It follows the life of Từ Thức in the Trần dynasty who meets and marries a goddess in the godly realm before leaving his wife to revisit his hometown, unaware that countless ages have passed in the mortal world since then.
[7] In the era of Quang Thái in the Trần dynasty, Từ Thức is the head official of Du Tiên District in Hóa Châu Province.
After spending a year in the godly realm, he begins to miss his home, so he asks his wife to let him go back to say goodbye to his relatives and friends.
Upon arrival, Từ Thức discovers that eighty years have passed and it is the era of Diên Ninh in the Lê dynasty now.
[12] Ho Chi Minh City Television later produced a new version featuring Vũ Linh, Hồ Ngọc Trinh and Cao Thúy Vy.
'I wander up hill and down dale'), a folk poem collected in Kho tàng ca dao người Việt (lit.
[16] The character is also focused on in the following six-eight folk poem:[17] Trách chàng Từ Thức vụng suy, Cõi tiên chẳng ở, về chi cõi trần.Literal translation: What a miscalculation Từ Thức made, Instead of staying in the godly realm, why would [he] come back to the mortal realm[?
'Strange encounter in Bích Câu'), an epic poem written by an unnamed author and collected in Đoàn Thị Điểm's Truyền kỳ tân phả.