Trấn Biên Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu Trấn Biên) is a

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

temple located in Bửu Long,

Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam, and is part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area. Situated northeast of Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon), Biên Hòa is connect ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, the capital city of the Đồng Nai Province. The temple was first built in 1715 in the area of

Đàng Trong Đàng Trong ( chữ Nôm: 唐冲, lit. "Inner Circuit"), also known as Nam Hà (, "South of the River"), was the South region of Vietnam, under the lordship of the Nguyễn clan, later enlarged by the Vietnamese southward expansion. The word '' ...

. The Văn Miếu Trấn Biên was soon demolished by the French colonial administration in 1861, and was later restored to its original condition in 2002.

History

Establishment

In 1715,

Nguyễn Phúc Chu Nguyễn Phúc Chu ( vi-hantu, , 1675 – 1 June 1725) was one of the Nguyễn lords who ruled southern Vietnam (Đàng Trong) from 1691 to 1725.Anh Thư Hà, Hồng Đức Trần ''A Brief Chronology of Vietnam's History'' 2000 Page 163 "Nguy� ...

, a Vietnamese warlord, sent a request to Governor Nguyễn Phan Long and Phạm Khánh Đức to build the Văn Miếu Trấn Biên to have a place to promote, preserve, and honor Confucian cultural values. The temple was first built in

southern Vietnam Southern Vietnam () is one of the three geographical regions of Vietnam, the other two being Northern and Central Vietnam. It includes 2 administrative subregions, which in turn are divided into 19 ''First Tier units'', of which 17 are provi ...

, before other temples were built in

Vĩnh Long Vĩnh Long ɨn˨˩˦:lawŋ˧˧is a city and the capital of Vĩnh Long Province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Geography Vĩnh Long covers and has a population of 200,120 (as of 2018). The name was spelled 永隆 ("eternal prosperity") in the form ...

Gia Định ''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Eliza ...

, and

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

. Similar to the Văn Miếu in

and the Văn Miếu in Hanoi, the temple's purpose is to teach young students, and was built near many Biên Hòa provincial schools. Thus, in addition to a place of worship, the Văn Miếu Trấn Biên serves as a place of culture and education.

Restoration

The Văn Miếu Trấn Biên has undergone many restoration projects, being rebuilt twice during the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

, and then restored again in 1998 after the French destroyed the historical site. The first "phase" of the 1998 restoration project began during Tet 2002, while the second phase is still under construction. Another restoration project of the Văn Miếu Trấn Biên was launched to rebuild an ancient Confucius temple based in Bửu Long Ward, District, Biên Hoa, Đồng Nai province, with an investment of nearly VND 20 billion. The project was started on February 14, 2002, in celebration of 300 years of the Văn Miếu Trấn Biên. In 2016, it has been recognised as national historical relic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran Bien Literature Temple Confucian temples in Vietnam Buildings and structures in Đồng Nai province 18th-century Confucian temples