Tabooed Names and Archaic Words in the Nom Versions of The Lament of the Soldier's

Abstract

In the past, many scholars, namely Biet Lam, Thuan Phong, Pham Van Dieu, Le Huu Muc, and Nguyen Thach Giang among others, employed different methods and arguments to affirm Doan Thi Diem as the author of the Nôm translation of Chinh Phu Ngam (The Lament of the Soldier’s Wife). To further substantiate Doan Thi Diem’s authorship of this famous and widely disseminated version, we have discovered new evidence in the form of tabooed names and archaic words found in surviving printed or handwritten Nôm versions of The Lament of the Soldier’s Wife. These findings strongly suggest that the 18th century Nôm translation of The Lament of the Soldier’s Wife, was composed by Doan Thi Diem rather than Phan Huy Ich