Many scholars believe that Ho, whose name means "spring essence," was born sometime between 1775 and 1780, in a village near present-day Hanoi, in North Vietnam. Unlike the records of Western nations, Vietnamese records at this time are sketchy at best, as are the factual details of Ho's life, many of which are derived from her poetry. Scholars believe that Ho was a concubine—a second wife, lower in stature than the official, first wife. Many women were concubines during this time, since the dowry and wedding rules were too complex and expensive for all women to become official wives. Ho was a rarity in Vietnam, where the patriarchal rules of Confucianism often prevented women from receiving the same education as men. Even when women did receive classical educations, there were few accomplished poets, especially ones that received the immediate fame that Ho did. Ho's poetry itself was...