Nguyen Du

Nguyen Du was a Vietnamese poet and scholar-official, born in 1766 in Thang Long, now Hanoi, and died in 1820 in Hue, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in Vietnamese literature. Coming from a noble, well-educated family with a tradition of literary achievement, he is best known for composing The Tale of Kieu, a 3,254 line verse novel now considered the masterpiece of Vietnamese literature. Nguyen Du lived through a turbulent period marked by the collapse of successive Vietnamese dynasties, and his poetry often reflects concerns about social injustice and human suffering drawn from that experience; he died at 54, likely of cholera, and was posthumously honored by the emperor for his loyalty and integrity.