(Cinet)- The Hanoi authority has implemented to restore 82 stone tablets recording the royal examinations under the Le-Mac dynasties (1442-1779) at Van Mieu (the Temple of Literature) and Quoc Tu Giam (Vietnam’s first national university).
Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature – The First University of Vietnam) was established in 1070-1076 under the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225). After many royal examinations, in 1482 King Le Thanh Tong (who reigned from 1460 to 1497) ordered the erection of stone steles inscribed with the names and native lands of the first laureates of the royal examinations since the royal examinations began in 1442.
Between 1442 and 1779, 124 doctoral examinations were held but now only 82 stone steles are preserved in Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam. The steles are placed on the back of stone turtles, the symbol of the immortality of the national quintessence.
The steles with epitaphs which were composed by cultural celebrities and bright scholars of the country can be seen as pieces of art and are considered as “stone history sets” about Vietnam’s Confucian education. The inscriptions of these steles are standard Chinese verses and lines with the type of parallel construction, which are remarkable pieces of literature and valuable in terms of art and ideology.
The steles were designed in the form of a tortoise-mounted tablet, eliciting the traditional symbol of longevity in Vietnamese culture.
To preserve the steles, the centre built fences to prevent visitors from touching the tortoises’ heads. In 1994, new shelters were rebuilt to limit the wear of the steles due to weather and natural erosion.
The move aims to enhance the historical and cultural values of the tablets, declared a UNESCO world documentary heritage in 2010 and recently received a recognition as a “national treasure” by the Prime Minister.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
