1. Introduction to Temple of Literature

• Location: 58 Quoc Tu Giam, Van Mieu, Dong Da, Ha Noi
• Opening hours: every day.
• In summer ( From May 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 Vietnamese and foreigners
  Students: 15,000 VND (~US$ 0.7) (student card required)
  Children under 15: Free
• Dress code: no tank-top or miniskirt allowed, always take off your hat when being in the sanctuary area.

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

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

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2. How to get to Temple of Literature

To get to the Temple of Literature, visitors can choose one of the following ways:

• By bus: visitors can take bus routes 32, 41, 23, 38, 02 and get off at the nearest stop of the Temple of Literature and then walk to the Temple of Literature.
• By Hop on hop off service: This is a tourist service that has just appeared in recent years. This service not only helps you visit the Temple of Literature but also takes you to visit all other famous sites and monuments of Hanoi very professional and convenient.
• By Taxis, motorbike taxis: In Hanoi, motorbike taxis and taxis are available, so it is easy for visitors to call a car to Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam.

You can get to Temple of Literature in just 10 minutes using a taxi and about 1 hour walking on foot from Hoan Kiem lake.

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3. Architecture of Temple of Literature

Covering an area of over 54000 square meters, Temple of Literature, which is surrounded by an ancient brick wall, consists of five courtyards in different styles.

3.1. Van lake

Ho Van, also known as Giam lake or Minh Duong lake, is located right in front of the gate of the Temple of Literature. According to historical records, Van lake is a large lake, up to 1,100,000 meters wide, located in the overall Van Mieu relic area. In the heart of Van lake is Kim Chau mound. Phan Thuy Duong was built on Kim Chau mound. Phan Thuy Duong is the place where literary reviews of the ancient Confucian scholars took place.

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3.2. Van Mieu Gate

Van Mieu Mon is the three-way gate outside of the relic. There are 3 doors with doors built on 2 floors high. The upper floor has three letters of Van Mieu Mon in ancient Chinese characters. Located in front of the Temple of Literature are the four pillars of the Nghi Mon Gate in the middle and two Ha Ma steles on either side.

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3.3. Dai Trung Gate

Taking your 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 attaining high education here.

All of a sudden, you may notice that there is a symbol of a fish on top of the gate. Legend has it that 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 can he 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 point of view, 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 exam.

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3.4. Khue Van Cac

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

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. 

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3.5. Thien Quang Well

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

Is this square-shaped well weird? The meaning behind is that the square represents the earth while the circle at the top of the pavilion represents the sky, all together created 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. The shape and size of the turtles told us about architectural style in the dynasty.

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 people.

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3.6. Dai Thanh Gate

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 wood beam ceilings from which antique-style lanterns hang. 

Right in the middle of the sanctuary, there is a typical altar existing in each and every house of Vietnamese families. 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 smell 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 crane and turtle. They are considered to be good friends and present a desire for harmony and eternity.

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3.7. The Grounds of Imperial Academy

The Grounds of Imperial Academy is made of 2 floors. The ground floor has a statue of Chu Van An, a great teacher and the first rector of the Imperia 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) Ly Thanh Tong , who founded the temple in 1070, Ly Nhan Tong , who founded the Imperial Academy, and Le Thanh Tong, who ordered the erection of the stone turtles and Stelae of Doctor in 1484. 

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4. Note

When visiting the Temple of Literature, visitors should pay special attention to the following points:

• Wear polite, neat and clean clothes.
• Absolutely do not smoke or carry flammable and explosive materials within the Temple of Literature
• Only offer 1 incense stick at the prescribed place
• Walk and speak softly, keep the environment clean
• Do not infringe on artifacts, do not write or draw, stand up, do not rub turtle's head, Doctor's stele and other exhibits.

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Source: collected