Temple of Literature, Hanoi

The Temple of Literature (Vietnamese: Văn Miếu, Hán tự: 文廟) is a temple of Confucius in Hanoi, northern Vietnam. The compound also houses the Imperial Academy (Quốc Tử Giám, 國子監). Although several Temples of Literature can be found throughout Vietnam, the most prominent and famous is that situated in the city of Hanoi, which also functioned as Vietnam's first university. The temple was first constructed in 1070 under King Lý Nhân Tông and is dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars.
The Imperial Academy was the first national university of Vietnam. It was constructed in 1076 during the reign of King Lý Nhân Tông for training the talented men, including crown princes, for the nation. For nearly 1000 years, it has preserved its ancient architectural style of many dynasties and precious relics at the sanctuary. The various pavilions, halls, statues and stelae of doctors are places, where many offering ceremonies, study sessions and strict exams of the Dai Viet took place.
The temple was reconstructed during the Trần (1225 – 1400) and subsequent dynasties. Through the years, the temple have been destroyed various times by wars and other disasters, and have gone through several major restoration works in 1920, 1954 and 2000. Today the site is one of the important historical and cultural sites of Hanoi and the country and still used for organizing cultural and scientific events. In honour it is featured on the back of the 100,000 Vietnamese đồng banknote.
According to the book the Complete History of the Great Viet, "In the autumn of the year Canh Tuat, the second year of Than Vu (1070), in the 8th lunar month, during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong, the Temple of Literature was built. The statues of Confucius, his four best disciples: Yan Hui (Nhan Uyên), Zengzi (Tăng Sâm), Zisi (Tử Tư), and Mencius (Mạnh Tử), as well as the Duke of Zhou (Chu Công), were carved and 72 other statues of Confucian scholars were painted. Ceremonies were dedicated to them in each of the four seasons. The Crown Princes studied here."
In 1076 Vietnam's first university, the Quốc Tử Giám (國子監) or Imperial Academy, was established within the temple to educate Vietnam's bureaucrats, nobles, royalty and other members of the elite. The university functioned for more than 700 years, from 1076 to 1779. After that the Nguyen dynasty established the Imperial Academy, Huế.
In the run-up to the Vietnamese New Year celebration Tết, calligraphist tend to assemble outside the temple and write wishes in Hán tự, which are popular amongst Vietnamese as gifts or to be used as decoration at home for auspicious occasions.

Altar to Chu Văn An, rector of the imperial academy