TRAVEL POETRY IN “HẢI NGOẠI KỈ SỰ” BY THÍCH ĐẠI SÁN

Abstract

“Hải ngoại kỉ sự” by Thích Đại Sán is written in the “kỉ sự” (record/account) genre and incorporateswith numerous poems and various prose forms, such as memorials, proclamations, petitions, letters, prefaces, official reports, and congratulatory writings. Poetry, in particular, constitutes a significant part of this work. This study employed statistical analysis, synthesis, comparative analysis, and historical methods to analyze the interspersed poetry within “Hải ngoại kỉ sự” from a thematic and genre-based perspective. The research demonstrates the poems’ rich thematic significance, including their vivid descriptions of nature and the daily life and customs of Đàng Trong (Southern Vietnam) through the eyes of a Chinese Buddhist monk. Concurrently, this paper also identifies the characteristics of travel poetry and highlights the important role of poetry within this prose-based record.