Hai Duong’s Mao Dien Temple of Literature festival honors learning tradition

A ceremony to show respect to Confucius and people worshipped at Mao Dien Temple of Literature (Photo: VNA)

A festival is held annually at Van Mieu Mao Dien (Mao Dien) Temple of Literature in Cam Giang district, Hai Duong province to show respect to great scholars and help preserve and promote the learning tradition – a national cultural value.

The five hundred-year-old Mao Dien Temple of Literature is evidence of the development of Confucianism and academic examinations in Hai Duong province in the past. The temple is a majestic structure, the pride of Hai Duong residents, where hundreds of scholars were trained to aid Vietnam’s construction and development throughout history.

After a 3-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was reorganised this year on March 9 (or the 18th day of the second lunar month), attracting a large number of visitors, local people and representatives of descendent families of doctoral laureates in royal exams whose names are inscribed at the temple.

At the festival, after the incense offering ceremony, the local calligraphy club of Mau Tai village in Mao Dien commune offered their work – four words “Ton su trong dao” (Respecting teachers), showing gratitude to ancestors and respect for learning, highlighting the tradition of studiousness of the Vietnamese people in general and people in the Dong region (Hai Duong today).

Besides traditional rituals, the festival also included performances and discussion on  calligraphy, a knowledge contest about the temple’s history and the person worshipped at the temple, “quan ho” singing and folk games. This year, visitors to the festival could also see typical agricultural products of Cam Giang district.

There are six large temples of literature in Vietnam with the most famous one in Ha Noi – Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam, which was built first and carrying biggest historic value. Mao Dien Temple of Literature in Cam Giang district ranks second, just behind Quoc Tu Giam in terms of size, architecture as well as historical value.

It’s said that the temple area used to be a field of fragrant grass. It was chosen to be the venue for Huong exam (provincial exam) of Hai Duong.

Van Mieu Mao Dien (Mao Dien) Temple of Literature in Cam Giang district, Hai Duong province (Photo: Cam Giang district People's Committee)

The temple was first built in the 15th century in Vinh Lai commune, Duong An district. In the late 18th century, it was moved to Mao Dien commune, merged with the school there to become a place that trained thousands of leading scholars in the country.

Mao Dien Temple of Literature worships Confucius - the founder of Confucianism and eight local notables including Chu Van An, Mac Dinh Chi, Pham Su Manh, Nguyen Binh Khiem, Tue Tinh, Nguyen Trai, Vu Huu and Nguyen Thi Due, who is the first female royal laureate in Vietnam in the Mac dynasty.

Mao Dien Temple of Literature has been well preserved, contributing to promoting good traditional cultural values, becoming a place to honor studying, respect wisdom and talents of the ancient East.

In 1992, Mao Dien Temple of Literature was classified as a national relic site. On December 15, 2017, it was recognised as a special national relic.

In 2017, a system of 14 doctoral steles was inaugurated at the temple of literature. The epitaph on the steles gives details on the life and career of 637 royal laureates hailed from Hai Duong.

Mao Dien temple of literature is also the venue for study promotion activities.

VNA