Nguyen Du

The Tale of Kieu: Truyen Kieu Nguyen Du Vietnamese edition

The Tale of Kieu is an epic poem in Vietnamese written by Nguyen Du (1766?1820), and is widely regarded as the most significant work of Vietnamese literature. In 3,254 verses, written in luc bat (6/8) meter, the poem recounts the life, trials and tribulations of Thuy Kieu, a beautiful and talented young woman, who had to sacrifice herself to save her family. To save her father and younger brother from prison, she sold herself into marriage with a middle-aged man, not knowing that he is a pimp, and was forced into prostitution.