https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/94549/fullIn life's long scramble, people still proceed people (Trinh Cong Son's song)200755 1/8 × 13 3/4 inches (140 × 35 cm)Chinese ink on Xuan paperAcquired through the George and Mary Rockwell Fund2009.047.0010Calligraphy20101743306Tran Trong Duong“M?t d?i v?i nh?ng bon chen lâu dài, ngu?i ngu?i còn ti?p n?i ngu?i”
This is a line from the song “M?t L?n Thoáng Có” (“Once in a Flash”) written by the celebrated Vietnamese singer-songwriter Tr?nh Công Son (1939–2001), sometimes referred to as the Bob Dylan of Vietnam. For many he represents a genre of music colloquially referred to as nh?c vàng (“yellow music”), characterized by romantic and melancholy themes, as well as criticism of the war. Popular in the south prior to the Communist takeover in 1975, this style of music holds strong appeal in the Vietnamese diaspora, and despite the fact that many nh?c vàng songs were banned after 1975, Tr?nh Công Son continues to be one of the country’s most beloved musicians today.
2009.047.001