A brief introduction of The Temple of Literature

The Temple of Literature is a Temple of Confucius in Hanoi, northern Vietnam. The temple hosts the Imperial Academy, Vietnam's first national university. The temple was built in 1070 at the time of Emperor Lý Thánh Tông. It is one of several temples in Vietnam which is dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars. The Temple of Literature is about 10 minutes away from Hoan Kiem lake. It was constructed in 1070 under Ly Thanh Tong’s dynasty, first to honor Confucius and nowadays to celebrate the doctorates and high rank scholars of Vietnam. In 1076, King Ly Nhan Tong continued the work and built Quoc Tu Giam as the first university of Vietnam.

The temple is divided into five court yard, each with its own significance and history. The first courtyard stretches from the main gate to Dai Trung gate; the second stands out with Khue Van Cac pavilion. If you notice well, you will find the pavilion symbol on all street signs of Hanoi. The third courtyard is where doctor names was listed on a tombstone above tortoise backs.

There are a total of 82 tombstones, with names and origins of 1307 doctors, corresponding to 82 examination courses from 1442 to 1779. If you visit the temple at the beginning of the year or in May when many important examinations take place, you will catch sights of numerous students who come and rub the tortoise head. Such an act is believed to bring them luck to pass the test.

The fourth courtyard is dedicated for Confucius and his 72 honoured students, as well as Chu Van An- a famous teachers known for his devotion to teaching. This is also where local authorities choose to cherish brilliant students in Hanoi, like those with top entrance results to university or top graduation outcomes. The last and also furthest courtyard is Thai Hoc house, which used to be Quoc Tu Giam- the first university of Vietnam. Thai Hoc house holds a small collection of old time costumes for students and mandarins, as well as explaining the process of taking and passing the national examination.

A brief introduction of Hoan Kiem Lake - Ngoc Son Temple

Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as Hồ Gươm (Sword Lake), is a fresh water lake, measuring some 12 ha in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. The lake is one of the major scenic spots in the city and serves as a focal point for its public life.

Near the northern shore of the lake lies Jade Island on which the Temple of the Jade Mountain (Ngoc Son Temple) stands. The temple was erected in the 18th century. It honors the 13th-century military leader Tran Hung Dao who distinguished himself in the fight against the Yuan Dynasty, Van Xuong, a scholar, and Nguyen Van Sieu, a Confucian master and famous writer in charge of repairs made to the temple in 1864. Jade Island is connected to the shore by the wooden red-painted The Huc Bridge/Cầu Thê Húc (The Huc, meaning Morning Sunlight Bridge).

A brief introduction of One Pillar Pagoda

One Pillar Pagoda was built in 1049 in Dien Huu pagoda relics located by One Pillar Pagoda Street, near to Ho Chi Minh President Mausoleum, Ba Dinh District.

Legend has it that King Ly Thai Tong (1028 – 1054) was old but he had no son. One night, the King dreamed about Guan Yin Buddha sitting on a lotus, carying a boy and giving it to the king. Shortly after, the queen gave birth to a son. The king built a lotus-shaped pagoda and named it Dien Huu Pagoda.

The old pagoda was much larger than it is now; through the dynasties, One Pillar Pagoda was rebuilt several times; each restoration, the pagoda and the surrounding landscape was changed.

A brief introduction of The Quan Thanh Temple

Quan Thanh Temple (Đền Quán Thánh), formerly known as Trấn Vũ Temple is a Taoist temple in Hanoi, Vietnam. Dated to the 11th century, the temple was dedicated to Xuan Wu, or Trấn Vũ in Vietnamese, one of the principal deities in Taoism. As one of the Four Sacred Temples of the capital, Quan Thánh Temple is located near West Lake in a ward of the same name: Quán Thánh Ward; and is one of the leading tourist attractions in Hanoi.The temple's name means Place (alternatively shop/restaurant) of the Gods. The name of the long street running by the temple is also called 'Quán Thánh' street.

With its history and architecture, Quán Thánh Temple is one of the tourist attractions in Hanoi. It is also a training venue for several traditional martial art classes including Vovinam.

A Brief Introduction of The Tran Quoc Pagoda & West Lake

1. TRAN QUOC PAGODA

Located beside the dazzling West Lake, on Thanh Nien Road, Hanoi, is considered a cultural symbol of Vietnamese Buddhism partly for it is the oldest pagoda and situated in the center of the capital of Vietnam. Moreover, unlike other ordinary pagodas, the Pagoda was built in a very intricate way. Behind the worshipping shrine is the Buddhist trinity followed by corridors, shrines and the belfry.

Tran Quoc Pagoda still preserved a fairly complete system of statues. Notably, among the Buddhist statues in the pagoda, there are Three Sages and ancestor monks of the pagoda. Specifically, the pagoda has a statue of Buddha entering Nirvana that folk often calls Reclining Buddha which was rarely seen in northern pagodas but mainly seen in Laos or Thailand.

2. WEST LAKE

West Lake is the biggest freshwater lake of northwest center of Hanoi, Vietnam. With a shore length of 17 km (about 10.6 miles) and 500 hectare (about 5 km2) in area, this is the largest lake of the capital and a popular place for recreation with many surrounding gardens, hotels and villas. A small part of West Lake is divided by Thanh Nien road to form Trúc Bạch Lake. One district of Hanoi is named after the lake, Tây Hồ District.

As Hanoi's largest lake, located right in the center of Hanoi, West Lake is abundant with gardens, hotels, restaurants and other entertainment centers. For this reason, real estate prices near West Lake are staggering, and the surrounding quarters are often full of many imposingly large edifices occupied by wealthy Vietnamese people and expatriates.

A Brief Introduction of The Kim Liên Temple (Cao Son Temple)

The communal house is built in honor of Cao Sơn Đại Vương (Saint Cao Sơn), one of the fifty sons of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ (ancestors of the Vietnamese nation). This communal house consists of a grand ceremonial hall – which was restored in 2000, on the occasion of Hà Nội’s 990th founding anniversary – and a three-compartment back sanctuary. Inside the sanctuary, the front compartment is where a common altar is placed; compartment is where a ritual throne and ritual weapons are installed, and the back compartment is where the statues of Saint Cao Sơn and two other goddesses are worshipped. This space is also marked by the presence of refinedly-carved decorative motifs such as a tiger’s face, two horse-dragons vie for a pearl, four sacred animals, four precious objects and eight precious objects. Of particular note is the gilded and vermilion-lacquered throne for Saint Cao Sơn, decorated with many beautifully-carved details.

The most important relic in the Kim Liên Communal House is the stone stele of “Cao Sơn Đại Vương thần từ bi minh,” written in 1510, telling of Cao Sơn’s efforts to help King Lê regain his throne from troublesome members of his family, and listing the 39 titles certificates of honorary titles upon Cao Sơn Đại Vương by the King.

A Brief Introduction of The White Horse Temple (Bach Ma Temple)

The temple, built in the 9th century, worships Long Do, the deity who protected the Thang Long Royal Citadel. In 1010, Ly Thai To king moved the citadel from Hoa Lư (Ninh Binh) to Thang Long and wanted to expand it.

Bach Ma temple is a very nice architectural work which includes three-door temple gates, burning incense place and forbidden palaces. It is a closed architectural work, making the temple become among rare and typical works of the Northern delta region. The temple now still keeps lots of old valuable relics such as stone steles, palanquin, cranes and pairs of toy earthen statue for worship.

Every year, to honor Long Do deity, the People’s Committee of Hoan Kiem district holds Bach M temple festival on lunar February 12 and 13. The event includes many offerings and cultural activities like ceremonial songs , Vietnamese popular opera , poem recitation and fencing.

A Brief Introduction of The Perfume Pagoda

The Huong Pagoda is a vast complex of Buddhist temples and shrines built into the limestone Huong Tich mountains. It is the site of a religious festival which draws large numbers of pilgrims from across Vietnam. The centre of the Huong Temple lies in Huong Son Commune, Mỹ Đức District, former Hà Tây Province (now Hanoi). The centre of this complex is the Perfume Temple, also known as Chua Trong (Inner Temple), located in Huong Tich Cave.

It is thought that the first temple was a small structure on the current site of Thien Tru which existed during the reign of Lê Thánh Tông in the 15th century. Legend claims that the site was discovered over 2000 years ago by a monk meditating in the area, who named the site after a Tibetan mountain where Lord Buddha practiced asceticism. A stele at the current temple dates the building of a terrace, stone steps and Kim Dung shrine to 1686, during the reign of Le Hy Tong, at around the same time that Chua Trong was being constructed. Over the years some of the structures were damaged and replaced. The original statues of Lord Buddha and Quan Am were cast from bronze in 1767 and replaced with the current statues in 1793. More recently, damage was done during both the French and the American wars. Both the gate and the bell tower at Thien Tru Pagoda were destroyed, the bell tower rebuilt in 1986 and the gate completed in 1994

The many Pagodas that make up Chua Huong are spread out among the limestone hills and tropical forests in the area of Huong Mountain

A Brief Introduction of The Co Loa citadel

Cổ Loa Citadel is an important fortified settlement and archaeological site in present-day Hanoi's Dong Anh district, about 16 kilometers (10 mi) northeast of Hanoi city center. Various relics of the Bronze Age Phung Nguyen culture and Dong Son culture have been found in Cổ Loa, although it was later established as the capital of Âu Lạc Kingdom during the 3rd century BC. Further construction was added during the later dynasties. Cổ Loa remained an important political center of the Vietnamese people until the 10th century. The name "Cổ Loa" is derived from the Sino-Vietnamese 古螺, meaning "old spiral", reflecting its multi-layered structure of earthworks, moats and ditches.

A Brief Introduction of Tan Vien Son Thanh (the God of the Mountain)

Tan Vien Son Thanh (the God of the Mountain) isone of the Four Immortals in the Vietnamese legend, has been officially listed as one of Việt Nam’s national intangible cultural heritage. Placed in the west slope of Ba Vi mountain, Minh Quang commune, Ba Vi district, includes many architectural constructions, each construction plays a different function in a pretty complete Buddhism complex (Hạ (Low), Trung (Middle) and Thượng (Upper) temples) which is to serve the spiritual needs of the people.

In Vietnamese folklore, Tản Viên is one of the four immortals, along with Chử Đồng Tử, who taught the people to catch fish and grow crops; Saint Gióng, who beat foreign invaders to protect his homeland; and Goddess Liễu Hạnh, the deity of the Mother Goddess worship.

According to the legend in the northern delta, Tản Viên, also called Sơn Tinh, was the God of the Mountain and governed all creatures on land. He taught people to grow crops, hunt animals, catch fish, practise martial arts and hold festivals. Opposite Sơn Tinh was Thủy Tinh, the God of the Sea, responsible for the rising water levels that damaged crops, destroyed animals and drowned people. Sơn Tinh beat Thủy Tinh in a competition to win the heart of Princess Mỵ Nương who was the daughter of the King Hùng XVIII.

A Brief Introduction of Hai Ba Trung Temple (Trung Sisters temple)

Two sisters Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, two famous Vietnamese heroines who rode elephants to lead their troops to defeat the foreign invaders. Here they proclaimed themselves the new empresses after gaining independence for the country in the early years of Vietnam (40-43AD).

In AD 40, Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị, after successfully repelling a small Chinese unit from their village, assembled a large army consisting mostly of women. Within months, they had taken many (about 65) citadels from the Chinese, and had liberated Nanyue. They became queens regnant of Nanyue and managed to resist subsequent Han attacks on the country for over three years

Temples to the Trưng Sisters or "Hai Bà Trưng Temples" are found from as early as the end of the Third Chinese domination of Vietnam. The best known Hai Bà Trưng Temple is in Hanoi near Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Other Hai Bà Trưng temples are found in Mê Linh District (Vĩnh Phúc Province), Phúc Thọ District (Hà Tây Province) and Hoàng Hoa Thám Street, Bình Thạnh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

A Brief Introduction of The Soc Temple & Saint Giong Temple

Legend has it that after defeating foreign invaders to the foot of Ve Linh mountain, expelling the last enemy out of the country, Saint Giong left his iron armor and rode his iron horse up to the sky. Originated from a small temple named Dong Thien Vuong that one day the King Le Hoan (Le Đai Hanh) with his soldiers were on their operation to fight Tong invaders, the King and soldiers came in and prayed for good luck. In that battle the invaders were soon driven out of the country. On the way home, the King came in to give thanks and ordered to find a root of aloe wood to make a statue and construct a majestic temple and conferred the titles “Phù” and “Thiên”, his name is worshiped at SocTemple as “Phù Đổng ThiênVương”.

Soc temple complex located in a vast area of mountains, trees and plants are verdant and thorny bamboos are golden all year round. Ancient and sanctuary temple roof was shrouded by the canopy of ancient trees hundreds of years old.

Soc temple historical relic complex remains many valuable historical and cultural value, contributing to the cause of Vietnam cultural preservation and promotion, recognized by the State as cultural heritage of national level.

Giong festival is a traditional festival annually celebrated in many localities within Hanoi to commemorate and honor the scared feat of the legendary hero Saint Giong, one of four immortals in Vietnam’s religious beliefs.

A Brief Introduction of The Phu Dong Temple

Phù Đổng Thiên Vương (Phù Đổng sky king), also known as Thánh Gióng (God Gióng), Ông Gióng (sir Gióng) and Xung Thiên Thần Vương (holy king of the sky) is a mythical folk hero of Vietnam's history and one of The Four Immortals. The boy Gióng grows in size to be a giant hero, who rides on an iron horse leading the Văn Lang kingdom ( ancient name for Viet Nam) to victory against northern invaders ( Han Chinese) .

The folk hero was a popular subject for nationalist poets, such as Cao Bá Quát who wrote an epic poem to Thánh Gióng in the 19th Century. Today Thánh Gióng features with other legendary figures such as Kinh Dương Vương, Âu Cơ, Sơn Tinh and Thủy Tinh, in elementary school texts.

Between 1220-1225BC, the setting occurred during the 6th King Hung Dynasty - Hung King where a war wages with the invading An tribe.

• In the small town, there was a poor, hardworking couple who wished to bear a child.

• One day, the wife found a big foot printed on the farm, and magically became pregnant.

• She gave birth to a son named Giong. At three years of age, he was unable to talk, smile, or walk.

• Due to the attacks by the An (Yin), the king sent out messengers to call his subjects to arms. Gióng unexpectedly gained the ability to talk and ask his mother to see one of the messenger. He requested the king to arm him. the villagers fed Giong and he grew instantly into a magnificent man. Simultaneously, the king's blacksmiths worked hard to forge Gióng a set of iron armour, an iron sword, as well as whipping rods and an iron horse. Dressed in his new armour, he rode out on the iron horse and defeated the An invaders.

• After defeating the An (Shang or Yin Dynasty, China), Giong and his horse ascended to Heaven.

Memorial

• The Saint Giong Festival has been held since the defeat against the An, and it officially became a national holiday in the 11th century during the dynasty of King of Lý Thái Tổ, the founder of the Ly Dynasty.

Heritage

• In 2010, UNESCO has listed Thanh Giong in Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

• UNESCO officially recognized Saint Giong festival as a world intangible cultural heritage of humanity at 10:20 pm in Indochina time zone

A Brief Introduction of The Hat Mon Temple

Located in Hat Mon commune, Phuc Tho district, Ha Noi, built after the Trung sisters’ death to commemorate their devotion to the nation. The temple was recognised as a Special National Site in 2013 by the Prime Minister of Vietnam. Hat Mon is one of three largest and oldest temples dedicated to Hai Ba Trung in Vietnam.

The two sisters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, led their troops on elephant-back to repel Chinese invaders for three years. The victory brought liberation for Dai Viet (an old name for Vietnam) after 247 years of Chinese domination.

The Hat Mon Temple was listed as National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Decision 246/QD-BVHTTDL in 2016.

The Hanoi municipal People’s Committee highly appreciated the Hat Mon commune Party Committee’s and People Committee’s efforts in particular, and Phuc Tho district in general, in preserving, embellishing and promoting the traditional cultural history.

The biggest celebrations of the temple take place on March 6th, September 4th and December 24th of the Lunar Calendar. On March 6th, the main day of the two Queens, the villagers show their appreciation with banh troi (rice cake) offering, since when the Queens returned to the old base, the were hungry and ate banh troi at a small store nearby. A dish for the ceremony must have a hundred of banh troi. After the party, people will put 49 banh troi on a lotus and let it flow to the ocean. Especially, the villagers will not make or eat banh troi before the day of ceremony.

The ceremony on September 4th is verbally the day when the Queens finished recruiting and began the battle. Accordingly, there is always a performance of flag battle with players being the strongest men in the village. A lot of visitors have been attracted by this event. December 24th is the ‘Moc Duc’ day (bathing statue), which is also held very solemnly.

A Brief Introduction of The Va Temple (Đền Và)

The temple with the area of 2000m2, locates on the 8000m2 campus, is built in the style of the “Noi cong ngoai quoc” with typical oriental architecture. Va temple includes works such as Nghi Mon, Co Chin upstairs, Long hoa yard, Bell upstairs, Drum upstairs, Ta Huu mac, Tien Te, Upper shrine, Behind palace, warehouse, sedan house. The work items use precious materials such as ironwood, laterite brick, Bat Trang bricks, mui ri tiles. Many precious mascots are decorated such as four animal set (dragon - unicorn – turtle - phoenix), four plant precious (pine - Chrysanthemum - bamboo-apricot tree), lotus, orchids, embossed and stylized pictures, showing out craftsmen’ skillful hands and the creation, respectful heart of millions of Vietnamese to ancestors and spirits.

Va Temple hstorical and cultural relic was ranked as the historical - cultural relic with national level by the State in 1964. Va temple along with the ancient citadel of Son Tay and relic of Duong Lam ancient village has become an attractive destination for local and foreign tourists to visit Son Tay land – the center of ancient Doai origin.

A Brief Introduction of The Chem Communal Hous

The Chèm Temple is dedicated to Lý Thân, alias Lý Ông Trọng, a legendary figure during the reign of the Hùng Kings. A native of Chèm area, he was a tall man with unequalled physical strength. He used to stand by the poor and, for that reason, was guilty of murdering a cruel local notable. In deference to Lý Thân’s integrity, the Hùng King commuted his death sentence into exile to China as a tribute to China’s Emperor Qin Shihuang. The Chinese Emperor entrusted Lý Thân with the task of safeguarding the northern frontiers against the Huns invaders task which he fulfilled most successfully.

In remembrance of the hero, Thụy Phương Village and two others, Liên Mạc and Hoàng Mạc, jointly organize an annual festival from May 14 to May 16 (lunar year), May 14 is the pre-festival day, and May 15 the remain day.

A Brief Introduction of The Tay Dang Communal House

The communal house was built around 1570 and has a peculiar architectural lay-out. Many researchers regard it as the starting point of Vietnam’s ancient architecture. What stands out is four curved roof comers and elaborately carved images.

It is built on an elevated ground but has a low roof which is designed to shelter it against rain and excessive sunshine. Therefore, one feels that the communal house is somewhat “absorbed” by the earth. The main building material for the house is the wood from the jack-fruit tree (paramita), a tree which means “arrival at the other shore free from all sufferings”.

Tay Dang communal house is attractive. It is the heritage of the architecture of the 16th century.

A Brief Introduction of The Thay Temple

The temple has been refurbished many times. The temple has three dedications: to King Lý Thần Tông (1127 to 1138), to Gautama Buddha and his eighteen arhats and to the Buddhist monk and Thiền master Từ Đạo Hạnh. It is built in a typical Vietnamese architectural style. The main prayer hall of the temple has nearly 100 colourful images of different period. At the entrance to the shrine there are two large clay mixed papier-mâché images of the 7th century, each weighing about a ton; these are considered the largest such images in Vietnam.

Thầy temple festival, is held in honour of the monk Từ Đạo Hạnh. It is held from the 5th to 7th days of the third Lunar month. During the festival puppet groups present water puppetry stage shows at the open air theater in the lake. A pageant of tableaux are also taken out on the occasion. Participants in the festivities come from four villages. The sandalwood statue of the master, located in the temple, is moved with intertwined strings during the puppet festival.

A Brief Introduction of The Tram Gian Pagoda

Tram Gian Pagoda, also called Tien Lu Pagoda, is built in in Tien Lu Village, Hoai Duc District, about 25km of the west of Ha Noi Centra. The pagoda was probably originally built in 1185 during the reign of King Ly Cao Tong on its present site at the top of the low Tien Lu, or Ma Hill. It nestles snugly on that hill in a natural cushion of mature trac, or kingwood and tram, or canary trees, and watched over by giant pines.

There the statues of two Guardian Spirits, the Good-encouraging Spirit and the Bad-punishing Spirit, preside and the Thien Huong, or Celestial Perfume, and in the inner part of the second house two Thuong Dien , or Upper Altars, for the praise of Buddha. A four curved-cornered and columned roof shelters a drum, an equally large gong, both dating from the 10th Year of Canh Hung (1750).

The pagoda is seen as one entity or 100 smaller ones. It houses 153 statues mostly made of wood, some of clay red lacquered and trimmed with gold, all to the greater glory of Tam The, the Past, Present and Future Lives. A large terracotta platform supports an ornately carved altar bearing lotus flower, legends, and dragon, tiger, horse, and elephant reliefs. Nearby stands the black-lacquer jackfruit-tree wood statue of Tuyet Son styled on one found in the Himalayas. The imagery goes on at every turn: arranged and ornate altars to worship 18 Arhats and the Ruler of Hell in the Ten Great Halls, a separate pagoda and altar to worship Saint Boi or Monk Nguyen Lu also known as Binh Yen. Legend has it the statue is actually his rattan preserved body covered by an oil cloth.

Two mighty central columns bear parallel scrolls inlaid with mother-of-pearl praising the victories of the Vietnamese people’s struggle against foreign invasion

A Brief Introduction of The Dau Pagoda (Chùa Đậu)

Dau pagoda also known as Phap Vu pagoda, located in Gia Phuc Village, Nguyen Trai Commune, Thuong Tin District, about 20km form Ha Noi Centre. This pagoda is quiet and peaceful, It was built during the Ly Dynasty and underwent a good number of embellishments.

The pagoda’s gate faces west; the walls are not too high, mossy green and decorated in Buddhist designs and patterns. High on the centre is a big panel with characters Thanh Dao Tui. Beyond the gate, visitors seem to be in a care-free world and live in an atmosphere of meditation. Three – door gate is an ancient architectural project overlooking Long Tri Lake. The gate was built in a lotus design with two roofs. The upper roof is symbol of positive world; the lower roof is square-shaped as a foundation. The pillar base­-stones to support the whole roof and the lowest roof is seen as negative world. Between the positive and the negative is a bronze-bell, a symbol of centre part of the lotus flowers.

A Brief Introduction of The Tay Phuong Pagoda

Tay Phuong Pagoda, also known as Sung Phuc Pagoda, located in Yen Hamlet, Thach Xa Commune, Thach That District, Hanoi. About 34km from Hanoi centre. The Pagoda was built in 1632 & on top of Tay Phuong Mountain proudly holding many valuable statues of Buddha, surrounded by green areas. It has three buildings on the mountainside, namely Chua Ha (Lower Pagoda), Chua Trung (Middle Pagoda) and Chua Thuong (Upper Pagoda). The pagoda is an iconic architectural site of an ancient civilization of people in Doai region.

Take the steep steps up to the main pagoda building, then find a path at the back that loops down past the other two pagodas and wanders through the hillside village that surrounds the complex..