brought a new sect of Chan Buddhism that survived for about five centuries. Local women had large roles and status in religious life and society. Vietnamese temples and monasteries differed with Chinese and other East Asian countries in their role as the đình, the village spiritual center, where village elders met. The famous Tang Chinese monk Yijing mentioned six Vietnamese monks who went on pilgrimage to India and Ceylon in search of the Dharma. Although Daoism became the dynasty's official religion, four prominent Tang poets praised Buddhist masters who hailed from Annan. Indigenous Confucianist scholarly elites remained very relatively small. In 845, a Tang official reported to the throne that "Annan has produced no more than eight imperial officials; senior graduates have not exceeded ten." Liêu Hữu Phương was the only recorded student from Annan to have passed the classical exams in 816 in the Tang capital of Chang'an. He succeeded on his second attempt and became a librarian at the imperial court. Population See also Protectorate General to Pacify the East (Andong) Protectorate General to Pacify the West (Anxi) Southward expansion of the Han dynasty History of Vietnam Administrative divisions of the Tang dynasty References Bibliography Former provinces of China Former countries in Vietnamese history Military history of the Tang dynasty Former commanderies of China in Vietnam 679 establishments 860s disestablishments 7th century in China 8th century in China 9th century in China 7th century in Vietnam 8th century in Vietnam 9th century in Vietnam Administrative divisions of the Tang dynasty