Jixia Academy

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Jixia Academy
Tâi-lô
Tsik-hā ha̍k-kiong

The Jixia Academy or Academy of the Gate of Chi

Ji or Hou ji
.

Establishment

Based on passages in the

Records of the Grand Historian,[3] the academy is generally credited to King Xuan and given a foundation date around 318 BC. However, Xu Gan credited the academy to King Xuan's grandfather, Duke Huan of Tian Qi, not to be confused with Duke Huan of Qi. Sima Qian's passages are consistent with King Xuan having restored – rather than established – the institution.[4]

The academy has been characterized as "the first time on record a state began to act as a patron of scholarship out of the apparent conviction that this was a proper function of the state",

Huanglao political theories, and the prestige produced by the project, were undertaken merely to bolster the Tian clan's legitimacy following Duke Tai's overthrow of Qi's previous Jiang dynasty[6] and Duke Huan of Tian Qi execution of his brother, nephew, and mother.[7]

Importance

Scholars – including the most renowned of the era – came from great distances to lodge in the academy: the

Tao Teh Ching.[2]

The academy was popular not only because of the mansions

corvee.[9] According to the anti-Confucian chapter eleven of Discourses on Salt and Iron (81 BC), "King Xuan of Qi appreciated the scholars and their teachings. Mencius, Chunyu Kun, and others neglected the high offices they were given, preferring to make speeches about affairs of state. There were more than one thousand of these scholars disputing at the Jixia Academy in Qi. You admit that people like Gongsun Hong were everywhere then."[10]

Legacy

The Jixia Academy thrived until the reign of

chancellor Lü Buwei
supported thousands of scholars between 250 and 238 BC.

Archaeology

In February 2022, archaeologists announced the discovery of the ruins of the academy in Zibo city, Shandong province. The excavation, which had been going for 5 years before the announcement, turned up four rows of building foundations that belonged to the academy complex, along with architectural components that "would glow with colorful lights when the sun shines on them". The site measures about 210 m from east to west at its widest and 190 m long from north to south, shaped roughly like a right-angled trapezoid from above, with a total area of nearly 40,000 square meters.[12]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 052105799X
    , 9780521057998. Accessed 2 Nov 2012.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0203688678
    , 9780203688670. Accessed 2 Nov 2012.
  3. ^
    Records of the Grand Historian
    .
  4. ISBN 0791419843
    , 9780791419847. Accessed 2 Nov 2012.
  5. ^ a b Harper, Donald & al. The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1999.
  6. ISBN 0791412377
    , 9780791412374.
  7. ^ Bamboo Annals. "Annals of Wei". (in Chinese)
  8. ISBN 0-7864-0840-5
    .
  9. ^ a b c Sato, Masayuki. The Confucian Quest for Order: The Origin and Formation of the Political Thought of Xun Zi. Brill (Boston), 2003.
  10. ^ "Discourses on Salt and Iron, chapter XI". Traditions of Exemplary Women. Translated by Esson W. Gale. Taipei, Taiwan: Ch'eng Wen. 1973. Retrieved 25 October 2015. From Discourses on Salt and Iron
  11. ISBN 1438440111
    , 9781438440118.
  12. Xinhua Net
    . Retrieved 2022-05-31.
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