Introduction

In Vietnam, children are often told that "Van di voi vo", which, loosely translated into English, means "The pen goes with the sword". In a culture where children are encouraged to study hard at school and be brave in life, the ideal citizen should be a scholar as well as a warrior. Fierce and warlike as the race has had to be throughout its long history, poetry reading and writing have always played a major role in its social life, right down to hamlet level.

During the second Viet Nam war (1955-1975), the author met many men and women from all walks of life, on both sides of the fence, who participated in the war with a gun in one hand and a pen in the other. They could kill, if need be; they could also write poems when overwhelmed with emotions that everyday words failed to express. 

The author was impressed by this incongruous juxtaposition of opposites and, perhaps unconsciously, modeled his life on it. On the one hand, he committed himself wholly to the study of Asian martial arts; on the other, he began jotting down notes on what was going on around him in preparation for a series of novels.

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