Quoc Tu Giam (Hue) - National University under the Nguyen Dynasty

HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE OF QUOC TU GIAM (HUE)

In August 1803, after the reunification of the country, Emperor Gia Long built a national school called Doc Hoc Duong (or Quoc Hoc Duong) in An Ninh Thuong, Huong Tra district, about 5km from the Citadel (now located in An Binh village, adjacent to Long Ho Ha village, Huong Tra district). The school is located next to the Temple of Literature, facing the Huong River, so the scenery is very charming. 

In March 1820, Emperor Minh Mang changed the name of the school to Quoc Tu Giam and this name existed until 1945 when Quoc Tu Giam school ended its role with the end of the Nguyen Dynasty. 
Under Emperor Gia Long, the architectural scale of the school was small, consisting of only one main building in the middle and two rows of buildings on either side, used as a place for the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief of Education to teach. King Minh Mang, the scale of the school was larger. In 1821, the king set up Di Luan Duong, a lecture hall and two rows of classrooms on either side of the building, each row of 19 classrooms, as a place for students to read and do homework. By the beginning of the Tu Duc period, Quoc Tu Giam was quite large, but the school continued to be expanded and built. In 1848, a nine-block building was built, surrounded by brick walls and two dormitories, each with two spaces for students. The school also opened two small doors for students to enter and exit.

In 1854, during a visit to Tu Duc school, he made a text and a 14-chapter poem to teach and encourage students to study. All this work was carved into a large stone stela, erected in front of the schoolyard. Later, Quoc Tu Giam school was repeatedly damaged by natural disasters, especially the storm in Giap Thin year (1904). But after each damage, the school was restored.

"Huynh Tu Thu Thanh" (the scene of Quoc Tu Giam) is one of the 20 ancient landscapes of the land of ancient Capital

By 1908, in the reign of Duy Tan emperor, Quoc Tu Giam was moved to the inner capital, outside, southeast of the Imperial Citadel (i.e. the current location at 23 August Street, inside Hue Citadel) to facilitate the inspection of the mandarins, and even the king himself when he wanted to visit or hold examinations as well as ceremonies or Thi Hoc ceremony. The scale of the school at that time included: in the middle is the Di Luan Duong; on the two sides are two classrooms; in front are two student dormitories; behind the school, in the middle is the Tan Tho Vien, on the two sides is the house of Te Tu and Tu Nghiep officials (principal and vice-principal)  and other school officials. Among these architectural works, Di Luan Duong, Tan Tho Vien and the building for Te Tuu of Quoc Tu Giam are traditional-style wooden architectural works with high artistic value (Tan Tho Vien, Di Luan Duong are derived from the architectural works of Bao Dinh Palace).

In 1923, the Tan Tho Vien became Khai Dinh Museum (Musée Khai Dinh, now Hue Palace Museum of Antiquities), so Quoc Tu Giam School had to set up a new library called Bao Dai Library at the back of Di Luan Duong. From then until August 1945, when Quoc Tu Giam ended its historical role, the school's architecture hardly changed.

LOCATION OF QUOC TU GIAM IN THE COMPLEX OF HUE MONUMENTS

In Vietnam, nearly a thousand years ago, Quoc Tu Giam school was established at the beginning of the Ly Dynasty. During the subsequent dynasties, this school always existed and became more and more interesting. However, until now, the appearance of a Quoc Tu Giam, only coming Hue that people can "see and admire". This is also the reason why Quoc Tu Giam school was established under Nguyen in Hue to become a rare work in our country.

Quoc Tu Giam is the only "Mandarin" school in the whole country, so all the intellectuals who seek fame are gathering here more and more. Existing for more than 100 years in An Binh village, next to Hue Temple of Literature, along with the architecture and charming scenery here as well as the special position of Quoc Tu Giam, under Thieu Tri Emperor, the king has ranked the school in one of the 20 scenic spots of the land. This school is the 18th scenic spot in 20 landscapes of the Capital, while the praiseworthy poem is called "Huynh Tu Thu Thanh" (Listening to reading books at school). The entire poem (with a title written in an improvisation manner) was carved into the stone and erected in front of Di Luan Duong. In 1908, when Quoc Tu Giam school moved to its current location, this stone stela was also brought back and its location is still in front of the temple. 

Quoc Tu Giam (Hue) today at 23rd August Street, is also the headquarters of the Museum of History of Thua Thien Hue

It can be said that Quoc Tu Giam is one of the particularly rare relics of Hue and Vietnam today because this is the only university in the monarchy period that still exists in our country. In this sense alone, Quoc Tu Giam relic deserves to be ranked and protected as a special relic of the country.

Historically, Quoc Tu Giam is the only representative that reflects the face of a feudal university, it is also a testament to the thought of attaching importance to the learning of the Nguyen Dynasty in particular and the Vietnamese dynasties in general. Over 200 years of existence, Quoc Tu Giam has contributed significantly to the training of talents for the country. Among the more than 500 doctors and salutatorians of the Nguyen Dynasty, there were many who used to sharpen their knowledge at this school.

In terms of architecture, Quoc Tu Giam, especially Di Luan Duong building, is a rare work of Nguyen court architecture, a work with a mixture of "Duong" and "Cac" of the Nguyen Dynasty. This is also a very high-value work in terms of decorative art with hundreds of inlaid cells touching ivory bones and embossing porcelain in the interior and exterior. Other works such as galleries and warehouses also have certain architectural and historical values because they are the embodiment of a period of development of Vietnamese architecture in the early twentieth century.

Promoting the value of relics, from the school year 2019-2020, the title "Honorary student of the whole school" was honored by Thua Thien Hue province at Quoc Tu Giam (Hue).

In terms of literature, Quoc Tu Giam is also the place to