Top 10 best analysis essay on Vu Dinh Lien’s poem “Mr Do”

Mr. Do, a very familiar image in ancient Vietnamese society. That is the symbol of the Confucianists who did not pass as mandarins, often teaching. After the academic system of Confucianism was abolished, Mr. Do was left out of society and had to write for hire during the coming New Year’s Day.

As time passed, things changed, the old man gradually disappeared until only a pitiful relic of a bygone era. With a talented and sharp pen, Vu Dinh Lien expressed his sympathy for the end of Confucianism through the poem Ong Do. The poem opens with the familiar image of “the old man”.

Each year the flowers peach blossom

That his old toys

Paper presented red ink

Inside a crowded street over

In the joyful and bustling atmosphere of Tet, the old man with ink and red paper sat on the corner of the street waiting for someone to hire him to write poems and couplets. In the past, people gave letters, but no one ever sold words. But now he has to sell the word. The deep voice of the poem creates a sad atmosphere that makes people’s hearts flutter. But at this time, the old man is also very comforting because people still like that hieroglyphic handwriting to decorate during Tet. So there was:

How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates

Hand drawn flowers with strokes

As phoenix dragon dance

With the ingenious art of comparison, the poet summed up the ingenuity and talent in his handwriting. These sketches are like phoenix dancing and flying dragons. It is beautiful in color and lines. Everyone praises the talent. At that time, everyone liked to have red couplets in the house to make them more beautiful in the new spring days.

But then Western culture was introduced, people’s preferences also gradually changed. Those who liked the handwriting became thinner and thinner, and the map was slowly forgotten.

But every year is absent

Where the tenant write this?

Red paper petal sad;

Research toner left in grief.

He is now like an artist who has won the hearts of the public, like a girl who missed:

There is also the fate of the person who picks up the person

Farewell to go early to noon alone

Where the tenant write this? The question posed to the author, to the author and to the reader evokes a feeling of nostalgia. His sadness and sorrow began to rise over time and it permeated even inanimate objects. The author has skillfully anthropomorphized the image of red paper and studied ink.

The red sheets of paper had to be left exposed, unnoticed by anyone, so the quills that had been dotted on it had been left to look sad. In that sad study, there is the sadness of both the master and the author. Sad and humiliated, but he still sat there trying to cling to life as if he wanted to pull back time. How sad that no one is good.

He sat there map,

Passers nobody or,

Leaves fall on the paper

It’s raining and dusty outside.

It was a brutal accident. If before, he was always the one who focused attention and admiration with compliments, but now there is only the image of a lonely old man lost in the bustling life. And in that busy line of people, who suddenly looked back to pity an old man? He was still sitting there, silently waiting for no one to come to him in the end.

But, not really, in the series of forgotten people, there was one person who remembered and came back to pity and utter two lines of sympathy.

Leaves fall on the paper

It’s raining and dusty outside.

The remaining yellow leaf was also blown off by the wind and landed on the paper. It lay there as if it ceased to multiply. The man who sat contemplatively did not bother to pick it up. Resonating with his feelings, there was also the dust rain of heaven and earth. The picture is realistic but contains a lot of mood. Rain outside, rain in people’s heart. The poem describes the scene or the love? How sad the last step of the doomsday!

The poem’s lyrics are gentle but poignant, combined with a deep, melancholy voice, which has caused the reader an indescribable sadness. According to the rhythm of time, winter ends, then spring comes, and peach blossoms bloom again. But the old scene is still here, but the old people are no more. This year, the peach blossom bloomed, I can’t see the old man, The image of the old man has really faded over time in human memory.

When Tet came, he did not see the old man, the street was still crowded with people, but the old man with red ink and paper was already absent. The image of the old man has gone into the past. In the harshness of time, children rotate, objects change stars, the old man tries to raise his thin hands to cling to life.

But if a swallow can’t make spring, an old man can’t turn the world around. He no longer had the patience to cling to that harsh life. He left behind the glorious past of a glorious era. The poem ends with the poet’s self-questioning with sorrowful sorrow.

Long live old people

Where soul now?

The two verses are like an incense stick commemorating a golden age of Confucianism, which is a tradition of the national culture. The old people are no longer there, but where are their souls, the values ​​they have contributed to the spiritual life of the country now? That question lingers forever in the heart of the author as well as in the heart of the reader.

The old man is an image, a pitiful relic of a bygone era. He was like a bright light that beautifies life and then goes out. The beauty of the poem is that although it is written in five languages, it has only five stanzas, but it has encapsulated a fate, a class of people, and a generation. The poem awakens many people by its sad tone, emotional questions, simple clear language, and the poem has both images and sensuality.

It has portrayed the decaying life of a generation of Confucianists and mixed with the poet’s nostalgia and nostalgia. A few people can’t help but be startled by their callous indifference towards the old Confucian intelligentsia and then regret it late every time they re-read the poem.

The poem is a unique work of Vu Dinh Lien. It is one of those beautiful poems that opened the door to a profound renewal of poetry. One of the successes of the poem is expressing the author’s feelings sincerely. Therefore, the poem has penetrated deeply into the hearts of each of us. Although time has passed, the background of Confucianism is no longer there, but the image of the old man in Vu Dinh Lien’s poem will live forever with time.

In the past, on the ancestral altar, next to a pair of banh chung, a tray of five fruits was a pair of Tet couplets. That is why the old men on the sidewalks of the streets are very crowded with tenants who write letters and the image of the head wearing a turban and wearing a shirt has been engraved in the minds of Vietnamese people, poet Vu Dinh Lien is one of them. there. Then the author wrote the poem Ong Do with a deep sympathy for the status of a ruined class of people and regret for a beautiful tradition of the nation.

At the beginning of the poem, the image appeared in the author’s line of thoughts and nostalgia:

Each year the flowers peach blossom

That his old toys

Paper presented red ink

Inside a crowded street over

The structure of each .. shows us that he is a very familiar image to Vietnamese people every Tet to spring. Along with the deep color of peach blossom, the red color of paper, the jet-black color of ink and the bustle and excitement of Tet, the image of the old man has become indispensable in the spring painting.

The poem is slow but full of love. Although only occupying a small corner on the street, in the poetic picture, the old man is the center, he has fully immersed himself in the bustling atmosphere of the New Year with the talents he has:

How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates

Hand drawn flowers with strokes

As phoenix dragon dance

How many words let readers see that the profession of writing was once loved by everyone. His presence attracted everyone’s attention, he was the center of respect and admiration. Happiness is not only having many people hire to write, but also being praised by the card – Because he has a talent for writing very beautiful letters.

Three consonants ‘t’ appear in one sentence as a round of applause to praise his talent. Among those waiting people, he appeared as an artist who was passionate, creative, showing all his talents and enthusiasm so that he was greatly admired by people. With that admiration, Vu Dinh Lien also expressed a pride in the fine tradition of the nation of playing word couplets.

But how many writers can understand the deep meaning of each sentence and word in order to share the joy and happiness with the person who wrote those words? In the 3rd stanza, the image of the old man with red ink and paper still stands out, but everything has changed. There are not many people who hire to write- The card praises talent, but instead it is a dreary, deserted scene. With the feeling of sadness flickering in the two verses above, that emotion is now expressed in the question full of torment:

But every year is absent

Where the tenant write this?

It’s also every year, but after the word but – and lowercase letters upset the familiar order. The number of people who still have a little love and respect for the word Confucianism is now absent every year, and the regular customers are scattered. Then, a little hope of Mr. Do, which is to contribute a little talent with everyone on each occasion of Tet to spring, gradually disappears because life is also increasingly difficult.

With a very unique rhetorical question, Vu Dinh Lien expressed a regret of a golden age that then turned into sadness, the sadness permeated even inanimate objects:

Red paper petal sad

Research toner left in grief

Red paper is the paper used to write letters on, it is a very fragile paper that only needs a little moisture to fade. However, “The red paper is sad and not bright” – not because it has not been used for a long time, so the embryo has faded over the years. The same goes for ink – it’s dark black ink for the master to write on, before using it, we have to grind the ink and then use a brush to paint on the lines.

But now “Ink remains in the study” means that the ink has been around for a long time, ready for his talented hand to show off his talent but has been waiting in vain. The words sad and melancholy like to breathe life into things along with humanization have made red paper and ink, which are already ignorant, suddenly become soulful and think like a human. That sadness not only seeped into the daily necessities of life, but his feelings also spread to the natural scenery, the scenery that made the space become so sad and pitiful:

The old man is still sitting there

Passers nobody or

Leaves fall on the paper

In addition to rain giời dust

Although the profession of writing was not loved and respected by people anymore, he persevered and tried to sit on the side of the road waiting for help from people. But there was not a single eye to notice him on the street, no heart to sympathize and share with him. By describing the poetic scene, poet Vu Dinh Lien has shown us a very pitiful and sad natural scene before the old man’s mood:

Leaves fall on the paper

In addition to rain giời dust

But I wonder why it’s spring when there are yellow leaves falling? Does the image of falling yellow leaves evoke the fading and fading of a period, a class of people in society and a beautiful custom of the Vietnamese nation, which is to play couplets on New Year’s Day, has now become a past.

The image of the old man is like the image of falling yellow leaves, trying to hold on to his quiet life, but compared to the new era, it is only a withered leaf that is falling. That sadness silently, numbed it made the spring rain, which had a strong vitality, also became melancholy “Outside the rain and dust flying”.

Gioi – is that the folk saying of people who seem to have been long ago but still exist. The poem evokes the sad mood of the old man before the faint dusty rain. Even though it’s just rain and dust, it’s enough to erase the traces of a class of people. Although it is no longer loved and respected by the world, for the poet, this image is always engraved in the heart:

Peach bloom again this year

Not seeing his old toys

The poem begins with a very light image and ends with a very gentle image. In the past, when digging, we saw the old man sitting on the side of the road and immersed in the bustle of the streets. But now at the same time, he is no more, the old image also gradually disappears into the timeline.

When Tet comes in spring, peach blossoms bloom again, people are eager to go to the market to shop for Tet to look forward to a year full of joy and hope. All were flamboyant and jubilant. The scene is still there, but where are the people? Now, the image of Mr. Do is only a pitiful relic of a bygone era, he has been forgotten and abandoned by the world except for a poet Vu Dinh Lien. The flow of life goes on and on, and the whole beautiful and peaceful life is gone, now it is only an emptiness and sadness so that the poet also has to turn into an emotional question:

Long live old people

Where soul now?

The last two lines of the author’s poems have directly revealed the overflowing emotions, condensing with general depth. From the image of the old man, the poet thinks of the image of the old people and the poet asks bitterly: Ask the clouds to ask the sky, ask about life, ask the era, ask but to sympathize with the plight of the people. The old age has been rejected by the times. The rhetorical question is raised as a question of self-questioning, with the potential for pity and pity.

And everything of a golden age is now only a faded, numb color. With the successful use of rhetoric, poet Vu Dinh Lien has recreated the image of the old man with a pitiful relic of a bygone era, making us even more sympathetic and sorry for the fate of the old man. grandfather.

With only the short poem Mr. Allegory, the author has revived in people’s hearts a feeling of unrelenting nostalgia. Reading the poem, we feel in Vu Dinh Lien – a person with compassion, kindness, deep sympathy and loyalty.

If Xuan Dieu’s poetry has a passionate and passionate tone, Han Mac Tu’s poetry is a bit crazy, Huy Can’s poetry has a sad, illusory tone, Vu Dinh Lien’s poetry has a nostalgic tone. Each artist has a different poetic style, this is a distinctive feature for them to be distinguished from other authors and also a unique impression for readers to remember them. Although he composed not much, but Vu Dinh Lien left behind valuable works for Vietnamese literature, typically the poem “Ong Do”.

The poem was composed in 1936 and was published in the magazine “Essence”. The poem was born in the context that Sinology is losing its position due to the penetration of Western culture. This is also the time when the patriarchs are no longer respected because the times have changed. The title of the poem is reminiscent of a beauty that has gone deep into the past with great sadness. Mentioning Mr. Do is referring to the old Confucian teachers, every New Year and spring he often appeared on the street. to write red couplets:

“Each year the flowers peach blossom

That his old toys

Paper presented red ink

Inside a crowded street over”.

This image has become familiar because every New Year the old man appears with ink and red paper. It was his glorious time, his golden age. As a cycle of the time cycle, every transition between the old year and the new year, when the fresh pink peach petals show off their colors, that’s when the old man appears. His workspace is by the street.

Let’s imagine under the peach blossoms and the cold weather, an old man is drawing skillful handwriting and the bustle of the footsteps of passersby creates a very cheerful picture. The words “each”, “re” have partly expressed that regular rhythm.

Peach blossom and Mr. Do went hand in hand and waved together to enhance the beauty of Tet. The pink color of the peach blossom, the black color of the ink stick, the red color of the paper made the picture so vivid. His writing talent was praised and admired by everyone:

“How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates

Hand drawn flowers with strokes

As phoenix dragon dance”.

Many people hired him to write, they not only appreciated his handwriting, but they also had a great deal of respect for him. He showed his talent through red couplets, through the dragon flying phoenix handwriting. It takes a person who is knowledgeable about Chinese studies and Confucian characters to be able to write such talented handwriting. The comparative rhetoric “like a phoenix dancing a dragon” has shown the admiration and respect of Vu Dinh Lien as well as that of our people for Mr.

This is also the respect for the traditional cultural values ​​of the nation. Play on words is a hobby that shows the noble character of the person who enjoys it. At the same time, the writer is also considered as a talented artist because the handwriting shows the mind and will of the creator. Not only does he write beautifully, but he also writes quickly, which is admirable.

The ingenious winding lines under the hands of an educated man made everyone want to hire him to write the red couplet. It can be said that when he was pleased with the old man, it was extremely crowded, people came to him because of their admiration for his liberal handwriting. Both the scribe and the punter seem to have a deep sympathy because they are both people who know how to love and appreciate beauty. But when times change, the old man is no longer respected and admired:

“But every year, every year

Where the tenant write this?

Red paper petal sad

Research toner left in grief…”

In the past, people hired him to write a lot, but now where have they gone? They are still there, still appearing in daily life, but the penetration of Western culture has made the traditional cultural values ​​of the nation disappear. The author has described a lonely, dreary scene. Time has washed away the beautiful things of the past, making people feel pity and regret.

Rhetorical question: “Where is the tenant writing now?” resounded with so much pain. In fact, the hobby of puns is no longer popular, people who play words and buy words are also less and less popular over the years. Sadness has permeated the whole scene, even the inanimate things. Red paper also knows sadness, so it is no longer bright, the color of the paper has faded and faded, the ink that has been sharpened but has not been used so far also remains in the study.

The method of anthropomorphization has shown the melancholy mood of the old man and also the pity and compassion of the poet. Sinology has declined, but with the desire to retain the cultural values ​​that the old man persisted in sitting on the street like so many years ago:

“He sat there map

Passers nobody or

Leaves fall on the paper

In addition to rain giời dust”

But his appearance was not noticed by everyone like the golden age. His figure just quietly crossed the street, quietly on the street without anyone knowing. The image of the old man has fallen into oblivion. That image is just “a pitiful, worn-out relic of a bygone era” (Vu Dinh Lien).

The fading, withering is shown through the image of a yellow leaf and the cold air of the dusty rain that has covered the whole scene, making the scene tinged with mood. People have pushed him out of memory and memory, they consider him invisible in contemporary society. Vu Dinh Lien expressed his grief and nostalgia through the last stanza:

“This year the peach blossoms bloom

Not seeing his old toys

Long live old people

Where soul now?”

The old man was really absent, the peaches still showed off their fragrance, the scenery was still circulating according to the laws of nature, but we no longer see his appearance. His absence makes us mourn for a spiritual value that no longer exists.

The people who used to hire him to write the couplets, the people who once respected him, have completely changed. They are busy adapting to a new culture from the West, so their souls have no room for the essence of traditional culture. The rhetorical question that resounds at the end of the article leaves a lot of sympathy and regret for what has been lost.

By using the image of peach blossom, the old man at the beginning and the end of the poem, the author has successfully portrayed the contrasting image of the old man in the golden age and the old man when he fell. The five-word poetic form helped the poet express his feelings easily. “Old man” is the nostalgia for the old values, expressing the deep sympathy of the author Vu Dinh Lien.

Starting from the beginning of the twentieth century, when Western thought culture had the opportunity to be introduced into Vietnam, Sino-Vietnamese culture and Confucianism gradually lost an important position in the national cultural life. Confucianists, from being the center of cultural life and being honored and praised by the whole society, have gradually become lost and helpless in modern times, gradually sinking into oblivion.

Aware of that, Vu Dinh Lien wrote the poem “Old Man”, confiding his thoughts, sharing his sadness, expressing his sincere sympathy for a class of Confucian people at that time and expressing his regret. in the old scene of the ancients about the beautiful cultural value of a glorious time.

It can be said that the poem is like a story about a life, a gloomy fate filled with adversity. That is the life of a man who works as a couplet writer in each New Year’s Eve and Spring. That life was divided into two periods associated with the two periods of prosperity and decline of the Sinic culture.

First of all, it was the time when he was proud and golden on the throne:

Each year the flowers peach blossom

That his old toys

Paper presented red ink

Inside a crowded street over.

“Every year … see again” means that every year, every degree peach blossom blooms – signaling the time of the spring festival has come, the old man with slanted pen and red paper appears again. And so, he along with peach blossom – the messenger of spring has become one of the indispensable signals in every coming New Year. At that time, all the people were excited and happy to line up on the street, people were busy waiting to see the old man write:

How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates

“Flowers draw the lines

As phoenix dragon dance.

And he appeared as a talented artist in the art of calligraphy. The bright square letters are printed on red paper in turn like a masterpiece “flying dragon dancing phoenix”. Although he no longer has a solemn place like his predecessors in the past, because he has to do the job of “selling words”, the old man is still somewhat comforted because more or less he has been beautifying life, bringing the atmosphere of Tet. joy for everyone around. However, that golden age of his grandfather gradually ended, he fell into an empty situation and then lost his place:

But every year is absent

Where does the tenant write?

Red paper petal sad

Research toner left in grief.

The word “but” is placed at the beginning of the stanza, like a door of the two periods before and after, the good and the bad, the golden – the lost. Peach blossoms are still blooming, the street is still bustling with people passing by and the old man is still sitting there, but “where does the tenant write?”. People were indifferent, cold and no longer interested in the old man.

The rhetorical question is planted in the middle of the stanza, expressing regretful regret. Therefore, the old man appeared very miserable and pitiful: “red paper is sad and not bright”, “ink is stuck in sorrowful study” sitting and watching “falling yellow leaves” and “flying dust rain” filled the way, bored, hopeless.

The art of anthropomorphization makes this inanimate paper and ink permeate the same mood as humans: the paper is no longer red, the ink dries and becomes a lump of sadness. The poem resounds and sows in the reader’s heart an empty sadness. The pen to describe the allegorical scene is skillfully used by the author, expressing the grief and sorrow in the lost soul.

Closing the poem is a thought, full of contemplation and torment of the poet:

Peach bloom again this year

Not seeing his old toys

Long live old people

Where soul now?

The corresponding terminal structure, with the comparison between the two images: blooming peach blossom and the presence – absence of the map in stanzas one and two, the author has highlighted the structure of the whole article “old scene”. Where’s the person?” Peach blossoms are still in bloom, but where have you and your customers drifted now?

The rhetorical question at the end of the poem brings up a disappointment, emptiness to the point of bewilderment, regret, and anxiety in the poet’s heart about the old man, or is it the fading away of the beauty of the national culture that has gone into the past. past. Therefore, the value of the poem does not only stop at the humanitarian meaning but also shows the human meaning and a very respectable national spirit.

In terms of poetic art, the work is written in five-letter form, interwoven with sequential and regular patterns, creating a quiet, melancholy sound, suitable for the content the author wants to talk about. In the article, we see that the author uses very successfully the art of depicting a very unique allegorical scene, describing the different ups and downs of the colonial era.

When he was being used to the throne, the scene was bustling, the colors were cheerful, the atmosphere was bustling (verses 1, 2); but when he lost his position, his mood of sadness and sorrow permeated the scene, making the scene seem to carry a heavy human soul (district 3, 4). Besides, the poet also flexibly uses artistic rhetorical measures such as personification, rhetorical questions, comparisons and contrasts combined with image-rich language, which has contributed to creating a unique artistic value. for the poem.

And the rhythm in the song also changes very flexibly according to each situation, time and mood: sometimes it’s fast, rushing, exciting (verses 1, 2); sometimes it is slow and heavy (verse 3); while contemplating, contemplating (last stanza)… All have made the work a great success.

In short, Vu Dinh Lien’s poem “The Old Man” is a beautiful and unique work that has a great obsession for readers about the cultural values ​​of the Vietnamese nation over the centuries. Going beyond the content of the text in the work, the rhetorical question at the end of the poem serves as an ingenious reminder of the poet about preserving, preserving and promoting the national cultural tradition today and forever. forever after!.

Vu Dinh Lien is one of the poets who opened the new poetry movement. Vu Dinh Lien’s works are not many, but they are all works of profound artistic and human value. Among his remaining works to this day, Ong Do is the most outstanding work. Mr. Do’s poem is the author’s nostalgia with an old traditional beauty that is gradually being lost.

The poem was born when Confucianism fell into disrepute, the quintessence of Confucianism was only a remnant, the old man and the word of Confucianism also became a ruin when people threw away their brushes and led pencils. The first two stanzas of the poem, Vu Dinh Lien recall the glory days of Mr. Do:

Each year the flowers peach blossom

That his old toys

Paper presented red ink

Inside a crowded street over

How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates

Hand drawn flowers with strokes

As phoenix dragon dance

The first stanza suggests the time and place where he worked. The time is in the spring, the most beautiful season of the year with the metonymy of the cherry blossoms blooming, which tells us that he works when heaven and earth begin to be at the most beautiful of the year Spring atmosphere. The image of blooming peach blossoms has now added “red ink and paper” to make every brushstroke in the painting depicting the scene of this glorious period darker, clearer, joyful, and full of life.

Especially the repetition of time “again” has shown the long-term attachment between the old man and the spring, his writing work not only took place in a year but from spring of this year through the seasons. spring of another year. The place where the old man wrote the word was “on the side of the crowded street”, the crowded street every spring, the most important thing was that the crowd was interested in “how many people hired to write”. and know how to appreciate his talent by “skills of praise”.

The author describes the handwriting of Mr. Do’s handwriting “flowers hand drawn strokes / like phoenix dancing dragon flying” The comparative art of these two verses exudes the temperament in each stroke of Mr. Do’s handwriting, which is beautiful, generous handwriting. noble, noble, by praising the handwriting, the author conveys respect, admiration, and cherishes the traditional cultural beauty of the nation.

In the first two stanzas, the image of the old man in his glorious period is respected and admired by the author. of the nation. In the next two stanzas, the author paints a picture of a modern man, a lost scholar in a life that is no longer relevant, a life line in which the word cursive has become a relic:

But every year is absent

Where the tenant write this

Red paper petal sad

Research toner left in grief

The old man is still sitting there

Passers nobody or

Leaves fall on the paper

It’s raining and dusty outside

“This year the peaches bloom again” the spring scene is still happening but the people have changed, “Where is the tenant who writes now” this is a rhetorical question containing the author’s anxiety and sadness at the change. Spring is still beautiful like that, but people are no longer interested in the beauty of the old culture. This is a poem that depicts the decline of the ancient grape culture. “sad red paper doesn’t shine / ink stays in the sad study”

Before the indifference of people, objects are also dark and sad, anthropomorphic images make red paper and ink also feel like people, forgotten, red paper also fades, ink stays in places. Studying or remaining in sadness, “sorrow” sounds really tragic.

The image of the present-day gentleman has also changed, “the old man is still sitting there / no one knows about it” if before it was “how many people hired to write / praise the talent”, now the image of the old man silently quietly, fading into everyone’s oblivion. Originally, the profession of a monk was the profession of the old Confucians who did not achieve their academic dreams of taking medicine, teaching, or spreading the word semi-letter, which was a reluctant job of a Confucian scholar, the word was only for anyone. re-sell, as a high-level training in the word a life-time prisoner only gives the word 3 times.

But here, the old man who had to sell words to earn a living was enough to see the unhappiness of a Confucian life. In the past, being accepted by everyone, at least making a living with this profession, until now, Confucianism has fallen into disrepair, people no longer care about the old man, the words he writes, that is, they cannot earn a living by themselves. his ability anymore.

Here is not only the misfortune of talent but also the misfortune of rice and money. The scenery around Mr. Tu also contains the sadness of “yellow leaves falling on the paper/outdoors raining dust” the art of depicting love scenes, the spring scenery also becomes decayed, sad according to human sadness, it is indeed “Sad people are never happy” (Nguyen Du).

The last stanza of the author’s stanza is used to express pity for the old man as well as for a lost cultural beauty of the nation:

This year the peach blossoms bloom

Not seeing his old toys

Long live old people

Where soul now

At the beginning of the poem the author writes “every year the peach blossoms bloom / I see the old man again” At the end of the poem the author writes “this year the peach blossoms bloom / I can’t see the old man” the corresponding terminal structure of the poem helps for the poem closely, linking into a unified whole, but also deeply engraved the author’s sadness at the increasingly obvious disappearance of the traditional beauty of the nation.

The natural scene is still beautiful, the peach blossoms are still blooming, but the old man no longer “displays red ink and paper” The old man has completely disappeared in that unchanged spring picture. , or is it the traditional beauty that has disappeared? rhetorical question “where are the old people/souls now?” is the author’s mourning for the old man with good cultural values ​​of the nation.

With the pentagram form, the poem is simple but profound, condensed, the lyrics are like a narration that narrates the ancient traditional beauty of the nation, the structure of the beginning and the end corresponds closely, the poem contains all the most unique artistic elements. Through those typical artistic features, the author expresses pity for the old man as well as regret for the loss of a national culture.

Every New Year to spring, the old Vietnamese often have the habit of asking for letters to convey their wishes and aspirations for the new year. It is a cursive, a meaningful hieroglyphic script. Learning and understanding the word grape is difficult, writing it beautifully is even more difficult. People with flowers and hands, write words but think of drawing a picture.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, on the streets of Hanoi, there was still a picture of the old currants who worked hard to paint each stroke of the word “round, square and fresh” (the word used by Nguyen Tuan) on cashew paper to sell to the people of Hanoi. Thanh celebrates Tet. That image was deeply imprinted in Vu Dinh Lien’s mind and now forms a simple but vivid poetic picture:

Each year the flowers peach blossom

That his old toys

Paper presented red ink

On a crowded street

The structure “every…re” shows us that repetition has become a familiar rule. Peach blossoms have long been heralds of spring. Therefore, saying “peach blossom” is also reminding us of the moment of sacred transition between the old year and the approaching new year. Every time the peach blossoms bloom, an old man appears with ink and red paper on the busy street with people shopping for Tet. The poem is slow but full of love.

Although only occupying a small corner “on the street”, but in this poetic picture, the boatman becomes the focus. Calm and quiet, he blends into the excitement and bustle of life with the most precious things he has. The twenty-word stanza fully introduces the space, time, and characters, creating a premise for the story to continue in the following stanzas:

How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates

Hand drawn flowers with strokes

As phoenix dragon dance.

From the crowded street, the space is narrowed around the place where the ferryman sits to write words. The verse warms up to life by the negative quantitative word “how much” and the adjective “Tam Tac” expressing admiration. , praise, respect. The ancients considered the word grape to be a holy word. Learning that word is not to earn a living, but the highest purpose is to be a human being, to be able to support the king, the country, and the world.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the situation of Vietnam had profound changes in all fields. The state of “European studies have not yet reached the top, but Han studies have broken their roots” and the final examination of the feudal court has destroyed many dreams of the disciples of Confucius and Trinh.

In order to find a livelihood, they have only one way to go and sell words like the old man’s situation in the poem. Although exchanging the word sage for a piece of rice and clothing is just a reluctant affair, not a joy or honor, but the praise of people in the world also somewhat comforts the feelings of those born in the world. unfashionable time.

They closely hired him to write, admiring his talent also means appreciating his talent and beauty. In the next two sentences, the poet describes his close-up, describing his talented pen strokes. thing:

Hand drawn flowers with strokes

Like a phoenix buying and flying

The verse reminds us of a similar image that Doan Van Cu recorded in the Tet market:

A lock master leans his back on the wing

Hand grinding research and writing spring poetry

The reader seems to see in front of his eyes the hand with long slender fingers that curl the pen. Following the momentum of the brush pen, each stroke of fresh ink gradually appeared as soft as “flying phoenix and dragon”. It seems that in that handwriting he conveys all his heroism, aspirations and ideals.

It was his soul and heart that made the word come to life. Vu Dinh Lien’s verse also wants to fly with joy in his golden age. If it continues like that, the poet has nothing to say. Surprise is a feature of life. The third stanza begins with a “but” that predicts how much change:

But every year is absent

Where the tenant write this?

The two words “each” are repeated in a verse to describe the passage of time. If before: “Every year the peach blossom blooms” gives the old man “how many people hire to write”, now “every year” year” and “every absence”. The pace of time includes wear and degradation. The “sharp” sound combined with the “quiet” sound closes the first sentence like a disappointment, a wobble, like eyes looking up full of concern.

Then naturally, the second sentence must turn out to be a question: Where are the people who hired the scribes in the past? . The tenants write no longer, red paper, fragrant ink are not used, so:

Red paper petal sad

Research toner left in grief

Human sadness makes inanimate objects as well as sad. The ink of melancholy remains in the study, the paper does not want to be touched. The personification measure contributes to emphasizing the human mood. Because aren’t ink and paper the objects most closely associated with the master? Indeed:

What scene does not wear sadness

Sad scene where people have fun ever

(Nguyen Du-The Tale of Kieu)

If before, his appearance made space and people’s hearts more excited. People welcomed him with all respect and love. So now:

He sat there map

Passers nobody or

“Still sitting there” means that he still comes by the signal of the peach blossom, still “displays red ink and paper” on a crowded street, shopping for Tet. He waited for the humiliation of the world, but the response was only terrifying indifference. The art of desertion with the negative combination of “nobody” clearly shows the cold, apathetic, and fearless insensitivity of people.

They were walking around, happily talking and laughing without the slightest awareness of his existence. he was forgotten by them, pushed to the margins of life. The situation of Mr. Do is different from that of the tributes and professions in Tu Xuong’s poetry:

What’s wrong with the letter

He heard that he was also lying in bed

Having painfully buried the dream of glory, gradually selling the word saint to prolong life, but it was forgotten while it was still in existence. The poem has a bitter old age for the tragedy to be multiplied by two times of the old man. Readers are suddenly heartbroken by his petrified posture in the middle of a rainy sky and yellow leaves on the page:

Leaves fall on the paper

It’s raining and dusty outside

Someone once said: When man retreats, nature dominates. Because it is no longer used, because the waiting in silence is too long, the yellow leaves freely drop on the paper. It is also the spring rain here, but it is not “blooming” like in the romantic poet Nguyen Binh later. The map seems to be submerged, fading in the rain. Then to the last stanza, his shadow is completely gone:

This year the peach blossoms bloom

Not seeing his old toys

The stanza plays with the feeling of absence and loss. Peach blossoms are still blooming, a new year has come, but it is no longer the same as before. The poetic language has a subtle transformation from an “old man” that simply indicates age to an “old man”, turning the character forever into “a pitiful and pitiful relic of a bygone era” (Lyric Vu. Dinh Lien). Civilization, Westernization did not accept him, did not give him a way of life, so he had to miss his appointment with peach blossoms. The poem closes with the author’s “soul-calling” voice:

Long live old people

Soul in pain now?

Who are these “old people”? Is it Mr. Do, the people who hire him to write letters or is it a time that has passed and is now only “glorious” (the word used by Nguyen Tuan)? No matter who you call it, the verse also condenses a lot of regret and pity for the fading and decay of the beauties in the nation’s traditional culture.

The poet calls to regret and calls to awaken to keep the traditional values ​​​​of thousands of years that his father has worked so hard to cultivate. Is that soul calling similar to the nostalgic call of Mr. Tu Thanh Nam on the Lap river in the past?

Using pentagonal poetry and sensual, expressive language, Vu Dinh Lien has made his work look like a story, telling the life of a boatman since he was still respected by the world. admired until forgotten. Through the image of the old man, the author has excellently expressed his “compassion” and “nostalgia”.

Everyone has a hometown and a different sense of homeland. In the eternal flow of time. Vu Dinh Lien agonizes over the fading away of cultural identity. And with “Old Man”, the poet rang the bell to warn modern people about the sense of preserving the national identity, about the beauties and values ​​of a glorious time, so that we need a moment to calm down. think about their homeland, their roots, and their own responsibilities.

The poem was born when the old man became a relic of a bygone era. Confucianism has been disgraced, people race to follow the times with Western French letters. In the first two paragraphs of the poem, the author introduces his glorious days:

How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates

Hand drawn flowers with strokes

As phoenix dragon dance.

That is when the word Nho is respected. The lines of Confucian characters are beautiful, square and fresh, containing in them the deeply rooted values ​​of a cultural period, and Mr. Do is praised for his talent. For an artist, there is nothing more precious than the love of guests from all over the world.

But times change, because nothing lasts forever. And in that flow of time, it is easy to sweep away valuables. In that flow, the old man is not out of fate:

But every year is absent

Where the tenant write this?

Red paper petal sad

Research toner left in grief..

.He sat there map

Passers nobody or

Leaves fall on the paper

In addition to rain giời dust.

He fell into the situation of an artist out of publicity, a girl out of beauty. And the charm told to pick up the person to bring, End of the charm to go back early at noon alone. The old man was still sitting there and no one knew. Mr. Do in the midst of the rush of modern people is just a lonely, cold oasis.

The reality in real life is that and only that, it is a lack of goods. But in poetry, along with that reality, there is also the author’s heart, so the red paper seems to fade and the ink turns into sadness. The very expensive humanization method used has made inanimate objects like carrying a soul, more and more haunting in the reader’s mind. Best to resonate with this melancholy is the drizzle of the north wind.

Is it the rain of the earth and the sky or the cold and freezing cold in the hearts of people. I don’t know, just know that there is a pitiful emaciated relic sitting there, in a motionless posture, amidst the rain of dust. Spring has yellow leaves again, it is an opposite, but the paradox to explain the rationality of emotions. Because now, the old man is only a pitiful relic of a bygone era, therefore:

“What scene doesn’t wear sadness

Sad scene where people have fun ever?”

The ancients had the sentence “poetry and painting”, and here with this poem it is really relevant. The description is so few words that the scene appears like a painting, not only the figure of the old man but also the detriment of the past society. grandpa’s eyes. The author has had expensive details: where his map is pen and ink, where heaven and earth are wind and rain, where society is indifference.

The five-word poetic form, which has the power to express broken stories and nostalgia, has proved very favorable, the rhythm evokes a light but pervasive sadness. The dusty curtain that closed the poem was somber, cold, sad, and empty. Then, for a moment of sadness, we also have to bow our heads to reflect on the artist’s poignant and heartbreaking question:

Peach bloom again this year

Not seeing his old toys

Long live old people

Where soul now?

The old man was thrown out of the fringes of society, alone, holding a pen and paper, and quietly returning to his land. He tried to cling to modern society, we modern people have seen his efforts, seen him struggle, but we did nothing, until now, looking back, we know him. has been abandoned ever since.

His shadow is not the figure of a person, of a profession, but the shape of an entire era, the shadow of our own souls’ memories. Only now do we feel nostalgia, but it’s too late. Ask heaven, ask earth, ask people, ask a whole society. that our generation has done with a cultural beauty of the nation, has swept away perhaps even itself in the society of humanity.

Today, when I look back, I suddenly remember the so-called “old days”. Ask or pray for remembrance, or repentance. that is not just a question, but a torment, the sob of the poet when witnessing that scene of the national culture. The two most concise lines of the poem, we read here the fate of the old man and especially the attitudes and feelings of a whole class of people towards the nationalities, the grammar of this verse is very important. strange, but no one sees it: Long live old people.

Long years, actually only a few years, but saying that long years is correct, the time of the old man is far away, mixed with the pens, the very distant studies in history. The old word of the old sentence above reverberates with the present word of the lower sentence, which is even more poignant and nostalgic.

With a very personal feeling, a love for the country’s culture. Vu Dinh Lien has awakened in the minds of readers a cultural beauty of a glorious era. For a moment to look at ourselves, we ask ourselves, what have we done with our life, what have we done with indifference, indifference. We carelessly let ourselves loose, we innocently contribute to the race, lose our national identity to come to trendy pleasures, while it is the eternal values ​​​​for each individual’s source.

In the New Poetry movement of 1932 – 1945, besides the passionate love poems, besides the new, the “modern” … there were still nostalgic feelings of nostalgia. Readers encounter such quatrains in Vu Dinh Lien’s poem “Old man”. When reading this poem, Vu Quan Phuong commented: “The writing is so few words that the scene appears like a painting, not only the shadow of Mr.

Who are “the old man”? They were the exemplary and profound teachers of the old regime. At that time, they were respected and respected by people. On the annual Tet holiday, people come to them not only to express their sincere heart, but also to respectfully ask for the square characters of “Tam”, “Duc”, “Tho”, “Loc”, … square. , full: the word shows both talent and the mind of the pen holder.

But times changed, when Western culture flooded into our country and gradually occupied a unique position in learning, the monks gradually disappeared. Their talent and mind can only be expressed through the words sold on the side of the road. Feeling the pain and humiliation of that “class of dead people”, Vu Dinh Lien wrote a “Grandfather” that moved people’s hearts.

The poem is a great success for Vu Dinh Lien in particular and for New Poetry in general. The poem was written in five words, with only five stanzas and twenty sentences, but it revived the image of the old man in the early years of the twentieth century and the decadent era at that time.

Therefore, Vu Quan Phuong must have understood the poem very well when he commented that: “The writing is so few words that the scene appears like a painting, not only the figure of Mr. In the first two stanzas, the image of Mr. Do appears with fresh and bustling images:

“Every year flowers bloom

That his old toys

Paper presented red ink

Inside a crowded street over.”

“Every year… see it again”, these two phrases show that the image of the old man has become so familiar. Along with the deep color of peach blossom, the red color of paper, the jet-black color of ink and the bustle of the streets, the image of the old man has become indispensable in the spring scene. In the next stanza, the image of the old man becomes the center for everyone to admire and praise:

“How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates

Hand drawn flowers with strokes

As phoenix dragon dance.”

The word “how much” indicates that he is being respected by people and needs help. With his talent “Tam Tac praises talent”, three consonants “t” appear together in a verse like a round of applause to praise his talent. His talent “Flying dragon and phoenix” under a skillful hand of art has glorified Sinology. That talent of his has been given to everyone as a gift to welcome the spring, decorate a cozy house with a warmer family feeling.

But why, in the laughter of joy, it is still impossible to hide the pity. The word Confucianism is considered to be the word “Saint sage”, the word Confucianism written by Mr. Do is the convergence of the talent and the mind of the writer. But now, those sacred values ​​have been pushed to the street to be “rented”. Just that one word made me feel anxious, sometimes sad.

How sad it is, a beautiful tradition of the nation has been lost, a colorful image of spring has been gradually lost when Western culture was introduced into our country. Then it’s time for people to forget the Tet couplets so that Tet is sparse, without familiar silhouettes:

“But every year, every absence

Where the tenant write this?

Red paper petal sad

Research toner left in grief.”

It’s also “every year” but adds the word “every” and comes after the “but” – a lowercase letter that upsets all the familiar order. Vu Dinh Lien sketched a poignant scene. Still on the peach blossom background, the old man sat sullenly, the shadows of people fading away. If there was some mutation that made people not like his word anymore, then for one thing, the people who come to him will gradually decrease, the hearts of people with calligraphy have also faded a lot.

Maybe anyone still thinks of him because of that pity. The method of personification used in succession “sad red paper”, “stagnation of ink”, “sadness” only deepened his disappointment. The person was sad, so the items that were closely associated with him were also melancholy: the paper was not as red as before, the ink in the study was also sad.

Perhaps, paper and ink have no mood, but the tragedy of the mood of paper and ink, and poet Vu Dinh Lien himself, cannot see the pity and humiliation of the old man in particular and the old class of people. Generally speaking. That sadness not only permeates the means of livelihood but also permeates the natural scenery, which has made the space more lonely and desolate.

“He sat there map

Passers nobody or

Leaves fall on the paper

It’s raining outside.”

Even though the old man was still sitting there, he was forgotten by everyone. He was only a pitiful shabby relic of “a bygone era”. And perhaps from then on, he disappeared forever. Perhaps at that time in this world, only poets could sympathize with the sadness of the old man. I can only sympathize, but the sadness is too great to share. The difference of age, and especially of the two different cultures, makes the poet only look at him from afar and feel compassion. And strangely a yellow leaf:

Leaves fall on the paper

It’s raining and dusty outside

Rain is clear, because it is spring weather. But why is there a lone yellow leaf? This is probably not a sign of winter, but can only be explained like this: our country is in the tropics, the trees are green in all four seasons, so the yellow leaves can fall at any time. If you are happy, perhaps no one will notice the yellow leaf quietly leaving the branch when it has completed its mission. When we are sad, our soul is very sensitive, and even more sensitive to sadness.

It turned out that after a lifetime of raising trees, when the yellow leaf fell, it still had time to send a message to people. Not a message about autumn but a message about the sadness of the old man, of an art that is slowly fading into oblivion.

The lonely leaf that didn’t choose anywhere but landed on the page has now become useless, a clear proof of the deep sadness of the old man. Now, if anyone wants to bring even small joys to life, no one needs it anymore. The fifth picture contrasts sharply with the first:

Peach bloom again this year

Not seeing his old toys…

Spring’s message has arrived. The poet habitually goes out to the street to see the old people. Probably not surprising. With the same situation as last year, the old man could not appear again, could not keep the hope of a bygone era.

However, in the poet’s mind, the image of the old man is indispensable in his spring painting. That’s why you have to be disappointed. The deep impression was so heavy that the poet thought that the old man had passed away a long time ago. He has become “an old man”, a “year-old man”, causing the poet to call out:

Long live old people

Where soul now?

Although the poem is short, it is concise, concise, and contains a lot of sympathy and pity for the dead people in society. The poem has indeed erected “the shadow of the old man” and “the whole ruin of society through the eyes of the old man”.

Vu Dinh Lien has deeply felt for the fate of the patriarchs, stemming from a very sincere sympathy. It is not only sympathy for a forgotten generation, but also grief at a beauty, an old art that has gone away.

In the exciting days of Tet to spring on every street, poetry lovers quietly quiet themselves in a simple and humane rhythm of poet Vu Dinh Lien: the poem “Ong Do”. The poem was born when the old man became a relic of a bygone era. Confucianism has been disgraced, people race to follow the times with Western French letters.

In the first two paragraphs of the poem, the author introduces his glorious days:

How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates

Hand drawn flowers with strokes

As phoenix dragon dance.

The compliments are generous, but if you think about it carefully, it’s just the compliments of people outside the academic world. Going to write a couplet sentence, in itself, is a mistake, a losing step for academics. If you pass the cities of Nghe An, a detective, or a low pass, you will also be appointed, but you have not achieved anything, your success is not successful, your reputation is not satisfied, you have to go back to your hometown to teach, take medicine, or see the logic of numbers in your hometown. urban place as Tan Da once did.

On New Year’s Day, sharpening ink and selling words on the sidewalk is probably a reluctant job of the Confucian family. Text is given, but who sells. Selling letters is the pole of the scholar at all times. Relatives love and also admire the interesting word that they do not know, or only martial arts, so they praise it so much. This compliment does not bring glory to the old man, he may still be sad, but it comforts him a lot, it is the love of the world at his doomsday.

The author introduces: together with peach blossoms, there is only once a year, but nothing much, red paper with Chinese ink, words of saints displayed on the street. Don’t think about academics, think as a seller, here are two funny poems because it says that the salesman is still alive and can survive in this changing society.

But life has not been like that forever, people’s preferences also change with the times. The adult class has nothing to do with that kind of hieroglyphics. The talent of writing feet, sketches, seals, and tears of that good typewriter, they don’t need to know:

But every year is absent

Where the tenant write this?

Red paper petal sad

Research toner left in grief…

He sat there map

Passers nobody or

Leaves fall on the paper

In addition to rain giời dust

He fell into the situation of an artist out of publicity, a girl out of beauty. And the charm told to pick up the person to bring, End of the charm to go back early at noon alone. The old man was still sitting there, but no one knew. The reality in real life is that and only that, it is a lack of goods. But in poetry, along with that reality, there is also the author’s heart, so the red paper seems to fade and turns into sadness. The best thing that resonates with this sadness is the drizzly scene.

The reality in poetry is the reality of the heart, the heart is as happy as the years when the “popular” old man never saw wind and rain. The wind blows the leaves away, the yellow leaves at the end of the season fall on the paper, it falls and lies there because the paper has not been used, there is no need to pick it up. The motionless leaf on the spot it wasn’t in showed the figure of the old man, motionless as he watched the rain and dust fly.

The description is very few words, but the scene appears like a painting, not only the figure of the old man but also the debauchery of society through his eyes. The author has had very expensive details: where his map is pen and ink, where heaven and earth are wind and rain, where society is indifference. The five-word poetic form, which has the power to express broken and nostalgic stories, has proved very favorable, the rhythm evokes a light but pervasive sadness.

The dusty curtain that closed the poem was somber, cold, sad, and empty. Thus, with only eight sentences and forty words, it is enough to say all the last steps of a dying era. The detailed comparison in this paragraph to the above: ink and ink, paper and paper, person and person, gives us the more shocking and painful impression of change. There is an elapsed, gaping passage of time before the four concluding lines:

Peach bloom again this year

Not seeing his old toys

Long live old people

Where soul now?

Let’s go back to the first verse of the poem Every year the peach blossoms bloom to see that the old rule no longer holds true. The old man who had been patient was still sitting there, but this year he could no longer be patient: he couldn’t see the old man. He tried to cling to modern society, we modern people have seen his efforts, seen him struggle, but we did nothing, until now, looking back, we know him. has been abandoned ever since.

His shadow is not the figure of a person, of a profession, but the shape of an entire era, the shadow of our own souls’ memories. Only now do we feel nostalgia, but it’s too late. Do we ask each other or ask ourselves? Ask or pray for remembrance, or repentance.

The two most concise lines of the poem, we read there the fate of the old man and especially the attitudes and feelings of a whole class of people towards things belonging to the nation, the grammar of this verse is very important. strange, but no one sees it: Long live old people. Long years, actually only a few years, but saying that long years is correct, the time of the old man is long gone, has been mixed with the pens and studies very far in history.

The old word of the old sentence above reverberates with the present word of the lower sentence, which is even more poignant and nostalgic. The verse is not sobbing pain, it’s just like a sigh of compassion and unrelenting regret.

The dedication of an artist is not measured by the number of works in a great literary fortune, but by the remnants of the brainchild that the artist has brought up. There are poets who don’t write much but leave an imprint in our hearts so that we can all be obsessed with poems, Vu Dinh Lien is one of such writers. Appearing hidden in the poetry village as a lover of words and devoted to words, Vu Dinh Lien has painted a glorious and beautiful image of a desirable and proud past through the poem “Ong Do”.

At the beginning of the poem, we immediately encounter the laws of nature or the laws of man himself:

Each year the flowers peach blossom

That his old toys

Paper presented red ink

Inside a crowded street over

The event of cherry blossoms in bloom reminds us of a Tet atmosphere, an early spring day that every year follows the eternal law of creation. It seems that in that regular movement of nature, the map appears as a habit, as a very obvious thing with a word: “again”. His images are associated with Chinese ink, red paper, … the applications of ancient Confucians, all are cultural backdrops for a traditional tradition of the nation, which is Cho Chu on New Year’s Day with the wish of a new year. peaceful new year. And in the next verses, the image of the old man appeared very talented and radiant:

How many tenants wrote

User praise switch plates:

“Flowers draw the lines

As phoenix dragon dance”

“Hand flower” refers to his writing talent. We can seem to imagine an old man with ao dai, a turban, meticulously on a bright red paper mold, sculpting the words Confucian, hands moving rhythmically, sometimes bold, sometimes bold, creating lines The soft yet firm beauty is compared to the phoenix dragon appearing on the page.

At that time, the people around were all admiring and admiring, showing that they are deeply respecting the creator of the word and the wonderful ethnic letter itself. But then, we easily recognize the fading of a glorious past when:

But every year is absent

Where the tenant write this?

Red paper petal sad

Research toner left in grief…

The rhetorical question seems to sink deep into the reader’s heart, the poet’s question is not simply asking about the writers. The bustle of scribes who once embodied an era in traditional Confucianism, now absent, is a heartbreaking hint of the disappearance of traditional cultural values? which date.

The verse “every year is absent” keeps creating a sparseness of old values. The measure of humanizing “sad red paper” – “sorrow ink” has concretized sorrow in people. First of all, this is a real image, when the tenant is absent, the paper will fade for a long time, no longer as red as it was when it was new, the ink has not been used for a long time, and it has not been sharpened, so it also remains in one place.

But is it possible that with the word “sad”, the word “sad”, the poet seems to let the reader feel that, because people are indifferent, the paper is also “sad” but becomes no longer as fresh as before, ink because of sadness. but did not bother to lift himself, just remained in the tilt. The sadness of the master or the poet has penetrated the scene? The image of the old man at this moment is so lonely, she is glossy:

He sat there map

Passers nobody or

Leaves fall on the paper

It’s raining and dusty outside

An old man who was respected and admired in the past is like a person who is left out of society. He is still the same as before, loyal to the pen “still sitting there” only that the mistress has changed, no one pays attention to him or even ignores his existence. Passers-by were in a hurry, passing by without even realizing he was sitting there.

His image was so quietly somber that even the yellow leaf that fell on the page was no longer bothering to pick up, but perhaps it was the yellow leaf of a dying autumn of the Confucian era. At a time when the Asian and European winds raged over their homeland, people seemed to let themselves be blinded and ignored the good cultural traditions of the nation, causing them to fade away more and more. At that time, the whole nation’s soul was tinged with a melancholy color like the endless dusty rains.

The past has passed, at this time, perhaps many people suddenly realize the absence of the old man:

Peach bloom again this year

Not seeing his old toys

Long live old people

Where soul now?

If in the upper stanza, the image of the old man is still subtle even though “no one knows”, then in this passage, he disappears. The peaches are still blooming, the universe is still circulating, but there is no sign of the old man anymore. His disappearance is also the disappearance of traditional national cultural values. Final question: “Where are the old people/Souls now?” as a call to the soul, calling to the soul of the country, a cry resounded as if to find a piece of the fading national soul.

The poem is the heart of a person who is deeply devoted to the country, with the traditional cultural features of the nation for thousands of years. Through the poem, Vu Dinh Lien not only expresses his earnest concern with the values ​​of Confucianism but also engraves the reader’s desire to love the traditional values ​​of the nation.