Ancient Hanoi

The Temple of Literature is a Confucian Temple in Hanoi and the historic home to the Vietnamese Imperial Academy. Established in AD 1070, the Temple of Literature is considered to be the first university in Vietnam and one of the oldest in the world.

*For context, the oldest Western university, Oxford University, was founded in AD 1096.

One of the most important virtues in Confucianism is knowledge and education, so it's no wonder that one of the world's oldest universities is also a Confucian temple.

The temple is so representative of education and learning in Vietnam that students still come to pray before their exams, and a group of students were taking their class graduation photos in the courtyard of the temple on the day we were visiting.

The examinations to join the Imperial Court were beyond rigorous. Anyone could sit the exams, but very few passed the increasingly difficult examinations, which involved literary dissertations, poetry composition, and the study of strategy and administration. At the end of years of study, questions for the final examination for those who had made it that far were presented by the emperor himself.

Graduates of the Imperial Academy were appointed as mandarins at the Imperial Court, and they were awarded with prestigious positions and honors.

Those very few who graduated as doctors would have their names etched on massive stone stelae in the academy courtyard.

Each stele sits upon the back of a stone turtle, one of the nation's Four Holy Creatures. The turtles are meant to symbolize diligence and hard work, and having one's name etched upon one of the stelae was one of the greatest honors in Imperial Vietnam.

Approaching the inner sanctum, we paused at a shrine where iron statues of cranes standing atop the backs of turtles stood guarding the entrance. Part of the crane had been polished, presumably by centuries of students touching it in hopes of a bit of extra luck before their exams.

Though it's no longer a university or academy, the Temple of Literature is still an active temple in addition to being a museum and historical site. 

We saw many people praying and placing incense or offerings before the statues of the Confucian sages within the main temple hall.

Next, we took a taxi to the nearby Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, a sprawling fortress which once served as the center of power of imperial power in northern Vietnam. The historical fortress was constructed in 1011 under the reign of Emperor Lý Thái Tổ of Lý dynasty, and it remained the seat of the imperial court until the Nguyen Dynasty moved the capital to Hue in 1810.

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Today, the citadel is a UNESCO world heritage site and historical museum.

In its long and storied history, the citadel served as a French barracks during the colonial period, and a prison for the very same French soldiers in the Japanese occupation during the Second World War.

For students of 20th century history, what lies beneath the citadel is as interesting, if not more so, than the ancient structures themselves.

From 1954 to 1975 the People's Army of Vietnam had its headquarters within the Citadel, coded D67. To enter Building D67, you need to take a steep staircase down into a bomb-proof bunker deep beneath the ancient fortress. 

This is the secret underground bunker that served as high command for the North Vietnamese army during the "American War" (AKA the Vietnam War or the Second Indochinese War).

The bunker has been preserved and turned into a museum with the rooms faithfully recreated - down to the very 1960s-style green paint on the walls and the cool old communications arrays and typewriters on display.

For me, it was an interesting piece of history. It was more poignant for my mom. For someone of her generation, standing in the headquarters of the North Vietnamese army must have felt surreal.