A poem in Vietnamese by Nguyễn Tuân
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Drunk
Intro:
Right here is Hạnh Hoa village
Play hard, play smart when it comes to life.
The debts are plenty so let us just drink more than love,
There aren’t many Liu Ling in this world?
Singing dialogue:
The loyalist Li Bai,
Drank and couldn’t care less whether the world would laugh at him or not.
Used his drunken blush as a ruse to openly do whatever
The world swaying off kilter seems even smaller
Whoever wants to bury the age old sorrow and be sorrier
Join me for a drink, empty the lake.
Wring out the water from the clouds
You one me one there are plenty
At the edge of a dust storm
Who wants to be awake?
Is drunkenness not a better fate?
To swoon rather than hate?
Feminine softness and the destruction of sad sad isolation.
Say
Mưỡu:
Hạnh Hoa thôn đã đây rồi,
Chơi đi cho thỏa một đời thông minh.
Nợ men gấp mấy nợ tình,
Cõi trần ướm hỏi Lưu Linh mấy chàng?
Hát nói:
Hung trung hữu Lý Bạch,
Đã say sưa mặc quách thế nhân cười.
Mượn màu men giả dạng làng chơi,
Cơn chuếnh choáng coi ra trời đất nhỏ.
Ai muốn lấp sầu thiên vạn cổ,
Cùng ta hãy cạn một hồ đầy.
Doành nước mây, một tớ một thầy,
Vành gió bụi, ai tỉnh? Ai say? Ai ngất ngưởng?
Đảo phá sầu thành thi thị tướng,
Trường truy cùng tặc tửu vi binh.
Rượu ngà say quên lẫn cả mình,
Khi tuý luý thoát hình hài cõi tục.
Mặc ai đàm tiếu ai trong đục,
Tỉnh mà chi cho nhọc chẳng khề khà.
Nợ nần gỡ mãi không ra.
—
1931
Nguồn: Cùng một lứa bên trời lận đận (tuyển tập 108 bài thơ rượu giang hồ khí cốt), nhiều tác giả, NXB Thanh Niên, 2009
Nguyễn Tuân (10/7/1910 – 28/7/1987) was a poet born in Hàng Bạc, in the old quarter of Hanoi, his family is from Thuong Dinh hamlet, Nhan Muc commune (Normally known as Moc village), now in Nhan Chinh ward, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi. He grew up in a Confucian family when Kanji studies ended. He completed the common rank at Nam Dinh citadel before he was expelled for participating in a class strike against French teachers who spoke ill of Vietnamese people (1929). Shortly after that, he was imprisoned again for crossing the border to Thailand without a permit. When he got out of prison, he started writing for the local newspapers.
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm, the blogger, poet, and translator, was born in 1971 in Phu Nhuan, Saigon, Vietnam. The pharmacist currently lives and works in Western Sydney, Australia.
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm 
Hahaha this was a great poem 🤟😂☺️.
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Liu Ling was apparently an arrogant but very talented poet, always drunk 😁
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🤭🤣 that is very interesting; if this is why you are so good at making poems — don’t stop 🍾🥂💯😁
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Awe, thank you for the indirect compliment, cheers to a good weekend yeah!
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You are welcome 🙂🤩 . I am very happy to see what my comments mean to you 😄🥰🌹.
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🤣
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💙🤣☺️💙
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Kudos to Nguyễn Tuân for sharing his poem and for your translations 👍🙂
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I stole it from a website or somewhere or it might be on one of my friend’s page LOL, but the enjoyment of translating it was worth the guilt heheh… How could I not share it..
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hahaa very much so, I agree 💯😂.
I completely respect and admire your nobility in being somewhat of a poetical robin-hood bringing to us what we poor souls would have otherwise been missing if not for your thoughtful efforts, which deserves a lovely poem in of itself 🤟🤣😁
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Ooooo “Robin hood”, awaits her poem 😁
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😁😁 that would be my favourite and most cherished assignment 👌✍️😂🥰
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Heheh 😎
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🤟😂🤗💕
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