DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF VU TRINH’S STORYTELLING METHOD THROUGH LAN TRI KIEN VAN LUC

Abstract

Lan Tri kien van luc by Vu Trinh is a valuable work in many aspects. This paper focuses on describing and analyzing the distinctive features in the storytelling art of the work.

Lan Tri kien van luc is a typical case of prose in the period of 11th - 19th centuries in Vietnam. In terms of its content, the book is a record of the author’s bizarre experience; in terms of its form, it is a combination of different genres. The author has created new features for such legendary stories of the Vietnamese people. The most remarkable hallmark is the "miraculous reality" feature with a distinctive storytelling method. The content of Lan Tri kien van luc talks about stories of “first-hand experiences”, but avoids using “miscellaneous styles”, and does not fall into trivial details which are common in the prose of the 11th - 19th century period. Lan Trì kiến văn lục is not only a typical work among the legendary stories in the 11th - 19th centuries, but it also has a profound influence on modern literature in the late nineteenth century and in the early twentieth century.