Literature edu

The Hanoitimes – The archival document exhibition entitled “The Palace welcomes Tet”, which lasts until the end of February 23, will help the public understand more about the old customs of Tet in the royal court.

For the first time, 80 Chau ban documents (the king’s autographed documents in red ink) of Nguyen Dynasty and archived photos are introduced to the public at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.

A King of Nguyen dynasty at work. Photos the courtesy of the exhibition’s organising board

Through the exhibition, the New Year of the royal court with its majestic ceremonies are vividly reproduced. In the past, life in the court of Nguyen dynasty in particular and other dynasties of Vietnam in general was always considered ‘secret’ and was rarely made public.

Under the Nguyen Dynasty, the Lunar New Year is considered one of the biggest ceremonies of the year and the court welcomes Tet with many solemn rituals.

The exhibition features three main themes. The first theme – “Tet Preparations” includes pictures and documents about preparing works for Tet in the palace. The Lunar New Year’s Eve preparation started very early, right from the first day of the 12th month in the lunar calendar. This ritual is called “Le Ban soc” or “Calendar distribution ceremony”.

The following ceremony was held to invite the proceeding emperors from heaven to turn back ‘home’ for having a Tet celebration with the whole court, also known as “Le Hop huong”.

The next ritual that is the indication of the suspension of court affairs, called “ Le phong an ”; and finally, the “ Tien Xuan ” ritual or “Welcome Spring” ceremony took place.

A Chau ban documents, the king’s autographed documents in red ink, of Nguyen Dynasty.

The second theme of the exhibition is called “New Year’s Eve- farewell to the old year and welcome the new year”. There were several rituals held at the court on the last day of the 12th month in the Lunar calendar, such as “Disinfection ceremony”, “Ghost chasing ceremony” and “ Neu tree erection ceremony”.

The third theme of the exhibition is named- “Welcome New Year- Tet Gift delivery & Praising filial piety”. On the first day of the New Year, the King paid visit to  Queen mother for the New Year blessing. After that, he turned back to his Palace, waiting   the court dignitaries to come and offer new year best wishes.

Then, the New Year’s  banquet  began with abundance of delicacies and royal specialties. The courtiers were also bestowed with gold and jewelries, meanwhile, people were also given gifts by the King for the occasion of the New Year.

The Hanoitimes – Local readers can understand the thousand-year history of founding and development of Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam via the photo book.

On the occasion of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day, the Center for Scientific and Culture Activities of Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam has launched the photo book “Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam Thang Long.”

The cover of the photo book “Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam Thang Long”

The book brings together hundreds of images, documents, drawings arranged chronologically according to the main themes: vestiges, landscape architecture, temples, schools, the doctor’s steles, scientific and educational activities.

Thereby, readers could have a systematic understanding of the centuries-old history of founding and development of Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam as well as the tangible and intangible cultural values of the relics.

Through the book, readers have access to rich and useful resources for research and learning about special national monuments – Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam in particular, as well as the culture and history of the Vietnamese people in general.

The Hanoitimes – The contest is aimed at encouraging the city’s students to delve into the history the Temple of Literature, a cultural heritage of the capital city.

Students from art and architecture universities in Hanoi will have the opportunity to show their talents through the pencil sketching contest about the Temple of Literature’s scenery and artifacts.

The contest is taking place at the Temple of Literature. Photo: Kinh te & Do thi

Hanoi is currently one of 246 cities in the world participating in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. The contest with the theme “Sketching the Temple of Literature” is one of the many activities to realize Hanoi’s commitments when joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, contributing to conservation and promotion of the relics’ values, and encourage the city’s students to understand more about the temple and other cultural heritages of the capital city.

The contest is held by the Center for Scientific and Culture Activities of Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam and the National University of Civil Engineering. It aims at turning the temple into a creative space with many meaningful, attractive and friendly cultural activities, said Mr. Le Xuan Kieu, Director of the relics’ Center for Scientific and Cultural Activities.

The participants of the contest are students from the National University of Civil Engineering, Hanoi Architectural University, Vietnam University of Fine Arts and Hanoi Open University. They will make pencil drawings of the temple’s architecture, its artifacts and scenery.

Outstanding works will be displayed and honored at the Temple of Literature in mid-January 2021. The winner will be awarded a cash prize of VND10 million (US$432). There will be two second-place, three third-place and five consolation prizes.

The Hanoitimes – The fashion show aims to honour traditional craft villages in Hanoi that have maintained and developed the craft for years.