[THE POWERFUL VOICE IN HO XUAN HUONG'S POEMS]

The period from the late 18th century to the first half of the 19th century was a time of great upheaval in Vietnamese history. During this era, society was still deeply entrenched in old-fashioned prejudices, viewing women as inferior, unfortunate, and unworthy of respect. Yet, amid such a constraining social landscape, there emerged an extraordinary and liberating poetic voice—one that boldly challenged the lingering feudal conventions. That voice belonged to none other than the poetess Hồ Xuân Hương. It was through this fearlessness that her works quickly gained prominence. Now, let VFSA guide you through the fresh and resonant poetic expressions that echo throughout her remarkable literary legacy. 

Ho Xuan Huong's poetic works not only express the beauty of women but are also her own voice of condemnation and criticism of social reality. In chaotic feudal times, when the power of scoundrels still oppresses and prevents people around them from raising their voices, Ho Xuan Huong's poetry seems to have its own extremely bold move. She indirectly condemned the sages and gentlemen for having indecent thoughts and low morals but trying to appear noble and virtuous in the poem "Three Mountains Pass". In addition, the work "Bay of Paper Fans I" also clearly shows that mandarins and kings always act arrogant but have the lustful nature of young girls:           

“Who is a wise man?

My knees and legs are tired but I still want to climb.”  

Only in the two verse mentioned above could the female poet speak out against the sexism and immorality of royal authorities. However, they still bury and conceal their physical wants in the shadows and hide behind it in order to protect their egos and reputations, despite the fact that they are gentlemen and sages who present themselves as noble. Even monks struggle to uphold the seriousness and dignity of practitioners, rather, they are a collection of people who engage in immoral behavior while hiding in the Buddha's shadow. Ho Xuan Huong's work "The Master" satirizes and harshly criticizes those "men with mouths and daggers in their intestines" in a sarcastic manner. 

Along with the voices that denounce and critique the realities of feudal society, some of Ho Xuan Huong's works also contain extremely liberal voices and are "realistically" infused. Simply said, "fertility" emphasizes reproduction, inherent vitality, and longevity across time. The strict concepts of ancient Confucianism appear to have shaped people's thinking at that time and forced them to repress their own most instinctive wishes. Because Ho Xuan Huong is willing to convey the most fundamental wants of every human being in love, her poetry is both inventive and audacious. The traditional practises of feudal society at the time inhibited this innate desire for love, but her poetry did not do so, as evidenced by this piece, "Jackfruit":

“My body is like a jackfruit on a tree

Its skin is rough and its segments are thick

If a gentleman has love, please pay a deposit

Don't touch more, resin will leak on your hand” 

The poet's poems about women often contain elements that call to mind sexual symbols, including references to jackfruit, stakes, and other everyday objects. The poetess inserted such insensitive pictures and details to the poem in a very smart way to demonstrate her admiration for her instinctive wants, which appear to have been buried. Several decades have passed, and at the same time, there is a voice applauding the visual appeal of women 

Everybody and anybody deserves empathy, unfortunately, that was not the case for women during the feudal times. Because of that, Ho Xuan Huong has written poems indicating desire for empathy along with other women's dreams. The feudal system and society back in the day treated women poorly and restricted them by outdated stereotypes. The Vietnamese idiom “Ăn cơm trước kẻng” (Can be roughly translated to: Having the meal before the signal, basically meaning to have sexual intercourse before marrying) has always been spread, resulting in the fact that women being pregnant without a husband was considered a sin. Just because they did not want to refuse the offer from the one they love, they were still at blame for the consequences. Women were regarded as possessions, toys even. Ho Xuan Huong, forthrightly, raised her voice as a woman, to make other women feel understood and loved, she even invalidated and challenged all the stereotypes and prejudices associated with women. Not only that, her poems showed clear opposition to the mentality that values men over women as well as polygyny. Women always sacrificed her own good for the family and shower them with love. However, in return they just receive disdain and belittlement from their husband’s family:

“Oh dear do you know

Crying baby, and then my husband”

She was extremely compassionate and pitying towards the fate of women who have to suffer from mistreatment from their own family as well as society and loneliness even when in love. There was nothing but helplessness when they saw the reality that while society insisted on the virginity of a woman, men were able to have several wives at once. However, their hands were tied because they simply did not have the authority and freedom to voice their opinions about all the injustice. 

Ho Xuan Huong’s poems mainly expressed admiration for the woman's body - both outside and inside. Even if they had flaws or not, Ho Xuan Huong still appreciated their very original beauty. Aside from natural beauty and all the sufferings of women, her poems also praised women’s true value, or the beauty from the inside, with the hope to encourage women, give them more strength and confidence to raise their own voice

Hồ Xuân Hương’s poetic voice is remarkably fresh and bold, expressed through pure Vietnamese language rich in folk elements, colloquial expressions, and symbolic imagery. Sharing the lived experience of a woman in a patriarchal society, her lines and poems strongly embody resistance, asserting women’s rights and articulating her views on the injustices they faced under feudalism. At the same time, her poetry indirectly condemns and criticizes the lingering oppressive structures of her era. It is precisely through these daring and incisive expressions that she became widely recognized as a woman who, despite living in a strictly patriarchal age, dared to speak out and fight for the rights of women. These unique and distinctive qualities made her poetry stand out in its time and rendered Hồ Xuân Hương’s voice vivid, unconventional, and strikingly audacious.

Authors: Bui Le Minh Hang, Pham My Ha