Vietnam Founds Its First National University

1076

Emperor Ly Nhan Tong established the Quoc Tu Giam, Vietnam's first national university, within the Temple of Literature complex at Thang Long. The institution trained sons of royalty and nobility in Confucian classics, preparing them for imperial examinations that would - for the first time - select officials by merit rather than birth. Vietnam was building a civil service on the Chinese model, but the institution it created would outlast its Chinese inspiration by centuries.