Celebrated poet Nguyen Du remembered through exhibition on his works

An exhibition is taking place at the Women Museum in Hanoi to mark the 200th death anniversary of Nguyen Du, one of the greatest Vietnamese poets best known for his verse novel “Tale of Kieu”.

A visitor looks at old books on Nguyen Du and the Tale of Kieu.
A visitor looks at old books on Nguyen Du and the Tale of Kieu.

The event, entitled “Who remembers To Nhu?”, referring to Nguyen Du’s pen name, is hosted by the book publisher MaiHaBooks.

The exhibition features a collection of calligraphy works and paintings on Nguyen Du and the Tale of Kieu as well as books and documents criticising his most famous work through the ages.

Visitors can also appreciate 40 paintings of Kieu by many famous artists in the early 20th century, such as Le Pho, Nguyen Tuong Lan, Nguyen Gia Tri and Tran Van Can, who graduated from the famed Indochina College of Fine Arts.

As part of the three-day event that opened on October 29, there are also recitals of the Tale of Kieu, a calligraphy performance, and a discussion on the Tale of Kieu with the participation of experts in the literary and arts circles.

On the occasion, MaiHaBooks unveiled re-prints of three books featuring works on the Tale of Kieu published in the 20th century.

A calligraphy performance at the event

A collection of paintings on the Tale of Kieu republished by MaiHaBooks