Hanoi authorities are restoring 82 stone tablets recording the royalexaminations held under the Le-Mac dynasties (1442-1779) placed at VanMieu (the Temple of Literature) and Quoc Tu Giam (Vietnam’sfirst national university).
The move is topromote the historical and cultural values of the tablets, declared aUNESCO world documentary heritage in 2010 and recently receivedrecognition as a “national treasure” by the Prime Minister.
The steles were designed in the form of a tortoise-mounted tablet,eliciting the traditional symbol of longevity in Vietnamese culture.
Nguyen Thi Luan, Deputy Director of the relic site’s scientific andcultural activities centre, said the city will complete the restorationof the shelters, including pillars and roofs, ahead of the traditionalLunar New Year (Tet).
The centre will work withrelevant agencies to design and carry out a project conserving thetablets, covering the full collection of scientific data on the 82tablets and enacting measures to promote their values.
If approved, the project will be carried out between 2015 and 2020.
To preserve the steles, the centre built fences to prevent visitorsfrom touching the tortoises’ heads. In 1994, new shelters were rebuiltto limit the wear of the steles due to weather and natural erosion.
Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature – The FirstUniversity of Vietnam) was established in 1070-1076 under the LyDynasty (1010-1225). After many royal examinations, in 1482 King LeThanh Tong (who reigned from 1460 to 1497) ordered the erection of stonesteles inscribed with the names and native lands of the first laureatesof the royal examinations since the royal examinations began in 1442.
Between 1442 and 1779, 124 doctoral examinations wereheld but now only 82 stone steles are preserved in Van Mieu – Quoc TuGiam. The steles are placed on the back of stone turtles, the symbol ofthe immortality of the national quintessence.
The 82stone steles have a great value of sculpture and calligraphy. All ofthem were carved from stone in Dong Son, Thanh Hoa province by artisansin Hong Luc and Lieu Chang villages in Kinh Mon district, Hai Duongprovince which is famous nationwide for the craft of making wood-blocksand inscribing on stele.
The steles with epitaphswhich were composed by cultural celebrities and bright scholars of thecountry can be seen as pieces of art and are considered as “stonehistory sets” about Vietnam’s Confucian education. The inscriptionsof these steles are standard Chinese verses and lines with the type ofparallel construction, which are remarkable pieces of literature andvaluable in terms of art and ideology.-VNA
The move is topromote the historical and cultural values of the tablets, declared aUNESCO world documentary heritage in 2010 and recently receivedrecognition as a “national treasure” by the Prime Minister.
The steles were designed in the form of a tortoise-mounted tablet,eliciting the traditional symbol of longevity in Vietnamese culture.
Nguyen Thi Luan, Deputy Director of the relic site’s scientific andcultural activities centre, said the city will complete the restorationof the shelters, including pillars and roofs, ahead of the traditionalLunar New Year (Tet).
The centre will work withrelevant agencies to design and carry out a project conserving thetablets, covering the full collection of scientific data on the 82tablets and enacting measures to promote their values.
If approved, the project will be carried out between 2015 and 2020.
To preserve the steles, the centre built fences to prevent visitorsfrom touching the tortoises’ heads. In 1994, new shelters were rebuiltto limit the wear of the steles due to weather and natural erosion.
Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature – The FirstUniversity of Vietnam) was established in 1070-1076 under the LyDynasty (1010-1225). After many royal examinations, in 1482 King LeThanh Tong (who reigned from 1460 to 1497) ordered the erection of stonesteles inscribed with the names and native lands of the first laureatesof the royal examinations since the royal examinations began in 1442.
Between 1442 and 1779, 124 doctoral examinations wereheld but now only 82 stone steles are preserved in Van Mieu – Quoc TuGiam. The steles are placed on the back of stone turtles, the symbol ofthe immortality of the national quintessence.
The 82stone steles have a great value of sculpture and calligraphy. All ofthem were carved from stone in Dong Son, Thanh Hoa province by artisansin Hong Luc and Lieu Chang villages in Kinh Mon district, Hai Duongprovince which is famous nationwide for the craft of making wood-blocksand inscribing on stele.
The steles with epitaphswhich were composed by cultural celebrities and bright scholars of thecountry can be seen as pieces of art and are considered as “stonehistory sets” about Vietnam’s Confucian education. The inscriptionsof these steles are standard Chinese verses and lines with the type ofparallel construction, which are remarkable pieces of literature andvaluable in terms of art and ideology.-VNA
