Văn Miếu

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Văn Miếu (文廟) or Temple of Literature is a historic site situated in Hanoi, Vietnam. It was founded in 1070 as a Confucian temple. Only parts of the Văn Miếu complex date back to the earliest period, although much of the architecture dates to the Lý (1010 – 1225) and Trần (1225 – 1400) Dynasties.

In 1076 Vietnam's first university, the Quoc Tu Giam (National University), was established within the temple to educate Vietnam's mandarin class. The university functioned for more than 700 years, from 1076 to 1779. During that time 2,313 doctors graduated.^[1]

In 1484 emperor Lê Thánh Tông started the tradition of printing the names of the laureates of the university on stone steles, which were placed on top of stone turtles. Of the 116 steles corresponding to the examinations held between 1142 and 1778, only 82 remain.

[edit] Sources

1. ^ Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam, The Gioi Publishers, Ha Noi, SR Viet Nam, 1994

First court yard	Steles with names of those succseful at the imperial exams	Third court yard	Main hall
Main hall	First court yard

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