Chu Van An was born in 1292 in Quang Liet commune, Thanh Dam district (now Thanh Liet village, Thanh Tri district, Hanoi). He was a teacher, physician, and mandarin under the Tran dynasty. According to Dai Viet's full history, Chu Van An is "stubborn, straightforward, clean, not seeking profit". He stayed at home reading, educated well, famous near and far, "students are full of doors, often some people pass college".Dictionary of Vietnamese historical figures written Chu Van An is a good teacher but strict, a talented judge of students and hates greedy and rich trusted people. His students had many excellent people who contributed to the country such as Pham Su Manh, Le Quat, two great officials of the Tran Dynasty. During his time, he was recognized by the people as "Van The monk", which means the eternal standard teacher of Vietnam.