Phu Van Lau Pavilion

The 50,000 dong note that people carry every day holds a small secret on its back. The picture shows the old capital of Hue, and in it a two-story pavilion stands with great dignity, right beside the flag tower called Kỳ Đài. This is Phu Văn Lâu.

Phu Văn Lâu was built in 1819, at the foot of Kỳ Đài. From the day it appeared, this small pavilion carried a very heavy duty. Whenever the court issued an important royal edict, the notice was brought here and posted. The same was done when the court announced the doctoral laureates who had just passed an examination. Doctoral laureates were scholars who passed the royal examinations, held to select talented and virtuous people to serve the state. Posting the notice here let the whole capital know.

It is easy to picture a bigger moment, the day the emperor wanted to announce who had become Trạng nguyên. Trạng nguyên was the title of the top graduate of the royal examinations. A golden list was hung on this very pavilion. People poured in from every direction and pushed forward to read it. For the one whose name was there, it was joy for an entire clan. For the one whose name was missing, there was only a quiet walk home, and a wait for the next examination.

Phu Văn Lâu is more than a building. It marked some of the happiest and most hopeful moments in the life of a student in the Hue region. Each edict posted here was a word from the royal court to its people. Each doctoral laureate's name posted at this pavilion was a dream that had reached its goal.

That is also why Phu Văn Lâu is the only structure in Hue printed on the 50,000 dong note. It is a modest two-story pavilion, yet it holds the memory of a whole tradition of scholarly achievement.

It still stands there, calm under the Hue sky, as if waiting for many more generations to come and read their names on the golden list.