Viet-Country

Once upon a time, the sixth son of King Hung Vuong the Fifth named An-Tiem disobeyed the King's order and was exiled to a deserted island. The Prince had to build his own shelter, dig a well for water, and fish and hunt animals for food. One day, he found a green fruit as big and round as a ball. He split the fruit into halves and found the inside of the fruit red. He dared not eat it because he was afraid it was poisonous....

Long, long ago there was a man who lost his wife and lived with his little girl named Tam. Then he married again a wicked woman. The little girl found this out on the first day after the wedding. There was a big banquet in the house, but Tam was shut up in a room all by herself instead of being allowed to welcome the guests and attend the feast. Moreover, she had to go to bed without any supper. Things grew worse when...

Besides such myths as we have recounted above, the Vietnamese also have ones that are similar to many Greek and western myths. The story of Da Trang, who was transformed into a sand-crab to roll sand in-perpetuity without ever achieving his goal, is evoc ative of the myth of Sisyphus; the many trials and tribulations of Thach Sanh are reminiscent of Hercules' labors; Cuc Hoa's descent into hell is comparable to similar...

Like the story of Tien Dung and the Beach Boy, another story, the story of Truong Chi, also depicts the problems of class difference and class consciousness. But if the story of Tien Dung and the Beach Boy ends happily, the story of Truong Chi has a trag ic ending. Truong Chi was a fisherman who was also a gifted flutist. In the evening he would take out his flute and play beautiful melodies on the river, sitting in...

Not all Vietnamese myths are about war and divorce and politics, however. In fact, many of the most beautiful Vietnamese myths are about love. A favorite among Vietnamese must no doubt be the story of the Beach Boy, a story set in the reign of Hung Vuon g III during the third millennium B.C. To him was born a princess by the name of Tien Dung ("Immortal Features"). When she reached eighteen she was very beautiful but...

The Vietnamese myth of origin is so rich that it established many of the great themes of later Vietnamese history: the North-South dichotomy between the Chinese and the Vietnamese; the acknowledgment by the Viets that they belong to a minor lineage, owing respect to the Chinese but still extremely jealous of their independence; the assertion of an independent line of cultural development (for example, Sung Lam, the Dragon...

King Minh [Chinese, Ming], a third generation offspring of Than Nong [Chinese, Shen Nong] or the Viem Da [Chinese, Yen Ti] clan, begot King Nghi [Chinese, Yi]. One day, as he was touring the South he met with the daughter of Immortal Lady Vu [Chinese, Wu ] in the Five Range Mountain and he married her. On coming home, she gave birth to Loc Tuc [Chinese, Lu Xu]. Tuc had a noble face, was intelligent and generous in...

According to Vietnamese mythology, the person living in the moon is named Cuoi, a buffalo boy who lost his father at a tender age. He was raised by his mother with the help of an uncle, but proved to be a pest because of his constant lies. He lied to He aven, he lied to Earth, and even to himself. He lied not in a malicious way, but mostly to get by, to survive. There are many stories associated with Cuoi. In one of...