Sightseeing pt. 3: Temple of Literature and Hoàn Kiếm Lake
Hello and xin chào!
As promised, here's the final sightseeing post, focused on the Temple of Literature, or Văn Miếu, and Hoàn Kiếm Lake. This post is going to be light on text because (1) I've fallen so far behind on blogging and (2) I don't really know much about what you'll see in the pictures.
Thanks to Wikipedia, I can tell you that the Temple of Literature is a Confucian temple built in 1070, and from 1076 to 1779, it housed Vietnam's first university. (Incidentally, it's also about half a mile from my apartment.)
The temple consists of five successive courtyards arranged in a straight line. The first two courtyards as you enter are primarily serene gardens, providing a welcome dose of green space. The third has a large reflecting pool flanked by the Stelae of Doctors—massive slabs of stone inscribed with inscribed with the names of 1,300+ successful exam takers from 1442 to 1779. At the bottom of the stelae are huge sculptures of turtles, a symbol of wisdom in Vietnam. The woman from HR I was with told me that people used to rub the turtle heads for good luck on exams, but fences have been erected because the stone was getting worn down.
In the fourth courtyard, you reach the main halls used for study and examinations.
The final courtyard is mostly several beautiful altars and shrines venerating Confucius and a handful of emperors.
Next, I was ferried to the Old Quarter and its centerpiece, Hoàn Kiếm Lake.
On a small island just offshore lies Đền Ngọc Sơn—in English, the Temple of the Jade Mountain, but I only found that out when I googled Đền Ngọc Sơn two minutes ago. As far as I can tell, there is little information about it in English, but from its Vietnamese Wikipedia entry I divined that it dates to the 13th century.
Most of the site seemed to be inexplicably in the midst of excavation or restoration, but at least I got to cross a lovely bridge to get there.
To conclude the sightseeing, I was taken just down the street to the Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre, which is exactly what it sounds like. A very unique tradition, water puppetry dates back nearly one thousand years in the rice paddies of northern Vietnam. The stage is a pool a couple feet deep, and puppeteers somehow operate small puppets while standing in the water behind a screen.
I could not tell you how any of this works, as it's apparently a very closely guarded secret. I also could not tell you anything that happened during the performance, as it comprised more than a dozen brief skits with traditional music and extensive Vietnamese dialogue. Like most of my time here, it was fun but confusing.
So concludes the Hanoi sightseeing. As before, here's a link to more photos if you'd like to check them out. Stay tuned for my next post about my unbelievable sojourn to Mai Châu.
Till next time,
Gray
As promised, here's the final sightseeing post, focused on the Temple of Literature, or Văn Miếu, and Hoàn Kiếm Lake. This post is going to be light on text because (1) I've fallen so far behind on blogging and (2) I don't really know much about what you'll see in the pictures.
Thanks to Wikipedia, I can tell you that the Temple of Literature is a Confucian temple built in 1070, and from 1076 to 1779, it housed Vietnam's first university. (Incidentally, it's also about half a mile from my apartment.)
 |
| Walking through the entrance courtyard. |
The temple consists of five successive courtyards arranged in a straight line. The first two courtyards as you enter are primarily serene gardens, providing a welcome dose of green space. The third has a large reflecting pool flanked by the Stelae of Doctors—massive slabs of stone inscribed with inscribed with the names of 1,300+ successful exam takers from 1442 to 1779. At the bottom of the stelae are huge sculptures of turtles, a symbol of wisdom in Vietnam. The woman from HR I was with told me that people used to rub the turtle heads for good luck on exams, but fences have been erected because the stone was getting worn down.
 |
| The reflecting pool with a tourist group in the background. |
In the fourth courtyard, you reach the main halls used for study and examinations.
 |
| The fourth courtyard. |
 |
| A Confucian altar. |
Next, I was ferried to the Old Quarter and its centerpiece, Hoàn Kiếm Lake.
 |
| The lake. |
On a small island just offshore lies Đền Ngọc Sơn—in English, the Temple of the Jade Mountain, but I only found that out when I googled Đền Ngọc Sơn two minutes ago. As far as I can tell, there is little information about it in English, but from its Vietnamese Wikipedia entry I divined that it dates to the 13th century.
 |
| The entrance to Đền Ngọc Sơn. Though Vietnamese is written with the Latin alphabet today, it was actually written using modified Chinese characters until the late 19th century. |
Most of the site seemed to be inexplicably in the midst of excavation or restoration, but at least I got to cross a lovely bridge to get there.
 |
| The bridge to the island. |
To conclude the sightseeing, I was taken just down the street to the Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre, which is exactly what it sounds like. A very unique tradition, water puppetry dates back nearly one thousand years in the rice paddies of northern Vietnam. The stage is a pool a couple feet deep, and puppeteers somehow operate small puppets while standing in the water behind a screen.
 |
| The water puppet theatre (not my picture). |
I could not tell you how any of this works, as it's apparently a very closely guarded secret. I also could not tell you anything that happened during the performance, as it comprised more than a dozen brief skits with traditional music and extensive Vietnamese dialogue. Like most of my time here, it was fun but confusing.
So concludes the Hanoi sightseeing. As before, here's a link to more photos if you'd like to check them out. Stay tuned for my next post about my unbelievable sojourn to Mai Châu.
Till next time,
Gray
Comments
Post a Comment