Xich Dang Temple of Literature

In the old Sơn Nam region, a scholar had to climb several tiers of examinations before his name could go on a stone stele. Those who reached the top were called tiến sĩ, the doctoral laureates of the royal examinations. And this is the place where those names were carved for later generations.

We are standing in front of Văn Miếu Xích Đằng, the Temple of Literature of Xích Đằng. People in Hưng Yên also call it Văn Miếu Hưng Yên. Another name for it is Văn Miếu Sơn Nam. This is the provincial temple of literature of Hưng Yên. The Temple of Literature in Hanoi served the whole country. A provincial temple like this one served its own region, and it was tied directly to that region's examinations and scholarship. The regional examinations were once held here. In some years, this was where candidates were tested before they sat those examinations. Later, it became the place that honored the successful scholars of the old Sơn Nam province. They were sons of Hưng Yên and Thái Bình.

Look at the gate ahead. It is a triple gateway with two tiers and eight roofs. This building was chosen as the symbol of Hưng Yên province. Roof rises above roof, and the eight faces spread out like the petals of a flower. This architectural style is called chồng diêm. It is very typical of the communal houses, pagodas and temples of literature in the Red River Delta.

Step into the courtyard. This yard was the examination ground of old. Hundreds of candidates sat here in closed cloth booths. They wrote their papers through the sun or the cold of the examination season. There were no reference books, only ink, brush and memory. Those who went on to pass the highest examinations would have their names carved into something very important, which comes a little later on this walk.

On either side of the courtyard stand two long side halls, each with five bays. They once held the palanquins and the officials' hats and robes at every ceremony of worship. Today the two halls hold displays on education in Hưng Yên, past and present.

Further in lies the main area of worship. It is laid out in the shape of the character Tam, meaning three, so it has three buildings joined one behind another. First comes the front hall of offerings, then the middle hall, then the rear sanctuary. In the middle hall stand an altar and a statue of the teacher Chu Văn An. He came from Hanoi. Under the Trần dynasty, he served at Quốc Tử Giám, the Imperial Academy. His title there was Tư nghiệp, a senior teaching post at the national school. He was famous for his integrity and his virtue as a teacher. The temple honors him beside Confucius. This is how Hưng Yên province says that a good teacher deserves the same reverence as the sages.

And now comes the most important part. Nine stone steles.

The temple still keeps nine stone steles. Eight of them were raised in the third year of the reign of Emperor Đồng Khánh, that is, in 1888. The ninth was raised in the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Bảo Đại, that is, in 1943. These nine steles record the names of 161 scholars who passed the examinations. Of these, 138 came from Hưng Yên. The other 23 came from Thái Bình. They were all sons of the old Sơn Nam province who passed the highest examinations, held in the capital.

One hundred sixty-one names. Each name is a story of years by an oil lamp. It is a story of mornings spent studying before the rooster crowed. It is a story of the day he left school with a will that refused to be beaten.

The site has a curious history of its own. By 1804, a temple of literature already stood here. In the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng, that is, in 1839, Văn Miếu Xích Đằng was rebuilt on the large scale seen today. The temple was built on the grounds of an old pagoda. Its name was Nguyệt Đường, and it stood in Xích Đằng village. That is why the place still feels a little like a pagoda, even though it is a Confucian temple of literature.

In 1992, Văn Miếu Xích Đằng was ranked as a national heritage site. Then, in 2014, the Phố Hiến heritage complex was ranked as a special national site. The temple became one of the 16 representative sites in that complex.

Phố Hiến was once a busy international trading port. It flourished in Đàng Ngoài, the north of the country, in the 16th and 17th centuries. An old saying links it to the capital: "First the royal capital, second Phố Hiến." A port that prosperous naturally needed a center of learning, a place to train talented people. In the tradition of Hưng Yên, Văn Miếu Xích Đằng was that place.

Every year, on the fourth and fifth days of Tết, the Lunar New Year festival in Vietnam, the temple holds a calligraphy exhibition. There is ca trù singing too. Ca trù is a form of sung poetry from northern Vietnam. Characters are also written out as gifts for the start of spring. People in Hưng Yên still come here to ask for a written character and to pray that their children will do well in their studies. It is an old custom among people who honor learning, and it lives on today.

On the way out, it is worth counting again: nine stone steles, 161 names, and a whole Sơn Nam region honoring the people who studied.