> q rei ré vé ph budn ban cha ngudi Vige va ngudi Trung-hoa. Cac cla higu xay 1i8n voi nhau, ding trude khong 6 cha Kfoh. Kii md thi md née c& bE ngang nhd va khi ddng thi a6ng kin cd. Thudng-thudng cé ba bén tling va hing thing trén 14 nhd 8 va nha kho. NewOi ta chi bin hing & ling dud. Cink tet & day da ndo-nhige 1ém. Sut cd ngdy cdc PhO dong kin lay nguOi. Bay gid v8 chi8u 58 ngwdi lai cang dong hon. Cée cita hang dong chat ngudi nhw 3 rap chigu béng. Gng Dong va Ong VF di bg theo véi dim dong r8i yao mgt higu Tiu xem dan-chiing mua hing. 8 day 6 dh cdc Bubi chi8u du tien trén die Vige 2 thik: d hop, rugu, d8ng-hb, quan-do, gidy-bit, thude 1A, xi-phing va c& thude tay mhy thube rite du, thude s8e réty ve vs? Hai thi hang dupe nhi’u ngudi mua hon 1a phao va huong. Mgt thiGucnd Chay hai ng Ming-ting khong bib ngudi Tiu chi higu ndi eigng Vige, NOL hai ong mudn mua gi, LiGn Lim ehongengon hg, dich sang tigng Anh, Gog Dong tr 154: —Thya 06, ching £04 néi duge ting Vige, ning quoi chi higu néi gigng khd hi8u qué. CO Lim on ndi 1a ching 81 con xem di. Ngudi chi higu nhanh-nhdu er& 1342 —uget eset eget Sng V9 1 Thua 6, tei sao ai cting mua phéo va huong the? © ght : Hal Ong dist Ge Vige-nam nghia 1A mia xudn 48m. Xuan din thi ai eting vui ming mi phéo 1A bibushigu cila sy vai mimg nén ching £64 ding phéo d® din xuin. Cin huong thi ching t0i dt & tron bin tho tb-tien trong ba ngdy e&e vd & chia dd 18 Phge. Gng VF : Cém on 8 1dm, 06 t6t Lim, e0i 06 thE bide ton 6 duge khdng? Co edi : Tén tOi 1A Tam; C6 phAi hai Ong 1A sinh-vien MF sang thin Vigt-nam khong? Sng Wy (née site nggo-nhien trh 154): Vang, sao 6 bige? 06 Tan: C6 gi 19 dau,!? ba e0i Lim & 8b cOng-an!* coi V8 vige cde ngudi ngoai que dén thin Vige-nam, mdi chuygn chuytn eu MY dén hom nay ¢6 has sink-vien MF sang day du-1jch. ©6 Tam ni xong 118m xem ding-h8 tay va ndiz Bay gid toi phi di chim ngudd ban. Neu hai Ong,4 Chuong con 8 day lau, mdi hai Ong 1gi nh’ t0i 8 s8 5 dung Cat-dii thim gia-dink ba toil va ching ta sé ndi chuygn dai.7® 791 cling 14 nitsink, rift han-hank dupe gi hai Ong. ng Dong va Sng VY hen khi ed djp s8 dn thin gia- dink €0. Hai ng chio 6 Tam xong cing ai ra phé, di qua mgt higu cao-Lau Thu, mii thjt lym quay bay vao mii, va cde tigng chit hie Lim ving tai bai nguoi. Mai ong nhin vio thay nhing chi Thu B60, ditu trge va bung phe dang Lim bép va chit thjt ngay $ cla vio. Tuy hai ngwoi adi, mbung khong audn in & day. Hai ong mb Iai cy Dim dn néu mun an com Vige thi én higu HAi-Anh va bio nguoi tho-kg ké-todn 14 khéch cha cy gidi-thigu. Den higu cao-1au HAi-Anh, hai Ong thay quang-cdnh kkhde hin higu Tu, Bi qua cla yen-tink va sgch-sé, hai ong eS ¥ tin, hung khOng thily bép dau cd, Tren cée bin d&i Khin tréng 03 nhting 1g hoa hing tuoi, tuy c6 hing 19 hae tieu, mudi, nude mén, nung thi nao cing sgch-sé va khong e6 mii nhw di qua higu Thu hay sinh phd chi xin, Hai Ong i qua ch8 e6 my ngudi khach an xong dang th tilin, Ong WY ASE ngudi thu cL —Mhua Ong, C81 mun Ep ngwoi tho-ky ké-tosn. Mgt c8 dung glin day ndi: —Thua Ong, mun gi? TO 14 tho-ky Ké-toan. Sng VF t Ching tOL 1a khéch do ey Din gidi-thigu déa day an. 08 tho-k# Vang, moi hai Ong di theo t0i, 0 dua hai ong én mgt phéng an ring § trén gic, cb ofa kioh Tren dudng di Handi 15 ‘trOng thiy phong-cinh c& thank phé Hai-phing. Mgt ngudi. Lam cong dua thyc-don vao cho hai Ong xen dB ggi mén in. ‘ng Dong vi Ong VF muGn dn theo kitu Vigt-nan, dine dia bit, hai Ong g9i dy 3 min: Tom ran the bee, cua BB xio sla vA sO huyét mudng. Hai Ong ding rugu gi? Gng Dong : Cho mgt chai rugu vang dd. Cac Ong ding binh nggt a8 dung Nguoi tigp khdch!” An tréng migng hay banh ga-t0? Sng VY : Cho ching t0i danh c6m va banh dgu xanh™® che ding hwong-vj Vigt-nam. Céc thé bénh ga-t0 ching tOi in nbibu r8i. Hai Ong an xong thi vita ding gid di xem didn tudne. nig thanh-1gp duge 3 nim. Hat vo tung cB "La-Bink Duong-L8.""° Dan Hai-cdng néo-nite 44 xem Ong Lim, Wom nay rap hit kj Hai ong xem hit mii Gn nba dom mi v8 khich-sgn neh d& sing mai dép xe Lia di Hi-n9i. duing di, Hi Da tin gid’ sing ma thanh phé Whi-phong cdn hw nei say dui lin ma phin®? cha mgt budi sing cuSi mia dong. Sng Dong va Ong VY bét dtu ra ga. Nguoi B6i khdch-spn Hai Ong nn di tfe-xi ra ga thi hom 1a ai xfeh-10 vi gi6i ma, Lgnh hai ong oS the bj use, Gng Dong : Anh Lam on goi cho ching t6i mgt xe tho-xi, anh ndi phbi Lim. Ngudt ula hay ra erudng bay? jen tde-xi : Hai Ong di dau? Di ra ga xe16 Chuong x Gng Vy + Che ching t6i ra ga xe Iba. Nguoi edi-x8 : Vang, ode Ong di Hi-ngi thi cin thie thi gid. Tau chin gid mot chay. Bay gid mdi 6 8 gid 10. Th day ra ga chi hee 10 phiie thei Xe via d8 truéc cia ga thi mgt ngudi phu, canh tay c6 deo cdi bang trdng d¥ ch "Phu HSa-xa" chay dén md cha xe va xéch vali cho hai Sng. Nguoi ta xé via nhgn tin cla Ong Dong vita bao gud phus Anh dua hai Ong vao ldy vé di Hi-ngi. Nguoi phu : Hai Ong theo t6i di vao 18 nly. Vé hang hat, hgng mh va hgng ba bin & ghi-s® 181 nay. Hom nay ving khach ba hgng trén, chi cé ghi-s® hang tw 1a dong. Gng Dong : Tei sao lai oS Linh ding gae & glin ghi-se thé kia? Nguoi phu : Ti ngay cé chign-tranh dén nay thi 8 ga bao gid cling cé 1fah gic nhw thé, hai Ong ding 10, knnong c6 gi 1g ed. Sng Dong Thea éng, bin cho t6i hai vé hang nhi ai Hiengi. Nguoi thuge-vien”": Ong mua vé mot lugt hay vé Khii-h8i7? Ong Dong : Mgt luge thei. Nevdi phu : Ong dua e& hai vé cho toi d® toi di can hing cho hai éng. MBi vé duye tri 30 ki-16 khong phi trd tin cuse.2? An xong hing, ngudt phu dua va-li len tu cho hai ong Dong va V¥s Anh vui-vé nhgn tin ri: nhanh-nhen 44 vio ga d& Gn khdch khéc. Trude Kkhi di, anh ni: Chic hai Ong ai dung ding-yen, ‘Tren duong di Ha-ngi Wm Ong Dong va Ong VF + KhOng dam, cém on anh va chao anh. Gng vy : Thu nay sgch-s® va Lch-sy khd, nhung hol ahd. Ong Dong : TrOng kia ong Vy,?? 6 Linh cling &1 thu. Ho dang Ita mgt toa riéng. Mgt hinh-khéch : Linh di a bho-vg thu vA toa by di a toa bye ait. Hal Ong od trdng thiy toa du hing? Toa ay ch8 day dé d® phing mln diy. Sug VF 1 Why ehé thi di dung nguy-hittm Lém a7 Nguoi hinh-khéch : May nim du chiga-tranh thi nguy- him thge, nay thi chi chinh-thodng o6 min dje & dung xe thi. Lau 1m tiu khong bj dge-kich. Sng ve + C6 min thi cing 1a nguy-hitm. Nguoi hinh-khich : Khdng nguy-hitm Lim vi suse doe ding déu o6 dn binh Ang. Te da ng dln ddn kia 6 Linh tuin-tifu di 43 min. Sng Dong : Thwa éng, tai sao ba hang erén nay ving khich va hang tw dng nhu thé kia, Hinh-khéch ph&i chen haw, via ngudi via quang-ginh, homing, va-li Jin gn ch. Ngudi hinbekhéch : Ddy 1A nbting ngudi thudng-din, Lao~ Gong ho§e 41 buon bin, hoje di vB qué an eB. Hy di hang tu ré tin, Oi din cusi mim thi khong bao gid ching toi ai elu, xe” ch® hg cd. Cdn ning hanh-khach hang trén thi nay di phi-co c&, fe ngudi thich di tlw. ‘Thu chuyBn bin va bie diu titi chay ra khdi ga, ong Vy hBit Tau chay chgm nhw thé nay thoi a? Nguoi hanh-khéch : Vang, thu hba ching £64 chi chay ti 30 dén 35 cay sf mgt gid. TO nghe noi & Suny thu hba chay nhanh Lim phii Ich6ng?8 chuomg X Ong VF + Vang, t8e-lyc thu hba & My o6 eéi hon 100 dam. Newoi hinh-khéch : Nhw thé thich qué abl? Ti HAi- phong di Hi-ngi chi e6 glin 100 cay 88, ching ta phat ngbi tron xe 3 ting ddng-18. Sng Dong + Xin 164 6ng khéch, Ong VY 1! Trong kia 8 ngudi dang clly rugng, cé cf ngudi dang bia nila. rong ging trong buu-thigp qué. Sng VF: CHS Kia 08 may nguds dang cdy Ia phd khong ng khéch? Newb hinh-khch : Vang, tiv nay dn 30 tée 12 hy s& cdy kin ednh ding. Nha nio khong cy xong trude ete 13 nge di8u khong may cho hg. Gng V7 : Ted sao ga xe Lina mio cfing c6 nhing cai thép cao tréng bw din bink thé? Nguoi hinh-khich : chinh thé, dify 1a cde thép canh cla dBn binh. Tuy khOng e6 trgn-chign & day, nhung ching 201 vin edn erong tinh-trgng chign-tranh. ai ong xem cde Ling-xém vii thj-xi hai ben dudng xe Lika bi tin-phi, nha cha xitu-vgo, abi8u ch chi edn tre b&n vite tung. Diy 14 ch{nh-sdeh eieu-ehD khing-chide mi he mii ngudi ding-bao ching t0i hibu nghia mit cdich thia-thia, Nguoi hioh-khéch dang n6i chuygn thi elu 48 8 ga HAi-duong,?5 08 nhitu em bé dua qua 1én thu bin, Ong. vy ne: —cic om bé keia bin gh thé? Nguoi hinh-Kkhdch : Cac em ay ban nuse,?° bénh negt va ong xem diy om nao efing 06 mgt cdi digu thude 10 treo bén canh Sn nude, Néu Ong musn xen KY, Oi sé goi mgt em Lai, thudng thi chiing chi bin cho hinh~ Tetn dudng di Handi 7 khéeh & hang tw thoi. Ni xong Ong 118m goit oyu bé, dia muse, digu lai day. Bn bé vi chay Lei, Ong Khach cim Lay digu dua cho ong V¥ xen. Gai didu chl 1A mgt Sng tre, mgt dtu oS dau mit va mgt du trong dé bat. & trong dyng nude. 8 tren dtu mt dp 2 phan eay dyc mge 18 thing d® cd ngt migng g8 tron va dii a9 4 phan vay, Ming g6 nay cS 18 ah & gia va diu & ngodi ehi 6 18 to di dyng ehuge & hit, Diu kia thi cfm vio trong abe. Khi hit thi tigng nue keu think mge digu an-nhge nhanh hay chm tly theo ngudi hie. NewOt hanh-Khéch + Ong dva t04 hie cho Ong xem, cde Ong chwa hit quen thi sé b§ ho vi thuSe io ning hon thude 14 nhivus Hit xong, @ng khach ma 3 chye banh a xanh va gif tin cho om bé di bin hing. én day thi gidi di tanb mua, con tiu ci dBu-déu chay qua hét anh dng Lai d8n song phSi qua ciiu 06 Linh gée r8i loi dén ga 1a fe abn dink.” Phong-cinh khong thay dBi mhiéu. Ch8 nao eting chi cd tre va cay cau. Néu khong trong thay ere va cau ehi 1d cdnh dng Lia mong-nénh. da gid trua thi clu toi ga Mini. Day 1a ga trung- uong cla Béc-Vigt, hai Ong Dong vi VF trong thy nbifu dying sit vi dtu elu. chuyén dn, chuyén di, chuyén nao cling dng ngudi?® nén quang-cluh ge Hanoi”® 1éc nao cling néo-nbige. Nedy tee sip d&m lpi cing dng ngudi hon vi ai ofing mién v8 Hanoi mua hing eée.80 chuong x NOTES 1, 12° [musi hai 49] ‘twelve degrees [centigrade]' - approximately 54° Farenheit. Due to European influence, the metric system is in general use in Viet Nam. 2. Tn North Viet Nam a foreigner is usually addres: foreigner may not understand. Tn South Viet Nam, which was for an extended period a closely supervised French colony, the situation is quite different; most people who connonly do business of some sort with foreigners know at least a few words of French, 3. xe I is read xe thir nhit; below, xe IT is read xe ‘thir nhi or xe thi hai. 4 Tay t '¥rench' or "Buropean.' The Vietnamese often use the term tay 'west, western! to designate the French specifically even to distinguish them from other cccidentals; thus it is common to say Ong co biét ndi in Vietnamese, even though the speaker realizes that the | | ting tay khéng? 'Do you speak Freneh?* | 5. Note that the cycle-driver's question goes unanswered; this is quite acceptable according to Viet- namese custom. If a persen does not wish to answer a question for some personal reason, or if only because it seems too complicated or tiresome to answer it at the moment, he simply ignores it. 6. C6 Kkhd gi mi khong bist : ‘How could I help it?! (ity 'Therets nothing difficult [about it] so that T wouldn't kuow!) « Notes 81 7. Khong duge sgch : 'is not too clean.! Duge here, probably in the sense 'to be benefited by,! is used cuphemistically to indicate that the market is really quite dirty, but permits the speaker to avoid using a word meaning 'dirty.! 8. du ph : thead or beginning of a street.! In Viet Nam the two ends of a street are clearly distinct, as established by tradition: diu (buildings are numbered beginning with 1) and cui. 9, ganh phd : ‘ambulatory noodle-soup concession.' Peddlers selling the very popular noodle soup are conmons they usually carry their portable restaurant on a shoulder-bar. At one end of the bar is suspended a large pot containing the soup and a charcoal burner underneath which keeps it hots from the other end hangs fa sort of miniature cabinet containing eating utensils and condiments. Most peddlers in Viet Nam use this method of transporting their wares; the shoulder-bar is also used by private individuals to carry all sorts of things. Thus the word ginh is of considerable cultural significance. Note that the peddler is Chinese, as revealed by the term of reference chit and what is for Vietnamese a typical Chinese name: Xin. 10. Gng Tay doan : "the French gentleman at the Custom House. The peddler, ishing to impress the Americans with the importance of his clientele, thinks he can best accomplish this by mentioning a westerners however, he does not know the Frenchman's name or specific position.a ES 82 chuong x LL, nha hat 16n : tmunicipal theatre.! Some of the larger cities in Viet Nam have a government-operated theatre; they are distinguished from privately owned institutions, which are called simply nba hét. There is never more than one nha hit 1én in a given city. 12. vive (abbreviation of van-van) : 'and so forth, ete. 13. 06 gi 1g dau : ‘there's nothing strange about it.? 14, 88 COngean : 'Security Service.' Formalities of immigration are handled by this agency in Viet-Nam 15. thim gia-dinh ba e8i : tvi it our family." ¢8 Tam is careful not to extend an improper invitation, According to Vietnamese custom it is quite proper for her to invite the two young men to visit the family, but not to visit her specifically. She uses the ex- pression gia-dinh ba t0i, designating the family in terms of her fathers had she said gia-dinh ti, it would have meant that she vas married and had children of her own. 16. ching ta s@ néi chuygn dii ; ‘we'll have a good chat 17. ngudi tigp khdch + (1it,) tthe person who receives the guests In @ Vietnamese restaurant this is the person who takes the orders and relays them to the kitchen, but the food is brought by a bi. 18. banh dgu xanh : ‘green-bean-cake,! made by removing ‘the unripened beans from the pods, drying, skinning and steaming them, and mashing them into a paste to which Notes 83 are added sugar and flavoring (traditionally the essence of the grapefruit flower, although nowadays vanilla ex- tract is also used); the finished product has a consis- tency someyhat like jelly, but a good deal firmer and harder. 19. "Luu-Binh Duong-L8" : @ famous classical story of native Vietnamese origin. Two young students, Luu-Binh and Duong-Lé, are close friends, and because they are both very poor they share quarters and study together for the great classical examination vhich is given only every third year. Finally examination day cones and Duong-L8 passes with honors, whereupon he is appointed mandarin. But Luu-Binh fails and must either give up or study for another three years and take the next examination. Some time later, discouraged, tired and hungry, Luu-Binh goes to see his friend, now a rich and powerful official. However, waen the attendant announces Luu-Binh, Dwong-L& says he knows no one of this name and orders him away. He then calls together if he his several wives and tells them his thought: shares his wealth and comfort with his friend, he fears that Luu-Binh will become lazy and will not prepare himself for the next exam; on the other hand, he wishes to help him, He then asks if any of the wives want to volunteer to help; the third wife volunteers. She goes and finds Lau-Binh, tells him she has run avay from hone because of a difficult step-mother, and says that she knows he is an ambitious student. She then promises that if he will spend his time profitably studying for the examination, she will procure money to cover his34 Chuong x Living expenses, and that if he passes the examination she will marry him, Tn the meantime, she must Live apart from him and will come only to see that he has enough food and clothing. Lwu-Binh agrees and works hard toward this double recompense, forgetting hi bitterness toward his former friend. Three years later he takes the examination again and this time passes. He jubilantly returns home, but his sponsor is novhere to be found. Remembering his former friend, he goes to see him and tells him of his strange experience. Duong-Lé calls his wives in to congratulate Luu-Binh, who recognizes the third wife as his benefactor and suddenly realizes the depth of his friend's devotion. This theme of deep personal friendship is a satis~ fying one to the Vietnamese; here its concern with the examination given only at three-year intervals makes the play an appropriate one for the theatre's third anniversary. 20, mua phiin : 'drizzle.! A very fine spray-like rain, sometimes hardly more than a heavy fog, is character- istic of the northern part of the country, especially in the winter months. 21. nguoi thuge-vien : 'ticket-seller.' This term is used since the railroads are nationally owned and operated, and ticket-sellers are therefore enployees in the civil service. Thuge here denotes the fact that he is a subordinate of vién, that is, he has no super- visory functions. 22. "Hach ticket has an exclusion of 30 kg. om which Notes 85, you don't have to pay freight charges! (i-e., there is fan allowance of 30 kg. of baggage on each ticket). 23. Ong VF : the form of address that a Vietnamese would expect for friends of more or less elevated social statu: Students fall in this category. In clas- sical times they were in training for high positions, and even today only families of some means can send their children to the university. In any case Dong should address VY as Ong in this situation because they are talking with a stranger and the use of more familiar forms vould be rude. However, you will observe later that even when they are alone together they main- tain this formality. This is connected with an import~ ant principle of written Vietnanese — the Vietnamese writer usually makes his characters speak as he feels they should according to their social status; the result is frequently quite different from the vay such people actually talk in real life. In fact, in Viet~ namese printed material people are frequently repres- ented as making use in conversation of literary forms which hardly occur at all in normal colloquial speech. 24, ah thu, xe : ‘enough means of transportation.' Tiu refers to trains and possibly trolley-cars; xe refers to buses and trucks. Although the phrase xe lila means terain, xe alone usually refers to smaller vehicles. 25. WAi-duong : a large town between Haiphong and Hanoi, famous for its Shrine of Martyrs and green-bean- cake. 26. nue : 'tea.! Tea is so commonly served as refresh~| | 86 Chuong X ment that the Vietnamese use simply nude (presumably shortened from nude ché) to refer to it where drinking is already implied in the context. If they mean 'vater' in such a context, they usually say nude Lanh. 27. ri lgi dén ga 1a cac dn binh came to stations which were [really just] military ‘then again posts.! This is a reference to the situation described earlier: at so many small villages the railroad stations had been destroyed and now only guard-tovers stood by the places where the trains stopped. 28, chuyén dén, chuyén di, chuy8m nio efing dng newt : ‘Some were arriving, others leaving, each crowed with people." Although technically the classifier chuyéa must refer to diu tu ‘oconotive! in the preceding sentence, the obvious reference (as shown by the phrase dong ngudi) is to the entire train. Since the word iu appears as part of the compound meaning ‘locomotive, the Vietnanese reader would scarcely notice the change of reference. 29, Hanoi : the names of several Vietnamese cities which commonly appear in foreign publications are not infrequently written as they would appear in @ foreign text — thus Hanoi or Hanot, Saigon or Satgon (instead of Sai-gon). As with other variations of this sort, differing forms will frequently be found in the sane material, even (as here) just a fev lines apart. On maps most place names lack accent marks in general. cHUONG XI ‘Thi-d0 Ha- Xe hoi cy Dim cho di dén hai Ong Dong va VF via v8 t5i cbng thi c& hai cy cing ra eam cla adn. Gng Dong va éng VF xudng xe" chao: Ly hai cy 4. Cy Pim : Ching e0i khong dim. Hai Ong di eltu bing-yén oni Sng Dong : Vang, khéng co min g. Cy Dam ; Thé thi tét lim. Bay gio t6i dua hai Ong vao dudng ng. Mi Ong nhgn mt phing, cde Ong a & day vOi gia-dinh t0i hoan-todn nhw 8 nha vay. Pdy 1A phone cla hai Ong, khi ndo v8 MF moi 1a cla tO1. Gng vy : Hai cy t8t qué, cm on hai ey. Cy ba + Ching tOi e6 hat chdu trai hgc & den Phdp, nay ep hai ong cling 14 sink-vien nén chiing e0i qué hai éng 8788 Chuong. XT Lm. Day 14 bung hai chiu 8 khi cdn & mh’. Cy Ong : Bay gid ching cOi dt hai ong ty-tign, xtp dye dB-dge vd wha mje. Cdn clin thi gi, ede Ong. gi ngudi ahi bho né Lay cho. Khi nie xong thi ra phong khéch Ging muse, ching t8i eh’. NSi xong hai cy 4 ra phing khich. dng Dong : Vang, ching toi xin ra ngay. Ong VF 2 Nay Ong Dong, hai butng cS cla thong nhau, cba s8 trong ra hb. Phong-cinh hS dep qué. Thgt 1i thugn- eign Sng Dong : TOL thich mbit 14 & day yon-tTnh. Bén ngudi dang udng nude & phong khich thi co Hing & ‘trong nha ra chao: —~Chao hai 6ng, hai Ong di tu xem thay nhimg gi 1a KB cho t8i nghe nao?” Ong Dong : Thua cO, ching t0i tréng thay chS nio cfing 6 tre mge va lang nao cling thiy cay cau cao vit 1én ‘trod gitng mhw cde ot budm 8 bén Siu-kho. C0 Hong : Gdn Ong VF thi mhgn xée thay gi 197 Ong Vy : Ti thiy cde ngudi di cy, m§c thi quin-do gi ma & xa tOi trong ging cée cO gai chin bd mjc quiin-ao cui ngya & MF, Ngodi ra tOi trong thay mt din vit an Srugng, din vit dong Lém. cS hai ngudi di tren 2 chige thuy&n nan nbd trong coi, mi nguci clim mt cii sao chéng thuyn di shank Lim. 8 H8ng ong sé trong thiy cay tre, cay cau, din vit va rugng Hai Ong t& hay 1am, T6i cing doin trude cde 2a nén com hom nay t0i di trong nom cho anh bép Lim nén vjt him ming tre va thBi com chi khOng in bank IS Truygn giliu-cau 89 in xong t0i 98 KE truyén giduccau cho hail Ong nghe. Nr eh 1A dh eke thie Am efing nhw truygn du 1a Vigt>nans hai 6ng via} chi? NSi wong 0 Wng mdi Ba, Me cO vi hai Ong Dong, 9 sang phing in com. Jn xong c6 ting Ly giliu cho ba ey Dam rindi chuygn gidu-cauz Truygn gity-cau Ne’y 2a cé hai anh em giai, tréng thgt gigng nhau, efohende eGing hin Linh nby nhau. Hai anh em you thoong shau. Bi dau hay 1am gi cling d8u oS ahau, Nim 19, 20 tubi hai anh em di erg hge § mgt Ling ben cpr. Nha chi 6 mgt oO gai cling cing tudi yOL ngudi anh. CO niy you gui c& hai anh om, abung sau cing thi 1dy ngudi anh. Ti Kai cudi ve rBi, ngudt anh khOng qui mga en bing Yeni true. Ngubi om Lay thé Lim bun phi8n, b& nha ra ai Di mai dén age Khu ring rm thi gp mje edi suds khong 44 qua duge, anh ta bun qué ngSi mung b subi mi kde di cho dn chét, Chét xong anh ta héa-thinh hin da. Nguoi ash vi thuong em, di tim Anh nay efing di mai vi cfing d&n diing ch8 ngudi om dé chét, ngbi ddy hdc + Che xong anh ta héa-thinh wpe cy. Mgt tha ey khOng eink mpc cao vit 1én trot, & trén nggn OL cling el mdi c6 14 va qua goi 18 cay cau. Nguoi vy nhé chbng ofing b8 nha di tim. chj nay cing di cing mt 16i va cting d¥n bo sudi ngdi khéc ri cling chét 8 day. Chi héa-thinh mot cay leo gei 1a cay gil, o6 14 xanh tét va eo quanh cay ching chj dé héa ra trude.90 chuong XI Nguoi d3i bily gid dy 14 cay Leo dy mi mhai vod qua ety kia, hi nh xuéng hin dé thi thank mgt thi ade a8 nine miu, Med newod thay sy 19 nhw eh mtn ai a dfn diy cling nhai thi. Mgt hom yua di du-ngogn qua min niy nghe bige truygn 14 ban truya 1¢nh cho c& mde cy cay gillu va cay cau. Vua cfing lei tuSng nén truyfn dua nung d@ think v6i dB m8i khi mhai gittu-cau th nhai c& v8i nda. Tye nay od ty ddy. Vi thay anh om va vp ching vi yu thuong hau mi chét, bign-thinh gillu-cau, din-gian 1i8n ldy giku cau lim 1é-vgt trong vige cust xin, Sau niy bit ot trong vige gi ngudi ta cling ding gilu cau Lin mgt bibuchigu yéu thuong, trong kink. Khich dn mha 14 phi mdi in gitu vi vay md cd c@u:? Migng gitiu 12 diu cau truygn.® Trong vige cuSi xin thi khéng kB oh{ah ngiy 18 cusi? ngiy gitu-cau 14 ngiy quan-trong hit. Am gilu thank nghign.® Nhigu ngwdi nhjn com thi chju duge, nhung nhjn gilu thi khéng chju duge. An gitu cftng nhi8u Khi say nhw ngudi ung rugu. Hai Ong xem, cde ba va céc c6 Vigt-nam m6i” Lie nio cing db ma kkh6ng cin ding sap mOi, chi nhai mgt migng gidu la di Oi d8 c& ngiy. 60 HBng ndi dén day thi quay sang h8i ba cy Dim: —Thua mi, truygn giliu-cau con néi 8 diing va hay KhOng, ma? Ba cy Bam : Con néi ding va hay im, nhung tai sao con khong néi cde {ch-Loi cia gifu-cau? CO HBng : Vang, con quén mit vi con khOng n giltu. Con Truygn giliu-cau 1 xin mi néi v8 {ch-lgi cia giiu-cau cho hai éng nghe. Ba cy Dim + Nhtng ngudi nghi¢n gillu nhy ching toi thi in gil cin thily thon, ngon. thi lgnh in gitu thi nguéi am hin 1én, khi an com xong ma nhai migng giiu ‘thi gitp cho sy tigu-héa nb&t 1a khi gidi néng, khat nude ma nhai gitu thi khOng clin phdi uéng mudc nffa. Cae cha éng ching t6i chi cé nhai gidu mi ring bin toe. Bay gid céc 06, cdc c§u dé rang tring khong thich in giltu, ngwdi ndo cfing clin bac-sT rang. Ngay xua ching 201 6 biccsT ring dau, nhung re fe ngudd b4 dau rng, hat ong 9. C8 Hing : cin on mi aX 8U-Khuyde truygn gtlu-cau cho con. Xin moi ma in migng gilu nay va moi hai Ong in ‘thi cho bigt huong-vj. Hém nay cé hai Ong, t6i cing an gt miting cho vii. Ong Dong : Cam on c6 cho bigt truygn gilu-cau. C6 noi 6 duyén 1ém. G8 Hing Cin on Ong khen, bay gid dB hai ong vE phong nghi, d@n t8i t8i 1gi xin noi chuy@n nhiing phong- ‘tye 1ién-quan dé gilu va cau hai éng nghe. Néu hai éng Khéng mun nghi thi xin & day noi chuygn voi ba me tdi, tOi xin phép di ph mua mit it thi clin dung. a cy Bim : Gon bf di ph mua gi thi di di, & ohd ba ma sé ti€p chuygn hai Ong. Sau khi c6 H8ng di r8i, ba cy Bam noi: chau ng? nam nay dé 21 tubi, chéu dang hoe luge. Vi hai anh chau di du-hge xa nén chau hge & Ha-ngi dé gin ching t6i, T6i di nhgn loi ga chau cho con mt ba ban ching £01. chu &y hge van-khoa 8 dgihgc Ba-le. Sang nim thi ra va sé h8 -huong. Khi nao vé chiing t0i92 Chuong XI 88 cho cudi. Bubi, 26i gu in com t8i xong, cO Hing bio con sen lly chi dt a oy 2 16 suSi va pha ché mgn sen. Moi ngudii ng8i trude 16 subi uGng nude, ba cy Bim i sue mia lgnh nha ndo ciing pbAi c6 subi, ching tei thi cd mia d0ng chi phai ase sudi nim hay mudi ngdy th8i, Hom nay troi hoi 1gnh, nnhung cting chi my ngay nila thi di sang xuan, trod khong lank nia. 06 HSng : Hai Ong a, ngay mai co dam tin hdi c6 ben oi 8 Lang Bubi,° ngay gin day. CO dy 14 ban hge cla tOi, Lay mgt sinh-vien ofing cing hge mgt trudng. Gi inh c@ va 6 bie hai Ong & day voi ba mi toi nen nihd t0i moi hai Ong d@n dy 18 An h8i WSL ba mA UO va 101. Ong Vy : Thua c6, tén ban c6 1A gi vA 18 an hi 1a 18 git C6 Héng : Xin 18i hai Ong, t6i vO-¥ chwa noi tén. Ben £04 1a c8 Huynh va 18 an di thung-thudng éan-ching auen epi 14 18 gillu-eau, hém trade t6i dd abi dn. Vay truée hindi chuygn v8 18 in h8L, t0i s€ di tite ch v8 tyocl@ hOn-nhan. Nhung hai Ong cS nhgn 134 a ay 18 fy khong? Ong Dong : Vang, ching t01 rit cém on vi val Ling mhgn 131, 06 did gi phAi cunt cho ding phong-tye Vige-nam xin 0 lim on cho ching toi bige. co Wing : Vang, t0i xin vul Ling. Nhung khOng e6 gi Hon-nhan 93 khd-Kkhiin c&, chi 14 eich giao-thigp thuong vii nay ching +84 chju anh-huing cla fu-chau nbibu. Bay gid toi di chuygn v8 hén-nhan, cée Sng sé hitu thé mio 1a 18 ain hdi Hon-nhan Newsi Vigt-nam Ly nhau o6 hOn-18 wir ddi chugns-cB, trade tay-Ljch do ngudi Trung-hoa day cho. Mye-dich ding th€ mi vige hOn-nhAn do cha me djnh- chinh cla hén-nhan 14 d8 sink con trai duy-tri ‘hg cia minh. dogt, khéng phii do di-tinh olia con. Ngay nay 6 thay bi nhi’u, hung cha mg vin gif dja-v§ quan-trong trong vige hOn-nhan ella cde con. Khi cha mg ngudicon trai dé tim duge ngudi con géi ndo via f thi ahd me ngudi mBi dBm mdi chuygn voi cha nig ngudi con gid. Neu giaedinh ngudt con gai bing lang thi cae vige ve euSi xin s€ bie din do nguoi moi dai dign cho nha glai di8u-dinh. Theo ding ed-tye thi cé 6 18 ede ek. Nhung ti Lau dan-ching da bd di mi chi git cd ba 18. 19)7° 18 dam. Whi nha géi bing Long thi cho bide gid, neiy, thing, nim sink cla agudi con gil. Nha trai sé dva ch hai bin khai-sinh ofa con minh vi ngw3i con gai hdi thy s& xem hai ngudi eo hyp tubdi ly mhau!t khong? 2°) L8 hi. Khi thily s8 xem ma hai ngwoi hop tui Lay nhau thi hd giai hd ngudt méi dén xin ahd gat 4B Lim 18 281. 0-18 nay nha trai phit dua dén ahd gf tru, cau, bank,?? rupu, len di s6 nw nha gi muSn. Ki dua dn s€ 06 dong ngwoi hg-hing, dé-bgn ch hai94 chuong XI ben ehimg-kign, Thudng-thudng thi 6 dei-tige trong 18 nay. Rugu va lgn thi ding vio bila tige edn gillu cau vi binh th nha gai sé chia cho hg-hang va be-bgn dB bao tin ming. 3°) LB ruée dau. True khicuSi nha trai phai nbd nguoi gi hbt nhi gai xin aGing tu-trang gi cho 0 dau. Dén ngay cuoi chi r8 vi hg-hing mje qulin-do dep 44 sang hi gai d® rue dau. Bi dtu 14 ngudé chi-hon, nguoi nly thudng 14 ngudi gid, v9 ching con sng gia-dinh hank-phic.® Nguoi chii-hon bung mgt hp dyng eiiu cust va tw-trang cfia 06 dau mi nha gai dx théch.”4 Di sau 1a ede ngudi di rude dtu r8i dén chi x8 va hai ngudi phi r8. cha mp chi rB thi ai sau cine. ‘Theo ngiy xa thi nhling dim cudi to phii od hai tré em di iu mang hai con ngdng vi hai tré em xéch hai cdi din 18mg. D6i ngSng chi vige hon-nhan s6 bén chit va xfeh dén vii rude dau thudng Lin v8 bubs chia. & pha 06 Huynh Gia-dinh 6 HBng va hai Sng Dong va VF an noi thd hg-hing va bé-bgn d& dong dh. Nha trén aha duda!S avy trang-hoang Ljch-sy. & trade phing khdch 1a me cdi hign rgng 6 ké mgt hing ban, cdi nio ofing phi khin Ong VF + Thua CO, nhing chige bin niy ding 1am C6 Hing : BE chéc nifa nha giai dwa 1é-vat dén thi d& len dy, Ngt ong chit cO Huynh ra eqn cika dn mim ngudi. Vio phong khach xong, Ong chi giéi-thigu nim ngudt voi mod —_—— & wha co Huynh 95 ngudi di dén true va moi ngdi. Mod ngudi an gilt, hie ‘thude va ndi chuyfn vai trong khi chd nha giai dén. én trua thi nh giai dn, di true 1A nhting ngudt phu, mjc quin-do ngp 3, mi ngudi doi mgt mam diy cau, giltu, raga, banh, Bi sau 1A hg-hing vi chit x8. 3 mgt Ong va mgt bi dai-dign ho mba géi'® ra tan cla din hg nha giai vio phing khich vi mi ngBi. Hail hhg thudmg ngbi chung d& néichuygn cho 8.17 whitu noi cin gilt tye ede Ong ngbi ritng vi cde ba ngSi Tieng. Khi mpi ngudi dH "an-toa” thi mge Ong dgi-diga cho nha giat ding Len n54: Hom nay gjp ngay lanh thing t8t, Ong ba Dée-Hep™® (cha me ngudt con giai) theo nh sy thda-thugn trade, cing véi ho-hing ching t0i dua Lé-vge sang qui-tge && Lam 18 h8i 0 Huynh cho cu Ban, xin quf-tge nhgn cho. Bén mha gai thudng-thung thi el age bi ra dap 18. BA ndy sé xuéng 1en cho c& moi ngwoi nghe thy, 18- vat 06 nhiing al. Sau diy thi mpi ngudi dn gillu, adi chuygn vui-ve. Ngudi ta néi nhing truygn VE hOn-nhin, vB gia-dinh. LB in h8i hom nay thi vai hon vii 6 hai Ong Dong va VW. Met ngust du chi-f nghe truygn hai Ong v8 phong-tve hon-nhitn & MF va eting KE cho 2 Ong nghe mhigu truygn vai v8 hdn-nhan 8 Vigt-nam. Khi mgd ngudi Gang ndi chuygn Sn-io thi mgt bi dua © Hujmh ra chao. CO khOng phai néi gi ch vi bi dua 0 ra néi thay 08, C6 Huynh ra chio 1a d& mei nqwdi ho nha pial bige 60. Lign diy thi me Ong dgi-dign ho obi gid mdi mpi ngwoi sang bubng in va bia tige bie d96 chuong XI Notes 1. xudng xe : ‘getting out of the car.t Note the dif~ ference in the reference of xu8ng when used with xe [rte get out") and with tiu when it refers to a boat ['to go aboard']. This is probably due to the fact that in former tim boarding a boat involved stepping down on to the deck from a pier, or at least descending the river bank. Tau referring to a land conveyance is not used after xudng — the verb is simply used without object. Beginning with this chapter, compound forms and phrases such as this are listed inthe glossary only under the first element; for example, xuOng xe is Listed under xuéng, but not under xes bubng nei a few Lines below is listed under bung but not under net. In cases vhere the identification of non-initial, clenents may be difficult special entries make them clear. If the second element of 2 complex form is not Listed in the glossary at all, the form is unanalyzable or its analysis is too problematic to be helpful. 2, hai 6ng di tliu xem thay nhiing gi lg k8 cho t6i nghe HIE you saw anything new during your trip on the train, tell me about it, won't you?! This nio is not the familiar denonstrative but a final particle expressing @ mild exhortation somevhat like !please do...! or twon!t you?! 3. ‘When guests come to the house one should offer then betel — this is why we have the saying. ++! Notes 7 4. 1A quid of betel is the beginning of the story," Lees, on any occasion, betel is usually offered at the beginning of a social event. 5. khéng k8 chinh ngay 18 coi : Mot counting the wedding day itself. 6. "Chewing betel, [one] becomes addicted to it.t An gillu is a clause stating a circumstance which is followed in time by another circumstance, stated by the clause thanh nghign. Thus the sentence would more Literally be rendered '{One] chews betel, [one] becomes addicted." Such sentences without subjects (the Logical subject being clear in the context) are extremely conmon in both spoken and written Vietnamese. Another example follows almost innediately in the text : Ain gia cling nhigu Khi say nhw nguéi udng rugu "Chewing betel, [one] also often becomes intoxicated like a person who has drunk alcohel.' Note that gitiu is used alone to denote the entire assemblage of ingredients. 7. cde ba vA cde 06 Vige-nam mSi... : 'Vietnamese ladies! and girls! Lips...’ In order to single out one element of a clause for special attention, Vietnamese speakers frequently place it first; here the phrase cae ba va cde cO Vigt-nam is the specifier of mdi and would normally follow it, but 6 H8ng wants to dis~ tinguish Vietnamese women from, say, European or American women. 8. Chéu H8ng : Mrs, Dam calls her daughter ‘niece’ as Af Dong and VF were her uncles. This is the regular formula for courtesy in such situations.98 chuong XI 9. Budi : a fashionable suburb of Hanoi, famous for its government secondary school, botanical gardens and sumptuous residences belonging to wealthy families. 10. The symbol 1°) is read thir mbit, 2°) thir abi or this hai, ete. LL. hgp tubi 1ay mhau : ‘are of compatible age for marriage.’ The astrologer makes use of the birth dates in order to determine whether, in terms of the signs under which they were born, their personalities are presunably harmonious. 12, démh : teakes.t Traditionally, two kinds of cake are served at such a party: banh su-sé or phu-thé, made especially for this occasion, and binh cém, used also at other celebrations. See glossary under binh su-s® and banh eS. 13. "First is the wedding-master [who will perform the ceremony], usually an old man whose wife is still Living and who has a happy family.! A person of this sort is chosen to exert a supernatural influence on the new married couple in the hope that they too will, live long together and establish a happy family. 14, thich : ‘requested.' In former times this custom was frequently the source of considerable trouble for the groom's family: in fact, sometimes the bride's family demanded so much that it was impossible for the boy's family to fulfill it, and they were forced ‘to give up the suit. Note in this connection that the original meaning of thach is tchallenge, defy. However, today this is scarcely ever of any importances Notes 99 the act of requesting (still termed thich) ani the gifts in fulfillment of the request are simply part of the ritual. 15, Nha trén nha duéi ; tthe entire property—not only the main house, but also the outbuildings.' 16. hg nha gai : 'the girl's family.' The word ho denotes the extended fanily, including all the relatives, while gia-dinh, or especially nha, means ‘the immediate family of one person, those who live under the same roof. In this case nha gai is used to mean something Like 'the girl's side," and modifies hg—i.e., "the extended family on the girl's side.t 11. ngSi chung dB néichuyQm cho dB ; 'sit together in order to make it easy to converse.! The members of one family are seated so that they have an opportunity to talk to members of the other family. 18, Dire-Hop : the business name of the groom's father. When a man goes into business or establishes some sort of enterprise, he takes a new name. If the business is successful he tends to be known more and more by this business name, but if not, the people stop using it Here the speaker uses the boy's father's business name as another way of bidding for good fortune for the engaged couple.28 To-hiing 08 HSng t Ngdy mai 1 ngdy cwoi anh Trin Nege? ban hoe cia t0i, mdi hai dng di dén dau vSi cae ban sinh-vien ching 01. Sng Dong : Thua €6 tei sao c6 mhiku dim Ki va dim cust thé, 6 ph&i bay gid 1a mia cust IchOng? €0 Hing dng doin diing Lim, née dtu ed thing tam 13 mia "in-hdi" vii day gi5 1A mia cau. ROL ti khi ay bét dix cde dm cusi, nhung qua mia git thing moi tré di thi nhigu dim cuéi hon. Nay 1a my ngay cugi nam nga 1pi c6 nhidu dim cudi hon nila va sang gidng 14 hée mia Sng Vy : Mai 4 dim cudi 6 xa khong, 007 ©6 Hing : O Ha-dOng,” céch Ha-ngi c6 10 cay s8 thsi, 100 18 To-hing aol mai tOi sé 144 xe dua hai Ong di. DQ 9 gid sang ching ‘ea Lai nha anh ego ri moi nguSi cing di, Cling di xe voi t9i e6 hai Ong va hai cO na. CS mgt vige Oi cin dim hai Ong 1a tuy anh Nege vi todn-ch® ban sinh-vidn ching t0i khong tin 18 To-hng nla, mhung ahi géi magn thé nén mai co 18 To-hing. Khi hai vg ching moi Lim 18 thi ching ta clin gif yén-lgng- Nim ngoai anh ‘Thong cuSi vo khOag muda 16 To-hing, ahi gid khOng cho rade due Sng ve C0 Hing + Mai hai Ong #8 big, bay gid toi chi noi tai sao co 18 dy?? Nguoi ta tin 1a khi hai nguoi 1dy nhaw thi o6 mgt vi thiin § tren Gidi 1ay hai sgt ch hing xe LE To-hbng thi Lim thé nio? Lai véi mhau thinh mgt spi. Hai spi chi dy 12 hai ngwdi xe 19i think mgt 14 d0i vy ch8ing. Vf thlin ky ges 1a Ong To-hing. Hon sau mgt doin 15 chige xe hoi, di diiu 13 chige xe két toan hoa tréne* ding d& dn 6 dau, chay vac Ha-dong. én du Ling cdc xe du Tei. Te day mei neudi phi ai 09 dén mba git vi duing ohd. Di duge nba dudng tht eS mgt oft day a3 gitng qua duing, nha giai phdii ndp tin ngudi ta moi mb day cho di qua.> Tye nay do ty bbén Tau dua sang. Nay {¢ cd eye gidng day. Tye my dBi ra 19 agp cheo" 1a thi thué hn-nhan.© Ling nde cting thu th ci8n nay, nhitu hay {¢ tiy theo 1f mbi Lang. ching toi An nha gid. Ong chichOn dua chi r8 di Lin 18 gia-tien. Bogan ra gida san cS bly sin bin & tren cé huong, hoa, git cau lim 18 To-hing. Hal vyoz Chuomg XII ching qui truée bin thd khin xin Trdi Phat Lim ching va true mit Ong To-hing” hai nguoi eh8 hia Lay nhau va an & vi mbau suse adi. L8 To-hing xong hai vy ching mOi vao nha lam 18 cha me vos L€ nay chit r& phi lay éng ba nhgc ba lgy nhgn Lim cha me v9." Ngay nay nhifu cha mg vg chude gy. Hom nay anh Ngge cGing khéng phi ty. Vi gin Hicngi va di xe hoi nn khdng an ung 8 nha g&i. Midi hat gid ding thi bie dliu ruse dau. Hig mha s&i chon mgt Ong gfa clin mgt bé huong &i trude 181 dn ho-hing din 66 dau 4% sau. Khi nha géi dua dau di thi cha mg khong: aie VE dén nha giai thi phéo nb d& ming 6 dau. Noe bai ou gid dua c8 dau vio 18 gia-tien ri 18 cha mp ching. Niu gia-t9c o6 mhi thd ning thi o9 dau eting phi an 1B hi tho: hg: nda, Mai ho bit du an uéng vai-vé dn chilbu t6i moi ra v8. Mei ngudi du ni chuygn v8 hOn-ahtn va {t mdi chuygn v8 ede viin-d® knie. Den 8 Jeni hg-hang vi bé-ban v8 hét th hai vy ching mi Lim 18 hgp-clin. Trong 18 niy ngudi chéng 1ty mge mia gillu khi lam 18 Tohing™” dua cho vy va rt mt o8e rupu, mii ngudt wing mgt nia. dng VF : Thua c0, 18 hop-clin khong c6 ai dy 32 Co Wing Khong Ong a, 18 hop-cln 1a 18 rieng cla hai vp ching Lim truge khi nhgp-phéng dm tan-hon ‘Tang-ché" Gng Dong : Tha cd, hom nay trong khi dang rue dau ve gida duing, ti trong thdy mgt dim tang. Xin cO cho t8i Dim tang, 103 bigt qua v8 cdc 1é-nghi cha dim tang Vigt-nam. 8 HSng rift 1A phic-tap. Nu had Ong mun bist r6 vé tang-18 che 1-nghi v8 dim tang thi nhitu Lim va thi toi xin vui léng th cho hai Ong nghe ti Iie moe gust sip cht cho dén khi ch8n, mbimge vige Lam cho nguoi chét 1a mgt 18 Thi-dy cha hay mp sép chee thi cée con cai phi dua ra nhi gita d& 3 ring cha hay mp chit vi 18 chinh-dng.2? R8i dye cho cha hay me mgt ten gei 1h tén Meiing com*™> va dua cho ngudi bist. Lai ph&i Lay mgt migng Iya ering adi 7 thude & Len jt, sau Lim think hinh ngudi, goi 1a "hSn-bach.” Newel ta tin 1a hin ngudi chée s 8 lai diy. Sng VF : Nhw thé thi nhifu qua, xin cO lam on chi tm tilt 1gi va chi ndi cho ching £01 bigt nhting 4itu clin. 08 HSng + Hay ldm, 18 dX dodn true 13 Ong VY sé sy toi ndi adi qua. Vay t0i chi néi v8 dim tang va tang- phyc. Dim tang Nhw cée Ong dé tréng thay di liu mot dam tang 14 cde 09 ed mhitu miu-sée va c8 amenhge, dily 14 chi sy vui ming, rude ngudi cht Gén mg d8 an-nght. NewSi chét sé ve di sau & voi th-eien 1a que thge cdn & én phin d31 nly ch 1A s€ng tam. Het phiin may tang, od ding toan miu tring, den va xanh a t3 sy bun, thuong nhd ngwoi chét. Trude quan-tai thi ed ngt 1a 0d a3 d¥ ten va chic-nghigp cha ngudi chét vio goi 14 minh-tinh" r8i dén "aBn-bach." Sau khi chdn, con chéu phai rude minh-tinh va him-bach vé nha d® ‘thd-ciing.104 chuong XII cae con giai thi phi di gige Lid trude quan-tai, mic tang-phye va chéng gay. Néu la cha chét thi phdi chéng gay bing tre va néu 1a mp thi chéng gay vong. cae con géi, con dau va chau chét thi di sau quan-tai & trong mgt cdi min tréng. Sau cing thi din ho-hang va ban-hiu. Tang-phys Sau khi mt ngudi chée thi phii 6 mgt 18 rbi moi dae diiu me tang-phye. Tang-phye thi di8u ch{nh 1a mje cde thi vai xdu. Con cdi d& tang cha mg 1a trong hie. Hp glin bao nhitu thi tang trong by nhieu. Tan ‘trong bao nhieu thi Tau bay nhieu. Lau nhit 1a tang cha mg phi ba nim. Vai ding d® may tang-phyo thi miu ening. Nhung chit thi mjc miu ving va chit thi mjc miu &. Dim cang nao 6 do ving va 4o 48 18 mt difu v8-vang cho ngudt chee. Trong ba nim tang thi cde con khtng mhiing ph&i ric tang-phye mi cdn phdi Sn & theo 18 nila. Of eye Ag thi con edi 6 tang cha mp phi nim rom, g6i dae, kknong dupe vai chof, khdng duge nghe din, aghe hit, kenong dupe am thjt, uéng rugu, khOng dupe ay vp Ly ching. C6 vo ching rbil ehi khong duge nim chung. Nia vy 66 thai trong Iie oS tang thi phi vg. Nhung cde tye niy nedy nay d& thay dBi nhiBa, Sng Dong + Tha c6, con mi Lim bing gi mi t0i eréng giGng mil cic sinh-vidn MF d9i ngiy Linh bing? G8 Hing : Day 14 mii ce con giai di khi cha me chée, 1am bing v8 cay chu + hp cling thée lung bing vb cay chi-ting 105 chu@i kh6 nla, Cdn con gai hay con dau thi dgi mt bing vAi ron ditu che c& mit va sau lumg."® Nhung chi hi c6 dgi-tang moi mic nhy thé. ohi-ting, Sau ba niin hée tang tro ai, ngudt ta chudng lo dén vige o&i-tang. Chi-ting 14 dio mi 1én nhyt 1ay muons xép vao cai tibu sinh ri dgy kin lai. Ngudd ta Lai dem chon va céc nha gitiu thi gi theo cdc 18 nhw khi moi chee. Tei sa0 1gi chi-ting? Ong V7 hBi c8 Hong. co ng : 19) Vi khi cha mg ch€e, con cai com nghio ting, chua mua duge quan edi e8e, nay mun thay dB xuong khdii bu nat. 29) Vi ide ch0n chua tim duge dit t8t nen khi chon duge dit t8e thi c&i-téng. tye chi-ting rae phd-théng 8 Bée-Vige, cdn tir Hoanh-son trd vao Nam" thi chi ki nio gia-dinh bj, taichoa ngudi ta moi chi-tang.!7 NOL chung ngudi Vigt-nam thudng tin 14 mé-mh ng cha 06 Anh-hubng din adi sng hing ngay cha con chiu. Lugt nude phat rit ning ngudi ndo dqng dén mini cita nhan-dan va co cau: Ngudi ta sng v8 mb-mi, ‘ abd 1s Khong ai sng ve c& bit com. NoTES 1, Trlin Ngge : CO Hing conveys a note of formality here in referring to her schoolmate by his full name.106 Chuong XII 2. Wi “dong + a small town about ten kilometers from Hanoi, famous for its silk. 3. tai sao c6 18 ay? : ‘why this ceremony exists." Note that a question mark is frequently used at the end of an indirect question. 4, két toan hoa tréng : ‘decorated entirely with white flowers." Todn hoa tring ‘all white flowers! is an attributive phrase describing két tis decorated.! 5, This is a custom now rarely practiced, but extremely common in former times whenever marriages involved well-to-do families. Along the road the groon's party must follow in order to reach the bride's house villagers would string red streamers barring the road at various points and set up by them tables loaded with incense, flowers, quids of betel and firecrackers. vpon appearance of the groom's party they would set off firecrackers to demonstrate their good wishes. The groom's family was then expected to give a certain sum of money — large or small, depending on local custom —and the villagers would then open the way for the party to proceed. 6, No marriage license is required in Viet Nam, but the fee for the document certifying that the couple is legally married is thought of as a sort of tmarriage tax.! 7. true mit Ong TochSng : "before (the eyes of) Mrs Toshiing.' Gng To-hing is a mythical personnage in heaven who is believed to concern himself with predestined lovers (cf. the story in Chapter IV). On Notes 107 the occasion of this ceremony he is thought to take the two pink silk threads representing the Lives of the marriage partners and twine them together, making one strand. 8. "In this ceremony the groom must make three bows to his father- and mother-in-law, accepting them as his wife's parents.! In making such a bow a person places the palms of his hands together with the fingers extended, lowers his face to meet his hands, then falls to his knees, sits on his heels and bends his trunk forward as far as possible the appropriate number of times. Lam is used here in the meaning 'to act as, be': nhgn Lim ‘(the groom] accepts that [they] are... 9, then the bride's family accompanies the bride, her father and mother do not go.' According to Vietnamese custom, some member of the family is always at home— that is, the whole family is not away at the same time. on the occasion of the wedding, the bride's parents stay at home to receive guests vho come; in wealthy families there is often a separate wedding feast for ‘these people. 10, nia gifu khi Lam 18 To-hing : tone half of the betel [used] at the time of the Pink-Thread cerenony.' AL. Tang-ché : "Funeral Rites.' Although this seems to a wosterner a rather abrupt and unfortunate change of subject, it is quite a natural juxtaposition for the Vietnamese. A person acquires more and more status as he grows older, and at his death he is exalted to the position of an ancestor who will be worshipped. Thus108. Chuong XII ‘the funeral is thought of as extremely important, and perhaps even more significant than the marriage rites. 12. vi 18 ch{nhading : ‘for an acceptable reason'— that Is, the person is dying of natural causes. Bringing the dying person into the living room symbol~ izes that he has been a good person during his Life— has not been dishonest, imnoral or involved in criminal activities, ete. In order for a death to be proper it must occur at home, not somewhere outside the house or in a hospital, and the funeral must be held at the home. Occidental medical personnel. have experienced considerable difficulty in this connection because of the resulting resistance to hospitalization. 13, tn "eiing com” : 'rice-offering" name,! so called because all ceremonies for the dead and for ancestors involve an offering of rice. The name given at this ‘time is used henceforth in all ceremonies instead of ‘the name by which the person went while he was alive. 14, 8 vy ching r8i : ‘for those already married* (cé ‘exist,* vy ching ‘husband and wife, married couple'). ‘The Vietnamese make frequent use of the sequential construction (Chapter VIIT, note 5) in such situations where in English we vould use a complex sentence with first clause introduced by 1if,! 'whenCever]," tin case that,! ete. 15. This sort of hood covers the face but the material is thin enough so that the person wearing it can see through it; in back it hangs down to a level somewhat below the hips. Notes 209 16. tir Hoanh-son tré vao Nam : ‘from Hoanh-son on into the South." Hoanh-son (see glossary) is the only major range of mountains running from east to west and serves as a convenient, although vague, dividing line between the northern part of the country and the southern area. Tr vao "from there on into" involves use of tré like that in tré di. 17, Many believe that if some disaster befalls a person he can often avert further problems by exhuming and reburying the remains of an ancestor whose body is still in its first grave. 18. The couplet might be freely translated 'One lives according to the condition of the family tombs, not according to one's wealth.! That is, the first concern of a person must be to see that his dead ancestors are properly buried. If this is not the case he can expect to suffer calamity, no matter how much money he has.cHYONG XIE Di xem phim-trudng Vigt-nam> Ho nay c® Sng Sua ching c0i ¢i xem age phim-tewing vige-nam. Ba ngwdi ching toi? di bg dén Dai-1§ Duy-Tan 14 phim- truing Vige-nam cia bing Phim-Vigt. Ngoai cha 14 diy nha a¥-s9, mgt ben thi bly ahiing Anh cée tdi-tl vi hig Anh chyp ede dogn phim 4% quay, con mit ben 14 xu’ng thy mgc Lim bai-trf? cha hing phim, Ching t8i buse véo van-phing thi gp ngay Ong chi | dang xem cac kitu-miu y-phye cla tai-tir do hga-si ve sin,* tren tudng treo 1: ige cae kibu bai-erf coin theo af-thuge la Vige-nan thi Trung-cb. Ching t0i ng’ ¥ mun xem quay phim thi ong chi nngn 154 va n6d: no ‘Bi xem phim-trudng Vigt-nam oer —XuSng ofa ching t0i xty dyng chi ai quay 3 cnn gt Lic, so voi cde studio® trén thé-gidi ob 18 duge Ligt vio hang nbd nhit, hai ng vi e6 ding euSd. RSE ching £04 duge hudng~diin vio bén trong. Qua mgt cdi stn rng, ngay phia tay mit 1a phing héa-trang, cé nhi’u ban; mi ban mt tam guong, trén wBi bin la-Lige cde tht phiin cla eai-eih. ching toi sgn thay mgt ediseir dang ngbi erude guong, €3 ngudt dang quia ichin cho tai-ti, odn mt ngudi ding bén sia sogn cho tai-th cdi ...bii t3.° Diy 18 tai-th ddng vai chink, Cn a9 madi ngudi na cing dang sia-sogn. aon bige £01 chi=f do ning 40 dép cong day Kid ree idm. Noe sf thi-tir phii BOA ring den. CO Hing 06 Canh phing héa-trang 1a noi dh a8 phye-sie di v8 vined® nay, Ong chi cho hay 1a vdn-d8 4% Lim cho Ong thic-méc rat nhi’u ngay va 4% phai hdi ¥-kidn rit mhi8u nguOiz sau quyét-djnh cdc vai phy-chinh™ thi ing den, cn hai vai ch{nh thi ring erdng vi hing 16 sau day: 2°) Cusn phim 14 mgt truygn phéng-tic, cho nén cde truygn dj-doan di b3, con v8 hinh thi clin phai cho 6 than-ny.* 29) NEw dom ra ngogi-quée, ngudi ta chinf én ngudi Vige o8 ehdi lai nghi nlm vi bg ring mA coi hw nhding nguéi...hay an thjt nguoi thi sao? dng chit ndi dén day r8i nahin ching t8i va cui... CO HSng cling cudi theo. Ching £04 vio cde phing dB miy, r8i dn cde phingt ria phim, may phoi phim, in phim, cde miy thiu-thanh thing vao phim, choan nhigu gian nha!® c6 nhituna chuong XII bubng rng. Di qua mge timg 1p san nia, Stn niy d¥ ding 1im anh yuoa hoa. Thily ngay nbimg cay ma vel? dink cf 6c & tring khi quay xong phim thi 14 cling via héo. Vio studio, mgt cai xurdng cao hon 10 thuse, rong én xay gach dy bao chung quanh,!> cé 1ét vii dliy phfa dui miy db Khdi oS thug vang Iie thu-thanh. Bai- tr ding bing g8, phi gidy vA ve 1én tren. Ching #84 phAi nhgn sy khéo-160 cila mhtng thy cham rnhiing canh cha thet rit cOng-phu vA mit nhitu chi ¢id; ching t04 dupe bigt 15 ngudi thy mge cham, dyc cdc ad bii-er{ niy Lim trong 3 thing 15 ngiy, sin-sing khi_nio dimg thio vige 1ép 1én, R6—ring cdnh gid ma thgt.!* Di véi phim truing Vige-nam shy thé d& 14 e6n 1m r8i Neng nghi dn nhiing cich bii-er{ 8 Hollywood thi sy ‘tigu-tén con nhigu hon nbigu. Vige quay phim thudng-thuong bée du e# 11 gid dem én sang, vi clin eranh nhiing eigng dgng ben ngoai. ching £04 duge xem hai edi-eir nhd tubi cla min bac Vigtenam erong mgt chnh lam vige ning-ahge, vdt-vds mb-n0i udt dim éo xay Lia. May thau hinh, clin thu thanh, ngudi bien chép, cde e8-vin wy-thutt, ce chuy@n vitn v8 nh sing luén chin, luda tay Lim vige. Nhiing dan chiéu to hom mgt thude duing kfnh vot nhting bing dén mBiinggn ba ngin nén, 05 hang chye chide.! ‘Trude khi dy bj quay thgt,’® phii sta-sogn di moi phuong-dign tlm. Tit-th di&n di didn lai whitu Lin. Neay doan niy ching e0% thiy bat dén Len r8i lei tie div sia Lai anh sing, miy bj xé gi xfch Iai” mhitu Lin, 89 digu, née mje c&i-té biBu-didn Lim sao cho ‘Di xem phim-truong Vigt-nam 3 ding tinh-thin trong truygn, tigng néi thi di, thi lpi cho via, cho ding. Mi hw vay tinh ra cling mét d&n gin 2 gid 48 chi quay chwa diy nba phit, r8i lai dBi sang chi8u khée ting enh dy. Tide ring ching toi khong & 19i xem quay sust den duge; Ie ra v8 qua phing hda-trang ching Oi thy cde titel neudi thi hit thse, ngudi chi an qua, ngudt thi n6i chuygn cho quén thi gid d® chd én lugt minh. Ngt tai-té noi voi ching e052 08 khi t0i phi sia-sogn tly 10 gid t6i va din 4 B18 sing Oi dupe "quay" &9 3 giay. Khong bist cdc thi-tit uy thi ning We ch dot hy Lim ei, ching e0 thi chi n6i chuygn vi Sn ge rang 1A hée. Moi nawSt du cui. 68 Hong anki: Bude dit va cfing 12 mgt ngh8 mGi & nuée ta,7® cde éng 18 nbiing Linh ti@n-phong nén clin chi gh dign-dnh Vige-nam 8 ghi tén tudi va cOng-trang éée Ong. cuong-quy8t va 1éng hing-hii, Lich-sit ki Moi newot 144 cling oudi vui-vé, vA mge thie nds ching toi dau dim 6 cao-vong nb thé, chl lo Lim hét tinh-thlin, vi 1o Lém, 1o mift an, mitt neh, hua 08 va hat ong 0 Teta dudng v8, mi ngudi mudi me cim-tudng. C9 Hing thi ehily anh en tai-th Vige-nan cén chwa quen yS4 mgt ngh® qua méi-m’,?? cén hai sinh-vien My thi chide 1A thily 4ign-nh Vige-nan cin qua non-nse. C6 HEng hé: vige-nan? f Hai Ong nghi th nao vé nghé dign-inh Gng Dong : TOi nghi 1a nghé dign-dnh Vige-nam tuy con moi-mé, nhumg d& tign nge bude dai va hia-hen rift nhifu.us chuong XIIT Ong VF : TOL thich 1am, t8i thiy cde tai-tir newdt nao cfing chim-chi vA lo-Ling bibu-dién cho ding, hg Ja va lo-Ling qua ngudd sinh-vien di thi. T6i che ho sé ‘thanh-cOng ryc-r6. C6 Hing : Ong VF néi ding, {t oh&t 1a thanh-cOng & vigt-nam. Ba ngudi cling cwdi va bude déu trén dudng phd ving. —Phing theo mgt bai bao NOTES 1. This is an adaptation of a feature article which appeared in a Hanoi daily newspaper. Highly technical terms have been omitted and the characters have been replaced by the personnages of this book. The film studio named functioned in Hanoi some years ago. 2, ba ngudi ching ti : ‘the three of us.t 3, lam bii-trf : make scenery,' Actually bai-erf is a verb ‘decorate,’ and in average conservative Vietnamese writing is not used as a noun. The author of this article apparently belongs to the avant-garde school of thought on this subject and approves the use of verbs as nouns whenever it scoms convenient or appropriates the passage thus has a definite racy stylistic flavor. 4. v@ sin : thad drawn ups! Two forms of quite different and often unrelated meanings are frequently used together to convey a composite meaning. Here ve ‘draw! and sin ‘prepare’ are combined with the force 'to prepare by drawing, draw up.! Notes us studio ; 'studio.! This is a French loan-word, pronounced with the stress on the final syllable. 6. céi «4. bil té : "the "traditional bun [of hair].m* Here the three periods are used as a substitute for the usual quotation marks, either because they were not available in the newspaper type font or because a special effect was desired. The sane device is used again later in the article, Note that they are placed only at the beginning of the quotations the reader is expected to recognize the logical termination. 7. vai phy-ch{nh : ‘secondary role.! Three levels are distinguished: vai chinh ‘leading role,' vai phy ‘minor role," and vai phy-chinh trole less important than a lead but still not a minor role.t 8. "The film is a fictional story, so superstitious features have been discarded; hovever, the general impression should still be artistic.! This is a reference to the license of film producers to make changes in works of fiction in adapting them te the 9. +f it's exported, people abroad vill observe the old-time Vietnamese people and come to the erroneous conclusion that because of (the appearance of] their teeth the people were in the habit of eating human Flesh” — then what?! Here again the three periods denote the beginning of the quotation hay an thie ngu3i.Thi sao? at the end of the sentence is added by the speaker and refers to the entire sentence. Note that the three periods at the end of the next sentencea6 Chuong, KITT have their regular meaning of something omitted, here denoting something to be read between the lines. 10, gian nha : 'space.' Until recent times Vietnamese Duildings all had more or less the sane form. A vertical pillar (ogt) formed each corner, Between this set of pillars, forming the framework of the sides of the building, were other sets of pillars placed equidistant from each other and from the corner posts and connected at the top by beams. Since the beams were always of about the same length, the space delineated by any two sets of pillars in the building were approximately equal, and this measure, called gian or gian nha, had a rather precise meaning. By extension, it has a more general meaning, "space [in general].* LL. dB ding : Vis used for.! This is an inversion of the usual order (ding d8 ‘use in order to!) — device of infrequent occurrence, used here for literary effect. 12, mia v8 + ‘purchased and brought home' (sequential construction) « 13. xy gach @y bao chung quanh ; ‘constructed of thick brick enclosing it on all sides.' 14, "It's clearly artificial, yet real.' This is @ colloquial sentence which involves a logical contra~ diction, since the scenery is artificial; however, it is the sort of impressionistic talk that seems to be common in the everyday usage of most Languages. Notes ut 15. 08 hang chyc chiée : 'by the dozens! (1it the tens"). ty 16, trade Khi dy Bf quay htt thefore being ready for the actual "take." 11. bj xt di xfeh Lei : "kept being moved about from place to place." This construction is similar to those discussed in chapter VI, note 8, and chapter VII, note 3. Here the complex form xé-xfch, which has the same general meaning as x8 'to change position,' is used with the expression di...1gi 'to do something over and over again,! and the forms occur in interlocking orders Note also the similar form a few lines above, dién di 4i8n lai ‘performed over and over,' where the ord ign is simply repeated. In the preceding paragraph 1uon chan, 1uén tay reminds the reader of 1uén-ludn. 18. '[Tt's just] the first step, and besides it's a new profession in our country! C8 HBng!s idea here is that the actors are new at their work and first efforts are always difficult; in addition, the film business as a whole is a new thing to Viet Nam. 1o. qué méi-nd : ‘exceedingly new'—enphatic version of the expression méi-md qué. The sane device is used again at the end of the sentence.