Ngoc Son temple

Ngoc Son Temple was built on a small island in the middle of Hoan Kiem lake during the 19th century. Saint Van Xuong, considered one of the brightest stars of Vietnam's literature and intellectual circles, was worshipped here. National hero Tran Hung Dao was also worshipped after he led the Vietnamese people to victory over both Mongolian and Chinese invaders.

The temple as it is seen today is the result of renovations made by Nguyen Van Sieu in 1864.

A great Hanoian writer, Sieu had a large pen-shaped tower built at the entrance of the temple. On the upper section of the tower are three Chinese characters: Ta Thanh Thien, which means that to write on the blue sky is to imply the height of a genuine and righteous person's determination and will.

Also at the entrance are: a Dai Nghien, or ink stand, carved from stone and resembling a peach, which is placed on the back of three frogs on top of the gate to the temple; and The Huc, or the place where the first rays of morning sunshine touch.

On the way to the temple are several cau doi, parallel sentence boards, placed on the wall. Cau Doi were part of traditional word puzzles played by Hanoi's intellectual class

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