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The stelae, which commemorated laureates at court exams at Temple of Literature, have been recognised as world heritage by UNESCO. —VNA/VNS Anh Tuan |
HA NOI — The United Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has recognised 82 stelae commemorating laureates at court exams from the 15th to 18th century at Ha Noi's Temple of Literature as world documentary heritage.
The decision was announced at the meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and Pacific (MOW-CAP) on Tuesday in Macau.
"I am extremely happy at the decision," deputy minister of foreign affairs Nguyen Thanh Son told the Vietnam News Agency at the ceremony. "This is a real honour for Viet Nam. The laureate record stelae, which bear historical meaning and symbolise Vietnamese intellect, have officially been recognised by the world. We have proved that Viet Nam has a proud culture and history."
Speaking at the ceremony, Son, on behalf of the Vietnamese Government, thanked MOW-CAP for the decision.
He also confirmed Viet Nam's commitment to effectively restore and preserve documentary heritage, actively making contribution to UNESCO's activities in all fields at regional and international levels.
The Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) wood block documents were recognised with the same title last year.
The 82 stone stelae are inscribed with the names of 2,313 doctorate holders who passed the court examinations between 1442 and 1779 under the Earlier-Le, Mac and Later-Le reigns.
The stelae, which bear the names of Trang Nguyen, Bang Nhan, Tham Hoa, and Hoang Giap (the first, second, third and fourth winning categories at the royal competition), sit on top of stone turtles.
Dang Kim Ngoc, director of the Temple of Literature, told Viet Nam News that the stelae at the temple were different from those in other Asian countries, including China, which had influenced Vietnamese feudal education.
The stelae are mainly in rectangular slanted slabs while those in China have varied forms, including square slabs and cylinders.
The decorative patterns on Viet Nam's stelae are more diverse.
The Temple of Literature was founded in 1070 as a Confucian temple. Parts of the complex date to the earliest period, although much of the architecture dates from the Ly (1010-1225) and Tran (1225-1400) dynasties, with the latest restoration conducted in 1999.
In 1076, Viet Nam's first university, the Quoc Tu Giam or Imperial Academy, was established within the temple to educate bureaucrats, nobles, royalty and the elite.
The university functioned from 1076 to 1779. The doctorate laureate exams were extremely difficult, with few students passing them. Each year, the names of those who did were engraved on the stelae.
UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme, also called UNESCO World Documentary Heritage is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and wilful and deliberate destruction.
It calls for the preservation of valuable archival holdings, library collections and private individual compendia all over the world for posterity, the reconstitution of dispersed or displaced documentary heritage, and the increased accessibility to and dissemination of these items. — VNS