Coming in from the lane of Phú Lộc village, the first thing you meet is a small stele house (nhà bi đình) standing on its own at the front, its tiled roof sheltering a stone stele. Past the stele house lies a courtyard and then the main building: thick brick walls all around, and inside a row of carved wooden columns gilded in gold, the gold dimmed in the shadow of the shrine. Outside festival days the temple grounds are empty and quiet, with only the sound of leaves.
This was the Temple of Literature of the whole old Khánh Hòa region, built close to the Diên Khánh citadel, the former seat of the garrison and then of the province. It is not large and has fewer buildings than the Temple of Literature in the capital, but it keeps something many provincial temples have lost: the orthodox order of Confucian worship, and a stele that records the names of the men who built the temple.
IConfucius, the Four Correlates and the Ten Philosophers
At the center is Confucius, revered as Vạn thế sư biểu, the teacher and model for ten thousand generations. On either side are the Four Correlates (Tứ phối), the four figures who share in the offerings with him, followed by the Ten Philosophers (Thập triết) (according to the heritage record reproduced by the Diên Khánh Health Center). This is the orthodox order of worship that Nguyễn-period temples of literature followed, and Diên Khánh keeps it almost in full, without adding local famous men to the main altar.
The four Chinese characters at the top of this article are the library's own rendering of the name in Sino-Vietnamese, not copied from a hanging board or stele at the site.
| Member of the Four Correlates | Common name | Title by the custom of temples of literature |
|---|---|---|
| Nhan Hồi (Yan Hui) | Nhan Tử | The Restored Sage, the disciple Confucius praised as the most devoted to learning |
| Tăng Sâm (Zeng Shen) | Tăng Tử (Zengzi) | The Ancestral Sage, who handed down the teaching of filial piety |
| Khổng Cấp (Kong Ji) | Tử Tư (Zisi) | The Transmitting Sage, grandson of Confucius |
| Mạnh Kha (Meng Ke) | Mạnh Tử (Mencius) | The Second Sage, ranking next to Confucius in the Confucian tradition |
Why four, and why ten. The Four Correlates are the four who carried the thread of the Way down from Confucius: his finest disciple, the one who kept the teaching of filial piety, the grandson who wrote the Doctrine of the Mean, and Mencius, who made the Way shine in a later age. The Ten Philosophers go back to the Analects, where Confucius's best disciples are grouped under four headings: virtuous conduct, speech, government and literature. Arranging the altars this way follows the line of transmission of learning, with those close to the source standing near and those further from it standing further away.
The old temple had a Khải miếu shrine on its west side, which by the custom of temples of literature honors the parents of Confucius, and the rites began there (Báo Khánh Hòa). The Khánh Hòa provincial tourism website, citing the province's cultural heritage site, records that the rebuilding of 1959 did not include the Khải miếu, so it is unclear whether this shrine still stands. The custom itself says something small but clear: those who honor the teacher must also remember the parents who gave him life.
IITwo founding dates and a stele
The history of the Diên Khánh Temple of Literature has one point on which the sources disagree from the very start, the year it was founded. The rest is fairly clear: in the middle of the 19th century the temple was rebuilt in wood with its full set of buildings, went through several repairs, was then burned and rebuilt, and was finally given a major restoration in 2008.
- 1803Decree to build the templeAccording to the heritage record reproduced by the Diên Khánh Health Center, in 1803 Emperor Gia Long issued a decree to build the temple in Phú Lộc commune, Hòa Châu district, with a thatched roof. SGGP also gives 1803. The Đại Nam nhất thống chí, quoted on the Khánh Hòa provincial tourism website, places the temple in Phú Lộc commune, west of the provincial citadel, built in the 2nd year of Gia Long (1803) and restored in the 2nd year of Tự Đức (1849).
- 1846The founding date on the steleBáo Khánh Hòa, in an article by Dr Nguyễn Công Bằng based on the stele, records that in the 6th year of Thiệu Trị the provincial administrator (bố chính) Ngô Văn Địch and the prefect (tri phủ) Đặng Trọng Giám took the lead in building a shrine for distant worship. The stele also says that the prefecture had no such shrine before.
- 1849Tiled roof and two cloisters addedThe heritage record notes that in this year the temple was roofed with tiles and the Left and Right Cloisters were added.
- 1853 to 1854Rebuilt in fullIn the 6th to 7th years of Tự Đức, the temple was rebuilt in wood, with a stele house, a front hall and a main hall. According to the stele, in 1853 the official Đỗ Thúc Tỉnh, together with the education officer Trương Đức Lân, moved the place of worship to the east of the prefectural seat and bought private land to build anew. The stele records that the temple was completed in the winter of the seventh year (Báo Khánh Hòa).
- 1858Two stone stelesThe temple still keeps two stone steles from the 11th year of Tự Đức (heritage record). Báo Khánh Hòa and Báo Văn Hóa mention a stele listing local graduates of the Nguyễn-period examinations.
- 1904 and 1941Two repairsThe heritage record notes two further repairs in the first half of the 20th century.
- 1948 to 1959Burned and rebuiltThe temple burned in 1948. At the end of 1958, the elders of the Diên Khánh Literary Association were given back the old temple site and brought over what remained of the Diên Khánh Văn chỉ at Gò Sòng, Phước Tuy, Diên Phước commune. In 1959 the temple was rebuilt on its old foundations, on a smaller scale than before.
- 1998 and 2008Ranking and major restorationOn 15 October 1998 it was ranked as a national heritage site under Decision No. 04/1998/QĐ-BVHTT of the Ministry of Culture and Information. In 2008 it was extensively restored, keeping the structure of the rebuilding of the late 1950s.
The points where the sources diverge are set out plainly here, without picking one at random.
Year of founding. The Đại Nam nhất thống chí, the heritage record and SGGP give 1803, tied to Emperor Gia Long's decree, with a temple that was at first only thatched. Báo Khánh Hòa, following the stele, gives 1846, and the stele also says that the prefecture had no such shrine before then. Both dates could be right if 1803 is read as the founding of a thatched temple and 1846 as the time the provincial administrator and the prefect came forward to build a more substantial one, which the stele records. But that is the library's way of reconciling them, and no source says so.
Who rebuilt it in 1853. The stele, as reproduced in Báo Khánh Hòa, ties the rebuilding to the official Đỗ Thúc Tỉnh, then a prefect and later promoted to provincial judge (án sát), together with the education officer Trương Đức Lân, and says that this time the place of worship was moved to the east of the prefectural seat. The names Ngô Văn Địch and Đặng Trọng Giám belong to the date 1846.
Area. Báo Khánh Hòa and the heritage record both give the temple grounds as about 1,500 square meters, while the newspaper Đại Biểu Nhân Dân in 2025 gives grounds of nearly 1.8 hectares. Perhaps the smaller figure is the worship area and the larger one the whole heritage site, but no source makes this clear.
1958 or 1959. The heritage record says the temple was rebuilt in 1958, yet also says the 2008 restoration kept the architectural structure dating from 1959. The province's heritage page clears this up: an official letter of 3 November 1958 handed the old temple site to the Diên Khánh Literary Association, and the rebuilding took place in 1959.
The name Diên Khánh Temple of Literature easily leads people to think it was a district-level temple, since Diên Khánh is familiar as the name of a district. In fact the temple was tied to the Diên Khánh citadel, the seat of the garrison and then of Khánh Hòa province in the 19th century, so this was the Temple of Literature of the whole Khánh Hòa region, which is also why some call it the Khánh Hòa Temple of Literature. The word Diên Khánh in the name refers to where the temple stands, not to the level of government that founded it.
IIIThe stele house and the wooden main hall
According to the heritage record, the building of 1853 had a stele house at the front, and at the center a tall, spacious front hall (tiền đường) and main hall (chánh đường) built of wood and enclosed by brick walls. On either side were the Left and Right Cloisters, and behind and beside them stood the Khải miếu, the Quan cư and the Từ miếu. The wooden columns were carved and gilded (Báo Khánh Hòa). Báo Khánh Hòa also notes that the temple was built on a piece of high ground.
The rebuilding of 1959 was smaller: an outer gate and enclosing wall, an inner ceremonial gate, the stele house, a courtyard, a flagpole, three-bay Left and Right Cloisters, the hall of worship and the main sanctuary. The wooden frames of the main sanctuary and the hall of worship were brought from the văn chỉ at Phước Tuy. The Khải miếu, Quan cư and Từ miếu were not rebuilt (Khánh Hòa provincial tourism website, citing the province's cultural heritage site).
A pavilion sheltering a stele, standing in front of the main axis. Those who enter the temple meet the written word before they meet the altar, an arrangement fitting a place that honors learning.
The front building of the main worship block, where those offering the sacrifice stand to perform the rite, set at a proper distance from the altar inside according to custom.
The building holding the altars of Confucius and the Four Correlates, with a wooden frame, enclosing brick walls and carved, gilded columns. The present wooden frame was brought from the văn chỉ at Phước Tuy when the temple was rebuilt in 1959.
The two ranges of buildings on either side, added in 1849 and rebuilt in 1959 as two three-bay, single-story houses. By the custom of temples of literature they honor the earlier worthies and earlier Confucians at a lower rank.
A small shrine honoring the parents of Confucius, added in 1849, on the west side of the temple according to Báo Khánh Hòa. The province's heritage page records that it was not rebuilt in 1959.
The Quan cư stood beside the Left Cloister and served as lodging for officials and guests during the rites (Báo Khánh Hòa), together with the small Từ miếu shrine. Both were added in 1849 and were not rebuilt in 1959 (the province's heritage page).
If you have read the article on the Trấn Biên Temple of Literature, you will see how the two places differ here. Trấn Biên was the first Temple of Literature of Đàng Trong, the southern realm, built in 1715, but no part of the old building survives and all of it is a reconstruction from 1998. Diên Khánh came almost a century later and went through fire and rebuilding. The wooden frames of its main sanctuary and hall of worship are old frames brought from the văn chỉ at Phước Tuy in 1959, and the 2008 restoration kept that structure. What is precious at Diên Khánh is not great age but the continuity of worship on the same ground.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
The sources on Diên Khánh say very little about how the site was chosen. Báo Khánh Hòa notes that the temple was built on high ground, the Đại Nam nhất thống chí places it west of the provincial citadel, and the stele says only that Đỗ Thúc Tỉnh, who moved the temple in 1853, was well versed in feng shui, without recording by what method he chose the land. The box below is the library's further reading in the manner of traditional feng shui, and readers are asked to treat it as an interpretation for comparison, not as a historical record.
The most valuable detail the sources leave is high ground. On a riverside plain like Diên Khánh, where water rises quickly in the rainy season, choosing a mound to build a temple on is first of all a way to keep it from flooding. Traditional feng shui reads a further layer: a mound rising from flat land is a place where qi gathers, and places honoring letters are often set on such raised points so that they stand a little above the houses around them, as learning stands above everyday affairs.
Second is the relation to the Diên Khánh citadel. The temple is not inside the citadel but in Phú Lộc village close to it. The citadel is the place of power and of soldiers, the temple the place of letters. Setting the two near each other but not within one ring of walls was how people of old kept the worship of learning under state patronage without letting it mingle with the seat of officialdom.
Third is water. The Diên Khánh area lies on the plain of the Cái River flowing down to Nha Trang, an alluvial land rich in water. In the reading of land, a site with a mound to stand on and a river not far off as a channel carrying qi is a sufficient configuration, without the need for great mountains. The library has not found any source recording which way the temple faces, so it draws no further conclusion about the facing.
Last is the meaning of the stele house standing in front. On an axis of worship, what stands first sets the tone for the whole site. At many temples it is a gate with guardian statues or stone horses. Here it is a stele of written characters. Whoever steps onto this axis meets writing before meeting the altar, and in the traditional reading, words placed at the head of the axis are words that guard the door of the whole place of worship.
VConfucius's birthday, his death anniversary and the scholarships
The sources on the Diên Khánh Temple of Literature record two main rites each year, tied to the life of Confucius: his birthday and the anniversary of his death. Before 1945 these two rites were organized by the state, and today they are prepared by the temple's ritual committee (Báo Khánh Hòa). Since 2004 the death anniversary rite has been accompanied by the award of scholarships to students of the area (heritage record).
| Lunar timing | Rite | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Spring and autumn | Spring and autumn sacrifices | A general custom of Nguyễn-period temples of literature. The sources on Diên Khánh record only the birthday and death anniversary rites, and the library has found no source saying that spring and autumn sacrifices are still held here. |
| The 27th day of the 8th month | Thánh đản, Confucius's birthday | Commemorating the birth of Confucius, with incense offered in the main hall. |
| The 18th day of the 4th month | Thánh húy, Confucius's death anniversary | Commemorating the death of Confucius on the date given in the heritage record. |
| During the Thánh húy rite | Scholarships | Since 2004, awards for poor but excellent local students, keeping the temple's tradition of encouraging learning. |
The date of Confucius's death is not recorded the same way everywhere, and the 18th day of the 4th month above follows the site's own record. Awarding scholarships within the rite itself is worth noting: here the honoring of the teacher does not only look back to the ancients but also gives something to those who are learning now.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Thôn Phú Lộc, xã Diên Khánh (thị trấn Diên Khánh cũ, huyện Diên Khánh cũ), tỉnh Khánh Hòa
- Getting there
- In Phú Lộc hamlet, Diên Khánh commune, Khánh Hòa province, on the land of the former Diên Khánh town, near the Diên Khánh citadel heritage site. A short way west of Nha Trang, going inland.
- Coordinates
- 12.263, 109.0873
The customs here are those of a Temple of Literature. Visitors are expected to offer incense, flowers and tea, not to place meat offerings and not to burn votive paper before the altar of Confucius. Visitors are expected not to touch the two stone steles of the Tự Đức period or the gilded wooden columns. Outside the festival season the grounds are empty, so walking softly and speaking quietly helps keep the stillness that is part of the place of worship.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
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Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Văn miếu Diên KhánhEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
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?Quick Questions
Who is worshipped at the Diên Khánh Temple of Literature
Confucius, revered as Vạn thế sư biểu, the teacher and model for ten thousand generations, together with the Four Correlates, Nhan Hồi, Tăng Sâm, Khổng Cấp and Mạnh Kha, and the Ten Philosophers. The old temple had a Khải miếu honoring the parents of Confucius, and according to the province's heritage page this shrine was not rebuilt when the temple was rebuilt in 1959. The order of worship follows orthodox custom, without adding local famous men to the main altar.
When was the Diên Khánh Temple of Literature built
The sources give two dates. The Đại Nam nhất thống chí, the heritage record and SGGP give 1803, when Emperor Gia Long issued a decree to build a thatched temple in Phú Lộc commune. Báo Khánh Hòa, following the stele, gives 1846. The temple was rebuilt in wood in 1853 to 1854 and extensively restored in 2008.
Is the Diên Khánh Temple of Literature a district-level temple
No. The temple was tied to the Diên Khánh citadel, the seat of the garrison and then of Khánh Hòa province in the 19th century, so it was the Temple of Literature of the whole Khánh Hòa region, which is also why some call it the Khánh Hòa Temple of Literature. The word Diên Khánh in the name refers to where the temple stands.
What steles remain at the Diên Khánh Temple of Literature
According to the heritage record, the temple still keeps two stone steles from the 11th year of Tự Đức, that is 1858, and the stele house at the front. Báo Khánh Hòa and Báo Văn Hóa mention a stele listing local graduates of the Nguyễn-period examinations. The stele is the source that records the names of the men who took the lead in building the temple.
When are the rites at the Diên Khánh Temple of Literature
According to the heritage record, the Thánh đản rite marking Confucius's birthday falls on the 27th day of the 8th lunar month, and the Thánh húy rite on the 18th day of the 4th lunar month. Since 2004 the Thánh húy rite has included the award of scholarships to students of the area.