Trịnh Cẩm Nguyệt
Trịnh Cẩm Nguyệt | |
|---|---|
 Nguyệt photographed in 1893 with her famous pink áo trang trí | |
| Born | 13 February 1863 |
| Died | 16 September 1959 (aged 96) Phổ Bông, Lộng Hố Province, Quenmin |
| Nationality | Quenminese |
| Occupation | Writer, novelist, poet, musician, botanist |
Notable work | |
| Movement | Văn Mới ("New Literature") |
| Spouse(s) | Diệp Hiếu Nghĩa (m. 1889; died 1935) |
Trịnh Cẩm Nguyệt (Chữ Hy Lạp: Τρῐνι Κᾱἀμ Ϧυιῃτ; Chữ Nôm: 鄭感月; 13 February 1863 – 16 September 1959), courtesy name Hoàng Yến (Ηοὰϧ Υήν; 皇燕), pseudonym Trịnh Thu Diệp (Τρῐνι Θυ Ζιῃπ; 鄭秋葉), was a Quenminese writer, novelist, poet, musician, and botanist. She is regarded as one of the most influential writers of modern Quenminese literature by being a principal figure in the Văn Mới movement, earning her the monikers Viết Trịnh (Βιήτ Τρῐν; 曰鄭) meaning "Pen Trịnh," and "Mother of Modern Quenminese Literature."
Born to the noble Trịnh clan, Nguyệt had access to a variety of literature in her father's library, and committed to self-study at a young age. By the time she was 13, she learned how to write poems, short stories and novels; speak and inscribe in Classical Quenminese, Chữ Nôm and Töbedaric; and play the đàn nguyệt and đàn tranh. She was influenced by Western literature, and after being married to Dr. Diệp Hiếu Nghĩa, she began writing novels that conveyed more emotional expressions. Alongside, Nguyệt took interest in botany from her husband at 32, and became his assistant to co-author reports for the Imperial Quenminese Society for Science and produce garden cultivation books for women. Nguyệt was a vocal exponent of feminism, and wrote pieces that criticized her male peers in science. She also became a outspoken critic of the Quocvangist regime, which lead to her 1943 arrest. Nguyệt lived the rest of her life in Phổ Bông where she died in 1959.
Nguyệt remains one of the most celebrated and studied authors in Quenmin. Her famous literary works Words About New Things, A Tour of Töbedaria, Three Lychees for the Spring, and Cường's Bicycle were common choices in literature classes and academic papers; renowned literary professor Kỷ Cảnh Tuấn described her aforementioned pieces as "flowers to one's literary garden." Her contributions to botany are held in high regard, as exemplified by her popular book Nurturing Plants at Home and her co-authored report Modern Medicinal Applications for the Rhododendron Species. Among politicians, she is regarded as a champion of democracy and anti-fascism, with her anti-Quocvangist treatise Golden Dawn or Golden Dusk being quoted often, especially by left-wing proponents. Within feminist circles, she is hailed as an icon alongside Huỳnh Bạch Yến, Đặng Diệu Hiền, Ân Mỹ Nhi, and Trầm Như Ngọc.