The Mount of Husband and Wife by Ho Xuan Huong

The mount of husband and wife

The Mount of Husband and Wife
Poet: Ho Xuan Huong

What a funny sight the creator exhibits here.
To the husband, he adds the wife…
What a funny sight the creator exhibits here.
To the husband, he adds the wife
Above, the man with his head hoary with snow
Beneath, the woman with her cheeks moistened with dew.
The affection in the moonlight overflows
Their love is closely united to the mountains and waters.
If even rocks are capable of love,
So with all the more reason are we, human beings, in our young days.

According to tradition, this poem is thought to have been composed by Ho Xuan Huong during a journey in Tuyen Quang province. On her way, she saw two rocks, one on top of the other, the upper one looking like a man and the lower one, a woman – The rocks are given the name of ’The Husband and the Wife.’

The descriptions of well known things like the swing, the fan, the ’Troi” cakes, also spring from erotic inspiration.