Roaming the world and wandering at ease: Nguyen Cong Tru's poetic vision of becoming a fully developed human being

This dissertation examines the Vietnamese poet Nguyen Cong Tru's vision of "becoming human." The focus will be on his use of poetry to appropriate various values and insights from Confucianism and Daoism in his struggle to understand what the process of becoming human entails. The main dilemma facing Nguyen is his constant struggle to determine the best response to conditions in an ever-changing world without sacrificing his spirit of joy and peace. I will show that Nguyen's poetry expresses his moral vision and also serves to resolve the tensions he identifies because poetry encourages self-expression while simultaneously envisioning alternatives for overcoming the contradictions a person has to face in balancing multiple demands and opportunities for living a meaningful and creative life. In the first chapter, a backdrop and justification for the whole project will be provided. Chapter two presents a general picture of the social, political, and cultural conditions of Nguyen Cong Tru's time and gives rationales for his choice of poetical genres as a medium of expression. In chapter three, my aim is to present a basic understanding of Confucianism and Daoism pointing out the basic similarities and differences between the two traditions. The focus will be mainly on the two traditions' vision of the "ideal person": the Confucian's quan tu (morally exemplary person) and the Daoist chan nhan (true man) and also explore why a Confucian would consider incorporating Daoist insights. In chapter four, Nguyen's vision of becoming human from the perspective of human relatedness, which is framed by the socio-political process and a commitment to that process will be examined. In chapter five, I will explain Nguyen's journey metaphor showing that this language is important to understanding Nguyen's vision of becoming human. The language of the journey also allows the poet to generate and suggest a variety of interpretations, decisions, and actions. In chapter six, Nguyen's use of and attitudes toward play and playfulness in his poetry and their roles in the process of finding resolution to the tensions between socio-political activities and the cultivation of personal and aesthetic pursuits will be considered.