The numbers “bốn mươi” (40) and “mười” (10) likely refer to a total of 50 pigs, but the separation suggests a tally — perhaps a herd of 40 plus another 10, implying a large-scale, almost absurd accumulation. The twist: the speaker does not want profit or freedom, but imprisonment. This poem belongs to the genre of thơ trào phúng (satirical poetry) from the early 20th century, targeting the French colonial taxation system in Tonkin and Annam. One of the most hated taxes was the thuế lợn (pig tax) — a head tax on each pig raised by Vietnamese peasants. Tax collectors would count every pig over a certain age. To avoid the tax, poor farmers would slaughter or hide pigs before census day.
Thus, “chỉ muốn đem ta đưa vào ngục giam” is bitter irony: the colonial system is so oppressive that even raising livestock becomes a crime. The speaker pretends that his goal is jail — exposing the fact that, under French rule, honest farming led to punishment. The poem uses hyperbolic irony . Normally, raising pigs aims at prosperity. By inverting cause and effect (pigs → prison), the poet defamiliarizes colonial reality. The reader laughs, then realizes the joke is on them: the system criminalizes survival. ta nuoi lon bon muoi muoi chi muon dem ta dua vao nguc giam
A masterpiece of Vietnamese satirical folk poetry — three seconds to recite, a century to unpack. The numbers “bốn mươi” (40) and “mười” (10)
1. Textual Correction and Literal Meaning The correct common version of this satirical lục bát couplet is: “Ta nuôi lợn bốn mươi, mười, Chỉ muốn đem ta đưa vào ngục giam.” Literal translation: “I raise pigs: forty, ten — Just wanting them to put me in prison.” One of the most hated taxes was the