Nguyễn Du Quotes

Henceforth I'm bound to you for life," he said.
"Call these small gifts a token of my love.

Sen tàn cúc lại nở hoa,
Sầu dài ngày ngắn đông đà sang xuân.

Bây giờ rõ mặt đôi ta,
Biết đâu rồi nữa chẳng là chiêm bao?

Trông vời cố quốc biết đâu là nhà.

Đau đớn thay phận đàn bà!
Lời rằng bạc mệnh cũng là lời chung.

Trời còn để có hôm nay,
Tan sương đầu ngõ vén mây giữa trời.

Inside ourselves there lies the root of good:
the heart outweighs all talents on this earth.

Heaven grants us this hour: now from our gate
all mists have cleared; on high, clouds roll away.

Beautiful girl and talented young man—
what stirred their hearts their eyes still dared not say.
They hovered, rapture-bound, 'tween wake and dream.

West Lake flower garden: a desert, now.
Alone, at the window, I read through old pages.
A smudge of rouge, a scent of perfume, but
I still weep.
Is there a Fate for books?
Why mourn for a half-burned poem?
There is nothing, there is no one to question,
and yet this misery feels like my own.
Ah, in another three hundred years
will anyone weep, remembering my fate?

Cảo thơm lần giở trước đèn,
Phong tình có lục còn truyền sử xanh.

How sorrowful is women's lot!" she cried.
"We all partake of woe, our common fate.

Just as the lotus wilts, the mums bloom forth—
time softens grief, and winter turns to spring.

Thiện căn ở tại lòng ta,
Chữ tâm kia mới bằng ba chữ tài.

Now we stand face to face—but who can tell
we shan't wake up and learn it was a dream?