| Description |
Nôm Tày Writing emerged during the Mac dynasty in Cao Bang, flourished throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, and continues to this day thanks to the efforts of numerous generations of Tày intellectuals. Tày scholars recorded the Tày language, known as Tày Nôm Writing, using the Han character system. Tày Nôm Writing is a hieroglyphic writing system that originated from the Chinese letters used by the Han people residing in the North. The principles of writing Chinese characters in Tày Nôm Writing must also be followed: top first, bottom after; inside before, outside after; left first, right after; write from left to right, top to bottom (in vertical rows); use kanji to recognize semantics and characters. There are numerous variations because of the direct teaching approach and manual copying. It's also rather typical to use Sino-Vietnamese terminology while reading Tày pronunciation. Writing in Tày Nôm is done on native paper, or chỉa sla. To write with bold strokes, use a brush dipped in Chinese ink and glide the tip of the pen evenly across the paper. Poetry books, storybooks, and songbooks written by Taoist monks are recorded using Tày Nôm Writing. |
