HANOI UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE

THE MID-TERM EXAMINATION

SUBJECT: TOURISM OF HISTORICAL CULTURAL
VESTIGES
Lecturer: Ms Lê Thanh Tú
Class: NN24A03 (N04)
Students: Group 6
1. Vũ Hồng Nhung (59DDL26121)

2. Đỗ Thị Nhung (59DDL26119)

3. Trần Thị Hải Ninh (59DDL26122)

4. Bùi Thị Nhàn (59DDL26113)

5. Đặng Thị Lan Phương (59DLH26063)

6. Ngô Thị Kim Oanh (59DDL26123)

HÀ NỘI

1
STT Họ và tên Mã sinh viên Lớp Công việc

Some information of
1 Vũ Hồng Nhung 59DDL26121 VHDL26C
Temple of Literature

The first Courtyard:

2 Đỗ Thị Nhung 59DDL26119 VHDL26B
Entrance to the Way

The second Courtyard:

3 Trần Thị Hải Ninh 59DDL26122 VHDL26B The Great Middle
Courtyard

The third Courtyard:

4 Bùi Thị Nhàn 59DDL26113 VHDL26A
Garden of the Stelae

Đặng Thị Lan The fourth Courtyard:

5 59DLH26063 LHHD26B
Phương (Leader) Courtyard of Sages

The fifth Courtyard:

Quoc Tu Giam - School
6 Ngô Thị Kim Oanh 59DDL26123 VHDL26C
for the sons of the
nation

2
 1. Some information of Temple of Literature: Vũ Hồng Nhung - 59DDL26121

Hello everyone. On behalf of Group 6, I’d like to welcome all of you to our tour
today. Let me introduce myself. My nam is Nhung. I hope we can work well with each
other, and you will enjoy our tour. Today my group will talk about Temple of literature.
Firstly, i will talk about some information of temple of literature.

The Temple of Literature is located to the South of Thang Long citadel, in an area
of 55.027 m2. It was built in 1070 under Ly dynasty. The complex began as a temple to
Confucius and Chu Cong, a member of the Chinese royal family in the 11th century BC
who invented the teachings developed by Confucius 500 years later. The name of the
temple literally means Temple (Miếu) of Literature (Văn).

The site of the present temple was chosen by Ly dynasty geomancers to stand in
harmony with the Taoist Bich Cau temple and the Buddhist One Pillar Pagoda,
representing the three major fonts of Vietnamese tradition.

School for the sons of the nation was built 6 years later, becoming the 1st
university of VN. At first, it was only open to members of royal families, but it later
admitted students who had passed the provincial exams or composed a great work.

In 1484, king Le Thanh Tong erected stelae for doctor laureate in the national
exam to commemorate the most brilliant scholars.

Nowadays, Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam is one of the most famous tourist
destinations for both Vietnamese people and foreigners. It's also a place to celebrate
doctorates and high-ranking scholars of Vietnam. One special thing about this place is
that there are 82 Doctors' stone tablets. They are tombstones with names and origins of
1304 doctors placed on the backs of stone tortoises. If you come here at the beginning of
the year or in May, when many important examinations take place, you will catch sights
of numerous families and students who come and pray for luck.

It has 5 different courtyards:

3
  The 1st courtyard extends from the Great Portico to the Great Middle Gate.
 The 2nd courtyard stretches from the Great Middle Gate to Khue Van pavilion.
 The 3rd courtyard has a garden of stelae and a pound called Thien Quang Tinh.
 The 4th courtyard is called the Sage courtyard and features a statue of Confucius and
a house of ceremonies.
 The last one is for Thai Hoc building.

2. The first Courtyard: Đỗ Thị Nhung - 59DDL26119

In front of the Temple of Literature are the four pillars (the ritual gate) and the two
Ha Ma steles on both sides that are the horizontal boundary markers in front of the gate.
In the past, whether a public servant or a general, a hammock or a carriage, every time he
passed through the Temple of Literature, he had to walk down at least from the Ha Ma
stele on one side to the Ha Ma stele on the other side before he could get on the carriage
again. That's enough to know how respectful the Temple of Literature is. The four pillars
are built of bricks, the middle two pillars are built higher on the image of two clams. The
spiritual concept holds that this is a sacred object capable of recognizing good people or
evil people. The two outer pillars are embossed with 4 phoenix birds with wings spread
and tails together.

Hi guys, I’m standing in the the first courtyard. You know, the inner of temple of
literature is divided into 5 different layers of space. In the first layer of space, there are 3
paths which lead to the Great Middle Gate with 2 sides gate. Accomplished Virtu Gate
and Attained Talent Gate.

Temple of Literature means the outer gate of the three gates. The gate has three
doors, the middle door is tall and built 2 floors. The upper floor has three characters
(Temple of Literature). The architectural design of the Temple of Literature has many
unique features that are worth noting while studying the ancient architecture of Vietnam.
From the outside, there are 3 separate architectures. The main door in the middle is
actually 2 floors. Square surface. The lower floor is large, the upper floor is small,

4
overlapping the middle of the lower floor. On March 18, in the 3rd year of Khai Dinh,
King Khai Dinh of the north week visited the Temple of Literature in Hanoi and wrote
two quartet poems in Chinese characters, and then ordered the Ha Dong province to
engrave on the stele erected on the attic of the three gates.

Dai Trung Mon Gate was built in 3-storey architecture on the high brick, tile roof,
the middle of which hung a small sign of the three words Dai Trung Mon. The straight
road from Temple of Literature to Dai Trung Mon extends straight to Khue Van Cac.
From the two gates of Dat Tai and Thanh Duc on either side of the Dai Trung gate, two
smaller parallel roads run straight with the middle axis road, dividing this second area into
4 fairly balanced strips. Two lakes were dug in the same position as the two lakes in the
first area. The repetition of an area with only trees and grass, the addition of partition
walls and the addition of doors, are considered by the architects to be very successful in
their intention to create a solemn and quiet scene of the area. architecture.

3. The second Courtyard: Trần Thị Hải Ninh - 59DDL26122

Dear ladies and gentlemen, it’s my great pleasure to welcome you here this
morning. My name is Hải Ninh, i am here to present to you about the second courtyard of
Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam.
Leaving Dai Trung gate, we reach the second courtyard, also called The Great
Middle, that connect with Khue Van Pavilion and the 2 small doors of: Suc Van and Bi
Van.
In front of you, here is Khue Van pavilion. It was built in 1805 in dynasty of
Nguyen Gia Long under the direction of Governor Nguyen Van Thanh of Bac Thanh.
Although, Khue Van pavilion was not built at the same time with other items in Van Mieu
Quoc Tu Giam, its architecture is in harmonization with the whole complex.
Khue Van means the constellation of literature, education and examination. The
pavilion is rich in the complementary symbolism of yin yang. A two-storey construction:
the first one is 4 rock pillars, the second one is wooden construction. The brick platform is
square, the symbolic shape for earth, sky is present in the wooden superstructure adorned
5
with 4 circular suns, outlined in wood, that radiate their light to the 4 directions, which
symbolizes the shining constellation of literature.
If you look up you will notice, the 3 words: Khue - Van - Cac were put in front and
at the back of the pavilion. And around Khue Van Cac there were parallel sentences
praising the beauty and fondness of learning and literature of the people.
Therefore, in 1999, Khue Van pavillion is considered as a symbol of Hanoi. Have
you ever wondered what temple featured the back of a 100000 Vietnamese dong? Yes, the
image of Khue Van pavilion is also printed on the 100000 Vietnamese dong. Besides that,
you can see it on every street signs.
As you can see, to the sides of the Khue Van Pavilion are Suc Van and Bi Van
gate. On your right-hand side is Suc Van gate, which can be translated Crystallization of
Letters. And on your left-hand side is Bi Van gate which can be translated Magnificence
of Letters. Suc Van and Bi Van gate which mean literature must be consiced, polished
and clear.
As you all know, parallel sentences on the back pillars of the Khue Van pavilion
link this courtyard to the next. And right after, I would like to invite ladies and gentlemen
come to the third courtyard. Once again, many thanks for coming and wish you always
have plenty of health, success and happiness.

4. The third Courtyard: Bùi Thị Nhàn – 59DDL26113

Hello everyone, welcome you to the third courtyard of Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam.
I'm Nhan, I’m here to present to you about the stelea houses and the well of
heavenly clarity, at the center of which is a square pond called Thien Quang Tinh, or Well
of Heavenly Clarity.
The water surface becomes a mirror of Khue Van Cac and the ancient trees. The
square well symbolizes the earth, the round gate at the Khue Van Cac symbolizes heaven,
the quintessence of heaven and earth is concentrated in the center of culture and education
in the middle of the capital city. All students and mandarins coming here and to use the
clean water from the well as a mirror to reflect their dress and hats to get ready before
entering the most sacred sanctuary of Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam.
6
 The doctor's house buit on the left and right sides of the well. The two sides of the
well are the 2 rows of 41 stones plaques each in 4 houses.
You can see 82 stelae engravings of all the graduates that pass the royal
examinations from 1442 - 1779. The names of 1306 doctor laureates are listed on the
stelae. Look the stele on this tortoise Statutes! The bottom of the turtle represents the yin
which means the earth, and the curved shell represents the yang which means the heavens.
A turtle represents longevity and everlasting life which is why it's meant to show an
everlasting respect and honor to all the graduates
Between the double row’s 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
After visiting the stelae houses and the well of heavenly clarity, next, you guys will
follow Phuong to visit the fourth courtyard of Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam.

5. The fourth Courtyard: Đặng Thị Lan Phương - 59DLH26063

After visiting the stelae houses refecting themshelves into the Well of heavenly
clarity. We reach Dai Thanh Gate entering the fourth courtyard of Van Mieu. I’m Phuong.
And now I will introduce for everybody about the fourth courtyard, it known as courtyard
of the Sages

Now we reach the heart of the Temple, the altar to Confucius, situated in the Great
House of Ceremoies directly opposite the entry gate. Entrance to the courtyard is through
the Dai Thanh Mon, which may also be translated the Gate of Great Success. The stucture
of Dai Thanh gate is similar to Dai Trung gate. Dai Thanh gate was built in August 1070,
under Ly Thanh Tong dynasty and was rebuilt under Nguyen Dynasty. Dai Thanh gate
has two side doors Kim Thanh and Ngoc Tran at the East and the West. The elements of
the Confucian doctrine, the learning of the past, and a knowledge of Buddhism and
Taoism are brought together here to complete a scholar's knowledge.

7
 In the centre of fourth couryard is the Bai Duong House of ceremonies where the
king would make his offering to Confucius, and the new doctor laureates would come to
kneel and bow to pay their respects.

The building standing on two walls supported by nine pillars is crowned by

jubilant dragons making obeisance to the moon. The altar occupies the open center.
Cranes perched atop tortoises on either side of the altar may be taken as symbols of the
union of heaven and earth. The eight wooden standards represent the eight weapons of the
scholar mandarins.

Inscribed on the wooden panel over the altar are the words: teacher of ten
Thousand Generations. To the right are words in the brushstrokes of the father of
Vietnam's great 18" century poet, Nguyen Du: Like the sun and the moon, through time -
and present.

Behind the Great House of Ceremonies is the Sanctuary with statues of Confucius
flanked by his four closest disciples: Yunhui, Zengshen, Zisi, and Mencius. The sanctuary
houses as well as altars to 10 honored philosophers. In earlier centuries, no one but the
caretaker was allowed to enter the Sanctuary, not even the king.

To the right and left of Great Meeting Hall stand two side buildings, originally
used to house altars to the 72 disciples of Confucius, but now used for a shop, museum,
and curatorial offices. Destroyed by shelling in 1947, these building were rebuilt after
1954. Behind the building on the left were once chambers for the king, a kitchen, and a
storeroom for ceremonial objects. The courtyard is still used for live chess games and
ceremonial dances during the Tet (lunar New year)

And finally, Oanh a member of my team will introduce for us about the next
courtyard.

6. The fifth courtyard: Ngô Thị Kim Oanh – 59DDL26123

8
 Hello everyone, let me introduce myself, my name is Kim Oanh. Finally, I will talk
to you about the Thai Hoc Hall.

At the back of the Dai Thanh temple, here is Thai Hoc gate that leads to Thai Hoc
hall. This is the fifth courtyard of Van mieu Quoc Tu Giam.

During the time, the Van Mieu served as a university, the students' classrooms,
dormitories, and cooking facilities were located here, along with a print shop for school
textbooks. When the Nguyen dynasty took the throne in 1802, they moved the capital to
Hue, taking also the royal college. The Quoc Tu Giam was transformed into a shrine to
Confucius' parents, called the Khai Thanh.

At that time, there was also an altar to the earth god and housing for officials and
the temple guard. Gardens stretched beyond the shrines.

In 1947, accidental French shelling destroyed the buildings of the Khai Thanh.

The restoration of the site was carried out from July 1999 to October 2000. The
Thai Hoc Hall, 1,530 square meters in area, was constructed according to the principles of
Vietnamese traditional architecture. It composed of the Tien duong (front hall), Hau
duong (back hall), Ta vu (left wing), Huu vu (right wing), and two pavilions, one for
bronze bell and the other for a large drum.

The Tien duong is designed for conferences, seminars, meetings, grand ceremonies
and other cultural activities.

The Hau duong is designed for presenting the history of the Van Mieu Quoc Tu
Giam for introducing the nature of Confucian education in Viet Nam and for honoring the
following personages who made great contributions to the development of this site and
Vietnamese culture in general: King Ly Thanh Tong, King Ly Nhan Tong, King Le
Thanh Tong and Chu Van An.

The left wing and the right-wing house the office of the present Management
Board, and a small library which keeps reference materials about the Temple of literature.

That’s all our presentation. Thank for listening.