Grandfather Duong Tuong, who translated the Tale of Kieu by poet Nguyen Du into English, passed away on February 24 following spending the last two months of his life at 108 Military Hospital in Hanoi, leaving behind a wife and three children. He died following a period of treatment due to old age and weakness, aged 92 years. Relatives, friends and fans were present at his funeral in Hanoi on March 1.Poet and translator Duong Tuong, whose real name is Tran Duong Tuong, was born and raised in Nam Dinh and later attended high school in Hanoi. He joined the resistance and joined the North Vietnamese army in 1949. After being discharged in 1955, he became a reporter for the Vietnam News Agency.From 1967 until his retirement in 1979, he worked as a translator at the “American War Crimes Investigation Committee in Vietnam” of the Hanoi government. After his retirement, he continued to pursue his literary career.During his lifetime, Mr. Duong Tuong, who taught himself English and French while in the army, translated more than 50 works from many languages of many literatures, including the US, Russia, Germany and Japan.In the translation world, Duong Tuong is respected because he always tries his hand at difficult works, works hard, creates talented translations and preserves the beauty of Vietnamese.The works that he selected are all works with high difficulty that many translators are afraid of. The Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov), Anna Karenina (Lev Tolstoy), Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë), Kafka by the Sea (Haruki Murakami), On the Swan Side and In the Shadows of the Flower Girls (Marcel Proust), Deadly (Louis-Ferdinand Céline)… are all complex works of grammar, words, conveying layers of meaning.In 2019, he published the translation of the French writer Louis-Ferninand Céline. A year later, the translator printed the book Kieu in Duong Tuong’s version, the result of the time he spent diligently looking through a magnifying glass to type each word.During the two years of translating Truyen Kieu, he had to inject drugs directly into his eyes several dozen times. Translators also have difficulty because they cannot look up dictionaries or documents, relying all on memory. When he finished the work, he reached the stage of exhaustion, unable to check the translation himself.In addition to translation, Duong Tuong critiques literature, art, and writes poetry. He has experimented with many new poetic forms in the volumes Duong Tuong – Poetry, 36 love poems (printed with Le Dat), Dan (poetry outside of words), Duong Tuong Poetry – Mea culpa and others.He is also the author of the journal “Only at the warblers” and the story collection “Captain” (pen name Nguyen Trinh). His most famous poem is “Love song 24”, regarding a young love affair, once set to music by musician Phu Quang.Not only associated with literature, Duong Tuong is also a profound art critic, with his own voice, according to Chairman of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association Luong Xuan Doan. He wrote a lot in the period of 1980-1990, when the post-Renovation Fine Arts approached many international trends. He set new concepts and encouraged young artists at that time to explore and create.In addition to the world of writers and artists, those who know and admire poet-translator Duong Tuong also expressed sadness at the news of his death.>>>Watch more videos: Writer Son Tung passed away (Source: VTV24).
Grandfather Duong Tuong, who translated the Tale of Kieu by poet Nguyen Du into English, passed away on February 24 following spending the last two months of his life at 108 Military Hospital in Hanoi, leaving behind a wife and three children. He died following a period of treatment due to old age and weakness, aged 92 years. Relatives, friends and fans were present at his funeral in Hanoi on March 1.
Poet and translator Duong Tuong, whose real name is Tran Duong Tuong, was born and raised in Nam Dinh and later attended high school in Hanoi. He joined the resistance and joined the North Vietnamese army in 1949. After being discharged in 1955, he became a reporter for the Vietnam News Agency.
From 1967 until his retirement in 1979, he worked as a translator at the “American War Crimes Investigation Committee in Vietnam” of the Hanoi government. After his retirement, he continued to pursue his literary career.
During his lifetime, Mr. Duong Tuong, who taught himself English and French while in the army, translated more than 50 works from many languages of many literatures, including the US, Russia, Germany and Japan.
In the translation world, Duong Tuong is respected because he always tries his hand at difficult works, works hard, creates talented translations and preserves the beauty of Vietnamese.
The works that he selected are all works with high difficulty that many translators are afraid of. The Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov), Anna Karenina (Lev Tolstoy), Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë), Kafka by the Sea (Haruki Murakami), On the Swan Side and In the Shadows of the Flower Girls (Marcel Proust), Deadly (Louis-Ferdinand Céline)… are all complex works of grammar, words, conveying layers of meaning.
In 2019, he published the translation of the French writer Louis-Ferninand Céline. A year later, the translator printed the book Kieu in Duong Tuong’s version, the result of the time he spent diligently looking through a magnifying glass to type each word.
During the two years of translating Truyen Kieu, he had to inject drugs directly into his eyes several dozen times. Translators also have difficulty because they cannot look up dictionaries or documents, relying all on memory. When he finished the work, he reached the stage of exhaustion, unable to check the translation himself.
In addition to translation, Duong Tuong critiques literature, art, and writes poetry. He has experimented with many new poetic forms in the volumes Duong Tuong – Poetry, 36 love poems (printed with Le Dat), Dan (poetry outside of words), Duong Tuong Poetry – Mea culpa and others.
He is also the author of the journal “Only at the warblers” and the story collection “Captain” (pen name Nguyen Trinh). His most famous poem is “Love song 24”, regarding a young love affair, once set to music by musician Phu Quang.
Not only associated with literature, Duong Tuong is also a profound art critic, with his own voice, according to Chairman of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association Luong Xuan Doan. He wrote a lot in the period of 1980-1990, when the post-Renovation Fine Arts approached many international trends. He set new concepts and encouraged young artists at that time to explore and create.
In addition to the world of writers and artists, those who know and admire poet-translator Duong Tuong also expressed sadness at the news of his death.
>>>Watch more videos: Writer Son Tung passed away (Source: VTV24).
