• Address: 58 Quốc Tử Giám, Văn Miếu, Đống Đa, Hà Nội
•  Opening hours: every day.
•  In summer (From April to October): 07:30-17:30
•  In winter (From October to April): 08:00-17:00
•  Entrance fee: Adults: 30,000 VND (~US$ 1.3) for both Vietnamese and foreigners, Students: 15,000 VND (~US$ 0.7) (student card required), Children under 15: Free
• Costume: no tank-top or miniskirt allowed, always take off your hat when being in the sanctuary area.

Temple of Literature – The National Assembly with the TRADITION OF LEARNING PROMOTION

         In the past, the Vietnamese people have attached great importance to education. That education has produced for the country many talents in the fields of culture, politics, diplomacy, and military… glorifying the country’s history. In which, study promotion activities are concerned and implemented by both the State and the people.

         During the Ly Dynasty, the policy of promoting study was shown most clearly in the event of building the Temple of Literature in Thang Long citadel in 1070 as a place to worship the saints, and Confucian scholars and for the Prince to study. In 1075, King Ly Nhan Tong opened the first exam “Ming Kinh Sac" in the history of Vietnamese examinations. A year later, he reopened Quoc Tu Giam to teach children of nobles. Later under the Tran dynasty, Quoc Tu Giam gradually expanded its scale, including popular elite students’ study.

         During the Le Dynasty, the faculty was disciplined and prosperous. Quoc Tu Giam becomes the largest talent training center in the country. Therefore, the study promotion activities of the Le dynasty developed more and more. Especially during the early Le Dynasty, study promotion activities took place very richly and diversely, such as: setting up a stele to honor the doctor’s name in honor of the person who passed the university at the Temple of Literature, holding a ceremony to register the name in the gold plate, organizing solemnly celebrate to return their fatherland to pray for ancestors, bestow banquets, and honor… for the passers-by.

In the Nguyen Dynasty, although the capital was moved to Hue, the forms of study promotion were still very important to the Vietnamese people since ancient times. That education has produced for the country many talents in the fields of culture, politics, diplomacy, and military… glorifying the country’s history. In which, study promotion activities are concerned and implemented by both the State and the people. The imperial court maintained the opening of talent selection examinations, continued the tradition of erecting a stele with the name of a doctor in the imperial city of Hue, and various forms of examination, passing, awarding, etc., for those who passed were always respected and implemented.

In addition to the study promotion policies of the court, in the villages and hamlets, the academic families also have study promotion activities for the children of the village. In the provinces, villages across the country also built provincial Temples of Literature, Van Tu, and Van just to worship the Confucian prophets, showing gratitude “Drink water, remember the source" according to Vietnamese custom. Many villages, and many clans with the tradition of academic achievement also engrave the name of the person who passed the school course in the village, placed in the village’s Van Tu, Van Chi of the village, or in the Tu Duong family line. These forms are the driving force to motivate children to study and help them know the learning examples of their ancestors to embark on a better learning path.

         Today, at the monument of Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam, study promotion is still carried out. Every year, many schools at all levels, educational institutions, families, and thousands of students all over the country come here to organize the incense offering ceremony, honor, and commendation to encourage the study and motivate the next young generation. These activities are the continuation and promotion of the good study promotion tradition of his father in the new conditions.

I. Temple of Literature’s History

 Temple of Literature was founded in 1070, to the south of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long – almost 1000 years ago, by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong as a temple to worship the Chinese philosopher Confucius.

Temple of Literature – one of the most important monuments in Hanoi.

In 1076, his son established the Imperial Academy as a royal school for only members of the elite such as princes, nobles, and bureaucrats. 

The Imperial Academy, which was known as the first university in Vietnam, opened for about 700 years and educated hundreds of well-known scholars and mandarins. Despite the wars and disasters, the Temple of Literature remained its precious architectural and cultural value.

II. Temple of Literature’s Architecture

Covering an area of over 54000 square meters, the Temple of Literature, which is surrounded by an ancient brick wall, consists of five courtyards in different styles. The whole area consists of several main parts as below.

Đại Trung Môn – The First Courtyard 

Steps over the big gate of the first courtyard (the Great Middle Gate), you find yourself in varying shades of green and leave outside the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. 

The gates on the left and right side are called Virtue Gate and Talent Gate respectively, which depicted the expectation of the King towards students rated high education here.

By chance, you may notice that there is a symbol of a fish on top of the gate. According to the legend, God holds an annual competition for the fish, and the one, which is able to leap over the strongest waves to jump to the other side of the waterfall, will be transformed into a powerful dragon.

Actually, that fish represents a student. Only by studying strenuously and nonstop trying he can be knowledgeable and brilliant enough to pass all the exams and become a government official.

Back in that period of time, students learned all about Confucius’s theory, literature, and Chinese culture. There were 3 rounds: Regional exam (Hương examination), National exam (Hội examination) and Royal exam (Đình examination), which took place one year after the former. In case someone was not lucky or talented enough, he would have to wait for the next 3 years to take part in the next exam.

The Khue Van Cac – The Second Courtyard

Known as a symbol of Hanoi, Khue Van Cac is a familiar printed on the back of the 100,000 Vietnam dong banknote, the Pavilion of Constellation). This unique architectural work was built in 1805 with four white-washed stilts stone. 

The Khue is the brightest star in the sky and the whole constellation is shaped like the character of “Literature” in Chinese. It implied the wish for prosperous and developed education. Inside the courtyard, a thousand-year-old bronze bell hangs from the ceiling and is only rung on auspicious occasions. 

3. Giếng Thiền Quang(Thien Quang Well) – The Third Courtyard

The third courtyard with a square shape is also known as the Well of Heavenly Clarity. 

Is this square-shaped well weird? The meaning behind that is the square represents the earth while the circle at the top of the pavilion represents the sky, altogether creating a harmony between the sky and earth. This good functions as a mirror absorbing the best essence of the universe. 

More than that, in addition to maintaining the tranquil atmosphere of the Temple of Literature, the well also helped students see themselves and dress up before entering the sacred inner part.

A glimpse over the side of the courtyard will reveal a house of stelae, which is unique in the world. In this section of the courtyard, stone turtles carried large stelae on their backs, praising Confucianism and the Emperor, writing the philosophy of that dynasty, and listing information about the exams and the Doctors.

There should have been 116 stelae, but only 82 remained today as a result of wars destroyed. The shape and size of the turtles told us about the Dynasty’s architectural style.

Why turtles? The answer is in Vietnamese culture, the turtle is the only real animal out of 4 holy ones, including Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, and Phoenix. Not only is Turtle familiar with the mental life of Vietnamese people, but it also presents longevity and wisdom, like what it carried on its back, knowledge, and successful talented scholars.

4. Đại Thành Môn – The Fourth Courtyard 

The fourth courtyard – the gate to great success (meaning in Vietnamese), featuring the stunning House of Ceremonies and the sanctuary to Confucius, is outstanding in the complex because of its red columns and wooden beam ceilings from which antique-style lanterns hang.

Right in the middle of the sanctuary, there is a typical altar existing in every house of a Vietnamese family. The altar is always laid in the center and most sacred place of the house where people worship their ancestors. In the altar, there must be 5 basic elements including Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth filling with offerings and the flavor of incense.

When you visit this courtyard, don’t forget to find out what presents those elements!

On each side of the altar, there is a pair of cranes and a turtle. They are considered to be good friends and present a desire for harmony and eternity.

5. The Fifth Courtyard – The Grounds of Imperial Academy

The fifth courtyard is made of 2 floors. The ground floor has a statue of Chu Văn An, a great teacher and the first rector of the Imperial Academy, who devoted all his life to Vietnamese education. There are also pictures and artifacts about Confucian education in Vietnam at that time. 

The upper floor was where people worship the three kings contributing most to the foundation of the temple and the academy: (from left to right) Lý Thánh Tông, who founded the temple in 1070, Lý Nhân Tông, who founded the Imperial Academy, and Lê Thánh Tông, who ordered the erection of the stone turtles and Stelae of Doctor in 1484. 

6.   BÁI ĐƯỜNG – HOUSE OF CEREMONY

The old Dai Thanh Palace was the place to hold sacrifices to the Tien Thanh and Tien Hien at the Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam. Twice a year, in Spring and Autumn, the second day of the year, on the first Dinh day of the second and eighth lunar month, the King often comes to be the celebrant or appoints the prince to make sacrifices instead. This area includes a brickyard and two blocks: Bai Duong – the place of worship and the harem in the middle; On the East and West sides are two ranges of Ta Vu and Huu Vu – formerly the place of Seven Twelve Sages. During the Tran Dynasty, Tu Nghiep Quoc Tu Giam Chu Van An was worshiped here (1370).

Bai Duong’s house consists of 9 compartments with 40 pillars supporting the roof, on the roof of the comedy nose, the roof is decorated with two dragons worshiping face the moon. The architectural style of the late Le and early Nguyen dynasties. With internal architectural lines such as simple seven lines without elaborate carvings, wooden pillars stacked in a fighting style, curved roof blades on both sides, roof tiles covered with dragon scales… it’s simple, but still exudes the majesty and antiquity of the place of worship.

In front of the two gables, there are wooden doors with parallel bars with wooden bas-reliefs of the Le Dynasty, embossed with dragons and clouds, and a very distinctive curved blade. Inside, there are rows of wooden columns that are all painted with gilded vermilion, especially the two rows of columns in the middle decorated with dragons rolling clouds.

In the middle of the Bai Duong house, there is an ancient wooden incense burner with a particularly delicately carved Le Dynasty pattern. On the two sides of the altar are a pair of bronze cranes standing on the back of a turtle. Above, in the middle, hang the picture “Van the Master’s speech" praising Confucius; In the east, there is a horizontal painting of “Co Kim Nhat Nguyet" (the light of eternity) and the Bich Ung bell by Tu Nghiep Quoc Tu Giam Nguyen Nghiem, made in 1768; and the east is a stone altar with many diaphragms, couplets praising Taoism.

III. How to Get to the Temple of literature?

It is about 2-3 km west of Hoan Kiem Lake and south of Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

Just 10 minutes by taxi to get to the Temple of Literature or about  45minutes walking there from Hoan Kiem lake.

IV. Tips for visiting the Temple of Literature  

Bring cash: the ticket office does not accept paying by credit card.

Don’t arrive too late: you should spend at least 01 hours exploring the Temple of Literature, so be mindful of timing. One more thing to know, summer in Hanoi is extremely hot, especially in the afternoon. Unless you are good to go beating the heat, just arrive in the morning!

Photography is allowed, but be respectful: please don’t laugh or talk too loud in the worshipping area.

Costume: long trouser and a T-shirt is recommended.

1. Temple of Literature’s History;
2. Temple of Literature’s Architecture;
3. How to Get to the Temple of literature?
4. Tips for visiting the Temple of Literature.