Sacred Beauty Exhibition: Dragon Image on Doctorate Stele

As part of a series of activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital (October 10, 1954 - October 10, 2024), on the afternoon of July 31, 2024, at the special national relic of the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, the Center for Cultural and Scientific Activities of the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam held the opening ceremony of the thematic exhibition "Dragon image on doctoral steles". Looking back to 1484, right at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, the first doctoral stele was built and engraved with the names of those who passed the doctoral exams in that year. After 540 years of experiencing many historical ups and downs, the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam still preserves 82 doctoral steles, recording the names of 1,304 outstanding doctors. These doctoral steles are not only historical witnesses but also contain many artistic and cultural values, one of which is the dragon image carved on the stele.

Dragon of the Clouds. Photo: Hoang Anh

Among the patterns and motifs used to decorate the foreheads and borders of the Doctorate steles, the dragon image has always been given a very solemn position. As the first mascot in the list of four sacred animals (dragon, unicorn, turtle, phoenix), the dragon has always been considered a sacred, noble representative and reserved only for kings, and is often depicted in the composition of a pair of dragons facing the sun surrounded by clouds of fire.

Meeting With Dragon. Photo: Hoang Anh

The image of the dragon on the doctoral steles at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam is one of the outstanding and unique features. If the stele erection in 1653 depicted the dragon in a realistic way, then from the stele erection in 1717 onwards, most of the dragon images were created by artisans in extremely diverse ways, completely breaking away from the usual patterns. Under the political characteristics of the feudal dynasty of King Le and Lord Trinh in the 18th century, the use of the dragon model image was no longer suitable. From here, versions of dragons transforming into clouds, dragons transforming into fire or dragons transforming into trees and leaves were successively created by the talented hands of artisans at that time, not only expressing cultural and aesthetic elements but also bearing the mark of a very special period in the history of the Vietnamese nation.

Long Mon 8: Pattern on the stele of the 1775 doctoral examination erected in 1776. Photo: Hoang Anh

Over the centuries, each stele has been exposed to adverse weather conditions such as sun, rain, dew, and wind, causing the surface of the stele to be eroded considerably, and the motifs are more or less covered by a layer of dust from time. However, thanks to the technique of stamping, researchers have not only recovered the stele inscriptions containing a lot of useful information, but also discovered a series of extremely sophisticated patterns and motifs.

Dragon in the Galaxy. Photo: Hoang Anh

The works are introduced at the exhibition with 4 main areas: Dragon Van Du, 8 gates - Long Mon, Meeting with Dragons and Dragon in the Galaxy. Respecting the original lines on the doctoral stele combined with the graphic language, the exhibition has brought all guests profound experiences about history as well as helped viewers visualize more clearly the talent and skill of the stone craftsmen who devoted their hearts to creating truly impressive sculptures.

According to Mr. Truong Quoc Toan, the person responsible for designing the exhibition "Dragon image on Doctorate steles", the special thing that the Organizing Committee wants to emphasize in this exhibition design is to help people who come here to visit discover the beauty of the patterns on Doctorate steles in general and the dragon pattern on Doctorate steles in particular. The exhibition is also presented with a modern approach, close to young people, like the general spirit of the activities at the Temple of Literature in recent times. The thematic exhibition "Dragon image on Doctorate steles" will take place until August 26, 2024 at the Thai Hoc House, the special national relic of the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam.

Hoang Anh