Saturday, September 22, 2012

Temple of Literature, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

25th August, 2012.

 

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The Temple of Literature is a rare example of well-preserved Vietnamese traditional architecture, hosting Viet Nam's first national university. The temple was built in 1070 at the time of King Ly Nhan Tong and is dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars. The temple is featured on the back of the 100,000 Vietnamese dong banknote.

In 1076, Vietnam's first university, the "Quốc Tử Giám" or Imperial Academy, was established within the temple to educate Vietnam's bureaucrats, nobles, royalty and other members of the elite.  After 1442, a more egalitarian approach was adopted, and gifted students from all over the nation came here to study Confucianism, literature and poetry.

The university remained open from 1076 to 1779. In 1802, the Nguyen monarchs founded the Huế capital where they established a new imperial academy. The academy at the Hanoi temple lost its prominence and became a school of the Hoai Duc district.

The temple was reconstructed during the Tran dynasty (1225–1400) and in subsequent dynasties. For nearly two centuries, despite wars and disasters, the temple has preserved ancient architectural styles of many dynasties as well as precious relics. Major restorations have taken place in 1920, 1954 and 2000.

In front of the Great Gate are four tall pillars. On either side of the pillars are two stelae requesting that visitors dismount their horses.  (We made sure we did.)

In front of the gate you can see Woodley, Len and Florence, and also Lauren taking a picture.

 

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The interior of the site is divided into five courtyards. The first two courtyards are quiet areas with ancient trees and trimmed lawns, where scholars would relax away from the bustle of the outside world.

 

Turtle Steles with the names of those successful at the royal exams.  Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Literature,_Hanoi

In 1484, the King Lê Thánh Tông erected 116 steles of carved blue stone turtles with elaborate motifs to honour talent and encourage study. The turtle ("quy") is one of the nation's four holy creatures. The others are the dragon ("long"), the unicorn ("ly") and the phoenix ("phuong").

 

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The doctors' steles are a valuable historical resource for the study of culture, education and sculpture in Vietnam. Of the 116 erected, 82 remain. They depict the names and birth places of 1307 graduates of 82 triennial royal exams.  The ancient Chinese engravings on each stele praise the merits of the monarch and cite the reason for holding royal exams.

 

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The turtle is a symbol of longevity. The shape and size of the turtle changed with the passage of time.

 

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While we were there, there was a group of very pretty girls in ornate traditional áo dài dress, looking very excited, and being photographed by their boyfriends/husbands.  Someone said they saw them holding certificates at one stage, so maybe they had just come from their graduation ceremony.

 

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There’s that cutesy peace sign again.

 

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This pretty girl is standing beside the Well of Heavenly Clarity.

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Clarity must mean something different in heaven from what it means here.

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In the Dai Thanh sanctuary is an altar dedicated to Confucius.

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On the right of Confucius was a gold-plated ceramic tortoise, symbolising longevity.

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To the left of Confucius was a set of drums (I think).  Confucius was also flanked by four of his disciples.

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As we left, a group of students came in, adding colour and excitement.

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