Conversation of the three teachings in Truyện Kiều by Nguyễn Du

“Three teachings, one learning” refers to the religious aggregation of three big schools of thought:
Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. This syncretism is believed to have existed for centuries, originating
from the 6th century (Columbia University, n.d) in China and have shaped the beliefs for many famous
figures in Vietnam. An impactful figure, known to Vietnamese as “People’s Greatest Poet”, is Nguyễn Du
with his most loved writing - “Truyện Kiều”. This paper will analyze the syncretic implications of Nguyễn
Du’s life through three major sections of the tale: Setting, Tragedies and Resolution surrounding the main
character’s life.

Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism in brief

Confucianism primarily focuses on principles set by Confucius – a Chinese philosopher, promoting the
interconnectedness of everything and “a sense of tradition and stability” (Thompson, 2012). The five main
concepts of this philosophy are ren (humaneness), yi (righteousness), li (propriety), zhong (loyalty) and
xiao (filial piety) illustrated by different core relationships of the society according to Confucius. Daoism,
with the main representatives being Laozi and Zhuang Zhou, puts a lot of emphasis on Dao (the way) - the
origin of all matter in the universe - and how to live harmoniously with it. Daoism bears a similar trait to
Confucianism in the dependence of all things; however, the main tenets promote the idea of Dao, the De
– “virtue, morality and integrity” and immortality (Chiu, 2019). The school of thought conflicts greatly with
Buddhism, given that it promotes the acceptance of things as they are, while Buddhism believes life is
suffering and the only way out is enlightenment. A fundamental concept for this religion is “Pratitya
samutpada”, which can be understood as “dependent origination”, and this concept has ignited three
universal features of our world: anicca – everything is constantly changing, anatta – nothing is
independent and dukkha – life is always unsatisfactory. The three philosophies revolve around the idea
of “interconnectedness” to answer metaphysical questions of life, knowledge, humans and so on. The
nature of the three teachings has always been complimentary, providing a different outlook for each other
so that the answer to fundamental questions can be the most reasonable, aligning with society's values
and beliefs.

Three teachings in Nguyễn Du’s work “Truyện Kiều”

The essence of the three teachings primarily lies in their ability to be harmonious, which looks “benignly
on pluralism, combination, and mutual influence” (Brook, 2013). Their mutual influence and development
are believed to have cultivated a strong coexistence (Columbia University, n.d), coalescing and self-
enriching at the same time. In Vietnam, the three teachings have appeared since the Lý Trần dynasty, with
Buddhism being the standard to promote the enlightenment that can save people from sufferings.
However, under the Lê dynasty from the 15th to 18th century, Confucianism became prevalent, used as a
tool to rule people with its high moral standards (Sung, 2021). Born in this era, Nguyễn Du had adopted
the school of thought from a very young age under a Confucian family serving the Le, however, this was
the period of power transition as the Le descended and the Nguyễn took the throne, unified a separated
Vietnam. Due to this national unification, syncretism also emerged, allowing self-expression (Daoism) and
leading people to enlightenment (Buddhism) to prosper and integrate. Nguyễn Du and his work, “Truyện
Kiều”, also underwent such major social changes, reflected through multiple philosophies incorporated
into the poem. The story was inspired by a Chinese story “Kim Vân Kiều” by Thanh Tâm Tài Nhân, about
the life of Kiều, a female protagonist who had to sold herself to save his father and endured tragedies for
years; however, her love for a man – Kim (Kim Trọng) was always faithful, reuniting in the end. Upon
modifying this plot to create his own poem, Nguyễn Du had incorporated many of his life events and
beliefs into Truyện Kiều, from Kiều selling herself - Nguyễn Du serving the Nguyen dynasty, Kiều being
faithful to her love – Nguyễn Du being faithful to the Lê dynasty across the writing. Truyện Kiều, thereby,
can be considered the most accurate autobiography of the author and impacts of different world views
on Nguyễn Du’s life can be interpreted through this writing.

Analyzing syncretism in Truyện Kiều

Setting

Kiều’s family status was a middle-class scholastic Confucian family with a sister – Vân and a brother. The
two sisters were raised in an idealized Confucian womanhood, taught to follow ‘Tam tòng chi đạo’, which
indicates the bounds that women must follow: father, husband and son. The author also used
physiognomy to provide presentiments of the sisters’ future:

19. Van looked gentle with a decent elegance,

Her face a full moon, her eyebrows two long arcs.

23. Kiều was even more attractive and charming,

Flowers grudged her fresh and willows craved her green.

This is an important feature of Daoism, leaving the readers with a first impression on the characters’
characteristics and fate, implied through author’s word choices. The predictions were soon followed by
the turning point of the story, induced by filial piety (xiao). Kiều’s family was falsely accused and had to
pay a large sum of money to be free. Kiều, therefore, had to sell herself to save her family and this marks
the beginning of her life tragedies.

Tragedies

In the preface of the poem, the author had raised a major concept in Confucianism:

1. In the hundred-year span of a human life,

Talent and fate are always apt to strife.

The concept is Mandate of Heaven, indicating a pre-destined life: Everyone will be granted certain talents
at birth; however, Heaven will create an equilibrium by giving them proportional tragedies to ensure
equality among human beings. This Talent – Fate paradox is the overall theme of Truyện Kiều, applying to
every character and for Kiều, as she possessed exceptional talents, tragic life would be inevitable for her.

Buddhism, on the other hand, has a different stance on the matter. The idea of dukkha (suffering/
unsatisfactoriness) has been introduced from the prior title of the poem: “Đoạn Trường Tân Thanh” (The
New Scream that Cuts the Guts); the name condensed the spectrum of suffering that Kiều had
experienced over the poem. Nguyễn Du once again exemplifies the concept by writing:

3. Through experience of a harrowing change,

What we witnessed filled our hearts with tearing pain.

Life under Buddhists’ lens is full of tragedies, contrasting with the idea of Confucianism that only ones
with too much talents suffer from too much tragedies. The two distinct beliefs have ignited a debate to
identify whether life is always tragic or not; for Kiều, either it is the perspective of Confucius or Buddha,
her life would still be full of sufferings, which maintains the logic of the poem before Nguyễn Du reached
the conclusion of the poem.
Sources of tragedies

3241. Hence everything is predestined by Heaven,

Who creates man and allots him to a fate.

If yours a drifting fate, be resigned to it,

If yours a noble fate, be complied with it.

Heaven’s never in favor of anyone

For Confucianism, the Talent - Fate contradiction is believed to be created by Heaven, all-knowing and
preeminent power leading the lives of people. There have been attempts to overthrow such dominance:

420. To date, many times men’s will has won god’s wish

...however, the characters ultimately had to accept the destined lives however it may be. What would be
the point of living if everything was predetermined? Why should we make decisions when everything will
lead to the same result?. Mandate of Heaven may be able to provide an answer, but chances are it would
not be sufficient due to Confucianism rigidity and power arbitrary of Heaven. Nguyễn Du, therefore, had
introduced an additional outlook on the matter:

1195. Since I did not lead a virtuous former life,

I must amend my wrongdoings nowadays.

Buddhism believes that individual actions determine their future, referring to a concept - Karma. The
answer to the question of tragedy sources is essentially self, getting what people have cultivated. During
the time Kiều wandered away from home, she had created in many sins. No matter what the motives
were, under such society, her actions were deemed immoral and had to receive punishment.

Resolutions

The merciful nature of Buddhism is the answer to all Kiều’s sins:

1929. Burying grief and sorrows in Buddha’s grace,

She copied sutras at days and prayed at night.

Buddhism gives everyone the chance to rehabilitate, ultimately returning to their pure self if they

are self-aware of their wrongdoings. This leads to the concept of xin (Heart-Mind/ Tam),
emphasized in resolving Kiều’s life:

3251. The nature of goodness derives from our heart,

Therefore the heart is worthwhile thrice the talent.

Nguyễn Du started off with the Mandate of Heaven, presuming the role of Heaven in predetermining lives,
but ended with the idea of xin: Kiều sacrifices to her family, selling herself to save the members, fulfilling
the filial piety of (Confucianism), rehabilitating the sins (Buddhism) and proceeding to lead a normal life
upon reuniting with her family (Daoism). The author had condensed meaning of life into xin, emphasizing
on the way of life rather than talent or fate, indicating a humane mind that exceeds any contemporary
beliefs.

Conclusion

Truyện Kiều graciously weaves distinctive elements of each teaching into narrating an impressive story
that not only conveys Nguyễn Du’s personal beliefs but also reflects contemporary state of society belief.
The poem has shed light on the impact of different schools of thought on Nguyễn Du’s life, with
Confucianism being the primary philosophy, maintaining adherence to the five concepts ren – yi – li –
zhong – xiao, Buddhism being the explanation to karmic occurrences in life and Daoism being the ideal
way of living. The religions interacted, complimented each other in a way that provided a satisfactory
answer to life, on the idea of “xin” rather than any other superficial value.
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