Nguyen Binh Khiem

Nguyen Binh Khiem Poems

Nguyen Binh Khiem Biography

Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm (1491 – 1585) was a Vietnamese administrator, educator, poet, sage and is a saint of the Cao Dai religion. He is referred to by several names: Hanh Phu, Bach Van cu si (White Cloud Hermit) and Trạng Trình. Born on the coast in Cổ Am village (which is now part of Hai Phong). As an adult, he studied knowledge from the second-rank doctor Lương Đắc Bằng and passed the official government examination at the fairly late age of 44 in the exams of 1535. However, he passed the exam, ranking number one in the country. This was a period of great instability in Vietnam which may explain why he took the exam at such a late age. He served in the Mạc Dynasty court for just seven years until 1542 when he resigned after his official complaints of government corruptions were ignored. He then returned to his native village and opened a school. Among his students were Phùng Khắc Khoan (diplomat), Lương Hữu Khánh, Nguyễn Dữ (author of Truyền Kỳ Mạn Lục). Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm became a person much sought after by many leaders during that time of upheaval, civil war, the Mạc collapse, and the rise of the Trịnh Lords and Nguyễn Lords. Both Trịnh Kiểm and Nguyễn Hoàng purportedly sought his advice in their pursuit of power. To the former, he gave the advice of being the real power behind the (restored) Lê Dynasty. To the latter, he advised building a base of power in the undeveloped south. Both men followed these suggestions, resulting in a political and military division of Vietnam that would last for 200 years. As a result of this sage advice, Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm gained a reputation as someone who could foretell the future. Some of his prophicies were of a Delphic nature as they were ambiguous and could be read in several ways. Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm was also a poet, composing many poems in Chinese and Nôm that have survived to this day. There is a long poem attributed to him called Sấm Trạng Trình, which is the Vietnamese equivalent of the Nostradamus quatrains, in other words, suggestive, and believed to predict future events, and very mysterious.)

The Best Poem Of Nguyen Binh Khiem

Retirement

I'm more than seventy-four, and lucky
to be here at home, New Year - marvelous
to see the world reborn, though my house is poor
in all but books. Spring gardens, bamboos
blooming, house empty but for one
long clean chair, one bright window.
Who's right? Who's wrong? Who cares?
I only laugh at my own simple-mindedness.

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