Saturday morning off in Hanoi

Took a cab first thing this morning to the “Temple of Literature” (Van Mieu) and went by the flower street, shoe street, and leather belt street. Admission to the Temple? 10,000 Dong, which is about 65 cents Canadian.

The temple is a quiet block of several acres set amidst the chaos of the city. It dates back to summer (eighth lunar month) of 1070 when King Ly Thanh Tong created the first national university in Viet Nam, dedicated to Confucius studies and “the training of talented men for the nation”. Confucius (551 – 479 BC) founded a philosophical doctrine that had “far reaching impact on the culture, psychology and ethics” of people all over the broader region – China, SE Asia. He’s been honoured as the “Teacher of ten thousand generations”. (Amazing what you can learn from temple brochures and a good guidebook). The site has many buildings, and could house 300 students.

Study covered Confucian Canons, practical writing, administrative documents, literature, poetry. I wonder if there were frat / keg parties?

There are still numerous buildings, and five separate courtyards, all flanked by walkways on either side – one for administrative mandarins and one for military mandarins. At the front gate, there is a stone sign asking riders to dismount their horse before entering. Now, there’s a motorbike parking area where the horses once stood.

Students had to pass years of provincial and regional exams to come to this university, then three years of study here, and up to four more years of preparation for an oral exam (held once every three years) before the King before being awarded a doctorate (they were now Mandarins). To commemorate this, starting in 1484, each student had their name (men only) carved in a large stone tablet (over 1,300 names recorded) mounted on the back of a stone tortoise. There are rows and rows of these turtles (82 in all). The school closed in 1778, and a few years later the Emperor moved the capital south to Hue, just north of Da Nang.

Several altars inside the various buildings to past kings, princes, Mandarins, and a large one for Confucius. Fruit, flowers and burning incense in front of each. Many locals lighting incense and placing them at the altar, clasped hands and a bow.

Spent almost two hours wandering about, sitting and watching, and taking lots of picture. Sat on a bench for a while beside a very old, very tiny local man wearing an old army pith helmet, blue blazer, and carrying an umbrella neatly furled up (no hint of rain). It was fascinating watching him watch the tour groups and the locals wandering about. He had large blue butterfly tattoos on the backs of both hands. I’d love to know the story behind those tattoos, and him. (see attached photo).