Turn off National Road 32 into Văn Miếu hamlet and you come to a half-moon pond with stone embankments, and behind the pond a four-pillar gateway topped with phoenixes. Beyond the gate lies a wide stretch of ground whose walls and steps are laid in reddish-brown laterite, pitted like a honeycomb, the very stone the people of the neighboring old village of Đường Lâm still use for their houses and wells. Some buildings have been raised again, others are still only foundations.
This was the Temple of Literature of the whole of Sơn Tây province under the Nguyễn, the place where the provincial officials came to offer sacrifice to Confucius in spring and autumn. What is worth seeing here is not an intact hall, because that hall no longer stands. What is worth seeing are the nine stone steles that have come through every change this place has known, and a piece of ground that shows visitors where the people of the western region once placed learning in their lives.
IThe provincial temple of the western region
People of old called the land west of the capital xứ Đoài, the western region, which under the Nguyễn administration was Sơn Tây province. Each province had its own Temple of Literature to honor Confucius, and the Sơn Tây temple was that place. The altar holds Confucius, with the Four Correlates, Yan Hui, Zengzi, Zisi and Mencius, worshipped with him, together with the Seventy-two Worthies (Thất thập nhị hiền), the seventy-two most accomplished disciples of Confucius (Người Hà Nội). Beside them the temple honors the examination laureates of the western region itself (Đại biểu Nhân dân).
The four Chinese characters at the top of the page are the name Sơn Tây văn miếu written in Sino-Vietnamese. The library writes them after the name in common use, not from a surviving horizontal board at the site.
Under the Confucian order of the Nguyễn, temples of literature were ranked in tiers. The capital had the Temple of Literature of the whole country, each garrison or province had a provincial temple of literature, and below these came the văn từ of prefectures and districts and the văn chỉ of villages (local shrines to learning). A provincial temple of literature was founded by the state, the provincial officials presided over its sacrifices, and it was where steles recording the province's laureates were set up.
Set beside the other pages in the library, the place of this temple is easy to see. The Temple of Literature and Imperial Academy in Hanoi is the national temple. Mao Điền Temple of Literature was the temple of the Hải Dương garrison and still keeps its House of Ceremonies and stele houses. The Sơn Tây temple stands on the same tier as Mao Điền but has met a different fate: here there are more traces than buildings.
On the number of laureates from Sơn Tây, the sources give two figures far apart. Báo Văn hóa, Đại biểu Nhân dân and Nhân Dân write that over more than eight hundred years of examinations, the former Sơn Tây province produced 68 doctoral laureates, the first being the second-rank doctor (Hoàng giáp) Trần Văn Huy, who passed in 1442. Báo Văn hóa gives the last as Nguyễn Văn Bân, who passed in 1901. Báo Văn nghệ, however, cites older writings saying the steles at the temple were carved with the names of 288 doctors of the Sơn Tây garrison, and a paper at a scholarly conference in 2024 also gave the figure of 288 laureates (Người Hà Nội). Báo Văn nghệ notes that the old Sơn Tây garrison took in many areas now in Phú Thọ, Vĩnh Phúc and the northern provinces, far larger than the former Sơn Tây province, so the two figures very likely count two different areas. One book also records 128 steles at the temple, which Báo Văn nghệ considers wrong. The library has not been able to consult the original stele texts, so it gives both figures.
Among those 68 doctoral laureates, the sources all mention one name: the third-place laureate (Thám hoa) Giang Văn Minh, from Mông Phụ village in Đường Lâm, the only man of the province to enter the tam khôi, the three highest places in the palace examination. The provincial temple was built on the land of his own village, a coincidence the people of Đường Lâm still remark on. Người Hà Nội also names Phùng Khắc Khoan among the renowned scholars of the western region.
IIThree buildings and one rebuilding
The history of this place has many points where the sources disagree, especially at the start. What all the sources agree on is that the temple belongs to the Nguyễn dynasty, that it moved at least once, and that the building work that gave it its fullest form ended in 1892.
- Early Nguyễn periodBuilt in Cam Thịnh villageTuổi trẻ Thủ đô writes that the Sơn Tây Temple of Literature was first built in Cam Thịnh village under the Nguyễn dynasty. Báo Văn nghệ cites the Văn Thánh stele at the temple itself, which records that the temple stood earlier in Cam Giá hamlet, Phúc Lộc district.
- 1847Moved to Mông Phụ villageUnder Emperor Thiệu Trị, the temple was moved to the land of Mông Phụ village (Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô). A paper by Professor Đinh Khắc Thuận also records that in the 7th year of Thiệu Trị, Governor-General Nguyễn Đăng Giai moved the temple from Cam Giá village to Mông Phụ. Báo Văn nghệ, however, cites the Văn Thánh stele as recording that Nguyễn Đăng Giai moved the temple here in the 3rd year of Thiệu Trị (1843), and 1847 as the year the Khải Thánh shrine was moved here from Cam Giá Thịnh commune, following the Đại Nam nhất thống chí (Gazetteer of the Unified Đại Nam).
- 1886RestorationThe first repair the sources record for the temple at its new site.
- 1891 to 1892Rebuilt under Governor-General Cao Xuân DụcIn the third year of Thành Thái, the temple was built for the third time on the present Temple of Literature grounds and inaugurated in 1892. The work was overseen by Cao Xuân Dục, then Governor-General of Sơn Hưng Tuyên, later a leading historian of the Nguyễn court. He wrote an appeal for contributions to the restoration and the text of the restoration stele.
- Mid 20th centuryDismantledThe temple's buildings were dismantled, leaving only the foundations, the stone steles and a few objects. The sources differ on the date: Professor Đinh Khắc Thuận gives 1947, Báo Văn nghệ gives 1976.
- 2007 or 2008Ranked as a provincial heritage siteRecognized as a provincial historical and cultural heritage site. Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô gives 2007, Người Hà Nội gives 2008, by decision of the former Hà Tây province.
- From 2012RebuildingRebuilding began in 2012, and Người Hà Nội writes that it follows the design of the 1891 building. Báo Văn nghệ gives the restoration as running from 2012 to 2014. In 2018 the site was handed to the management board of the Đường Lâm old village heritage site (Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô).
Two disagreements need to be stated plainly. The first building date. Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô says only that the temple was built in Cam Thịnh under the Nguyễn and moved in 1847, without giving a building date. Báo Văn nghệ cites the Văn Thánh stele as recording that the temple moved to Mông Phụ in 1843, and, following the Đại Nam nhất thống chí, gives 1847 as the year the Khải Thánh shrine was moved, not the year the temple was moved. Professor Đinh Khắc Thuận's paper, on the other hand, dates the move to the 7th year of Thiệu Trị. The ranking year. Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô gives 2007, Người Hà Nội gives 2008. The library has not found the decision number, so it gives both.
Some writings also give the Sơn Tây Temple of Literature as built in 1891. That takes the third building as the founding date and leaves out more than forty years before it.
IIILaterite, old foundations and nine steles
The temple grounds cover nearly 4 hectares, laid out along a north and south axis (Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô). The old buildings on record include the Temple of Literature gate (Văn Miếu môn), a bell tower, a chime tower, the left and right cloisters (tả vu, hữu vu), the Great Ceremonies hall (Đại bái), the upper hall (Thượng điện) and the Khải Thánh shrine. The main materials are brick and laterite, the laterite quarried from the low hills of Sơn Tây itself, a stone that hardens when exposed to the air and carries a distinctive reddish-brown color (Người Hà Nội).
A half-moon pond with stone embankments lies in front of the gate, and behind it stands a gateway of four pillars topped with phoenixes (Báo Văn hóa). This is the first layer visitors meet.
Người Hà Nội describes a bell tower and a drum tower built symmetrically on either side of the central path, octagonal, with two tiers of roofs. Nhân Dân calls them a bell tower and a chime tower and notes that the two towers stand right behind the Temple of Literature gate, unlike the arrangement at the Temple of Literature in Thăng Long. Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô calls them a bell tower and a chime tower.
The two main buildings. The Great Ceremonies hall is where the rites were performed, and the upper hall holds the altar to Confucius and the Four Correlates. The Seventy-two Worthies were honored in the two cloisters on either side (Người Hà Nội).
The shrine to Confucius's parents, following the custom of Nguyễn temples of literature. Báo Văn nghệ gives this shrine as built in 1847.
Stone steles recording the names of examination laureates of the Sơn Tây region, gathered and kept from the old buildings. They are the objects of greatest textual value still at the site.
A common misunderstanding is to think that everything standing here is a 19th century building. What can be dated with certainty are the nine steles, the temple foundations and a few objects. The structures raised since 2012 are reconstructions, following the old design but in new materials. This is said so that visitors can see clearly what is old and what is new, not to make light of the rebuilding.
As for the objects kept with the steles, all the sources read speak of chimes. Báo Văn hóa writes that two chimes survive. Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô and Người Hà Nội specify one bronze chime and one stone chime, kept at the communal house (đình) of Mông Phụ. A paper of 2024 mentions only the stone chime.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
This section is not copied from steles or heritage records. It is the library's reading of the lie of the land through the eyes of traditional feng shui, based on what the sources describe of the site and its layout, to give visitors one more way of looking when they stand before this place.
The temple sits on a mound in the low hills west of Hanoi, where the delta begins to rise into laterite hills. Those who built temples of literature in the past usually sought high, dry ground, because a place honoring learning should stand above the homes of the people, and because high ground lasts and rarely floods. This mound meets that need, and it adjoins Mông Phụ village, home of the only tam khôi laureate of the province.
The north and south axis of the grounds turns the front of the buildings to the south. In the traditional view the south belongs to the Fire element and corresponds to light and civilization, so places honoring Confucius favor that facing. The half-moon pond in front of the gate plays the part of the bright hall (minh đường), where water gathers. The half-moon is the familiar shape of ponds in front of temples of literature, communal houses and clan halls in the western region, and it is held to keep the qi in front of the site rather than letting it flow away.
What sets this place apart is the earth itself. Laterite forms when red earth meets sun and wind and hardens, and people of old saw it as earth that had turned into stone. Building a temple of learning from that very hardened earth of the region, read in the old way, gives the building the qi of its own land rather than bricks brought from elsewhere. And the fact that the temple was moved and then rebuilt several times before it settled on this mound shows that people of old chose the ground more than once, rather than building once and being done.
VSpring and autumn sacrifices and the first writing of the year
Under the Nguyễn, the Sơn Tây Temple of Literature was where the provincial officials offered sacrifice to Confucius twice a year, in spring and autumn (Báo Văn nghệ). Báo Văn nghệ also records that the temple was once used as a place where candidates sat their examinations. Báo Văn nghệ cites the Bắc Thành địa dư chí lục, a geography of the northern region, as recording that every year in spring and autumn the garrison officials came to offer sacrifice on a đinh day, and that the temple had 30 temple attendants. The source gives no more precise date, so the table below follows the general custom of Nguyễn temples of literature and the customs kept at the site today.
| Lunar time | Rite | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Early spring | First writing of the year, asking for calligraphy | Students and local people come to the temple to write their first characters of the year and ask for calligraphy (Người Hà Nội). |
| 2nd lunar month | Spring sacrifice | The spring sacrifice, following the custom of provincial temples of literature. The general Nguyễn custom chose the first đinh day of the month, and the sources on Sơn Tây say only that it was a đinh day. |
| 8th lunar month | Autumn sacrifice | The autumn sacrifice, in the same form as the spring one. |
| Various times of the year | Honoring laureates, encouraging learning | The site holds events to encourage learning and to honor outstanding students of the western region (Người Hà Nội). |
The custom of the first writing of the year carries a particular meaning here. Those who ask for calligraphy stand on the land of Giang Văn Minh's village, before nine steles of men who walked the path of letters before them. What they take home is not an offering but a written character.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Gần quốc lộ 32, thôn Văn Miếu, phường Sơn Tây (xã Đường Lâm cũ nhập trọn vào phường Sơn Tây năm 2025, thị xã Sơn Tây cũ), Hà Nội
- Getting there
- Near National Road 32, Văn Miếu hamlet, Sơn Tây ward, Hanoi, right beside the old village of Đường Lâm, about forty-five kilometers west of central Hanoi.
- Coordinates
- 21.154, 105.4837
This is a place of worship under reconstruction, partly a building site and partly already in use for rites. The custom of a Temple of Literature is that visitors dress modestly, remove hats on entering the Great Ceremonies hall and the upper hall, do not bring meat offerings and do not burn votive paper before the altar of Confucius. Visitors are asked not to sit or lean on the stone steles and not to touch the carved inscriptions, since the nine steles are the most precious old part that remains.
Nearby places in the library
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?Quick Questions
Who is worshipped at the Sơn Tây Temple of Literature
Confucius, with the Four Correlates, Yan Hui, Zengzi, Zisi and Mencius, and the Seventy-two Worthies on either side, according to Người Hà Nội. The temple also honors the examination laureates of the western region. The Khải Thánh shrine within the grounds honors Confucius's parents.
When was the Sơn Tây Temple of Literature built
The sources differ. Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô writes that the temple was first built in Cam Thịnh village under the Nguyễn and moved to Mông Phụ in 1847. Báo Văn nghệ cites the Văn Thánh stele as recording that the temple moved to Mông Phụ in 1843. The temple was restored in 1886, rebuilt in 1891 under Governor-General Cao Xuân Dục and inaugurated in 1892.
What is old at the Sơn Tây Temple of Literature
Nine stone steles recording the names of examination laureates of the Sơn Tây region, the temple foundations and a few objects. Báo Văn hóa writes that two chimes survive, and Tuổi trẻ Thủ đô and Người Hà Nội specify one bronze and one stone chime kept at the communal house of Mông Phụ. Most of the buildings seen today are reconstructions begun in 2012.
How many doctoral laureates did Sơn Tây produce
The sources differ. Báo Văn hóa and Nhân Dân write that the former Sơn Tây province had 68 doctoral laureates, from Trần Văn Huy in 1442 to Nguyễn Văn Bân in 1901. Báo Văn nghệ cites older writings saying the steles at the temple carried the names of 288 doctors of the old Sơn Tây garrison, a region far larger than the former province. The two figures probably count two different areas.
How does the Sơn Tây Temple of Literature differ from the Temple of Literature in Hanoi
The Temple of Literature and Imperial Academy is the national temple in the capital, with its complex intact and 82 doctoral steles, one for each examination. The Sơn Tây Temple of Literature was the provincial temple of the western region under the Nguyễn, where the provincial officials presided over the sacrifices, and today it consists mainly of traces, nine steles and parts under reconstruction.