The Values of Cultural Heritage at the Temple of Literature

The ancient Khai Thanh Temple was the Imperial Academy, a place to train talents for many dynasties. In particular, in front of this old land, there are four stone pillars on both sides, on which are inkstones, each engraved with the words "Thai Hoc Duong Nghien" (Ice Stone of the Imperial Academy) and "Binh Ngo Xuan Trung Tu" (Spring of Binh Ngo year 1786), all of which are worthy of being considered precious relics of the Imperial Academy, symbolizing the ancient education and examination system.

It was decided to build Thai Hoc House on the ruins of Khai Thanh Temple. The construction started on July 13, 1999, the solemn topping-out ceremony was held on May 11, 2000 and was completed in September 2000 to celebrate the 990th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi.

Although Confucius was Chinese, Confucianism is a product originating from China, the construction of the Temple of Literature to worship Confucius appeared in ancient China, but the construction of the Temple of Literature in Vietnam is not completely modeled on the Chinese system. The difference between the Vietnamese Temple of Literature and the Chinese Temple of Literature is first of all: the Thang Long Temple of Literature is not only an international house but its main role is a national house.

In terms of scale, the Confucius Temple in Qufu, China, also has architectures with common names such as: Dai Trung Mon, Dai Thanh Mon, Khue Van Cac... the only similarity is the name, but the architecture in Qufu is larger in scale, from beginning to end you have to go through 10 gates, the density of the constructions is dense. The architecture in Hanoi is smaller in scale, from beginning to end you only go through 5 gates, the architecture is more open, the surrounding scenery such as trees, lakes, is more elegant and magnificent.

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The Khai Thanh area in Khuc Phu was built to the left of the Confucius worship area, while in Hanoi it was located behind and was the place where the old dynasty's school was...

With architecture largely being a product of the Le Mac period, the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam in Hanoi still retains the full value of an ancient Vietnamese architectural relic site that deserves to be preserved forever in the development of cultural tourism.

2.2.2. Intangible cultural heritage

2.2.2.1. Medieval educational and training centers

Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, from the beginning, this place was not simply a place to worship Confucius, but a place to train people who would later hold important positions.

leader of the country. In the year Canh Tuat, the second year of the Than Vu era, under the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong, "In the autumn, the eighth month, built the Temple of Literature, sculpted statues of Confucius, Zhou Gong and Tu Phoi, painted the picture of the Twelve Sages, and offered sacrifices in the four seasons. The Crown Prince came to study here" [152, p.275].

Since the construction of the Temple of Literature, King Ly Thanh Tong - the head of state at that time - determined that this was not only a place of worship but also a place of education, a school. The establishment of the Temple of Literature in 1070 and the Imperial Academy in 1076 were important events, laying the foundation for the birth of examination education in Vietnam in general, and education of the tradition of studiousness in particular.

Throughout history, VMQTG has always been renovated and expanded. In 1236, Tran Thai Tong "appointed Pham Ung Than as Minister of the National Academy, and sent the children of civil and military officials to study there" [153, p.15].

In 1243, the Imperial Academy was renovated, and in 1253, the National Academy (also known as the National University) was established: "In September, an edict was issued to summon Confucian scholars from the country to the National University to lecture on the Four Books and Six Classics" [153, p.25].

"In the winter, October, 1272, King Tran Thanh Tong issued an edict to find a talented, virtuous person who understood the scriptures to be the Rector of the Imperial Academy" [153, p.39].

Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam has truly become the highest educational center of Dai Viet. This is not only a place for future managers and leaders of the country to study, but education has also been expanded. The school has been upgraded to an Institute, headed by a Minister of State. The documents used in the school are high-level Confucian classics such as: Tu Thu, Ngu Kinh. Confucian students come here to study to prepare for the national exams to obtain a doctorate - the highest academic degree at that time. The role of the largest educational center of the country, of VMQTG, was established and affirmed from the Tran Dynasty, however, education and learning were expanded and expanded on the largest scale during the Later Le Dynasty.

Along with expanding the number of Confucian scholars and improving the level of education at the Imperial Academy, the court also applied many policies to promote

learning, praising the achievements of students and teaching there. In addition to training, the Imperial Academy also has the duty of recommending students to the royal court to appoint them as officials. Every year, during the 4 important months, the officials at the Imperial Academy conduct the examination of students, nominating those who pass the exam to the Ministry of Education to recruit when needed.

In 1484, the 15th year of the Hong Duc era, King Le Thanh Tong issued an edict to erect a stele of doctoral degrees at VMQTG to honor talents and encourage people to study. VMQTG also had the additional task of honoring outstanding people and encouraging studying and taking exams at the time as well as for future generations.

The Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam in the Le Thanh Tong period can be said to be a large educational center, worthy of being a high-class training center of the country. In terms of architecture, the school had all the facilities of a modern school at that time: there were lecture halls, large halls, dormitories for 300 students, warehouses, and libraries. In terms of teaching and learning, the lecturers were Confucian scholars with pure morality and profound knowledge; the students were "graduate students" who had passed the Huong exam or passed 1 to 3 Hoi exams (roughly equivalent to graduating from university now) to study and train to participate in the Hoi exam and the Dinh exam to become a doctor.

During the Later Le Dynasty, the National University expanded more and more. Education was emphasized. In 1693, the king allowed the Imperial Academy officials to stay at the school for the convenience of teaching and managing Confucian students. In 1762, the National University was renovated again: "The Dai Thanh Gate has 3 compartments and 2 wings, roofed with copper tiles. The East and West wings each have 7 compartments..."

The atmosphere of learning and teaching was very lively. Pham Dinh Ho in his work Vu Trung Tuy But described a literary review session at the Giam with thousands of Confucian students. In addition to the tasks of teaching, learning and examination, Quoc Tu Giam also carried out the examination, compilation of books, and printing of Confucian classics to provide for Confucian students both inside and outside the Giam. In 1734, the court issued a ban on buying Chinese books, proving that domestic printing could provide enough for users.

2.2.2.2. Encourage learning, respect talented people

Our nation is inherently a nation of studious people, studying to become human beings, working to help the country. An educational principle according to Confucianism and generalized into a motto is that the training of people always "takes moral thought as the basic foundation, takes morality as knowledge". Every lecture revolves around that motto. Right from the beginning, children must immediately absorb a profound philosophy: Human nature is inherently good. That is a philosophical issue that has been debated to lead to the art of governance, rites, benevolence or law from the concept of basic knowledge of Mencius (inherently good) that the old education system took morality as a general subject. The slogan "First learn rites, then learn literature" has taken the motto to require thorough understanding of peace of mind, which is also a quite rigorous experience.

In 1076, Ly Nhan Tong established the Imperial Academy next to the Temple of Literature. The school became a symbol of the nation's tradition of studiousness, respect for teachers, and respect for talented people. The Imperial Academy is increasingly vividly demonstrated as a leading complex of diverse and rich cultural relics of the capital Hanoi today.

With quite special architectural works: that is, Khue Van Cac, Dai Dien Thanh and artifacts that are evidence of thousands of years of civilization such as: worship statues, stone dragons, doctoral steles, examinations through the Ly, Tran, Le dynasties... The spiritual cultural values hidden in the material culture in this sacred land have contributed significantly to the tradition of respecting teachers, respecting talents, and loving learning of the nation.

In 1484, King Le Thanh Tong erected a stele to record the names of those who passed the doctoral examinations from the 1442 examination onwards. One of the most valuable relics at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam is the 82 doctoral steles erected on both sides of the Thien Quang well, 41 steles on each side erected in 2 horizontal rows, the steles are placed on the backs of turtles, engraved with the names of those who passed the examinations, the steles all face the well. Historians can find here documents about the history of education, about the names associated with the history of the nation, homeland.

The names of talented people are recorded specifically and accurately, through which it is possible to determine the age of many relics in places where the age is not recorded.

The Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam is a place to worship the founder of Chinese Confucianism and the sages and celebrities of the country. That shows the wisdom of the Ly Dynasty kings and the continuation and inheritance of the cultural tradition associated with the cause of expanding the nation's territory. It can be said that the birth of the VMQTG along with many other Confucian institutions are evidence of a national culture.

After 25 years as king (1460-1484), Le Thanh Tong increasingly recognized the role of talented people through the ups and downs of history. He was interested in training, using and treating talented people with respect. With this thought, Le Thanh Tong organized the study, guiding scholars to the orthodox path of Confucianism: self-cultivation, family management, governing the country, and world peace. Of these four things, self-cultivation must be the root of all thoughts and actions throughout life. Self-cultivation means achieving the three virtues of Humanity - Wisdom - Courage. First of all, one must maintain the morality of humanity, showing loyalty to the king and filial piety to parents. To realize this humanity, one must study to understand the principles of life and perceive all issues. Having humanity and wisdom is not enough, but one must also act courageously, that is, one must be steadfast and indomitable in fulfilling one's duties.

Today, VMQTG is where the State organizes the awarding of academic titles and degrees to outstanding intellectuals, commends excellent students and organizes an annual poetry festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. In particular, before each exam, candidates come here to "ask for blessings" and "pray for luck". Every spring, people everywhere eagerly come to burn incense at the Temple of Literature with the wish to study hard, "succeed and become famous".

In addition to the above meanings, VMQTG is also a place to preserve and keep precious cultural artifacts of our ancestors, to preserve horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences with the content mostly to honor morality, encourage learning, encourage talent and praise Confucius. The horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences have value in many aspects: from the content of philosophy of life to the art form of Chinese calligraphy and vermilion lacquering techniques.

gilded, exquisitely carved by Vietnamese artisans... In addition, there is also a system of stone steles recording the names of the nation's scholars.

2.3. VALUES OF CULTURAL HERITAGE AT THE TEMPLE OF LITERATURE - QUOC TU GIAM

2.3.1. Historical value

Through research, the researcher found that VMQTG is a particularly important national relic, a place to preserve and honor the teachings, a place to preserve and express the most outstanding values of Vietnamese culture. Here, the convergence and spread of the long history and depth of culture that transcends time with the outstanding values of truth - goodness - beauty, of wisdom and knowledge of the entire cultured and heroic nation.

The significance of the establishment of the Temple of Literature in 1070 and the Imperial Academy in 1076 is not limited to the cultural realm. In the people who have just gained autonomy after more than 1000 years of domination, there is an extraordinary vitality rising, the consciousness of preserving and consolidating independence, affirming their mettle, which is the main ideology of all organizational, military, and cultural activities, all aimed at serving the cause of national self-reliance [72, p.6].

Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam is a particularly important historical and cultural relic, located in the middle of Hanoi capital, an eternal symbol of Vietnamese culture and intelligence. Among the typical values of the World Literature relic, historical value is highly appreciated. The Doctor's Stele Garden [Appendix 5, Figure 3] in the World Literature relic - Thang Long is a symbol marking the formation and development process of the Vietnamese Confucian intellectual class, who have absorbed and excellently promoted the quintessence of Eastern civilizations to create a treasure trove of Han Nom literature rich in patriotism and national identity. The historical and cultural values of the Doctor's Steles of the World Literature - Thang Long have been specifically researched and studied. From there, the position and great role of these stone tablets are affirmed.

The researcher found that, not only is it a rich source of documents reflecting a historical period of more than 300 years under the Le - Mac dynasty, the Van...

The temple is also a vivid picture of the unique recruitment and training of talents in Vietnam, which is reflected in our ancestors' ideology of governing the country based on talents. The centralized monarchy of Vietnam during the Le Dynasty highly valued talents, considering "talents as the vital energy of the nation", the source of the country's prosperity. This is clearly shown in the first stele (1442): "Talents are the vital energy of the nation, if the vital energy is strong, the country will be strong and prosperous, if the vital energy is weak, the country will be weak and declining, therefore, all the holy and wise kings and emperors paid attention to building talents". The stele in 1448 reiterated that "Talents are very important to the country" and "There must be training after that to have talents". Through this, it is shown that the kings of the Le and Mac dynasties relied on Confucianism, used Confucian knowledge to train and select talents. The criteria of "Virtuous" and "Talent" for selection also followed the concept of Confucianism. The steles of 1556, 1604, 1703, 1763, and 1772 added the idea of "Must cultivate and nurture talents". The above shows that the policy of developing education, valuing talents, and training human resources for the country is considered top priority.

Besides, when making a dossier to request "UNESCO to recognize 82 steles of Doctorate inscriptions in VMQTTG, they all emphasized the unique point of Vietnamese Doctorate Steles is that they have an essay (in writing form), while in China, Doctorate Steles do not have an essay, but only the names of the winners" [57].

With its special value, on March 9, 2010, the Temple of Literature Stele was recognized as a World Documentary Heritage. This is the second Documentary Heritage of Vietnam after the Nguyen Dynasty Woodblocks to be included in the list of Documentary Heritage under the UNESCO Memory of the World program.

At the ceremony to receive the World Documentary Heritage Site as a world documentary heritage, former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung commented: The stone doctoral stele placed at the World Documentary Heritage Site is a priceless cultural asset of the Vietnamese people, a symbol honoring the filial piety, the tradition of training talented people to supplement the vitality of our country... Therefore, the recognition of the stele as a world documentary heritage is a source of pride and self-esteem for the national spirit.

2.3.2. Cultural symbolic value

Along with many other typical relics and images mentioned by many scholars such as One Pillar Pagoda, Turtle Tower - Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi Flag Tower, Thang Long Imperial Citadel... VMQTG has contributed to making Thang Long - Hanoi famous. However, VMQTG is a cultural heritage with a special symbolic meaning of knowledge, intelligence, soul, and the noble spiritual and cultural traditions of the Vietnamese people through thousands of years of development to reach the level of erudition and culture. Just thinking about the symbol of Khue Van Cac, a part of the overall VMQTG relic, we can see that noble meaning. Khue Van Cac is not a unique construction in Vietnam, but Khue Van Cac [Appendix 5, Figure 1] also appears in some Asian countries such as China, Korea, Japan. However, in the capital Hanoi, Khue Van Cac still bears the unique features of Vietnam, small and simple, creating the closeness of this architectural work. The special cultural and artistic work Khue Van Cac is a square pavilion with 8 roofs built in 1805, during the Gia Long period of the Nguyen Dynasty. The pavilion is built on a high square foundation paved with Bat Trang bricks. The architectural style is quite unique. The lower floor is only four brick pillars, with four sides empty. The upper floor is a corner architecture except for the roof and the decoration of the roof corners or on the ridge made of terracotta or lime sand.

Researching the meaning of the architectural parts and naming of Khue Van Cac, the researcher understands: According to the Book of Changes, odd numbers (1,3,5,7,9) belong to yang, representing growth and development. Khue Van Cac has eight roofs, the Eight Trigrams, with an additional roof above, which is 9, the number 9 is Cuu Tru, the most yang number. "Khue Van Cac" according to the traditional explanation of celestial bodies, Khue is the name of a star in a constellation arranged in the shape of the Chinese character Van.

In terms of feng shui, the Khue Van Cac corresponds to Thien Quang province (Thien Quang well). Thien Quang is the light of the sky. By giving this name to the well, the ancients meant that people would receive all that is called the quintessence of the universe, to enlighten knowledge, elevate dignity, and embellish humanity. Thien Quang well is full of water all year round, reflecting the Khue Van pavilion.

The Values of Cultural Heritage at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam

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