W.Minh Tuan

In 2006, US Secretary of Defense Donal H. Rumsfeld visited Hanoi. He was taken to visit the Temple of Literature, and was introduced to this as the oldest university in Vietnam.

Minister Rumsfeld was very happy to bit the drum and record his thoughts at the Temple of Literature. When he returned to the US, on June 9, he immediately wrote a letter to the people of Hanoi, expressing his gratitude for the hospitality and friendliness of Hanoi people towards him.

In this letter, he said: “I also had the special honor to visit one of the oldest universities in the world at the Temple of Literature relic site, and found it very impressive.”

In November 2000, US President Bill W. Clinton, when visiting Vietnam, also visited the Temple of Literature, and was also deeply impressed by “one of the oldest universities in the world”, demonstrates the spirit of studiousness, humanity, intellectuality, and the use of talents in Vietnam that has existed for thousands of years.

Many world leaders and many domestic and foreign tourists have also visited the Temple of Literature. Vietnamese people are very proud of the long-standing university of Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam.

But why is the Temple of Literature University no longer in operation, but is only a relic, like a bonsai, a place just to visit, to reminisce about the tradition of studious learning and the tradition of respect, reminisce of using the talents of our ancestors only?

King Ly Thanh Tong was the third king of the Ly dynasty. The king was born in 1023, died in 1072. His father was Phat Ma, King Ly Thai Tong, the king who built the One Pillar Pagoda-Chua Mot Cot, formerly known as Dien Huu Pagoda, in 1049.

And during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong, the king built the Temple of Literature in 1070, initially to serve as a school to teach the king’s children, then more children of nobles.

During the Tran Dynasty, from 1253, King Tran Thai Tong – the first king of the Tran Dynasty, ordered the construction of Quoc Tu Giam, accepting good students from the common people to study.

Also this year, King Tran Thai Tong built Giang Vo Duong, the Giang Vo exhibition area today, to serve as a place to teach martial arts to soldiers, to prepare to protect country from the Tong dynasty of China.

Temple of Literature regularly accepts about 300 students. After graduating, the examiners will be able to take the Association and Dinh exams to be selected by the Ministry of Lai (like our Central Organizing Committee and Ministry of Home Affairs today) to be appointed as mandarins.

It can be said that the Temple of Literature is a place of training in history, culture and governance for many mandarins in our country’s history, from the Ly Dynasty, in 1070, to the Nguyen Dynasty, in 1945, nearly 1000 years.

When the Nguyen Dynasty collapsed following the abdication of King Bao Dai in 1945, ceding leadership of the country to our Party.

Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam is both a place to train mandarins for the kings and mandarins of our ancestors’ time, and a place to honor those who study well and pass high scores.

In the Temple of Literature, there are 82 Doctoral Steles, recording the names of Doctors who passed the faculties from 1442, during the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, to 1779, when King Quang Trung Nguyen Hue defeated the Qing army, ended the Le Dynasty, and took over the king. By 1082, when King Nguyen Anh finished destroying the Quang Trung dynasty, became king, and established the capital in Hue, the training of mandarins and honoring those who passed was still carried out, but in Hue, not in Hanoi.

Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac, father of Uncle Ho, passed the Pho Bang exam in 1901, during the reign of King Thanh Thai. Bang Nhan Nguyen Sinh Sac was given a flag, sign, and the Vinh Quy ceremony to pay homage to his ancestors.

Going back to native place-hometown to do The Vinh Quy Ancestor Ceremony, according to historian Tran Quoc Vuong, is the only ceremony in the world to honor highly educated and successful people of this type.

Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac was given the sign “Ninh Gia Grace” by King Thanh Thai – a grace given to a good family, and the king provided transportation to take him to the provincial capital of An Tinh, the old name of Vinh. After that, Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac was appointed governor of Binh Khe district, Binh Dinh province.

Recounting this story shows that the training of mandarins in our country and its activities in the spirit of the Temple of Literature are not ancient at all, but have continued since the last century.

Recently, the Festival in Hue is held every year to recreate the scene of rewarding and honoring the workers of the Nguyen Dynasty, which still exists from the last century.

So why do we now only consider the Temple of Literature as a “relic” and a “traditional festival”, but why don’t we continue to carry out that tradition of training talented people in practice, restoring the “university” of Literature- Quoc Tu Giam Temple?

Harvard University in America was founded in 1636, by Puritan priest John Harvard donating land and his own library to establish the school. From then on, the school took his name as the school name. And Harvard University has not only become a “relic” to visit, but to this day, Harvard still operates, and is the most prestigious university in the world today.

The French Sorbonne University, located right in Paris, was founded by theologian Robert de Sorbonne (1201-1274). To date, Sorbonne University is still operating and is one of the most prestigious cultural and scientific universities in France and in the world. The Sorbonne was born after our Vietnam Temple of Literature school, but it is not obscured as just a “relic” like the National Temple of Literature-Quoc Tu Giam University.

Let’s try to imagine.

The names of our famous intellectuals such as Ton That Tung, Nguyen Van To, Huynh Thuc Khang, Pham Quynh, Pham Ngoc Thach, Dao Duy Anh, Nguyen Khac Vien… will continue to be engraved on the wall stone stele at the Temple of Literature.

More stone steles honoring knowledge will be made, continuing the tradition of our ancestors, not just stopping at 82 steles like the current bonsai.

And then, the University of Temple of Literature-Quoc Tu Giam was restored, becoming a place of training in culture, history, and administrative management for all candidates, and good people, graduating with honors, will be selected and appointed as a leader, from the position of Director of the Department, and Chairman of the District, to Chairman of the Province, Minister,,,

There will be no more backgroundism, we will not only learn politics at Party schools, learn outdated and antiquated Marxism-Leninism, but learn Ho Chi Minh’s Thought on democracy and freedom, learn about the Constitution 1946, learning about the 8-point Claim of the An Nam people, learning the most modern state management knowledge that the world is training,,,.

There will no longer be the current process of selecting and appointing conservative, strange, and error-filled officials.

So proud.

It’s very unique.

Use talent very much.

Continuing the tradition of our ancestors.

Preserving the national cultural identity very well.

Why not restore Quoc Tu Giam University? With a proudly titled sign as follows:

“University of Van Mieu-Quoc tu giam-UVQ, established since 1070”.///