December 26th, 2009 
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Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South. Despite the return of peace, for over two decades the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. Since 2001,
Vietnamese authorities have committed to economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. (more…)
December 26th, 2009 admin 
Vietnam is a densely-populated, developing country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress toward a market-oriented economy. GDP growth averaged 6.8% per year from 1997 to 2004 even against the background of the Asian financial crisis and a global recession, and growth hit 8% in 2005 and 7.8% in 2006. (more…)
December 25th, 2009 admin 
November 24th, 2009 admin 
How itiful the plight of tortoises
Up at the communal house, they pac cranes,
Down at the pogoda,they shoulder steles.
This folk ballad illustrates the popularity of tortoises in Vietnamese life.In almost every villge communl house, a proud crane stands on the back of a tortoise on either side of the central altar.Steles, or stone tablets found in temples and at hictoric sites,re rarely placed directly on the ground but instead are built on the back of tortoises.Eighty-two tortoises in Ha Noi’s Temple of Literature have been patiently carring steles of doctoral laureates for centuries.
In East Asian cosmology,the tortoise symbolizes the universe,with the tortoise shell representing the sky and its belly,the earth.The tortoise also has a very special place in Vietnamese history.According to legend,a divine tortoise helped King An Duong Vuong (258-179) buid the spiral-shaped citadel of Co Loa in Dong Anh (north of Ha Noi).The tortoise also gave the King mgic crossbow that could shoot a hundred arrows at a time.Centuries later,nother scred turtle lent King Le Loi mgic sord to figh the Ming Chinese invders.
Since tortoises and giant water turtles are considered to be holy beings,whenever a turtle surfaces in Ha Noi’s central Hoan Kiem Lake people interpret the event as a good omen.No one dares t harm turtles in the lake for fer of bad luck;many peole pray to them instead.
November 24th, 2009 admin Yes,there is.
Many people know about the Temple of Literature in Ha Noi but few are awake that Hue has its own Temple of Literature .Visitor to Hue often miss the Temple believing they have seen everything at the royal tombs the Dai Noi Imperial Citade,and Thien Mu Pagoda.To miss Hue’s Temple of Literature in favour of more famous accessible and well-preserved sites is a mistake.
Hue is known as the city of poets.Nothing catches this essence better than a visit to Van Thanh.Tucked into the lush hills and fronted by the eternal Perfume River the temple complex appears to be inexorably pulled back to its natural state.Nearly 200 years of typhoons tropical heat war and misure have failed to erase the scholar’s search for understanding and the artist’s search for beauty.the decay that the first strikes the visitor is merely the varnish of wisdom that tie has applied to humanity’s creative energy.
Van Thanh, is situated on the Huong (Perfume) River,just 500 meters from Thien Mu Pogoda.Emeror Gia Long (1802-1819) must have greatly appreciated the importance of having a Comfucian temple of Literature in 1805 only three years after he started building the Imperial Citadel of Hue. Succiessvive Nguyen Dunasty kings spen time and money renovating the Temple and building more structures in the compound.The Temple now has over fifty large and small architectural and sculptural remnants located within its two concentric surrounding walls.The inner wall (90 79 metes) has a three-story gate facing south.The main chapel (32 25 meters) dedicated to Confucian is the largest building in the Temple grounds.
In 1947 retreaing French troops used the Temple have been further damaged.Fortunately the stome steles recording the names of successful candidates between King Minh Mang’s and King Khai Dinh’s reigns have survived;however some have fallend,and many inscriptions are weathered to illeginility.The steles,carried on the backs of stone tortoises ,stand in two lines, each consisting of sixteen steles.Some doctoral laureates whose names are recorded on the steles have played significant roles in Viet Nam’s history,including Nguyen Thuong Hien , Ngo Duc Ke ,and Huynh Thuc Khang.
Because of its importance,the Centre for the Preervation of Hue’s Vestiges has restored and renovated some works in the Temple.The most noteworthy effort has been the restoration of listening and fallen steles and the costruction of two shelers for the thiry-two steles.Many thing remain to be done to refurbish the Temple.Many other items in the Temple have yet to be resored and translations of the Chinese –language texts on the steles would assst in making this monument to Viet Nam’s culture ore accessible to visitor.
November 24th, 2009 admin China’s first temple dedicated to Confucius was built in the Master’s native village of Qufu Shandong in 478 B.C two years after he died.Unesco recognized the temple and surrounding area as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
While the plan of the Temple of Literature in Ha Noi is similar to that of the Confucian Temple in Qufu the former has several unique features. The architecture of the Ha Noi Temple is distinctly Vietnamese in character.As its name indicates,the Temple of Literature honours othe scholar in addition to Confucius.The Temple also houses steles of tien si or doctoral laureates.In China similar doctoral steles are housed at the Temple to Confucius in Beijing which was built in 1302 almost 130 years after the Temple of Literature in Ha Noi.
The Beijing temple contains 198 doctoral steles similar in nature to those in Ha Noi.The steles were erected between 1313 and 1904 recording the indentities of 51,624 laureates .Two of the names on the steles interestingly enough are Vietnamese :Le Dung from Thanh Oai District in Ha Tay Province and Nguyen Can from Quynh Phu Distric in Thai Binh Province.It is not clear why these two men traveled to China for their examinations were a regularly organied at the time.Le Dung became a senior mandarin in the Minstry of Civil Engineering Nguyen Can’s subsequent career is unknown.
November 24th, 2009 admin The three styles of decoration adorning the tops of the steles reflect the periods in which they were carved. In traditional Confucianism and Taoism, the dragon and moon represent the balance between the yin and yang of the universe and the balance between heaven and earth. Clouds often symbolize knowledge, while the phoenic represents the intellect.
The earliest steles, dating to the fifteenth century, contain a central small circular moon surrounded by a simple cloud and spray of flowers. Sixteenth-century steles contain more stylized pattern, with a large central moon out of which emanate clouds that look like flames of fire. A thin, delicately carved flower relief adorns the tops of these steles.
The seventeenth-and-eighteeth century steles contain more elaborately designed dragons and moon motifs. Two fiercely depicted dragons ready to pounce on their prey flank the moon. The dragon’ tails merge with the clouds in some instances; in others, the whole body appears. Some steles also contain various stylizations of phoenixes and flowers amidst or above them in smaller ribbon friezes.
November 24th, 2009 admin Ha noi’s Temple of literature (van mieu) was built in 1070 by the third Ly Dynasty king, Ly Thanh Tong to workship Confucius and the Duke of Zhou (Chu Cong) who were regrarded at the time as the twin founders of Confucianism.Confucian rituals took place at the Temple all year round.Once or twice a month, the prince came to study with his private tutor.In 1076 the fourth Ly ing, Ly Nhan Tong had the Nationality University built at the back of the temple to teach the sons of mandarins.
The sixth Ly king, Ly ANH TONG enovated the Temple of Literature in 1156 and removed the Duke of Z hou from the altar believing Confucianism.In 1475, King LE Thanh Tong built the first stone tablet or stele to record the names of the tiens si or doctoral laureates.The steles in the Temple of Literature contain the names in Chinese characters of the winners of the tiens si title since 1442.
Additional steles were ereces after every examination until 178 when continual turmoil forced leaders to discontinue building steles.Out of 116 national examinations that took place from 1442 o 1778 eighty-two steles remain on the temple grounds. They include such famous names as mathematician Vũ Hữu, historian Ngô Thì Sĩ, scientists Phùng Khắc Khoan and Lê Quý Đôn, and Ngô Thì Nhậm.
At the height of its development, the Temple included a dormitory quarter for students from the provinces, a lake, and several hectares of farmland in the front. The Temple management assigned neighbouring Văn Hương Village (later renamed Văn Chương) to farm the land to raise money for rituals. After King Quang Trung defeated the Qing Chinese invaders in 1789, Văn Chương villages petitioned the king to restore the steles. In order to raise money foe the project, the villagers so small gold tortoise that the defeated Trịnh Lord, who had sided with the Chinese, had thrown into the square well at the Temple during his retreat.
Over the years, the Temple has been heavily damaged by nature and man, especially during the years of French rule. The lake and surrounding land became an urban residential area.
Once there was even a plan to move the Temple away from its current location. In 1903, a plague struck Hà Nội and spread quickly. Patients went to Phủ Doãn Hospital (now the Việt Nam-Germany Hospital) for treatment. The Hospital became to crowded that some patients moved to the Temple of Literature, which was surrounded by a protective wall. The plague stopped thanks to vaccine provided by Dr.Alexandre Yersin (1863-1943) and the efforts of the medical staff. However, the Temple had become so contaminated that the French rulers wanted to build a hospital in its place! Mr.Pasquier, Chief of the French Governor General’s office, asked local authorities to find a new location for the Tempe.
Since Pasquier was awere of the Temple’s importance in Vietnamese culture, he consulted the renowed scholar, Phạm Văn Thu. Thu replied, “Circumstances forced the Government to use the Temple as a hospital. Blood now stains the steles, dishearting the people. When the Nguyễn Dynasty moved the capital to Huế at the bebinning of the nineteenth century, it kept the Temple intact, since it is of national importance. If you move the Temple to another location, the entire population will be upset.”
Pasquier listened carefully and reported the discussion to French Governor General. Some days lates, the colonial government announced that it would allocate 20,000 piastres to restore the Temple of Literature to its previous condition.
The Temple of Literatuer has withstood the odds of history. More recent restoration of the Temple has further enhanced its image as a symbol of learning, creating a timeless atmosphere for intellectual inspiration.
November 24th, 2009 admin The royal examinations came once every three years. A court official posted a large notice outside the National University in the capital. It read: “The King looks for talent.” Since very few candidates passed the exams, success was a great honour and considered the doorway to becoming a mandarin. A successful laureate received a hero’s welcome when he returned to his native village, with the level of ceremony depending on the special acedamic degree: village-wide for a Baccalaureate, Sub-district level for a Bachelor’s Degree, and district level for a Doctorate.
After the examination, the village leaders sent an emissary to fix the date of the new laureate’s return. On the appointed day, a procession began with flags and banners, other ceremonial objects, the flag and certificate granted by the king (in the case of a doctoral degree), the palanquins of the laureate’s teacher and parents, and finally the laureate himself.
Along the way, drums sounded to inform villagers of the laureate’s arrival. People poured out to see the laureate, who had brought farm to his parents, his family name, and to his village as a “land of literature.”
Whren he finally arrived at his house, the laureate prayed in front of the altar to his ancestors and to Confucius. Friend, relative, and villagers hosted the ensuring banquet. After the ceremony, the laureate remained in his native village until his assignment to a mandarin post.
November 24th, 2009 admin The three top winners of national examinations received the special honour of “tam khôi” (three laureates), which the king himself conferred. These three highest titles bore different names at different time, but for most of Vietnamese history they were called “trạng nguyên, bảng nhãn and thám hoa” .
The selection of the “tam khôi”varied from one examination to another: some examinations had four “tam khôi” laureates, some had three, some had two, and some did not have any, depending on the qualifications of the candidates. Throughout, only 166 people became “tam khôi” laureates: fourty-six were First Laureates; Fourty-six, Second Laureates, and seventy-four, Third Laureates. By policy, the Nguyễn Dynasty did not select First Laureates; in the eight palace examinations it organized, it selected only two “bảng nhãn” and nine “thám hoa” laureates.
An analysis of the “tam khôi” records provides a valuable picture of dynatics-era Vietnamese society. Reflecting the predominantly rural character of Vietnam, only six out of all the “tam khôi” laureates came from urban areas: Hà Nội (three winner), Thanh Hóa (two) and Sơn Tây (one). Most came from the Red River Delta of northern Việt Nam. The most successful provinces were Bắc Ninh (thirty-nine laureates), Hải Dương (thirty), and Hà Tây (eighteen). It is interesting to note that the 1256 and 1266 examinations each selected two First Laureates, one for the north and one for the south.
The “tam khôi” laureates bore thirty-six different family names. As one would expect, the Nguyễn clan had the largest number of laureates (fifty-three). They wrere followed by Trần (fourteen), Vũ (thirteen), Lê and Phạm (nine each), Hoàng (six) and Lưu (five). Fifteen other family names were represented by only one “tam khôi” laureates.
The laureates were a sueprising long-lived group, with an average life span of sixty-two. One Second Laureate, Nguyễn Như Đỗ (1424-1525), lived more than a century. Two other laureates rearched the age of nitety-four.
The average age at which laureate were awarded a “tam khôi” title was thirty-two. At age sixty-one, Nguyễn Nghi (1577-1664) was the oldest candidate to become a laureates. The three youngest “tam khôi” laureates were all selected in the 1247 examination during the reign of King Trần Thái Tông (1225-1258) First Laureate Nguyễn Hiền (aged thirteen), Second laureates Lê Văn Hưu (aged eighteen) and Third Laureates Đặng Ma La (aged fourteen).
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