One Pillar Pagoda And Temple of Literature : The pagoda is situated in the western part of the city. It was first
built in 1049 in the reign of King Ly Thai Tong. According to the
legend, King Ly Thai Tong was very old and had no sons of his own. One
night he had a dream that he was granted a private audience with Buddha
with a male baby on his hands. Buddha seating on a lotus flower in a
square-shaped lotus pond in the western side of Thang Long Citadel, gave
the king the baby. One month later the queen got pregnant and she gave
birth to a male. To repay the gift from Buddha, the king ordered the
construction of a pagoda with was supported by only one pillar
resembling a lotus seat on which Buddha had been seated. The pagoda was
dedicated to Buddha. It is the most interesting of the city's numerous
pagodas, and beneath the ornate curved roof people come to pray for
fertility and well-being, with allegedly miraculous effects. The unique
wooden structure was designed to resemble a lotus flower, the Buddhist
representation of enlightenment, emerging out of the water, with the
single stone pillar its symbolic stalk.
What you see today of the pagoda is a new form recovered in 1955 when
it was refurbished with a concrete pillar from its remnants by the
Vietnamese government. Today's structure can be just called the replica
of the original pagoda, which was a large building. Locals believe that
if you pray here, it will invoke well-beings and prosperity.
Temple of Literature
Opening hours (Tuesday – Sunday):
8:30 – 11:30
13:30 – 16:30
Dating back to 1070, and considered one of the best preserved and
typical examples of traditional Vietnamese architecture, this was the
site of Vietnam's first national university, before it was moved to Hue
in 1802.
Consisting of a complex of small buildings and five walled courtyards,
it was an exclusive establishment teaching the principles of Confucius.
Over a period of 900 years thousands of Vietnamese scholars graduated
from the university. In the third courtyard is a pond, the Well of
Heavenly Clarity, and beside it are 82 stone steles, mounted on
tortoises and engraved with the names of successful graduates. There is
also a temple dedicated to Confucius and an altar where the king and his
mandarins would make sacrifices.
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