Temple Of Literature

We knew it was not going to be "literature" in any Western sense. A better rendering might be Temple of Learning. From the 11th century on, it was a school of higher learning, created to educate prospective mandarins and then to select the best of them, on behalf of the king/emperor/whatever. Mandarins were the high officials who governed the realm, its provinces, etc., on behalf of the monarch. All very Chinese and indeed very Confucian, reminding us of some of the things we saw in China years ago. No mention of Homer or Dante or Shakespeare. But very old, as these things go.

Entrance

Good signage throughout, in Vietnamese, French, and
English (too)

Click to enlarge and be enlightened

And beautiful landscaping too

One passes through a series of buildings, gates, courtyards, reflecting the various
stages of learning

I particularly liked the bit about the humanities...

Near the end, a small forest of stelae, on which are inscribed
the names of those who passed the rigorous exams

Thus; click to enlarge

Apparently they had no notion of students' privacy

In the final big courtyard; the Court of Sages (I liked that)

Much Chinese bonsai around; penjing it's called, and these are very large specimens

Confucius (?)

Roof detail

Tree always wins over stone

In the final hall, an interesting set of traditional musical
instruments, perhaps between performances

Helpful model of the complex

Drum house