Mao Dien Temple of Literature

In Vietnam there is a saying, "đất học xứ Đông", the land of learning in the East. This temple stands as its symbol.

This is Văn Miếu Mao Điền, the Mao Điền Temple of Literature. It is the second largest temple of literature in northern Vietnam, after only the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. The Prime Minister ranked it a Special National Monument on December 25, 2017. On July 1, 2025, the commune around the temple was given the name Mao Điền. The name was chosen to preserve the fame of this great monument. Since the merger of provinces, the commune belongs to Hải Phòng City.

A temple of literature is a temple to Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. It also honors those who studied well and passed the examinations with high marks. In the old days, every province and regional seat had its own temple of literature. The Temple of Literature in Hanoi ranked highest.

The history of this temple begins in the 15th century. In 1428, the Early Lê dynasty defeated the army of the Ming, the dynasty then ruling China. The new dynasty set out to spread education across the whole country. A regional examination school was built at Mao Điền to serve all of xứ Đông, the Eastern Region. That region took in Hải Dương, Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh, Hưng Yên and part of Bắc Ninh. In 1801, in the time of the Tây Sơn, the temple was moved here from Vĩnh Lại. It was joined to the examination school and became the largest center of Confucian learning in the region.

From then on, through the Lê and Nguyễn dynasties, thousands of candidates came here to sit the regional examinations, and the school trained many bachelors and doctoral laureates. Old Hải Dương was known for more than good students. For many centuries it also produced more great laureates, the Đại khoa, than anywhere else in Vietnam. These were doctoral laureates, scholars who passed the royal examinations, held to select talented and virtuous people to serve the state. That is why the saying about the land of learning in the East belongs to this region.

What sets Mao Điền apart from most temples of literature in the country is who is worshipped here.

Most temples of literature in Vietnam honor Confucius together with the "Tứ phối" and the "Thất thập nhị hiền". These are the disciples and other figures of Chinese Confucianism. Mao Điền does something different. Beside them, it also honors eight outstanding Vietnamese laureates of xứ Đông. They are the eight finest children of this land of learning.

The first is Chu Văn An, honored as "Vạn thế sư biểu", the teacher for all ages. He taught the crown prince of the Trần dynasty. His temple stands on Phượng Hoàng Mountain, in what is now Chu Văn An ward. Since 2025, it too belongs to the new Hải Phòng City.

The second is Mạc Đĩnh Chi. Popular tradition honors him with the title "Lưỡng quốc Trạng nguyên", top graduate of two nations. In 1304, he placed first in the examinations of Đại Việt, an old name for Vietnam. That made him Trạng nguyên, the title of the top graduate of the royal examinations. Later he went to China as an envoy to the court of the Yuan, the Mongol dynasty then ruling China. The story goes that the Yuan emperor put him to the test, then named him top graduate a second time. He was top graduate of both Đại Việt and China.

The third is Nguyễn Trãi, a national hero and the author of the "Bình Ngô Đại Cáo". In 1980, UNESCO joined Vietnam in marking the 600th anniversary of his birth.

The fourth is Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, known as Trạng Trình. He served the Mạc court. Tradition says he also gave advice to the Lê emperors, the Trịnh lords and the Nguyễn lords.

The fifth is Tuệ Tĩnh, whose real name was Nguyễn Bá Tĩnh. He was a Zen master and a great physician of the 14th century. He is the founding father of traditional medicine in Vietnam. He wrote the "Nam dược thần hiệu", the country's first systematic book of Vietnamese herbal remedies. He came from Cẩm Giàng, very near here. After the reform of 2025, a commune near Mao Điền was named Tuệ Tĩnh commune.

The sixth is Phạm Sư Mạnh, a high official at the Trần court. He was a student of Chu Văn An, and he came from Kinh Môn. Today Phạm Sư Mạnh ward carries his name. The Cao An Phụ Temple stands there.

The seventh is Vũ Hữu, a mathematician and a high official under the Lê. He advanced Vietnamese mathematics in the 15th century.

And the eighth is the most remarkable of all, Nguyễn Thị Duệ. She was born in 1574. Tradition remembers her as the only woman doctoral laureate in the whole history of the Confucian examinations in Vietnam. Confucianism did not allow women to sit the examinations. It is said that she disguised herself as a man, took the examination, and passed as a doctoral laureate under the Mạc dynasty. When the truth came out, she was not punished. Instead, Emperor Mạc Kính Cung valued her talent and asked her to teach at the palace.

Behind these eight names on stone tablets lie eight stories of intellect, virtue and willpower from the people of xứ Đông, across many centuries of history.

After the administrative reform of 2025, the eight great laureates also left their mark on the names of the new communes and wards. They include Tuệ Tĩnh commune, Chu Văn An ward, Phạm Sư Mạnh ward and Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm commune. These names are carved into the map, and they will never fade.

Standing in the courtyard of the temple today, you can feel the weight of six centuries of learning gathered on one piece of land. The eight names on the walls of the hall of worship are not cold relics. They are the soul of a saying that the people of xứ Đông have been proud of, from one generation to the next. Đất học xứ Đông, the land of learning in the East.