Van Mieu of Hue

In 1808, Emperor Gia Long chose a small hill beside the Perfume River, close to Thiên Mụ Pagoda. He was the founder of the Nguyễn dynasty, Vietnam's last royal dynasty, which reigned from 1802 to 1945. On that hill he built something that was neither a tomb nor a palace. It was Văn Miếu of Hue, a shrine to Confucius and a place that kept the names of the highest scholars of his dynasty.

Confucius lived from 551 to 479 before the Common Era, more than 2,500 years ago. He founded Confucianism, the school of thought that shaped the whole society of East Asia in the age of kings. From China to Korea, Japan and Vietnam, dynasties built a Văn Miếu to honor him. In Hanoi, the Văn Miếu dates from 1070, in the Lý dynasty, which ruled Vietnam from 1009 to 1225. The Văn Miếu in Hue, built in 1808, was the Văn Miếu of the entire Nguyễn reign.

The main hall is Đại Thành Hall. It honors Confucius together with his 72 most famous disciples and four more figures honored beside them. Behind it stands the Khải Thánh shrine, which honors the parents of Confucius. On either side of the courtyard are two houses, Đông Vu and Tây Vu. Together they hold 32 stone steles.

These steles are the finest part of Văn Miếu in Hue. They carry the names of 293 doctoral laureates of the Nguyễn dynasty, scholars who passed the royal examinations, held to select talented and virtuous people to serve the state. The first examination was held in 1822, under Emperor Minh Mạng. The last was held in 1919, under Emperor Khải Định. That is 97 years and 293 men.

Each stele gives a laureate's full name, his examination, his hometown and his rank. Đình nguyên was the highest rank. After it came Bảng nhãn, then Thám hoa. Below these were the other Tiến sĩ. A visitor can look for a name from his own province.

In the age of kings, becoming a doctoral laureate was the highest honor an ordinary person could reach. Birth did not decide it. The son of a poor family could pass, if he had the talent. When his name was engraved on a stele at Văn Miếu, the honor was his for good. Some of these names have stood here for more than 100 years.

The examination system of the Nguyễn had three levels. The first was Thi Hương, held in the provinces, and those who passed were called Cử nhân. The second was Thi Hội, held at the national level in Hue. The third and highest was Thi Đình. The emperor himself set the question, in Thái Hòa Hall inside the Imperial City. Only a pass at Thi Đình earned the title of Tiến sĩ and a place on these steles.

The stele of 1919 is the last one. It dates from the fourth year of Emperor Khải Định, and it records the final doctoral examination of the Nguyễn dynasty. It was also the last examination in classical Chinese learning in the history of Vietnam, after 900 years. In that same year of 1919, the French ended the Confucian examinations and moved to a system of French and Vietnamese education. The men who passed that year were the last Confucian doctoral laureates in Vietnamese history.

So the stele of 1919 records the last examination, and it is also the farewell of a tradition 900 years old.

The Văn Miếu in Hanoi has 82 steles and 1,306 doctoral laureates. Hue has fewer, but its value is its own. It holds the only complete record of the Confucian scholars of the Nguyễn dynasty, across the 97 years from 1822 to 1919.

32 steles. 293 names. And among them, one last stele, the farewell of a whole tradition.