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Tây Tiến/ Westward Advancement – Quang Dũng

July 21, 2021 By huutoai Blog No Comments

Far behind is the Mã River, Westward Marching troops! – Sông Mã xa rồi, Tây Tiến ơi

Still thinking of jungles and mountains is a staggering nostalgia. – Nhớ về rừng núi, nhớ chơi vơi

In Sài Khao, mist concealed the well-worn soldiers. – Sài Khao sương lấp đoàn quân mỏi

In Mường Lát, on a steamy night, the flowers returned. – Mường Lát hoa về trong đêm hơi

The upward slope was daunting and tortuous. – Dốc lên khúc khuỷu dốc thăm thẳm

Among desolate banks of cloud, gun muzzles sniffed the sky. – Heo hút cồn mây, súng ngửi trời

A thousand meters ascent, another thousand descent; – Ngàn thước lên cao, ngàn thước xuống

Someone’s house in rainy Pha Luông, far away. – Nhà ai Pha Luông mưa xa khơi

A weather-beaten companion halted, – Anh bạn dãi dầu không bước nữa

Slumping on his helmet and gun; he left life behind. – Gục lên súng mũ bỏ quên đời

In the evening there thundered majestic waterfalls. – Chiều chiều oai linh thác gầm thét

At night, in Mường Hịch, tigers teased the people. – Đêm đêm Mường Hịch cọp trêu người

Oh Westward March, with the scent of steaming rice. – Nhớ ôi Tây Tiến cơm lên khói

Her season of fragrant fields in Mai Châu, – Mai Châu mùa em thơm nếp xôi

The barracks brightened up for a bridal gala. – Doanh trại bừng lên hội đuốc hoa

Lo and behold, she was already dressed. – Kìa em xiêm áo tự bao giờ

Coy she was as the panpipe played a Man tune. – Khèn lên Man điệu nàng e ấp

Toward Vientiane, the music inspired poetry. – Nhạc về Viên Chăn xây hồn thơ

Those of you who left for Châu Mộc that misty evening, – Người đi Châu Mộc chiều sương ấy

Did you notice the spirit of reeds along river banks? – Có thấy hồn lau nẻo bến bờ

The allure of lasses in dugouts? – Có nhớ dáng người trên độc mộc

Floating on swift-flowing water like flowers – Trôi dòng nước lũ hoa đong đưa

Westward Marching troops went bald. – Tây Tiến đoàn binh không mọc tóc

Pale like leaves, we stayed fierce as tigers. – Quân xanh màu lá dữ oai hùm

With wide eyes we sent reveries across the border. – Mắt trừng gửi mộng qua biên giới

At night, we dreamt of Hanoi and its charming beauties. – Đêm mơ Hà Nội dáng kiều thơm

Scattered along the frontier were graves far from home – Rải rác biên cương mồ viễn xứ

Of those who left for battlefields without regretting their youth. – Chiến trường đi chẳng tiếc đời xanh

Shrouded in uniforms instead of reed mats, they returned to the earth. – Áo bào thay chiếu, anh về đất

The Mã River roared a solo-journey dirge. – Sông Mã gầm lên khúc độc hành

Westward Marching soldiers left without promises. – Tây Tiến người đi không hẹn ước

Their remote expedition meant in itself a separation. – Đường lên thăm thẳm một chia phôi

Those who joined the Westward March that spring – Ai lên Tây Tiến mùa xuân ấy

Had their minds set for Sam Nua, not the plains. – Hồn về Sầm Nứa chẳng về xuôi

The beauty of nature in the Northwest

The Northwest is nostalgic to play with.

As a romantic and flamboyant soldier, he departed at the call of the Fatherland, deeply attached to the Northwest land. With his comrades here when he recalled the Northwest, he remembered the battlefield. All his memories from the past rushed back to the poet. We see nostalgia pervading from the beginning of the poem: Ma River is far away, Tay Tien!

Remembering the mountains, remembering far away Sai Khao, covering the tired army with Muong Lat flowers, coming back in the night. The words “remember” “remember” and then the two voices calling Tay Tien, dear, sounded familiar and earnest. The use of exclamation and personification, especially the image of the Ma River, appears at the beginning of the poem.

This is no longer a mere river of nature, it is now a river of emotions, mood, and inspiration. We know the Ma River is a river that flows along the Northwest, that’s why Tay Tien soldiers marched along this land, so the Ma river became the soldier’s companion for them to express their feelings.

For poet Quang Dung, it is even more meaningful. The image of the Ma river appears throughout from the beginning to the end of the poem. From the image of the Ma River, there are many new places that are both strange and familiar, making the Northwest land appear so dear.

Therefore, the Northwest is not only a piece of land, but it is also a piece of life, a piece of love, and a piece of the soldier’s soul. And nostalgia here is not ordinary nostalgia, it is nostalgia without form, a floating nostalgia spreading immensely between the two banks of reality, between the past and the present.