Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) has been translated into languages such as English, French and Japanese. Its Russian edition is going to be released in Ha Noi on Friday. — Photo thethaovanhoa.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — The Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences and the central province of Ha Tinh's People's Committee will jointly launch a Vietnamese-Russian edition of Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) on November 6.

The release of the book aims to mark the 250th birth anniversary of prominent Vietnamese poet Nguyen Du, who was born in 1766.

Launched in 2013, The Tale of Kieu has been translated into Russian based on the revised version by Professor of Literature Nguyen Thach Giang, which has been reprinted seven times in Viet Nam.

The translation project comprised Russian and Vietnamese translators, including experts in Vietnamese and Russian studies, such as MA of Literature Nguyen Huy Hoang, translators Doan Tu Huyen and Vu The Khoi, poet Vasili Popov and Associate Professor of Linguistics Anatoli Socolov.

The original Tale of Kieu was first transcribed into prose and then translated into Russian. After two revisions, the poetry version was finally translated with reference to the prose version.

A representative of the translation group said the most important factor was not a normal translation but staying true to the original work. The final work had to have the complete content of The Tale of Kieu, without losing the artistic beauty of Viet Nam's most renowned poem.

Nguyen Du, also known as To Nhu and Thanh Hien, was born on January 3, 1766, into a noble family in Thang Long Long (Ha Noi). He was recognised by UNESCO as a world cultural icon in 2003.

His most outstanding work was The Tale of Kieu, a 3,254-line classical verse novel written in luc bat, a form that consists of alternating lines of six and eight syllables, a traditional form of Vietnamese poetry.

In his poem, Nguyen Du has depicted the beauty of true love and loyalty and the unyielding hope for justice.

As an 18th century masterpiece, Truyen Kieu has been translated into more than 20 languages with 35 translated editions.

The work was recognised by the World Peace Council as one of the world's most celebrated cultural works in 1965. — VNS