[Submitted by: Gujral, Tanmeet (64Z)]

Kieu for Sale

A question of Morality A child first pays the debts of birth and care (Du, 604) The Tale of Kieu, or Truyen Kieu, is a literary masterpiece by Nguyen Du that has become much more than an icon of the past for the Vietnamese society. His poem tells is the story of a young girl, Thuy Kieu, who is forced into prostitution to protect her family. Sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic, Nguyen Dus verses take us on a journey with Kieu, through her lifes ups and downs, and shows us through her story the Vietnamese socio-political culture of the time- its philosophies, belief systems, and concepts of personal conduct and virtue. The story, even today, serves as a compass by which many Vietnamese take bearing of their own personal morality and political obligations, and works as a divination device to seek answers to the various dilemmas of human existence.

Basic moral actions, that we all take for granted, involve doing good unto others, being considerate of others, and being able to judge what is good or bad, or ethical, in any situation. But, these moral actions are defined differently by each of us, depending on the society and culture, and family that we are born into. While the poem has many points in the narration where one wishes to question the morality of what just happened; for me, there is no greater instance than the one where a daughter, Kieu, is forced to sell herself to

save her father. But because my set of moral values is different from those that Kieu followed, it would be only fair to judge her actions through her own set of values and not mine. With Neo- Confucianism dominating the religious scene at the time, did Kieu falter in virtuous conduct expected of a women with such values, or were her actions justified by the concept of filial piety? I would like to think that Kieu was morally correct, given the values imparted by Neo- Confucianism, the society and culture of the time, and her own sense of filial obligations.

The values, moral and other, a person holds himself up to, are many a times largely defined by our religious values and beliefs. In Kieus case, these values were learnt from the intertwining of two sets of values-Buddhism and Confucianism, together called NeoConfucianism. Kieu believed in the cycle of well-being and suffering, as prescribed by Buddhism, and also in virtuous conduct of a woman as prescribed by Confucianism. While the Buddhist concept of dharma may be more apparent as we see the ups and downs of Kieus life, the morality of her actions may solely be defined by the Confucian dictate for women. This dictate centered on virtuous conduct for women as defined by adherence to the three submissions (to father in childhood, to husband in marriage, and to elder son in widowhood) and their accompanying virtues, especially of filial piety and chastity. Though the Confucian moralists may condemn the pimps who deal in the trade of flesh and sex, they may be more compassionate towards women who have to take to prostitution as a means to survive, or in Kieus case, to save her family. So, in terms of values of

morality determined by her religion, Kieu may be justified in her actions- When evil strikes, you bow to circumstance (600).

Another major factor to consider while justifying Kieus actions would be the social and cultural influences on beliefs about morality that might have influenced her decision. Being predominantly patriarchal, the Vietnamese society places great emphasis on the family as a group rather than on the interests of any individual member. They talk in terms of debt owed by a family to the father, by a child to the parent, by a wife to the husband, and by a younger brother to an older brother. Similarly, the welfare of Kieus family, in their time of crisis, would be put ahead of the interests and welfare of Kieu. And though the father may not have liked the idea of his daughter selling herself- You raise a daughter wishing she might find/ a fitting match, might wed a worthy mate (657-58), he would have to let her go in the best interests of the family. And since marriage was mostly considered to be a social contract to preserve a familys lineage, Kieus self-sacrifice too could be considered a contract that was made to preserve her familys lineage and welfare.

Finally, Kieus own standards of moral adaptability, and sense of duty towards her father and family, would have allowed her to make the tough choice to pimp herself for her family. Kieus moral standards are first brought to light when she refuses Kims (her love interest) lustful advances and maintaining her chastity Treat not our love as just a game-/please stay away from me and let me speak/../ are we to snatch the moment,

pluck the fruit,/ and in one sole day wreck a lifelong trust (501-10). So, with such virtuous thinking, why would she compromise her moral standards to save her father? In the Vietnamese society, filial piety is of overriding importance, and the children are expected to respect their parents and elders, and be solicitous of their welfare. These values of duty and loyalty towards family are central to their family system, and as such a major influence on Kieu. Therefore, when Kieu decides to pimp herself in order to save her father from disgrace, she is using the only set of values she has ever learnt that put duty towards her father (and family) over and above her own love interests, due to the debt she owes them for giving her birth and a life- As you must weigh and choose between your love/ and filial duty, which will turn the scale? / She put aside all vows of love and troth-/ a child first pays the debts of birth and care (601-04).

So, it would be fair to say that even though Kieus action of selling herself as a concubine may not sit well with moralists (like me) in the Western countries, in her own country and culture, she is more than justified in her choices. As a virtuous woman following the Confucian standards of the society, and trying to strike a balance between her personal morality and her sense of duty towards her family, Kieu does the heroic job of making a very tough decision- selling herself to buy her fathers freedom. This sentiment of the tough choices that we sometimes have to make, and that we may have to sometimes adapt our moral standards to the need of the hour, is echoed in Alexander B Woodsides historical essay that accompanies the bilingual edition of The Tale of Kieu- Morality is

painful and difficult, and happiness is only a qualified and far from utopian reward at the end, not the constant comfort of even the truly moral person.

Works Cited Du, Nguyen. THE TALE OF KIEU. Trans. Huynh Sanh Thong. New Haven: Yale U Press, 1983. Ronald, Cima J., ed. Vietnam. Country Studies/Area Handbook Series. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1987. Vietnam. Web. 2 June 2012. <http://countrystudies.us/vietnam/>.