Ladies and Gentlemen,
In 1909, the translator Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh officially introduced The Tale of Kiều (Truyện Kiều) by Nguyễn Du to the public through the French-language newspaper Notre Revue (Our Review), published in Hanoi, where he served as Editor-in-Chief.
The French-language newspaper Notre Revue, edited by Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh, was first published in 1910 in Hanoi, after the colonial government suppressed the Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục Movement and shut down Đăng Cổ Tùng Báo, the first Vietnamese-language newspaper in Northern Vietnam.
In 1913, for the first time, Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh officially published The Tale of Kiều in Quốc Ngữ (modern Romanized Vietnamese), translated from the original chữ Nôm script.
Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh’s Kim – Vân – Kiều was first published in 1913 in Hanoi.
In the 1913 edition of The Tale of Kiều translated by Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh, readers could already find several illustrations depicting key characters such as Hoạn Thư, Hồ Tôn Hiến, and Sở Khanh. Unfortunately, these illustrations were not attributed to any specific artist.
The illustration of Thúy Vân appeared in the second edition of Kim – Vân – Kiều published by Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh in 1915.
By the mid-1920s, when Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh founded the Centre for Western Thought (La pensée de l’Occident), headquartered at 1-3 Hàng Gai Street (now Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục Square, near Hoàn Kiếm Lake, Hanoi), he began officially publishing a large number of cultural works he had collected and translated.
Among these publications, readers could find books featuring illustrated images—particularly children’s books—such as The Fables of Jean de La Fontaine, Children’s Tales (Les Contes de Perrault), Children Sing, Children Play (a compilation of Vietnamese folk rhymes and traditional games). The illustrations in these works were all signed “Mạnh Quỳnh” (1917–1991).
Notably, in 1942, Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh’s children’s publications were mass-produced by the Alexandre de Rhodes Publishing House, with print runs in the tens of thousands. This included the French-language edition of The Tale of Kiều, translated by Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh (Traduction en français par NGUYEN-VAN-VINH).
All of the illustrations in these publications were created by painter Mạnh Quỳnh.
The fable The Cow, the Goat, the Ewe, and the Lion, translated by Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh, includes an illustration signed by painter Mạnh Quỳnh in the lower right corner.
The story Cinderella, translated by Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh and illustrated by Mạnh Quỳnh, appeared in the book Children’s Tales (Chuyện Trẻ Con), published in 1942 by Alexandre de Rhodes Publishing House.
The nursery rhyme Phụ Đồng Chổi (The Little Helper with the Broom), accompanied by an illustration by Mạnh Quỳnh, was printed in the book Children Sing, Children Play (Trẻ Con Hát Trẻ Con Chơi), also published in 1942 by Alexandre de Rhodes.
An illustration of the character Thúy Vân appears alongside verse 2967 in the French-language edition of The Tale of Kiều, published in 1943.
This reality demonstrates a remarkable harmony and cultural synergy between Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh and Mạnh Quỳnh—two individuals from different generations, yet fully aligned in their cultural vision and values.
To support this observation, one only needs to look at Mạnh Quỳnh’s illustrations for stories of Western origin—such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Red Riding Hood—where the characters are dressed in traditional Vietnamese attire and set in Vietnamese cultural contexts. This fully reflects Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh’s educational philosophy: stories, even those originating in Europe, should be adapted in a way that makes their moral and educational messages accessible and relatable to the everyday life of the Vietnamese people, especially rural farmers of Annam, whom he deeply cared about.
A page from Les Contes de Perrault (Children’s Tales), printed in 1942 by Alexandre de Rhodes Publishing House.
To better understand the personality and artistic legacy of the talented painter Mạnh Quỳnh—who, we believe, shared many emotional and ideological parallels with the thinker Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh—we are pleased to share with readers an article by a well-known Vietnamese poet and journalist, Mr. Lê Minh Quốc, titled “Painter Mạnh Quỳnh and Poet La Fontaine”, published in Phụ Nữ Newspaper (Women’s Newspaper) on July 12, 2012.
Respectfully,
Editorial Board – Tannamtu.com
Nguyễn Lân Bình
Original link: https://tannamtu.id.vn/?p=5564
