"In the autumn of the year Canh Tuat, the second year of Than Vu, in the 8th lunar month, during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong, the Temple of Literature was built." That's 1070 to you and me, and this ancient Confucian sanctuary is now considered one of Hanoi's finest historical sites.
The temple is based on Confucius' birthplace at Qufu in the Chinese province of Shandong. It consists of five courtyards lined out in order, entrance to the first, via the impressive twin tiered Van Mieu gate leads to three pathways that run through the length of the complex. The center path was reserved for the king, the one to its left for administrative Mandarins and the one to its right for military Mandarins. The first two courtyards are peaceful havens of ancient trees and well trimmed lawns where the scholars could relax away from the bustle of the city outside the thick stone walls.
Entrance to the third courtyard is through the dominating Khue Van Cac, a large pavilion built in 1802. Central to the this courtyard is the Thienh Quang Tinh ("Well Of Heavenly Clarity") either side of which stand two great halls which house the true treasures of the temple. These are 82 stone stelae, another 34 are believed to have been lost over the years, they sit upon stone tortoises and are inscribed names and birth places of 1306 men who were awarded doctorates from the triennial examinations held here at the Quoc Tu Giam ("National University") between 1484 and 1780 when the capital was moved to Hue.
The fourth courtyard in bordered on either side by great pavilions which once contained altars to 72 on Confucius greatest students but which now contain offices, a gift shop and a small museum which contains ink wells, pens, books and personal artifacts belonging to some of the students that have studied here through the years. At the far end of the courtyard is the altar with statues of Confucius and his four closest disciples. The fifth courtyard contained the Quoc Tu Giam, Vietnam's first university founded in 1076 King Ly Can Duc, but this was destroyed by French bombing in 1947.
The complex may have undergone a lot of restoration work, most recently in 1920 and again in 1954, but having one of the few remaining examples of later Ly Dynasty (1009-1225) architecture within easy walking distance of Bah Dinh square makes this well worth the minor detour.