Stone stele records of imperial examinations of the Lê and Mạc dynasties
Stone stele records of imperial examinations of the Lê and Mạc dynasties are 82 stone stelae kept in Hanoi’s Temple of Literature. They list the names and details of doctoral laureates who passed exams from 1442 to 1779. There may be a 83rd stele still underground near the lake.
The stelae are tortoise-mounted tablets, a symbol of longevity in Vietnamese culture. They come in three main types that fit different periods, and are decorated with various patterns, from Taoist designs to images of farmers and animals.
After each examination, a new stele was erected with information about the process, the number of participants, and the laureates’ profiles. Each stele also includes a message about the value of education and talent for the country, reflecting Confucian ideas. These inscriptions were meant to encourage others to serve society.
The first stele was prepared in 1484 by Thân Nhân Trung for the 1442 exam. In total, 2,313 names were carved on the stelae for exams held between 1484 and 1780, across the Lê, Mạc, Trịnh, and Nguyễn dynasties.
Notable figures on the stelae include the historian Ngô Sĩ Liên, the scholar Lê Quý Đôn, and the diplomat Ngô Thì Nhậm. Some names were crossed out during the Trịnh era by order of the Nguyễn emperors for political reasons.
The stelae sustained damage during wars between the Tây Sơn and Nguyễn forces. Nguyễn Quang Toản attempted to restore them but could not finish after the Tây Sơn collapse in 1802.
After the Nguyễn dynasty, the capital moved to Huế, where a new Temple of Literature was built and 32 additional stelae were placed there, the last dating to 1919.
Today the collection is praised as a national treasure because it reveals how education and imperial exams worked for about 300 years of Vietnamese history.
UNESCO Memory of the World: Vietnam first nominated related works in 2007–2008, including Nguyễn Dynasty woodblocks and old Indochina photos. The woodblocks were approved in 2009, but the stelae collection was later chosen and accepted by UNESCO on March 9, 2010 in Macau, becoming Vietnam’s second entry in the Memory of the World.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:20 (CET).