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Published: September 25th 2010
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Great Portico Temple of Literature is located on Van Mieu Street, 2km west of Hoan Kiem Lake. Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam is a famous historical and cultural relic consisting of the Temple of Literature and Vietnam’s first university. The Temple of Literature was built in 1070 in honour of Confucius, his followers and Chu Van An, a moral figure in Vietnamese education.
Quoc Tu Giam, or Vietnam's first university, was built in 1076. Throughout its hundreds of years of activity in the feudal, thousands of Vietnamese scholars graduated from this university.
The open time for the first university is from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. The entrance fee is 10,000 vnd. You can request a brochure with the 5,000 vnd added price.
The Van Mieu is built in the shape of a parallelogram, modeled after the Temple to Confucius in Qu Fu, China. Five courtyards separated by brick walls now make up the interior.* In Confucianism, as in Buddhism, the number five has a special place. There are five essential elements, five basic virtues, five commandments, five sorrows, five cardinal relationships, and five classics.
The elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The virtues: humanity (or benevolence),
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First Courtyard righteousness, civility, knowledge, and loyalty. The commandments: against murder, theft, lust, lying, and drunkenness. The sorrows: life, old age, sickness, death, separation. The relationships: king and subjects, father and son, husband and wife, brothers, friends.
The Great Portico of temple of literature A walk through the courtyards of the Van Mieu recalls the Confucian scholar's progress in following the path to knowledge. The journey begins with respect. Before visitors can enter the first gate, they must pass stone inscriptions commanding them to dismount their horses to show respect. Even the king was obliged to dismount, a sign that knowledge was held in higher esteem than royalty or temporal power.
Still outside the temple gate, the visitor passes four pillars bearing Inscriptions that proclaim the greatness of Confucius and his doctrine. Each of the two tallest pillars is topped with a mythic beast, the Ly, that has the power to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. The beasts stand guard to let in the good and keep out the bad.
Entrance to the complex is through the Great Portico, or Gate to the Temple of Literature, a double-roofed two-storey stone structure which may have been built in
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First Courtyard the later Le dynasty (17th and 18th centuries) to replace the original, perhaps wooden, gateway.
First Courtyard: Entrance to the Way - temple of literature The Great Portico leads to the first courtyard, called Entrance to the Way. The central path is straight; the symmetry of both halves reflecting the balance and harmony of life lived according to the Confucian Middle Path, or Golden Mean. The way is graced by lotus ponds and sacred trees like the banyan and frangipani.
Virtue and talent were the keys to passage from the first to second courtyards, deeper into the doctrine, as implied by the names of the two side gates at the far end of the courtyard: Thanh Duc, or Accomplished Virtue, is situated to the right of the central gate; Dat Tai, or Attained Talent, to the left.
Second Courtyard: The Great Middle Courtyard - temple of literature At the far end of the second courtyard stands the Khue Van Cac pavilion, built in 1805, shortly after the newly enthroned Nguyen dynasty had moved the royal college to Hue. Khue Van means Constellation of Literature, and the pavilion (Cac) is meant to reflect that brilliance. The graceful
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First Courtyard pavilion is rich in the complementary symbolism of yin-yang. It may be taken as the physical expression of the cosmic Great Primary Principle, Thai Cuc, and the union of contrasting parts.
There is high and low, wind and water, sky and earth. The brick platform is square, the symbolic shape for earth; sky is present in the wooden superstructure adorned with four circular suns, outlined in wood, that radiate their light to the four directions. Dragons crown the roof, making obeisance to the moon.
In order for the student to pass through the gate to the next level of knowledge, the virtue and talent of the first stage must be joined to excellence in literary expression. The two smaller gates leading from this courtyard are called, right to left, Suc Van and Bi Van. Suc Van can be translated Crystallization of Letters, and refers to literary expression that is profound and full of feeling. Bi Van, translated Magnificence of Letters, refers to ideas that are well and beautifully expressed.
Third Courtyard: Garden of the Stelae Passing through the Khue Van Cac, the visitor enters the Courtyard of the Stelae, at the center of which is a square
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right gate pond called Thien Quang Tinh, or Well of Heavenly Clarity.
The well reflects and radiates the brilliance of the Constellation of Literature as it continues the symbolism of the sacred duality: low and high, cool and warm, water and fire, square earth and round sky. Each of the 82 stelae in the courtyard represents a single examination year, and records the names and native villages of those awarded the tien si, or doctor laureate degree, that year. The names of 1306 doctor laureates are listed on the stelae.
On each side of the pond, between the double rows of stelae, stands a small shrine where incense is burned to honor the memory of the laureates. The oldest stele stands in the shrine on the entering visitor's right. The tien si was not a diploma of graduation from the royal college, but was granted to all who passed the first four parts of the royal examinations. Scholars from throughout the realm could sit for the exams. For more on the examinations.
Although 2,313 examinees were awarded titles, names were only recorded from 1442 to 1779. The first stelae were erected in 1484, by King Le Thanh Tong, commemorating
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left gate laureates of each examination beginning from 1442. Records of examinations given after that date suggest there should be 30 more stelae.
For other part related to Ha Noi 1000 years Celebration, please refer to:
Ha Noi - 1000 Years Thang Long
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