art and design

Friday, January 19, 2024

HaNoi's Temple of Literature ("Văn Miếu")

On Friday, 19 January, spent about three hours here at the Temple of Literature

It is dedicated to Confucius, and also commemorates several of his best disciples

This temple is nearly 1,000 years old. It was built in 1070,

during the reign of King Lý Thánh Tông

The temple hosted Vietnam's first national university,

the Imperial Academy (Quốc Tử Giám), from 1076 to 1779.

It has undergone numerous expansions and reconstructions in its time

At top center is a statue commemorating Confucius.

During the some of the wars VietNam experienced

in the 20th Century, huge sections of the temple

were buried in sand protecting them from bombardment

In the final building are statues commemorating the first three monarchs

during whose reigns the temple was built, and an influential

rector / mandarin / teacher at the temple, Chu Văn An.

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Across the street from the temple, beautiful plaza,

behind which is a small lake with an island, connected by an

elaborate foot-bridge. Tết (VietNamese New Year: February 10th this year)

preparations are evident in the stunning

red and yellow lanterns and other decorations.

Thursday, January 18, 2024

The flights, arrival, & first 60 hours in Viet Nam!

This is a trip that in some ways has been 21 years in the making for me. Extremely excited and grateful to finally be here! All of these images are on the way to (montage 1), or from my first 60 hours in HaNoi (click on photos to see larger view).

Largely I wish to let the photos speak for themselves.. but must point out some of the Aleutian Islands (center left), an amazing Platt Park beanie (bottom left), Mt. Fuji at dusk, behind the plane (bottom center), and a Chinese city at night on the last of the three flights (bottom right).

Arrival, and spent most of the first day with a great new friend and fellow early-to-arrive PeaceTrees Vietnam Citizen Diplomacy traveler..

First run, around historic Lake Hoàn Kiếm, and towards Tay Lake, aka West Lake

Military History Museum and National Fine Arts Museum

Stunning ancient sculpture and modern paintings, at the National Museum of Fine Arts

Run 2, around parts of Tay Lake / West Lake

at the tremendous Vietnamese Women's Museum

Vietnamese Women's Museum, spending time with an amazing new friend and his family, and views from the rooftop of my hotel, including a view of Lake Hoàn Kiếm.