Van Tap Holy House - The oldest Temple of Literature in Nghe An

Nghe An is a land ofcultural depth, a land of talented people, a land of spiritual power, and generations of talented people. Therefore, this is considered a famous land of Confucianism in our country. Confucianism has been deeply rooted in the subconscious of the people of Nghe An. From concepts to behavior, Nghe An people take the teachings of the sages as a golden rule and a jade ruler. That Confucian tradition is like an endless flow throughout thousands of years of history. That process has left a large amount of Confucian heritage on Nghe An land. That is the culture of ideology, emotions, customs, habits, writings and works, artifacts, and architecture imbued with Confucian philosophy of life, of which Van Tap Holy House is the most typical and oldest work remaining to this day.

Dien Ngoc and Dien Thanh communes (Dien Chau) from above. Photo courtesy: Nguyen Book

The founder and the honor of talented people

Van Tap village, Minh Chau commune, Dien Chau district is a land with a famous tradition of examinations in Nghe An. Generations of scholars of the village passed the examinations one after another, bringing glory to their homeland. In the 13th year of Vinh Thinh (1717), Mr. Nguyen Thien Thuat passed the examinations and became the first person to open the examinations for Van Tap village. Being a person who respected morality and was also knowledgeable about geography, he chose the land, spent money and called on the people to contribute labor and money to build the village's communal house to worship the Saints and Masters to encourage studying and taking exams and as a reminder of the tradition of respecting teachers and maintaining good customs and traditions. Regarding this event, the stele has a passage:“Our association's literary institute has existed for a long time, I don't know when. During the Vinh Thinh era (1705 - 1719, Le Du Tong) of the Le dynasty, Mr. Nguyen Thien Thuat opened the literary department, so he chose this land to establish the literary institute."This is the oldest remaining document in the area today.

Since the Holy House was built, Van Tap village has had 14 people passing Sinh Do (Bachelor), 4 people passing Huong Cong (Bachelor), 2 people passing Tam Truong (Pho Bang)... in which, the most typical are: Tam Truong Nguyen Trung Thu, Giam Sinh Nguyen Trong Muu, Huong Cong Nguyen Trung Mau, Bachelor Nguyen Trung Tinh...

The Van Tap Holy House was built on a flat, high land, facing the Southeast, surrounded by a densely populated residential area, and behind it is the Bung River flowing from West to East. There are also manyfamous monuments and landscapessuch as Hai Vai hill, Vo family temple, Nguyen Danh family temple, De Nhat temple, Doctor Dam Van Le temple, Giac Thien Dan, Ta Cong Luyen temple, Dau temple, Trung Phuong communal house, Co Am pagoda... have created a rural scene that is both rustic and peaceful, yet full of spirituality and belief.

The act of worshipping successful people at the Holy House, including the top students of the village and engraving their names on stone stele is to honor "talents are the vitality of the nation", worthy of being honored and admired by society, and at the same time, through these examples, to encourage the spirit of learning and progress of generations of children in the region.

Van Tap Holy House. Photo: Tri Cuong

A place to preserve historical values

The Holy House has a “Nhat” shaped architectural structure, with a “thuong giao nguyen ha ke” truss structure, a quite popular structure in Vietnam during the Middle Ages. This structure inherits and develops the structure of previous centuries, ensuring the solidity to last over time while also creating a spacious, airy space. It has become a place where the cultural quintessence of the ancient Van Tap village converges. In the past, this was one of the traditional cultural activities, a meeting place for writers, scholars, and literati, a place for lectures, literary commentary, and a place for the graduation ceremony. The rules and forms of cultural activities here were once attractive topics for scholars and students.

The above activities are mainly associated with the Consulting Association. This is an association of people who study the teachings of the Saints and Sages, they are intellectuals in contemporary society. The village's rituals are also undertaken by the association. Members of the Consulting Association are highly respected by the villagers. Therefore, being a member of the Consulting Association is a great honor. If you are a military officer but illiterate, you are not allowed to join the association. Unlike other guilds and associations, the Consulting Association of Van Tap village has strict regulations and conventions, and the association's activities are maintained regularly.

In addition to distinguishing positions based on age and title, the Advisory Council has a special convention, which is to divide positions based on the imperial examinations. That means whoever scores high will sit above, regardless of age or title.

In particular, the Van Tu Van Association in Van Tap village has its own school fields. Part of the school fields are provided by the village, part is purchased by the association, and the other part is donated to the association by kind-hearted people... In addition, the school fields are also used to provide for poor students who excel in their studies and to give to those who have passed the exams with high scores to encourage the education of children in Van Tap village.

Stele inscription "Van Tap Van Chi Stele". Photo: Tri Cuong

Van Tap Holy House still preserves many steles recording the religious activities of the village. These can be considered the most valuable artifacts. Among them, the 4-sided stele was constructed in the Spring of Quy Hoi year 1863, the 16th year of Tu Duc reign, composed by the Third Prize winner Nguyen Duc Dat, written by the Vice-Chancellor Nguyen Trung Tinh, and sculpted by the artisan Nguyen Huu Hanh. The 4 corners of the stele are carved with embossed edges forming a border frame with carved motifs, leaf vines, asterisks, geometric patterns, and tigers. The four sides of the stele are engraved with Chinese characters with delicate and sharp carvings. The front side records the process of building the stele, the back side records the names of the candidates who passed the provincial exams through the dynasties; the left side: the gentlemen who passed the provincial exams through the dynasties, the right side records the names of the candidates who passed the provincial exams through the dynasties, those who passed the Huong Cong exams, the back side records the names of those who passed the Tu Tai exams. In addition, there is a two-sided stele made of green stone on March 15, Mau Dan year (1878), Tu Duc 31st year, composed by Vice-Chancellor Nguyen Trung Tinh, drafted by Cao Thuc Nhu, written by Nguyen Trung Tuan and sculpted by Nguyen Van Quan. The front side records the ceremony, the back side records the land and the people who donated the land to the Saint's house. After hundreds of years, these artifacts still retain the basic elements of the original. It proves that the awareness of preserving the cultural heritage of our ancestors on this land has always been focused on and cared for from generation to generation.

The Holy House of Van Tap is also the place where the ceremony takes place.sacrificial ceremoniesperiodically. However, the sacrifice here is not mystical, leading people to the spiritual world, depending on divine power like in temples and shrines, but it is of a memorial and educational nature. Therefore, at the Van Tap Holy House, there is no praying for wealth or fortune, but only praying for learning. With the meaning of "First learn etiquette, then learn literature", people pray to the teachings of the saints first to make people moral and virtuous, then use the knowledge they have to serve the community.

During the Middle Ages, along with the construction of temples of literature in the capital and provinces and cities, the system of literature and literature spread down to the villages and hamlets. That demonstrated the tradition of respecting teachers, valuing education and the studious spirit of our people, and at the same time reflected a systematic and standardized education from low to high levels, of which the Van Tap Holy House is the most typical example. Although times have changed, today the Van Tap Holy House is still a symbol of great value in educating, preserving and promoting good traditions, promoting patriotism, love of nature and thereby contributing to the formation of human personality, building a healthy and civilized social environment.