Academies (Shuyuan)

From New World Encyclopedia
Yuelu Academy

The Shūyuàn (书院), usually known in English as Academies or Academies of Classical Learning, were a type of school in ancient China. Unlike national academy and district schools, shuyuan were usually private establishments built away from cities or towns, providing a quiet environment where scholars could engage in studies and contemplation without restrictions and worldly distractions.

History

The shuyuan originated in 725 during the Tang dynasty. They were places where scholars could teach and study the classics, and where books collected from around the country could be preserved. By the late Tang dynasty, private academies had appeared all over China.

During the Northern Song (960-1127), many academies were established with government encouragement. Each academy had its own teaching and administrative structure and was economically independent.

The bestowal of a calligraphic signboard by the Emperor was an extremely important symbol of an academy's status during the Northern Song period. The following academies received this honour:

  • 997: Taishi Academy (Songyang Academy), bestowed by the Taizong emperor
  • 1009: Yingtianfu Academy, bestowed by the Zhenzong emperor
  • 1015: Yuelu Academy, bestowed by the Zhenzong emperor
  • 1035: Shigu Academy, bestowed by the Renzong emperor

Besides signboards, emperors also bestowed books. In 977, the Taizong Emperor bestowed on the White Deer Grotto Academy a copy of the Nine Confucian Classics printed by the Guozijian. The Yuelu Academy, the Songyang Academy and other academies also received books from the Emperor on a number of occasions.

However, academies had begun to decline by the 12th century. The White Deer Grotto Academy, which had fallen into ruin, was rebuilt by the prominent neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi in 1179-80 during the Southern Song dynasty and reopened in 1180. It became an important centre of Confucian thought during eight centuries. Zhu Xi himself taught here during the Southern Song as did Wang Yangming during the Ming. As a result of Zhu Xi's efforts, the shuyuan became a permanent feature of Chinese education, taking up major responsibilities of local education.

The system of academies was dismantled under the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty (1271-1368) and all academies were placed under government control to became preparatory schools for the Imperial Examinations. However, the system was revived under the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911).

In the Ming dynasty, academies devoted to discussing political issues appeared, such as the Donglin Academy, often resulting in political repression. According to one study, 40% of the 1239 known Ming academies were built during the Chia-ching era (1522-1566).[1] During the Qing dynasty, thousands of academies were created for the purpose of preparing students for the Imperial Examination, although there were still some that functioned as centres of study and research.

The academies were finally abolished under the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898 at the end of the Qing dynasty.

There were more than 7,000 academies of Shuyuan recorded. In the late Qing dynasty, some of the Shuyuan became universities, middle schools, public libraries and museums.

In Korea, which also adopted Confucianism, the shuyuan were known as Seowon.

Shuyuan as a modern term

In the late Qing dynasty, schools teaching Western science and technology were established. Many such schools were called Shuyuan in Chinese. Despite the common name, these shuyuan are quite modern in concept and are quite different from traditional academies of classical learning.

Notable Shuyuan

In discussing the shuyuan, it is common to speak of the "Four Great Academies" (四大书院) of ancient China. Usually the "Four Great Academies" refers to the Four Great Academies of the Northern Song. However, sources give a number of different lists, sometimes expanded to Six or Eight Great Academies. Only one academy, the Yuelu Academy, appears in all lists. Each school went up or down the list in different periods. White Deer Grotto Academy had long been an outstanding academy. As for the impact on the politics of China, Donglin Shuyuan in Ming Dynasty is especially notable.

Hanlin Academy

The Hanlin Academy (Chinese: 翰林院, pinyin: Hànlín Yuàn, literally "brush wood court") was founded in China by Emperor Xuanzong in the 8th century during the time of the Tang dynasty.

It was an institution meant to perform, among others, secretarial and literary tasks for the court. Only the most elite scholars were allowed to join the academy. One of its main tasks was to decide on an interpretation of the Confucian classics. This formed the basis of examinations that gave access to the higher levels of bureaucracy.

The famous Chinese scientist and statesman Shen Kuo (1031-1095) was once the leading chancellor of the Hanlin Academy.

The Academy operated continuously until its closure during the 1911 Xinhai Revolution.

The Academy and its library were severely damaged in a fire started by Boxers during the siege of the Foreign Legations in Beijing in 1900. Many ancient texts were either destroyed by the flames or looted/rescued in their wake, including the last surviving volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia.[2]

Yuelu Academy

Roof of Yuelu academy

The Yuelu Academy (also as known as the "Yuelu Academy of Classical Learning," Simplified Chinese: 岳麓书院; Traditional Chinese: 嶽麓書院; pinyin: Yuèlǔ Shūyuàn) is located on the east side of Yuelu Mountain in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, China, on the west bank of the Xiang River.

It was founded in 976, the 9th year of the Song Dynasty under the reign of Emperor Kaibao, and was one of four most renowned Shuyuan (academies of higher learning).

The renowned Confucian scholars Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi both lectured at the academy.

In 1903 the academy became a university, and in 1926 it was officially named Hunan University.

A sign at the academy

As one of the four most prestigious academies over the last 1000 years in China, Yuelu Academy has been a famous institution of higher learning as well as a centre of academic activities and cultures since it was formally set up in 976 (the Northern Song Dynasty). The Academy, which has survived the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, was converted into Hunan Institute of Higher Learning in 1903. It was later renamed Hunan Normal College, Hunan Public Polytechnic School, and finally Hunan University in 1926.

The academy has witnessed more than a thousand years of history and is the only one of the ancient Chinese academies of Classical Learning to have evolved into a modern institution of higher learning. The historical transformation from Yuelu Academy to Hunan University can be seen as the epitome of the development of China's higher education, a change which mirrors the vicissitudes of education system in mainland China. As a part of Hunan University, today the academy is a center of publication and research of the ancient Chinese language, and is one of the most important academic and cultural centers in China.

White Deer Grotto Academy

An interior courtyard of the White Deer Grotto Academy, August 2005.

The White Deer Grotto Academy (Simplified Chinese: 白鹿洞书院; pinyin: Báilùdòng Shūyuàn, sometimes translated as White Deer Cave Academy or White Deer Hollow Academy) was located at the foot of Wulou Peak in Lushan, now in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province. It was one of the Four Great Academies of China.

The academy had its beginnings as a place for the pursuit of learning by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bo (李渤 Lǐ Bó, d. 831, not to be confused with the more famous Tang poet Li Po or Li Bai) when he was living in retirement. As Li Bo kept a white deer, he was known as the White Deer Teacher and the school premises themselves as the White Deer Grotto. Between the years 937—942, when the area was under the control of the Southern Tang, a school was officially established here under the name "Lushan Guoxue" (庐山国学, meaning "Mount Lu National School").

In the early years of the Northern Song dynasty, which began in 960, the Lushan Guoxue was transformed into an academy, known as the White Deer Grotto Academy. The academy was the recipient of imperial favour from the Emperor Taizong (r. 976-997), who bestowed on it books and awarded official rank to the academy's head. However, it later fell into disrepair.

In 1179-80, during the Southern Song dynasty, the academy was rebuilt and expanded by Zhu Xi, later to become the most preeminent of the neo-Confucianists. Zhu Xi, who was serving as prefect of Nankang Prefecture (now Nankang City), rebuilt the academy based on the layout of the Temple of Confucius at Qufu. The new academy opened its doors to students and scholars in 1180. It was involved in instruction, the collection and preservation of books, religious sacrifices, the development of curricula, and lectures by famous scholars, including such notable names as Lu Jiuyuan, Lü Zuqian, and later Wang Yangming. The academy continued to flourish for eight centuries. The rules of the Academy as set down by Zhu Xi had a profound and lasting influence on the subsequent development of Confucianism.

Donglin Academy

The Donglin Academy (東林書院 Dōnglín Shūyuàn—literally meaning "Eastern Grove Academy"), also known as the Guishan Academy (龜山書院 Guīshān Shūyuàn), was originally built in A.D. 1111 during the Northern Song (北宋) dynasty at present-day Wuxi in China. It was originally a school where the neo-Confucian scholar Yang Shi taught, but later fell into disuse.

In 1604, during the Wanli era, Gu Xiancheng (顧憲成 Gù Xiànchéng, (1550-1612), a Ming Grand Secretary, along with Gao Panlong (高攀龍 Gāo Pānlóng, 1562-1626), a scholar, restored the Donglin Academy on the same site with the financial backing of local gentry and officials. The academy gave its name to the resulting Donglin movement.

The Donglin Academy can be found at 867, Jiefang Donglu, Wuxi City.

List of notable Shuyuan

The Four Great Academies

Also known as the Four Great Academies of the Northern Song or the Four Northern Song Academies.

  • Songyang Academy
  • Yingtianfu Academy
  • Yuelu Academy
  • White Deer Grotto Academy

Sometimes the Shigu Academy is substituted for the Songyang Academy.

The Four Great Academies of the Early Song

  • Shigu Academy
  • Jinshan Academy
  • Yuelu Academy
  • Culai Academy
  • White Deer Grotto Academy

The Four Great Academies of the Southern Song

  • Lize Academy
  • Xiangshan Academy
  • Yuelu Academy
  • White Deer Grotto Academy

The Six Great Academies

  • Songyang Academy
  • Yingtianfu Academy
  • Yuelu Academy
  • White Deer Grotto Academy

plus

  • Shigu Academy
  • Maoshan Academy

(An alternative list of "Six Great Academies of the Northern Song" contains the same academies in a different order).

The Eight Great Academies of the Northern Song

  • Shigu Academy
  • Yingtianfu Academy
  • Yuelu Academy
  • White Deer Grotto Academy
  • Songyang Academy
  • Maoshan Academy
  • Longmen Academy
  • Culai Academy

See also

  • Donglin Academy
  • Dongpo Academy

Notes

  1. Lee, Thomas H. C. Education in Traditional China: A History. Leiden: Brill, 2000. p.100 ISBN 9004103635
  2. Preston, Diana, and Diana Preston. The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic Story of China's War on Foreigners That Shook the World in the Summer of 1900. New York: Berkley, 2001.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Lee, Thomas H. C. Education in Traditional China: A History. Leiden: Brill, 2000. ISBN 9004103635
  • Preston, Diana, and Diana Preston. The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic Story of China's War on Foreigners That Shook the World in the Summer of 1900. New York: Berkley, 2001. ISBN 0425180840 ISBN 9780425180846

External links

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