Van Thanh Mieu means “a temple worshipping the holy literary genius”, the title that was posthumously conferred upon Confucius, who Vietnamese call Van The Su Bieu or “the eternal teacher”.
Van Thanh Mieu is situated on a large land and started to build in 1864 and completed in 1866.
From the outside, the structure of the building was easily recognized in design of Confucian style. The temple has three large – entrance gates in vaulted shape called Tam Quan with the middle door being twice as large as the others. At very first step, tourist can see on the top of the main entrance with the name “Van Thanh Mieu” warmly welcoming visitors to come to the temple.
In front of the hall of the temple, tourists immediately see the 2 – meter high stone engraved essay writings of Phan Thanh Gian and 2 other Confucian scholars to memorize the builders of the temple.
Phan Thanh Gian is regarded as the local hero who led a revolt against the French colonist and also the person who initiated to build this temple. Every year, Van Thanh Mieu holds traditional ceremonies to commemorate Phan Thanh Gian as well as his contribution to the country.
In the main area of the temple, it consists of a main temple in the middle named Dai Thanh for worshipping Confucius and four of his most famous disciples and 2 small shrines called Ta Vu and Huu Vu in 2 other sides where worships 72 gifted students of Confucius.
Every year, Van Thanh Mieu holds traditional ceremonies on the fourth and fifth days of the seventh lunar month to commenmorate Phan Thanh Gian. The temple also holds rituals on the twelfth and thirteenth days of the tenth lunar month to wordship high-ranking mandarins.
